Swiss chalets dot the bank of Aar (or Aare) river in the Swiss town of Interlaken.
It was as if I truly saw for the first time and that I had always been looking through layers of mist when we stepped out of the train that brought us to Interlaken, Switzerland.
Everything was so clear. The Aare river flowing just outside Interlaken West train station was so blue (turquoise actually), the trees were so green and the snow covering the grass here and there was icy white.
We arrived in Interlaken, a popular resort town in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps, in April last year. The winter was longer than usual, and although spring had arrived in many parts of Europe, apparently snow decided to make a brief return in Interlaken — which explains why colorful blooms were buried under the snow, except for some that defiantly sprouted out of the icy mass.
A cluster of blue flowers was hidden under the snow before I removed the icy layers.
The air was so fresh and clean, yet was also icy cold, enough to make us wrap ourselves tightly in layers of clothes although just several hours earlier, we had discarded most of our outer clothing in Milan. We boarded the train from Italy’s fashion capital to Interlaken that day, through the Alpine range in the Swiss-Italian border — the most beautiful scenic train ride I have had so far.
We pulled our luggage out of the railway station, through roads dividing rows of small shops — many near the station sell souvenirs — and then through another road, a bit longer, this time bordering a snow-covered field. Across from the field, a long stretch of buildings — including hotels and church — dotted an arm of the Alps half-covered by mist.
Snow in Interlaken.
We rented the ground floor of Janis Apartment, a nice three-story Swiss chalet of a sort, half an hour walk away from Interlaken West train station. The owner, the friendly Janis, lives in the basement and rents the two upper floors of the house to guests. We paid some 100 euro for a night stay. Since there were three of us, each person paid around 33 euro. Our floor has two bedrooms (one large with a queen-size bed and the other was small with a single bed), a large living room with sofa and a TV box, a nice kitchen (equipped with a kitchen set, a refrigerator and a nice dining table), a bathroom and another room with a washing machine. It really felt dreamy to wake up that morning and saw a snow-covered peak of the Alps through the window as I opened my eyes, still lying in bed. I highly recommend this hostel. We booked our quarters via hostelbookers.com.
Us (plus my aunt’s friend’s family) in front of Janis’ Apartment. (Photo courtesy of Bahri Widjanarko)
Upon dropping our luggage at Janis’, my aunt and I came back to the town center in the afternoon, strolling through small shops, hotels and restaurants, and then along the bank of Aare river from the railway station toward the direction of Lake Thun.
Interlaken is situated between two lakes — from which its name was derived. The Aare river from the Aare Glacier of the Bernese Alps feeds Brienz Lake before flowing through Interlaken into Lake Thun.
Lake Thun, seen from a hilltop in Interlaken (left).
We didn’t walk as far as Lake Thun, though, as it was already late in the afternoon and was getting dark. We instead headed back to the town center, where we dropped by at an Indian restaurant displaying a ‘halal’ label on its window pane (we’re Muslim tourists, fyi). Interlaken appears to host an array of Indian restaurants, way more than any other places in Europe I have visited. It looks like the town is a popular destination with Indian tourists. In fact, during the stroll with my aunt that afternoon, we saw an Indian movie crew shooting a Bollywood movie in the middle of the snowy field, featuring a tall, gorgoeus Indian actress — probably the main character — clad in a white, sleeveless wedding gown and holding a flower bouquet.
We had chicken masala and chicken curry for dinner, which were good — much better than Indian food sold in Indian restaurants in Indonesia.
And then on the way home, we stopped by at a small grocery store, buying some stuff for night snacks — including some Swiss chocolate of course — and for meals the next day.
An Interlaken church.
A friend of my aunt picked her up and they left for Zurich in the morning the next day, bringing our luggage with us. Only my brother and I were left. So, after having our breakfast, we checked out of the cozy apartment (it was really nice! I wish we can come back there one day) and then strolled through another side of the town I hadn’t explored with my aunt the day before, the one in the direction of Lake Brienz.
Snow had all melted away that day, leaving green trees and fields, as well as bright colorful flowers, all bare to the eyes. The turquoise stream of Aare river was as charming, the dark brown Swiss chalets doting the riverbank were very pretty. It was still too cold to sit on one of the benches on the riverbank for too long — to simply enjoy the view and breathe in the fresh air. I imagined how peaceful it would be to bring a good book to read on one of those benches on a summer day, while every now and then refreshing your eyes with the stunning nature all around you.
A nice walk with breathtaking view in Interlaken. That’s me, btw. (Photo courtesy of my brother Bahri)
My brother and I took a cable car to get on top of a hill in Interlaken, from which we could see the whole town, as well as the two lakes and arms of the Alps framing it. We then enjoyed hot Swiss cocoa in a restaurant on the hilltop.
It was very unfortunate that we were only able to stay in Interlaken for less than two days (including the one night hostel stay); that very afternoon already we had to grab a train to Zurich, Switzerland’s financial capital.
I would love very much to visit Interlaken at least one more time. Perhaps a late spring or a summer visit is a good option, because then you’ll be able to enjoy longer hours outdoor without being bothered by cold. Strolling alongside Aare to get to Lake Brienz and or Lake Thun is highly recommended.
Additionally, Interlaken is said to be a good base to explore its even more scenic surroundings — the neighboring valleys and mountains. From Interlaken, you can take a train trip to Jungfraujoch, the Top of Europe, which hosts Europe’s highest railway station at 11,333 feet.
A cable car station on a hilltop of Interlaken, with Lake Brienz on the right.
Footnote:
– Everything in Switzerland, Interlaken included, is considerably more expensive than in any other western European countries. These include prices for mineral water, restaurant food, souvenirs and train tickets.
– If you want to send some postcards home, don’t trust some random shop attendants offering to put the postcards into a mail box for you. I did that in Interlaken because I had to catch a train to Zurich, but none of the three postcards I sent to Indonesia was delivered. Those I sent from Venice and Salzburg did.
Find the mailbox and insert the postcards yourself. Hotel frontdesk officers are probably more trustworthy.
*All photos published here are my own, unless stated otherwise.
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