Hey, it’s been a while.. I had some free time so thought about updating my rusty blog once again haha. For this summer of 2018 me and an old friend of mine decided to visit one of the most beautiful and stunning place in the world. You can also checkout my friend’s website who recently started blogging about his travel here.  If you are interested in reading further please be warned about awful grammar and lack of vocabulary  you will come across down the line. I’ve warned you! So lets get on with the update. Lets get it! Lets get it!

Visa Application

If you have checked my previous posts from my visits, I always tend to start my posts with this section as being Nepalese, you have to apply for Visa for almost all of the countries in the world. It does get on your nerves sometimes but being living in London, the visa applications are very quick and easy once you get hang of it.

The details for the visa requirements and application can be found in the TLS website. The requirements are very easy to understand and clear. I did get rejected on my first try because my insurance did not meet the criteria of covering a compensation of the traveller upon death by certain amount and I didn’t have confirmation of all the accommodation I was staying while my stay in Switzerland. So make sure you have the correct insurance and all the hotel’s booked and have receipt for each hotels. The application process only took 3 working days.

Zurich

The excitement was high as we landed in Zurich. The air just felt completely different to London. Hype! Hype!!! So first thing first we decided to head to our hotel but the question was how? We had two option Train or Tram? Always have your Google map ready guys! It was a live saver. Since I personally had never tried Tram before we decided to use it. Anddddd it didn’t disappoint us. The tram was so smooth, clean and the information of the screens regarding different stops were just very easy to understand. Well, having been used to commuting in London, the transport facility in Swiss was on another level. But I still love you LONDON.

We reached our hotel after quite a bit of walking, took a bit of rest then headed straight to the city. AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME TO WASTE WHEN YOU ARE TRAVELLING!! First thing I noticed was smooth operation of Trams in the city and none checking the tickets of the passengers. We did think about taking the risk of not buying tickets but the receptionist in the hotel had warned us that he had been victim of random checks and getting fined frequently. We strolled around the city, take pictures(well you don’t say!! Mr. Obivious strikes) and window shop 😛

Bern

On our second day we headed to Bern baby BERN ohhhh yeaaaaa. Before taking our train, we decided to buy a Flexible Swiss Pass. There are variable options you can choose depending on your travel plans. Since we were travelling to various cities we decided to go with the flexible one. More details on the passes can be found here. I was eligible for a youth pass as I was only few weeks away from turning 26. Lucky meee! right right?(Well apart from feeling old and feeble) It’s not a vast difference of amount between an adult price but every penny counts right? It was also my first experience using a double-decker train. Hands down the best trains I had ever rode on. Hopefully will ride better ones in other countries soon 😀

Bern as expected, did not disappoint us one bit. The city has both the mixture of modern and classic vibe. As you step into the classic architectural side of it, you can’t help but think how much you would like to live there! There are many tourist attractions in the area such as rose garden, The Aare river, bears and many more. You can also see people just floating along the river enjoying the sunshine. If you feel tired of walking around, take time to relax and rest near the river submerging your foot into river.

Interlaken

After a day in Bern, the next stop was none other than Interlaken. The city has been a popular destination for tourist all year round. The town lies between two lakes Thunersee and Brienzersee, hence the name Interlaken. Once we reached the town we could immediately feel the difference in vibe. The town is really really beautiful and has lot to offer. The unique designs of houses, flower pots hanging down the windows, Swiss flags waving with the breeze, the blue sky and colourful surroundings just brings out happiness of you. Along with joys, you can’t just help but start snapping photos every step and through every corner of the town.

Well since you are in the town which lies between two lakes, does any activity strike to you? For us we immediately thought of getting the taste of the Thunersee lake by swimming. So we headed off to find a good spot for our swimming session. We came across an artificial beach, which had a very lively atmosphere and people enjoying the sun and water. The water from the lake was definitely refreshing, initially when I jumped in I could feel shivers down the spine but eventually I got used to the temperature. There also was a platform where you could dive from. After seeing few kids  diving in with their acrobatic twists and turn I thought of giving it a shot. But once I reached the platform and gave a glance down, I knew I made a wrong decision. There were many thoughts running through my head. You guys must have seen scenes from various movies or cartoons where a devil and an angel poofs out of thin air and starts giving you various suggestions.

One of them was like ‘Bish, you’re F**CKED! Just get off the platform you P***Y!!!!’ and another one ‘You won’t have many chances to be diving into lake, make most out of it while you are on holiday!!!’. So after contemplating for about 15 minutes I jumped off the platform. Don’t think I’ll ever post the embarrassing video as you guys wouldn’t want to see me screaming haha. After the swimming session we headed to Harder Kulm also known as the ‘Top of Interlaken’. The views from there is just truly breath taking and mesmerising. Would definitely recommend you guys.

Grindelwald

After a day in Interlaken, we headed to another very popular village known as Grindelwald. We were really excited to be making our way there and had high expectations as we had seen various pictures and videos in social media. And well oh well… it didn’t disappoint us one bit! From two cities, to a town and now a village, you may think villages in Switzerland may not have lot of offer but turns out it  has a lot to offer compared to cities.

We checked in our hotel and straight after without any rest we headed to Pfingstegg. It is very famous for its Toboggan ride. The views of alps during the ride is breath taking. Then we headed to Glacier Canyon for a walk. The canyon is pretty chilly but on a bearable level. You wouldn’t need a thick jacket or coat to keep yourself warm if you are there in summer. There also lies a walk able web setup just above a fierce river flowing from the mountains. I felt intimated to walk on the web at the beginning but once you get hang of it, you can’t help but start jumping on it haha.

So for day 2, we decided to head to First. It is known as an starting point for various hiking destination. Upon our arrival, we decided to take a short hike to the lake Bachalp. The lake attracts tourist from many different countries and upon reaching the lake we found out the reason why. The lake and the surroundings has the magnificent post card view. You can witness cow grazing freely, people swimming freely in the lake, campfires being setup with delicious meat awaiting to be cooked and pets running freely enjoying the nature. I was surprised to see various people hiking to the lake just to get glimpse of it carrying their young children in buggy and bringing their pets along too.

If you are seeking of thrilling activities the place has many to offer. The breath taking view into the valley, the view of the mountainside: the rocks with their layers and niches serve the as a take-off and landing place for the alpine. On the way down there are mainly three checkpoints. You could take cable car all the way down or another option would be, glide your way through to the first checkpoint, then get a mountain cart and make your way to third checkout then get a Trottibike all the way down to the valley. The wait time for the gliding was too long so we decided to make our way down with mountain cart and Trottibike. Trust me, it was one of the best experience EVERRRRRRRRRRR… the pathway for mountain cart had a lot of hairpin turn. It was also a dangerous ride, one fatal mistake could lead to a serious injury. It took me time to get used to Trottibike. Personally I am not a proficient and confident biker. I get very nervous when something approaches close while I’m riding a bike. So I tried to ride the bike as safely as I could. The views riding down the hill is something I can never be able to describe.

Once we reached the valley, we had plenty of time left to kill so we decided to hire bicycle and just explore the village. I felt relaxed riding a normal bike in a flat surface than the Trottibike before. Few minutes into riding bike, the rain started pouring down but it didn’t stop us from cycling. After few hours of cycling, having zero level of energy to ride up the road. I decided to just walk and drag the bicycle in rain back to the shop all drenched.

Wengen

After 2 days in Grindelwald, we started our travel to a mountain village which is famous for hosting various skiing competition. But we had other motives than skiing. We made our way to Jungfraujoch also famous for being top of Europe. The train journey while travelling in Swiss has always been amazing and this trip was no exception. You can’t help yourself but just get mesmerised by the beauty of mother nature. As you know asians are literally everywhere, I guess the view point attracts so much of asians that they started to serve various different kinds of noodles. Maybe because we were starving or for various other reason the Shin cup ramen noodle there tasted much better :).

For our 2nd day in Wengen, we decided to head to Schilthorn and yes the very place where various scenes from James bond the movie were shot. As expected the place had information and history behind James bond movies. I think you might have already got tired of how much I have been bragging about beautiful views from each individual places in Swiss but trust me each place radiates with its own unique charm. I am just very awful at describing or lack in vocabulary to describe it sorry 😥 .

Zermatt

As we got off the train, we could feel the difference in temperature and cold wind. Compared to Wengen, Zermatt  as a village felt more modern with lots of cafe, shops and  MACDONALD!!!! As the trip from Wengen took us quite a while we were knackered and also it started pouring down. So we decided to rest and stroll around the village in the evening.

The next day, we had planned to meet a friend of my travel buddy who is a professional photographer based in Seoul. We grabbed a quick breakfast and headed to Gornergart. The place has been proclaimed to be one of the places to be visited at least once during lifetime. Once we reached there you can feel yourself to be among the clouds. If the luck is by your side you can also get a clear view to Matterhorn one of mountain in Swiss alps. The very mountain that you see in the famous Toblerone chocolate cover.

Lucerne

As this was our final destination before heading back to London, we decided to take it easy, chill and stroll around. Personally I found Lucerne to be similar to Zurich. The river divided the city into an old and modern town. The main attraction of this city would be Kapellbrücke. The bridge is unique for being wooden and containing number of interior paintings dating back 17th century. Another interesting sight was the lion monument built on a large cliff.

If you plan to make a trip to Switzerland I would recommend future travellers to carry a reusable water bottle with you as it will save you some spending. You can find water fountains like in every part of the city or villages. Also water from the bathroom are drinkable. If the water is not drinkable they will have notice to warn you. Enjoy the video linked below. Also any feedback would be much appreciated. Cheers! LIVE LONG AND PROSPER.