Christmas in Switzerland

After the first part of our Christmas vacation in Austria, we caught the train from Salzburg to Zurich on Christmas Day.  There was some spectacular mountain scenes during the 6 hour journey, and the train was comfortable so the time was very relaxing. Pretty much everything was closed when we arrived at 6pm, but we did find one corner store open near the train station where we bought some groceries for a Christmas dinner.

The next day was wet and grey, so we sought the indoor surroundings of the Zurich Art Gallery (Zurich Kunsthaus).  There was an Edvard Munch display on, where we saw all of his well known works such as The Scream and Madonna.  We then headed out into the drizzle to look through the streets of the old town and visit the Fraumunster and Grossmunster cathedrals.  In the evening we went on a walking tour where we learned a bit about the city and saw some of the sights including Lindenhoftplatz which had a nice view over the river, and even found some Roman ruins beneath the foundations of the city.

The weather on the next morning made up for the grey skies on the previous day.  We started with a quick visit to the rather disappointing Im Viadukt market hall, before heading out to Lake Zurich. We just missed the ferry so we went for a walk instead, and it was really nice to be out in the sun. At one point there was a guy making some pretty impressive status by balancing rocks on each other.  We then caught the bus back into the city and wandered along the main shopping streets in the old town, soaking in the atmosphere.

We had an early start the next morning as we caught the train from Zurich to Interlaken, a small town amongst the Swiss Alps.  The sunny weather was quickly removing the recent snow from the roads and parks in town, but when we caught the train out to Grindewald there was plenty of snow.  We explored this little ski village and stopped for a coffee before catching the train back.  The ribs and wings in the local pub was a delicious way to finish the day.

We thought the train ride to Grindewald was nice, but it was nothing compared to the mountain train that we took up to Jongfraujoch the next day.  At almost 3,500m, it is the highest railway in Europe and one of the highest in the world.  There was a decent visitor centre at the top with information about the area, some ice tunnels and ice sculptures and outdoor viewing areas which led out into the -17 degree celsius temperatures.  There would normally be more outdoor snow activities available but due to the risk of avalanche from heavy recent snow it was all closed. Nonetheless it was a magical place to visit with beautiful views of the mountains from above the cloud level.

On the train ride back down to Interlaken, we stopped off at a few other little ski villages to soak up the winter atmosphere.

The train was our starting point again the next day as we headed for Geneva.  Despite the many hours we had already spent travelling by rail through the alps, the 3 hour trip was by no means boring.  In Geneva, we wandered around the lake and through the winding streets of the old town, including a visit to the St Pierre cathedral. As we walked towards the Reformation Wall, which commemorates the individuals involved in the protestant reformation, we came across an official ceremony.  The marching band, uniformed soldiers and politicians were there to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Restoration of the Republic of Geneva, when Napoleon's French troops left the city in 1813.

Water fountain on Lake Geneva

For my birthday we went to a really nice French steakhouse called Les Relais de l' Entrecote.  It was an interesting experience- we knew it opened at 7 but we got there about 15 minutes early to find people already starting to line up.  By opening time, there was at least 20 or 30 people in the line behind us.  There was no menu because the only meal they serve is steak with salad and fries.  The simple decision for the main is complimented by a large choice of desserts, and I had a creme brulee to go with the delicious steak.

Our last day in Geneva was spent walking around the lake and relaxing in a nice cafe, before heading to the airport for the flight back to Amsterdam where New Year's celebrations were waiting for us.