When we finally did board, we found our coach and our seats pretty easily. Everything was roomy and comfortable, even in '2nd class'. When we pulled out of the station, you could barely tell it was moving. We decided to watch a movie on our tablet and before we knew it we were arriving at the station in Basel, Switzerland. I mean, literally before we knew it.. . with our headphones in our ears, we missed the announcement for the next stop. It wasn't until I glanced out the window and saw the BASEL sign at the platform that we realized and had to grab all of our stuff in a hurry! Our connecting train was already there and about to depart. So, that transfer was fun. The next train was a little more roomy and we halfheartedly finished our movie whilst listening for more announcements and taking in the passing scenery.
It's funny really, as I was looking out the window, I kept thinking, 'Wow, the alps are beautiful!' they're so green and huge...
...but, it wasn't until we had almost arrived at our final Interlaken stop before we really, finally caught a glimpse of the Swiss Alps.
Wow. That was all I could say. You know them when you see them, that's for sure. The snow covered peaks seemed to disappear into the sky. I snapped a few shotty cell phone pictures because our good camera was in the overhead compartment, but no camera could do these beautiful hills justice.
Everyone just needs to stop reading this blog right now and go book a flight to Switzerland.
I'm serious.
It's breathtaking.
Our airbnb was actually located in Darligen, which was just one quick stop after the Interlaken Station where our train ride ended. The trains run between the towns every hour or so. So, we had some time to kill. We decided to walk around and explore. And eat.
My favorite part was the water. I'm from Florida. I've seen the crystal clear water of the Florida springs. I've snorkled in the tropical blue waters of the Keys. None of that compares to the water from the Aare River. It's an indescribably beautiful shade of deep teal-blue.
The town was really quaint and most of the shops and restaurants hadn't opened yet, but we found one cafe right by the station. I was surprised to find out that most of Switzerland speaks German, or some variance of Swiss-German. Well, I hadn't studied any German before our trip, so I had to get a quick lesson from our server, danke schoen!
Our breakfast consisted of croissants and coffee and breads. Simple, but delicious.
After we ate, we had just enough time to catch our next train to Darligen. Our host was gracious enough to pick us up and give us a ride the rest of the way to our apartment. It really wasn't far, but with all of our luggage, that hike might've been a little tough.
We dropped off or luggage and then went out again to explore our surroundings a bit. Just at the bottom of our mountain, Lake Thunersee offered some amazing scenery.
After our evening stroll, we got settled into our room and decided to 'rest our eyes' for a bit. Yep, that was the end of Day 9. We woke up around 7pm and made our own dinner in our kitchenette and then tried to plan what we would do the next day before falling asleep again.
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