Published Thursday August 19th, 2004

After Monday and Tuesday passed, the week just became more eventful..

The madness continued on Wednesday as we set off again at 0906 with a Bus to Burdorf to Bern from where i decided that the weather was superb and thus we got on a train to Interlaken once again. As we did on Monday, we headed up to Mürren. However, because there was not a single cloud in the sky this day we paid CHF 48 to go up to the top of a mountain named Piz Gloria, or Schilthorn which is at about 4000 metres above sea level. Everyone but Wes and I went up ahead before.. Wes and I did because Wes was still purchasing a ticket while everyone else was boarding the gondola up to the top of the mountain. Thus Wes and I took the next gondola up. At the middle-station, Birg, We exited and took some photos and had ourselves a leisurely time. We proceeded up to the top, up to Schilthorn where we met up with everyone else. We spent about an hour or so walking around outside, taking photos and such likes. Some older man, who was also with a bunch of American's and their family asked me to take a photo of them with their camera as he saw me taking photos with mine. We then chatted a bit about Digital SLR's, partway in English until we realised we both spoke swiss German, at which time we switched to swiss German without missing a beat in the conversation. Was really amusing.

We all gathered in the rotating restaurant (the top of the Schilthorn building at the top of the mountain, Schilthorn houses a restaurant which rotates 360 degrees.) It's kind of cool. Here, in this restaurant we spent CHF 261 in total. We first all ate lunch. I spent CHF 19 on a half portion of veal and noodles with a cream sauce which was yummy. Wes and Kate ordered themselves a Rugen Bräun or some sort of local beer which was served in these huge jugs. Wes and Kate raced to finish their beers first (Wes did so first) and then a few minutes of so after doing this they started to feel a bit tipsy which lasted for 15 minutes or so. Was very amusing for the rest of us to laugh at them. After hanging a bit around at the table enjoying ourselves we all ordered ice cream. I ordered a Coup Jungfrau for CHF 9.90. It was delicious. We spent a good 2 hours with lunch, and by the time we finished it was 1600 and we had spent around 3 hours at the top of Schilthorn. Without much notice, all of a sudden everyone else who was in the restaurant seemed to have disappeared and much time seemed to have passed very quickly. We had way too much fun laughing, joking, watching Wes and Kate drink their huge beers, and eating our ice cream. A whole, whole lot of fun at 4000 metres in the sky amongst all the beautiful alps which simply are impossibly to accurately describe with words. Even a photo does not do the beautiful green, dark brown, and bright white mountains justice. A lot, and lot of fun to the point where i can not describe it. Heh..

At around 1630 we all headed back down. Adam and I got caught up on the platform taking photos and chatting and we missed the gondola which everyone else got on.. So we took our leisurely time back down getting out at the mid-station Birg again taking some more photos. Some clouds had started to form an hour or so before. It was kind of cool because you could look in one location and see as a grey mass just formed right in front of you. More and more, and soon the peak of the Schilthorn was engulfed inside a cloud as we headed back down. Adam and i headed back down to Mürren, couldn't find the rest, and so i called Wes and found out that they had gone all the way down. So Adam and i did the same and we caught up with them. We took the very crowded bus back to Lauterbrunnen, where we got a very crowded train back to Interlaken Ost from where we got a very crowded InterCity train back to Bern.

We got back to our apartment at around 2100. We heated up a frozen lasagna in the oven, ate, and then went over to my grandmas where Mike called his parents, Adam called his bank, Kate registered for classes at Cal Poly, and Raymond and Tyson checked their emails.

I think its amazing how one can get excellent connections on this rail network here in Switzerland. (I don't know how it is in other countries because i have not done much rail travel elsewhere..) I can come from the Schilthorn down with gondolas into a glacier valley to a very small little village (Schtechelberg) where i get on a bus, and that bus takes me to a train (Lauterbrunnen), and that train takes me to another train (Interlaken Ost), and that train takes me to one more train (Bern) from where i can get a bus (Sumiswald) back home to our apartment (in Wasen i/E). It's just amazing that this all works and falls together and into place. Coming from Interlaken to Bern our train had 5 minutes delay.. With connections each within minutes from each other 5 minutes is a lot, and the train driver (whatever you call that profession) kept apologising for the delay over the intercom. By the time we reached Bern the delay was down to one minute which he also announced. Simple amazing.

The amount of people today was also astounding. On Monday there were very few people in Interlaken compared to today. Today was insane. In Interlaken Ost they delayed our train up to Lauterbrunnen so that they could get an entirely different train with many more waggons to bring all the people up, back into the glacier valley. The train from Bern to Interlaken and later in the evening from Interlaken back to Bern were completely filled. There was not a single seat vacant, and people were standing in the isles due to lack of seats. I found seating in the smoking section, which i accepted as opposed to standing for an hour. On the buses up near Schilthorn from Lauterbrunnen there was no space to move. Remembering from last year when i travelled around this region a bit as well, same time of year.. There were barely any people compared to the amount today. Whole hordes of Americans: young teens, families and often extended families. A whole bunch of British families and young teens and the same again with people from India. The typical assortment of Japanese in tour groups, but also much more common today was Japanese teen's touring solo. Simply amazing at the amount of people being served in the train stations. I love it. It's so insane, crazy, hectic, and a giant rush, i love getting caught up in it, feeling the rush and the energy and the mass amounts of people and movement. Public mass transit. Insanity. Heh..

Well then. Now it is 1142 and it's time for bed..

Photo time! No specific order to these. The order that a script spit out the HTML is the order they're in here on this page. I don't really recall using anything but my 14mm lens for most of these shots.

Wednesday: Schilthorn


Tyson taking a photo. Derrr.


Tyson and Mike sitting after having eaten lunch.


Wes and Kate outside.


Thats a pretty camera.


Wes, Adam, Mike and Kate.


One station below the top of the Schilthorn Wes stands on the very edge of a sheer drop of a few hundred metres. Must..resist...pushing..


Thats the gondela we took up to this point. I want to kick Wes in the ass. So what if he'll plumet a few hundred metres to his death?


The brown dot, or buildings you can see in this photo in the middle left is the town of Mürren. Right after that is yet another sheer drop down into a glacier valley a few hundred metres down below Mürren.


The gondela we took up to the top of Schilthorn.


Inside that building is a rotating restaurant. There is no one else around in this photo because it was taken at around 1600 and most people had left.


We're being submerged in clouds..


I'd fuck him.


Wes's beer mug, Adam, Tyson and Mike after lunch.


I'm higher than the clouds!


Don't..push...Wes...over...edge.


Wes and Kate at the top of Schilthorn.


Wes and Adam at lunch.


Wesley!


Schilthorn.


Schilthorn from below.


Preeettttyyyy.


If i slip and fall-Dead.

Misc: Adam playing a game.


Made up narration: "Wtf?"


"I'm phsyco."


"I'm CRAaAzY!"


...


"Bye!"

* Photos have not been altered and could probably use some white-balancing, contrast, brightness, saturation, and hue adjustments.