The road trip to Switzerland

The trip is over and I am back! Seven days is a long time to be away, but everything went as planned. Landed in Finland couple of hours ago, and right now too exhausted to be verbose.

Tour of Switzerland was a fabulous, and considering that fact that I had decided to visit Switzerland only once in my life, it was worth it. . The highway system of mainland Europe is seamlessly integrated between countries. There is the famed ‘Auto-Bahn’ of Germany on which there is no speed limit, and the highways of Switzerland winding across breathtaking views, with so much information that one will never get lost. Swiss highways are criss crossed with tunnels many of them longer than 1 km. I covered almost all of Switzerland, entering it through Basel, sight seeing at its capital Bern. Also went to the French speaking city of Lausanne in west, and ‘Interlaken’ in the folds of Alps. One whole day was spent traveling by mountain train to reach the highest peaks of Europe, and hiking in Snow. At around 4000metre, breathing was difficult and winds were blowing snow from the ice capped peaks, onto the face. Swiss landscapes are filled with verdant sloping hills, cattles grazing on it and the colorful houses. Infact everything in Switzerland is colorful, starting from its currency (CHF), its flag, its highway and the typical houses. Even the name plates of its Police station were colorful.

Two things to take note here. First, I found Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai, all over Switzerland, smiling from thousand of bill boards. She, I got to know, is brand ambassador of Longines. Secondly, there were so many Indian tourists in Interlaken that it seemed to be a colony of India. I had not seen even a tiny proportion of the number of Indian tourist, at other tourist places in Europe or even in other cities of Switzerland.

I also traveled to Luzern in the eastern Switzerland, and from there took the inter-regional train to Zurich. I had always wanted to visit Zurich and it was worth it. The Bahnhof strasse, the most famous commercial center in world lived to its reputation. I was awed by the Rolex watches in display at Bucherer, the Beyer museum, expensive jewelery, fashion displays and the famous names in financial world.All in one street in the third most costliest city of world. Juxtaposed was the old town of Zurich on the bank of river Limmat.

I didn’t always travel on the highways, but also took the state expressways to see the country side and villages of Switzerland. I stopped in the villages, met the people there in the neighborhood cafés, where everyone knew the other, saw the tractors full of hay coming out from barns and cattle grazing in the field.

All these days weather didn’t disappoint me. It was bright and sunny and on one night it rained and made the landscape refreshing and greener. There are so many things to write, I might do detailed post of each day I spent there.

Finally when I reached Germany again, the weather was lousy, it was drizzling for the whole day. I did see around Germany for one day, and found everthing there to be so cheap than in Finland.

After seven days, I started missing my apartment, Finland and everything else here. I had no clue of what’s happening in world, India or in my home. I did get phone calls, and on one occasion, while I was seeing the beauty of Astronomical clock in Bern, one of my bosses called me and it became a half hour discussion.

So I am happy to be back in Finland and in my apartment. Though things are bit intimidating now, so many emails to be read and replied and so many things to catch up with. I have not even downloaded the pictures from the camera. Tomorrow’s work day is going to be hectic one.