Schilthorn and 007

The view from Schilthorn includes the Eiger and Jungfrau

The weather forecast was for a sunny day so we went to Schilthorn. From Bern we went by train the Interlaken Ost and then changed to another train to Lauterbrunnen. Travelling through the Swiss countryside is a wonderful experience and on a clear day in autumn Thunersee (lake) was looking beautiful (we made sure we chose seats on the train that gave us a good view because the train line is right beside the lake), and the line leading to Lauterbrunnen follows a river running strongly with water off the mountains.

There are several ways to get to Schilthorn. We went by cablecar to Grütschalp then took the rail to Mürren and then the cablecar to Schilthorn via Birg. Sounds easy doesn't it? Well, it wasn't. There were hoards of people all trying to do the same thing and the cablecars can only hold so many people, even if they're squashed in like sardines, so at each change we had to queue.

Crowded cablecar to Grütschalp 

At Mürren we took a long break in our journey and treated ourselves to a strudel and coffee at a delightful hotel where the views were spectacular. (OK, to be fair, all the views in the village are spectacular.)

Mürren

Strudel time at Mürren with Jungfraujoch in the background.

Vegetable garden

Harvesting potatoes with Eiger in the background!

Mürren

Then we again braved the crowds and went up the mountain by cablecar. The views are spectacular and we were very lucky with the weather. There is a revolving restaurant, which we avoided, and a small James Bond museum because they filmed On Her Majesty‘s Secret Service, starring George Lazenby as 007, on Schilthorn and around Mürren.

View back to Birg from Schilthorn

Eiger and Jungfraujoch

And then back down to Lauterbrunnen via the cablecar to Stechelberg and bus along the beautiful valley. Phil and I walked from Stechelbeg to Lauterbrunnen ten years ago and it is still one of my best memories - a sealed path beside waterfalls, Swiss farm buildings, neat vegetable gardens, stunning mountain scenery and a beautiful river - but this time we took the bus and its route takes you through several small villages down the valley.

Rothorn, Switzerland

The only cog train in Switzerland with a steam engine that pushes the carriages up the mountain from Brienz to Rothorn. It's been operating since 1892 and winds its way up through pine forests and small tunnels to the treeless alpine peak. It takes about an hour, it shakes and rattles and is quite noisy, especially in the tunnels.

The views are spectacular all the way and just as breathtaking on the top. Lake Brienz is far down in the valley below and because it was a clear day we could see the Eiger, Jungfrau and behind us Pilatus near Lucerne.

There are other ways of getting to the top. A gondola goes up from the other valley, there are ski lifts and you could hike but we took the steam train and an hour later arrived at the hotel restaurant at the top. There is also another cafe at the gondola station. There were lots of people there so we were well catered for.

It was a wonderful day.

Edelweiss

Avenches, Switzerland

Bern is in the German-speaking part of Switzerland but we ventured into the French-speaking area to visit Avenches. (Pronounced 'A vonsh')

Avanches, Switzerland

It's only a small town that has quite a few intact medieval buildings but I was drawn there by the fact that they have a lot of evidence of the time it was an important Roman town called Aventicum for about 300 years. The town had a population of 20 000.

The Colosseum (amphitheatre), and the L’évêque Tower that houses an excellent Roman museum.

Roman theatre

Temple complex

The Roman town had town walls, remnants of which we could clearly see from the train, and an east gate and a west gate that still exist in part. The museum was really well curated, and I was pleased to use the guide written in English. So thoughtful.

Precious items in the museum include this gold bust of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. 

An outstanding carving, found during excavations, featuring Romulus and Remus being raised by a she-wolf.

Street in Avenches

A wasp drinking at a water fountain.

Filling our water bottles at the fountain.

Zytglogge, Berne

Zytglogge is a medieval tower in the main street of Bern, Switzerland. It was built in the early 13th century and has been a guard tower, prison and now a clock tower. Every hour a large group of people gathers at its base waiting to see the automated figures go through their routines.

We did the tour that took us inside the tower to see the clock and the automation working from inside. There were about ten people on the tour and we were the only ones who spoke just English so the guide conducted the tour in English. The Europeans put us monolinguists to shame.

View from the the top of the clock tower.