By this point, Dad had been in France for about a week and a half and still hadn’t mastered “merci” or “bonjour.” In fact, each time he said these words, it sounded more like mercy and a shortened Bon Jovi…. So instead of annoyingly correcting him each time, I just let him continue to sound like a complete foreigner and we were on our way. Our trip began in Paris, then the Loire Valley and next stop was Switzerland. After all, this trip was during Dad’s Birthday (aka ability to retire), so something worth celebrating while abroad!
Unlike Dad’s ability to correctly pronounce “Merci,” our journey to Switzerland started off right, with an almonde croissant and a coffee in hand, as we boarded our train.
By the way, if I haven’t already mentioned this, I am going to miss the fresh bread and croissants the most about France! I helped Dad to discover that one has not lived until they’ve had a fresh almond croissant.
After a long day of being on about 6 different trains, we arrived to our destination of Interlaken, Switzerland. We had quite the scenic and dramatic arrival to the small, very picturesque town.
Also, we still found humor after a long day of travel:
From Interlaken, we hopped on another train (about 10 minutes) to our Airbnb located in Oberried. And here was the view as we left the train.
Our Airbnb was a charming typical Swiss style chalet that had views out of this world. And a cool backdrop when jumping on the trampoline.
We spent the rest of our day here relaxing and planning our next couple of days in Switzerland. The next day we went halfway up a nearby mountain, Jungfrau. Jungfrau is the highest point in Europe at 13,642 ft. The weather wasn’t super clear, so it wasn’t worth the expense to travel to the top. Instead, we just made it to the halfway point in Mürren which required us to take 3 different trains and 1 lift to reach. 
The ginormous amounts of snow makes it seem as if it were very cold, but it was actually quite comfortable and there was no wind which was nice. We wondered around the mountain village amazed by the views. We stopped at another small town, Lauterbrunnen, another very scenic mountain village, on our way down the mountain.
After exploring all day, we went back to our airbnb for our final night in Switzerland. We both would agree that we wish we would have stayed one more night! The next day we were headed back towards Geneva to catch a plane to Nice, France.
To head that direction, we took The Golden Line railway line which is infamous for it’s spectacular views of the Swiss Alps between Lucern and Montreux. (Pictures have never been more inadequate).
The Golden Line train stopped in Montreaux, and we had some time to explore a bit. Located right on Lake Geneva, Montreaux is especially known for it’s Jazz Festival every summer, in which Dad actually attended about 43 years ago. We walked along the lake, enjoying the crisp fresh air, sunshine and spectacular views.
Even though our trip to Switzerland was short, we made the most of our time and enjoyed every minute. The views, the mountains and the memories will never be forgotten! I have continued to be so thankful to explore some of this beautiful world with my Dad (even when he can’t pronounce bonjour correctly). Next, I will be wrapping up our journey with our days spent in the French Riviera.
The Aud Blog 