13 July,2010 11:29 AM IST | | Avantika Patil
"There's no greater sense of freedom than the one you get from flying high up in the sky," says Bhagyashree describing her recent sky gliding and diving experience in Switzerland. She recounts the trip to CS:
When it rained...
We were in Switzerland this May. Lucerne was quite cool, but not freezing. The weather in Europe is unpredictable where rain is concerned. Unfortunately, it rained a bit on the day we were visiting Mt Titlis, so it was nice and cold. But the beautiful scenery and friendly people added to the warmth.
Pristine beauty
Like in the movies, the Swiss landscape is filled green meadows flanked by snow capped mountains. Spotting swans on Lake Lucerne and Reuss River was a delightful sight. Lucerne has the world's oldest wooden bridge. One can see the waterbed from it as the water is very clear. We also visited Interlaken.
The town resembles a small village in the hills, a single road going through a whole town that has a population of only 5000 people.
Interlaken is also famous for sky gliding, sky diving, bungee jumping and we did it all. We went to chocolates stores and saw chocolates in different shapes, sizes and flavours. Every time I saw the svelte ladies at the counter, I wondered how they managed to resist the sweetu00a0 temptations day after day.
There's a boardwalk on one side of Lake Lucerne lined with bars and restaurants serving the best Swiss fondue. We enjoyed an unusual mix of cream cheese chardonnay soup served in a bowl that helped it stay hot till the last drop.
Taste of India
The people were extremely friendly and helpful. We stayed at Hotel Ameron Flora, which was centrally located. A train ride, a short bus ride and then a cable car to the top of Mt Titlis completed the entire tour of Lucerne. Surprisingly, they served samosas and masala tea on the cable car ride. The ice cave on the mountain has a jukebox that plays Saare Jahan Se Achha and they even have a poster of DDLJ. I felt so at-home!