Day 32: Interlaken, Lucerne, and Bern

Miles logged: 19,002
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It's day 32 and officially the half-way mark...time is flying!

I'm a little sad that the trip is already half way over. While I certainly miss my friends and family, I'm having such an amazing time. This trip has been incredible so far; it's most certainly proving to be the trip of a lifetime.

I bought a new camera and then left Interlaken yesterday at noon. I wasn't terribly sorry to say goodbye, particularly to my hostel. Interlaken is clearly a party town, with an emphasis on outdoor adventures: paragliding, bungee jumping, "canyoning", and skydiving. These high risk outings in turn attract a young, thrill-seeking contingent, whose reckless behavior also spills over into the local bars. Granted, if I survived jumping off a cliff in the Alps, I'd probably want a few extra drinks at the bar that evening. But given my recent adventures, I was feeling rather inclined to keep both feet on the ground. And further, if I were going to end up at a Swiss hospital, I would want someone around to keep me company. So Interlaken was an amusing place to hang out, after two nights I was feeling ready to leave my roaring hostel with an average age of twenty.

I found the Alps beautiful, although probably better suited for a longer trip with two or more people. I would have liked to have done more hiking or exploring, but this would have required better preparation and would also be more fun (and safer) with at least two people. Regardless, I had a nice couple of days. 

My next stop was Bern, the Swiss capital, and I decided to take the long way so I could ride the scenic Golden Panoramic Express train to Lucerne, and then take a short train ride to Bern. The train ride was a beautiful 2.5 hours through the valleys and alongside the lakes of the Alps. Rather than immediately change trains in Lucerne, I decided to throw my duffle-bag in a locker and see the city. Lucerne reminded me much of Zurich, although even prettier. Similar to Zurich, the city doesn't have any extremely notable landmarks, so its main attraction is its beautiful lake. After about three hours of walking around the city, I grabbed a train towards Bern.

Pictures from the train ride:

Lucerne:

Bern is also beautiful, and reminds me of a cross between Bruges and Zurich. Unfortunately, however, many of the city's prettiest landmarks are currently surrounded by scaffolding. Also, the city mostly turns dead silent after 8pm, so I found myself back in the hostel at 8.30pm wondering what I should do for the rest of the night. I killed some time reading before heading to bed, vowing to find a little more excitement for the following day.

Bern:

Here's to hoping the second half of this trip is anywhere near as much fun as the first!