Siwtzerland - Snow Capped Mountains, Fairytale Villages and a Lake Cruise

 After thinking a lot about the summits that we wanted to visit, we settled on Mount Schilthorn instead of the much advertised Jungfrau. We wanted more of the magical green meadows, quaint wooden chalets and the silence of the valleys broken only by the clanging of cattle bells, rather than travelling through tunnels to simply reach a mountain summit.

We took a train from Interlaken to Lautebrunnen. The little village caught our fancy as soon as we stepped out, with its huge landscapes of typical swiss meadows, towering mountains, small clean roads lined with chalets and crystal clear water bodies crisscrossing here and there.

We stopped by a cafe to have some pastry and hot chocolate and the little one found a cat to watch gleefully :)

A bus took us to the boarding point for the cable care hike up to the summit of Mount Schilthorn. Views from the cable car were breathtaking to say the least! I will never forget the childlike 'oooohhh' that everyone chorused, every time the cable car crossed a tethering pole (or whatever that is called!). It was a nice shared moment among all the unknown people snaking up the mountain, suspended on a rope :)

Panoramic view from the cable car

The summit of Mount Schilthorn was a pretty picture of snow capped mountains. It was a clear day and the views were spectacular. Kid looked out of a window and told me 'Amma, Inga yaro snow kottika' (Amma, someone has spilt snow here ) :)

After taking in the mountain views, we had some hot, tasty soup and the kid had his share of cake. He and I then settled for his cat nap while the husband went and explored all around for a second time. Post the nap and the picture clicking sessions, we began our cable car descent. 

Instead of going all the way down by cable car, we stepped out into a fairyland village called Murren which had views of all the mountain ranges around. We simply walked through Murren, enjoying both the spectacular mountain views and the small winding roads dotted with flower decorated chalets. 

The picturesque village of Murren 

We then took a toy train down the rest of the distance, thanks to the swiss pass which lets you freely hop off and on every mode of transport!

A train took us back to Interlaken and we ended the day with a dreamlike cruise on Lake Brienz.