Paris to Interlaken
Trip Start
May 15, 2009
1
24
34
Trip End
Jun 06, 2009
Interlaken, Swiss Alps, Switzerland
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Yesterday morning (actually Thursday, since it's now Saturday when I'm finishing writing this and posting it), we woke up (bright and early- just before 5am) in our apartment in Paris for the last time. We had a train to catch at 6:24am in one of the train stations halfway across the city, to which we would have to take metro. So, we quickly finished packing, locked up the keys where we were told, and went to the metro station. Well, it was a longer walk to the train than we thought, and we arrived at the platform right on time to see the train pulling out, 6:25am. We were so mad at ourselves and disappointed that we missed the train, as well as almost clueless as to how we were going to get to Lucerne, Switzerland, our next destination. We didn't know when there would be another train, or if we would have to rent a car. Luckily, there was another train at 10:24am which would get us to Lucerne later in the day. We wouldn't have as much time there as we had wanted, but we decided it would be okay. Plus, two of our original tickets were exchangeable, so it wasn't as bad as we thought.
So, we sat around the train station for the next three hours (after we decided what to do). Kathryne and Alecia decided to take naps, and Mom was dozing off too, so I was in charge of the luggage. (That happens a lot since I don't need as much sleep and therefore don't take naps.) We also got some coffee and breakfast, and later, grabbed lunch to talk along. Once we were on the train I typed up an entry about our Monday in Paris and Mom wrote in her journal while Alecia and Kathryne again slept. We had to change trains in Basel, Switzerland, and since we had just arrived, we had to get our passports checked (All the other countries we have been in are part of the European Union, where people can travel freely. Switzerland, though, as a neutral country, will not join the EU because they feel it would betray their neutrality). Mom wanted to buy a bottle of pop, but Switzerland uses francs as currency, not Euros, so she had to find an ATM before she could buy it. She ended up getting the francs but not having time to get the pop before we left, so she had to wait until we got to Lucerne.
When we got to Lucerne, Mom used the francs to buy a bottle of pop and to get change for lockers so we wouldn't have to drag our suitcases with us through town. Then we went downstairs to information so we could look into getting our tickets for the rest of our time in Switzerland. We also asked where we could find a fondue restaurant, because Swiss cheese fondue is supposed to be fantastic. We walked around the train station for a few minutes and Kathryne bought a pair of shoes and a few sweaters that were on sale, and then went to find the recommended restaurant. When we got there, we decided to order cheese, some meat, and of course, chocolate fondue. All three courses were delicious- the cheese, while completely different than Mom's (which I love) was amazing. Then we went back to the train station, where Mom bought a pre-made carton of Swiss cheese fondue to take home so Dad, Jennifer, and Ryan can try it. If it turns out only half as good as that which we had in the restaurant, it'll still be delicious! Then we got on another train, this time heading to Interlaken, where we stayed the night in a hostel.
