Drizzling and dreary, the day was a gray one with low lying clouds that allowed only the bases of the mountains to be seen. I was glad to have had a nice day with perfect views but, the rainy day was not a wash out. I wanted to see the other lake, Thun (pronounced “tune”) so I hopped a bus to what looked like a promising town. The town turned out to be a hotel and not much else. I walked along the seawall for a while then made the couple mile walk back to town.
I wasn’t ready for my day’s adventures to be over yet so I found the 2 girls I had met on the trains on the way to Interlaken and asked if they fancied a swim. Back on the bus to Neuhaus and after a few minutes hike to the place I had found earlier we did it! We swam! Chilly? Yep! Your body went through phases of cold- first it was a lose-your-breath shocking cold, next it was pins and needles, and then it was numbness. Once the numbness settled in we found the water actually enjoyable. We stayed in the water for probably about 15 minutes then decided we shouldn’t risk sickness and hopped out, risked changing on the lake shore, and headed back to town cold but feeling invigorated after our swim. The water was a clear light blue like I have never seen before. My rafting guide had told me that the lakes were over 1000 feet deep each. I believe it. There is a very drastic slope to the bottom that you can see from shore because the water is so clear. It felt great to be in the water again. It was such a childish happiness.
Back at the hostel Elizabeth, Beth, and I all made our respective dinners and used my nail polish to brighten up our hands and toes. I am currently sporting alternating lime green and hot pink fingernails. It looks like a watermelon!
Besides the natural beauty and the feel of Interlaken there is another thing I loved – the houses. Who wants to buy me a Swiss villa? On my walk back from the lake I found 3 houses that I especially loved and countless others I would love to own. Outside my favorite house there was a huge veggie garden with lovely looking lettuce. The owner’s son came out and through some skilled pointing on my part and counting on fingers I bought myself a head of lettuce that I ate for dinner last night in the freshest salad I have ever had. I made sure to give it a good washing- the guy had lots of cows and they come with corresponding cow pies… I got a steal in Swiss terms – 1 franc for a head of fresh, hearty red leaf lettuce. In a crazy expensive country where Iceberg lettuce is about $3 US dollars I felt like a champ!
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| Elizabeth and I in Thun |
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| Glacier melt lakes = the best |
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| where I got the lettuce |
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| Not very Swiss architecture but amazing nonetheless |
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| My favorite! |
Vienna and Budapest blogs will be up in a few days. I have yet to write them and will not have time until I am on the train to Germany. I miss and love you all - At
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