Swiss paradise
SNOW- COVERED MOUNTAINS, BLACK FORESTS AND ACRES OF GREEN MEADOWS MAKE SWITZERLAND A COLOURFUL AND COMPELLING EXPERIENCE
I remember flipping through the pages of my geography textbook and being constantly beckoned by a certain part of the globe — Europe. My dream recently came true when I set out on a hurricane tour of Holland-Germany-Switzerland.
A TASTE OF BLACK FOREST
The first sight to greet us as we entered Switzerland by road was the Black Forest. The conifers were so dense that they barely allowed any sunlight to penetrate their thick blanket and appeared to be black from only a few yards away. That’s probably how the place got its name. It is however, surrounded by vast expanses of greenery on both sides and has a river flowing next to it. The sight fills you with bliss and is almost therapeutic. Little wonder then that this place is recommended as a health resort worldwide.
Apart from the sight of the forests, one of the biggest draws of the place is the Cuckoo Clock. We paid a visit to the cuckoo factory and tasted the lip-smacking black forest cake. It felt a little bitter on the palate, but that I guess is because my taste buds were naturally biased towards the Indian version of this delicacy. Coming back to the cuckoo clock, it is traditionally manufactured in the Black Forest and marks every hour with a cuckoo bird popping out of a small door. I was instantly reminded of the nursery rhyme, Hickory Dickory Dock for a while.
Swan lake
The following day was reserved for sightseeing as we headed towards the banks of river Reuss early in the morning. A bevy of majestic white swans was seen gracefully swimming over the wavy water surface. To me, it looked like a beautifully synchronised water ballet. The scene was directly out of Swan Lake dance drama. The floating, flapping and bathing beauties later allowed the wide-eyed tourists to feed them.
Over the rippling cool river stands Kapellbrücke, a giant wooden bridge decorated with an array of triangular paintings dating back to as early as the 17th century. Adjacent to the flowing river stream lies the famous luxury watch brand Rolex’s office and is a major tourist attraction too.
Lion in stone
Next we went straight to The Dying Lion Monument. It is a huge dying lion engraved out of sandstone rock above a serene pond. It was designed in memory of the soldiers from central Switzerland who lost their lives during the French Revolution. The guide told us that eminent American author Mark Twain had once praised the sculpture as the “most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.”
From there, our next stop was the Rhine Falls. It is the largest plain waterfall of Europe. The shower was crystal clear as a mirror. We rented a boat to get as close as possible to the cascading waterfall.
Mountainous joys
The last day of our holiday was earmarked for the ultimate tourists’ delight — the Elysian Swiss Alps, mount Jungfrau and mount Titlis. Our tour manager had thankfully collaborated with the Glacier 3000 company in advance because of which I could experience the first snow- fall of my life and what a white powdery, flaky snow that was! It looked like ice-cream mounds from a distance. There were several cable cars and ski-lifts too operating in that region. Surprisingly, we were welcomed with a satisfying Indian lunch arranged at that high altitude before heading for the snow truck.
All in all, Switzerland lived up to the image of the fascinating fairy tales. It was indeed a trip worth experiencing.