It goes without saying Switzerland is the most attractive country for tourists across the world for its enchanting beauty. Geographically, sitting on the European alps; snow-capped mountains could be seen from a distance throughout the year. Its forest view of tall pine trees, blue turquoise lakes and clear crystal rivers that magically cascade downhill, captivating minds and hearts.
Greeting and welcoming us with rather a mechanical smile, the heavy makeup looks, tall and lanky air hostess of Emirates Airlines in iconic beige jacket and skirt with a red doughnut hat and a white headscarf simultaneously saying and pointing at the right aisle after seeing our bordering passes. Walking on the right narrow aisle we reached at the allocated seats. Before boarding the plane, about 11.30 pm, we patiently queued with other passengers to approach the counters to check in and to drop our luggage. While we saw many passengers from various nationalities and races with big and bulky bags on their baggage carts, the check in process was somewhat efficient. One of the things that we have learned from travelling is it cultivates patience and tolerate little discomfort in our life. After all, many things of what we wanted, there are always other people who are looking for the same things. We are not alone, unless we are so special or so rich where we can choose for premium and pay handsomely for what we wanted. The ground staff, the young Malay woman who issued our boarding passes told us the right gate and boarding time and circled both information with a pen. She also said "your luggage, will be collected at the Zurich Airport". Since we checked in early, we had a plenty of time to kill; a light meal and drinks at the café at the KLIA Anjung was one of the options. About 3 am, the plane, Boeing 777 took off, bound to Dubai. We could not see anything outside the windows because of the pitch black sky, but what we knew was the plane was soaring higher and higher, punctuating with a little shaking and vibrating when it passed layers of clouds. Onboard, the meals were served twice during the 6 and half-hours’ journey. Before and between delicious meals, passengers chose and watched on screens of their favourites programmes and channels and slept when they had enough. If you like documentary, a few you could choose. One of them was about the story of the unique sounds of animals by the well- known British broadcaster and naturalist- Sir David Attenborough. It was an interesting documentary. We did not know when we fall asleep, we were awakening by the sound of the announcement of the preparation to touch down and the stewards and stewardess busied on the inspection for the landing, including earphones collection as well as to ensure all windows open. Through the windows we saw the morning was nearly broken on the cloudless Arabian sky where orange rays of lights gradually penetrated the dark grey sky. The dawn scenery of the sky from the plane was indeed breathtaking and amazing. Looking downward we were mesmerised by the beautiful views of desert landscapes; barren, rolling land composed of compound slopes magically bathed by the rays of the morning sun, the sun itself was still hidden on the eastern horizon. We really enjoyed what enfolded before our eyes. Soon enough the plane safely touched down at the Dubai Airport around half past five.
The shuttle bus, waiting for the passengers on the tarmac and really soon brought us to the terminal. We saw many airplanes with their attractive logos, colours, shapes and sizes and flags that showed their nationalities but of course the preponderance of Emirates planes was obvious, after we were at UAE. After about 20 minutes ride, we arrived at the terminal and as for transit passengers we bypassed the immigration, and after hand luggage inspection we rushed to the prayer room in the main terminal. With all hand luggage; no big bags, we could move with ease. The Dubai International Airport is the second-busiest airport in the world, passengers from all nationalities, young and old, male and female with varieties of clothes; modern and traditional were there. We saw Indians women wore colourful saree, Pakistani men wore kurta and salwar kameez, full black beard Arabic young men looked very handsome with white abaya. Riding on the escalator, a group of tall and well-built African guys with their unique headgears and traditional clothes were no less attractive. Here, in the airport is a shopping heaven, you can find luxury items, including jewelry and watches also branded perfumes, you can shop until you drop! if you have a lot of money! but for us it would burn holes in our pockets. Looking at the overhead screen we walked hurriedly to the right gate. If you say going to international terminal at KLIA is far because you need to ride Euro Train, here the travelling is threefold than that. First we rode the train then took the elevator down; the largest elevator we came across, much like a big room and could easily accommodate more than 30 people and then between running and walking about two kilometres we reached the allocated gate. The free duty shops and others with glittering items on the displays along the walking path looked so tempting but we ignored them all. If we had time we would be happy to enjoy cappuccino, browse and window shopping. When we bought the airline’ tickets were thought a 3-hour layover was enough, but we arrived at the gate in the nick of time.
Smiles never left the faces of the tall and lanky hostesses of A380 Emirates flight. As amongst the earliest passengers who were getting on board, we got the privilege to see what inside this iconic plane; the largest passenger plane that can carry between 500 to 800 passengers according to how an airline arranges and designs to suit its needs. Simply speaking, the interior of this double decker airplane is second to none. We sat near the stair, those paid for first and business class passengers sat on the upper deck. But during the whole flight we didn't see any passengers and flight attendants use the stair. They actually went onboard the plane through a different gate and all services including foods which were different from economy passengers were served there. The Post Covid 19 pandemic has witnessed thing unimaginable on our minds before; airline ticket now is exorbitantly high; price for economic seat now is equivalent for business class seat prior to the said pandemic. But people still fly, going places for various reasons. Many actually have to walk on the tightrope, if they not willing to pay extra they will not fly. We don't know what future hold in store. But we yet out of the wood, what happen if it comes again and border close as its consequence. As with the first flight, this flight took another six hours to reach Zurich. Eating hearty foods what we were looking forward to; while the menu of foods served somewhat different from our foods in Malaysia, we loved to try, after all this was part of the journey; breaking away from the mundane and monotonous. Flying with this iconic plane gave a new and indelible experience, especially when we shared the moment of the travel with beloved family members, indeed. We arrived at the Zurich Airport, the largest international airport of Switzerland in the afternoon. The said airport is relatively older and smaller compare with our KLIA and KLIA2. It came as no surprise to us as it was built in the late 1940s. Passing a passenger boarding bridge to the airport terminal, taking the down stairway escalator, lastly arriving at immigration’s counter. The officer asked our purpose of the visit and then stamped our passports. Our first visit to Switzerland, its nickname as “Land of milk and Honey” was greeted with greenery of its landscape – green fields and green leafed pine trees. But one unanticipated thing we experienced at the airport was a very long wait for our luggage. A lesson that we learned here, not necessary an airport service in developed country like Switzerland is perfect, an hour waiting for luggage on the carousel would be unacceptable by passengers.
"Our hotel are here, this is Interlaken West, you can take a bus to Interlaken Ost and cross the river to take a train at Hardebahn to the top of the hill and here is the Old Town". Said the blonde hair, tall and lanky young Swiss woman, the front desk staff of the hotel and at once her left hand which exposed a sparkling diamond ring on her finger drew a line and circled the said places with a dark colour marker on the map of Interlaken. She added "you entitled for free bus rides within the period of your stay". Smiling and handing over the bus passes which she filled out all the particulars. Our faces beamed with delight, after all, train ticket here is not cheap because of the currency exchange – one Swiss Franc to RM5.20. Interlaken was an ideal place for us to stay in our sojourn because it situated in the middle of touristy places that we planned to visit. If you look at a local map of this area you will see Interlaken which sprawling in the valley is divided by Aare river. The town where the train station and the bus station is located is in the west bank of the river. Souvenir shops, cafe, restaurants and hotels are on the left and right of the long main straight street between Interlaken West and Interlaken Ost. At the Hohe Promenade is a green field and above, behind the line of tree trees you see alps and blue sky in the background. A very beautiful landscape that enchanted your eyes. We couldn't wait to explore Interlaken and interesting places at the vicinity as well as to experience the wonders, but we needed to recover and recharge after a long journey. On our minds, we couldn’t help for the adventure and exploration.
The crystal blue water of the Blausee lake was outstandingly breathtaking, where the combination of images of the blue sky dotted with white clouds, tall pine trees, buildings and white limestone mountains surrounding it, reflecting on the surface on the water. It was like a big mirror. We were the early birds; when we arrived about 9 am, the entrance of this Blausee Nature park was yet opened. Paying the entrance fees through the ticket vending machine, we walked briskly uphill and could hardly breathe due to high latitude in the cool fresh air of the foggy tall dense pine trees dotted with big limestone jutting up from the ground looked like in European fairy tale story. When we arrived at this iconic lake, the smell of fresh coffee from a small cafe strongly wafted on the air. This iconic lake is famous for its special colours and crystal clear water where it is a source of water supply which comes naturally from the underground spring. Apart from international tourists from across the globe flock here as it is a must visit in their lists, as for locals this place is famous for wedding event and photo shoot for newly married couples. Vouching happily ever after of marriage witnessed by the magical lake. And for many visitors like us it would be memorable experience. This lake with its unique colours produces absolutely outstanding photos due to its environment. It is surrounded by mountains and flanked by pine trees and above it is an opened sky where its colours and artwork of nature perfectly mirror on the surface of the lake. You can also see logs and stones where fish as big as your shoulder happily swim at the bottom of the lake because of its crystal clear water.
Surely, the most valuable asset for a traveller is his or her memories; indelible and never can be erased. Of course with the advance of internet one can watch beautiful views from photos without leaving homes, but other things come together with them and what eyes can see surely void of sound, taste, touch and smell of the real time event. Our eyes glued to the tranquil turquoise crystal clear water of the Blausee lake. We had an affection for its serenity and beauty. Sitting there at the edge of water, immobile, looking at the lake, the heaven earth wonderland in front of our eyes. On this particular section of the lake which was surrounded by greenery, its green image of threes mirrored on the surface of water. Coming halfway across the globe, this magical moment should not be missed. Perhaps, the first and the last for us. When we go home, we would bring this happy memory and calmness of mind with us. We will remember the lake, the skyscape with white clouds and endless blue sky, the mountains and the greenery landscape. As well as people who paid the visit.
Boating in lake was an icing on the cake of our visit at Blausee. The boat man signaled us when he was ready for a short boat tour around the lake. We were the first passengers, together with us were two young couples, one from Asia and another one from Europe. Presumably, they came here for honeymoon. Looking at the middle aged boatman with his white sailor cap reminded us to the famous cartoon character "Popeye the Sailor Man", favourite cartoon in the 1980s on TV where during the troubles he gained power when we glutted a can of spinach inside his mouth and ate it. With the two wooden peddles on his hands, he steadily rowed the boat in a reverse position, carrying us here and there around the lake. Simultaneously, he told us about the lake; source of its underground eternal water, its water level, temperature, fish and also mountain and pine trees around it. When he paddled us under the shade of trees near a beautiful wooden bridge he said "you got natural air conditioning here, even if in hot summer here still cold”. At the base of the boat was a glass where we could see through what on the bottom the lake. He punctuated his information and story with jokes, we chucked when we heard them. How many times he shared his funny stories with visitors? Of course we didn't know. We were thankful to him for a memorable boat ride and he flashed his most winning smile. Goodbye mate! wishing you all the best. Given the paucity of time, we unable to do so, we needed to catch a bus to the railway station to visit another place for a new adventure. Our hearts told us not to leave this magical lake, but contended with what we experienced we had to go. If we had time, we would stay a little bit longer.
One of the best scenes of Southern Korean Drama "Crash Landing on You" was in the Southern Shore of Lake Brienz. It has made this peaceful fisherman village an instant hit. Particularly, the small wooden jetty by the lake. As for Korean drama fans when travelling here they will not miss the opportunity to snap their photos on this very jetty against the background of blue turquoise water, mountains and blue sky, transporting them back to the scene of their favourite drama. Reminding the main actor, who was playing a piano and then the actress, coming, standing on the white boat, gliding nearer and nearer to the jetty. As for fans throughout the world, this very place and the very jetty means dearly to them. During our visit we found people from various nationalities, colours and creeds, male and female, young and old patiently queued, waiting for their turns to snap memorable photos. A young Indian couple, wearing jeans and t-shirts posing for photos of both alone and in pair; sitting, standing, smiling, facing backward. And then left. A young Malaysian couple from Selangor with two young kids wouldn't want to miss the opportunity. Asking those on the next in the queue to take photos for their memories. The husband whispered us"layan sajalah"- just to follow his wife craved. In the internet era, people share their pictures and moments with friends on various online platforms. After some time, the dark clouds hovered above our head and brought light drizzle, but nobody left, waiting patiently for memorable moments. After our turn done we strolled around the fisherman village of Iseltwald which is known as the pearl of Switzerland. For many it is one of the most beautiful Swiss villages; blending together all the attractive features and characters that please the eyes. On our right we passed through a row of A- shape roof design of traditional Swiss houses, widely referred to as Swiss chalets, made of unpainted pine woods with blossom red flowers inside the wooden vases or pots overhanging on the balconies and windows. A red and white Swiss flag on the lamp post was flapping in the air, gesturing its welcome to visitors. On our left was the Blue turquoise lake and in a distance a dove- white mountain range soared into the endless blue sky. At a closer distance, the white Seeburg villa stood like a small castle. In the foreground, a lonely little grey duck with curious eyes was swimming near the pier where a few boats anchored, she looked tame but always kept a distance from us, for her own safety! Apple trees laden with fruits where some were on the low hanging branches, looking tempting enough, we thought of plucking one or two but changed our thoughts when the owner was nowhere to be seen. Some spoiled fruits were laying on the grassy ground, under the trees. Looking at those lying apple reminding us of the English idiom, “Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”, telling ourselves that children inherit the same traits and characteristics as their parents. While it was a short time walk by the lake and around the fishing village, we enjoyed exploring things around and within this beautiful and peaceful place. But one thing was lagging, no local people around, nobody there, we could not talk except with other tourists. Travelling here merely seeing the beauty of the place, interaction with local would make our visit more memorable but we unable to do so. In terms of friendliness we and other Asia’s countries are second to none.
As a landlocked country, Switzerland together with twenty other European countries like Ukraine, Hungry and Georgia to name but a few do not have territory connected to an ocean. Surprisingly, when we arrived here we found it has many lakes fringed with snow-capped alps which in many ways similar with oceans in other countries. Lakes offered outstanding and mesmerised views through big glass windows on our train ride from Zurich to Interlaken West, where Lake Brienz is a popular tourist destination. With its area about 30 square kilometres it looks like an ocean itself. However, as for Switzerland as far as its size is concerned it is nothing compared to other lakes. The widest lake here is Lake Geneva, about 600 square kilometres, followed by Lake Constance, roughly 550 square km. Judging from numbers of lakes and their sizes, having no ocean won't deprive of its beauty of this land of milk and honey. Perhaps, it is not exaggerating to say with ocean views of its lake where ships beautifully glided on its surface of water and some moored at the jetties behind white cottages, we had the most enjoyable train ride we ever have. The beauty of the extraordinary landscape along the ride was captivated and impressive, the train ride seemed not enough to satiate us when we arrived at our destination. Flocks of passengers including us descended from the train and left the Interlaken West station. But on our minds still lingered of the magical landscape, what a marvelous country and its beauty!
Variety of shops line the main road between Interlaken West and Interlaken Ost. You could feel a palpable atmosphere here; teeming with tourists from across the globe. It is about 1 kilometre between the said places. We decided to take a stroll after a late afternoon meal of nan bread at the Kashmir restaurant. The overhanging traditional clothes of Switzerland for kids on the wooden stairs at the doorway at one of souviner shops looked so tempting. In particular, a red and white dress for a little girl. Looking at the dress transported our memories to the popular TV programme long time ago, the story of Heidi, a little girl who spent a wonderful time with her grandparents in the mountains in Switzerland. She enjoyed her freedom and mesmerised by beautiful mountainous landscape but her life became miserable when she moved to the city. Longing to go back to where she was belonged always in her mind and heart. A juxtaposition of fresh air and freedom in the alps and absence of hassle and bustle of city life where no space to roam freely made her sick. She reminisced her happy time and lounging, yearning for that. The sound of bell ringing when the door of the souvenir shop opened broke our reverie. Plenty of souvenirs inside the shop; fridge magnets, vintage Swiss cowbell, chocolates, watches and many others. The most omnipresent was Swiss army knives. You can find various sizes and prices, red is the popular colour. Souvenirs here are not cheap and for us from Malaysia the cheapest items; price of each fridge magnet and keychain equivalent to RM50. As for tourists from European countries and deep pockets tourists from oil rich countries in the middle east they didn't mind to shop, as for us it was just window shopping.
