After dinner at the Brew Pub, we all walked leisurely back
to the Hotel Schweizerhof where the management had set up an outdoor venue for
football watching—Switzerland
was playing Honduras that evening starting at 10 PM. We knew we were to not get
much sleep until the game was over as there were several thousand fans outside
the back wall of the hotel in the parking area between the hotel and the
grocery that occupied the area facing the next street.
We were first treated to the throng singing the Swiss
National Anthem. When I finally shut off the light, the Swiss lead 2 – null at
the end of the first half. I really didn’t look forward to hearing those horns
that are now routine in the world of soccer. As the second half started, the
Swiss went up 3 – null and the noise just got louder. The last I remember was
most likely the noise at the final whistle and miraculously the crowd cleared
out very quickly to probably go to a cheaper venue to celebrate their win.
The next morning we are up at 0630 and have our bags
outside to be picked up and taken to the bus by 0755. We quickly head down for
our last 5-star hotel breakfast and meet Kevin and Becky, Randy (Class of ’74) and
Gail Parker form Sugar Land, and Dave (Class of ’81) and Joyce (Class of ’82)
Rencurrel from Lake Jackson. I experience eggs with sausage and bacon for
breakfast as I remember back to our trip to Russia some years back were we were
gone about two weeks and the first eggs and recognizable breakfast meat I had
was on our Lufthansa flight back to the States.
Out back, we identify our baggage and load the bus for
today’s trek through the Bernese Oberland with its jagged peaks, rolling hills,
the almost subtropical lowlands, the dense forests and the crystal clear lakes.
We stop at the top of one pass and get a photo op at the valley below us
situated next to one of those pure green lakes.
Overview of Swiss Countryside from Bernese Mountain Pass
Our next stop is the resort at Interlaken, literally the
lock between the lakes: Thun and Brienz. We watch the hang gliders take off the
mountain behind the village and soar until the land, mostly in tandem, right in
front of in the park at the village center. What a great little village this is—the flowers along the
main promenade were fantastic.
Joanne & Lee Billingsley with Patsy in park in Interlaken
I was so thirsty that I HAD to duck into the Hooters right
there on the main street and get me a Coke (with ice; you have to be specific
in Europe). Actually, I tried to adopt the waitress that served me, but she
admitted that she had an afternoon shift that she could not possibly miss and
thus I trudged on.
Downtown village park Interlaken
Eventually, we had to depart Interlaken and head on to
Bern. Our first stop in Bern took us to a beautiful rose garden overlooking the
city proper. The flowers here were even better than those we had seen earlier
in the morning.
Rose Garden in Bern - Howard & Patsy
Back on the bus, we make our way to the Old Town section
of Bern (a UNESCO World Heritage site) for lunch in a traditional Bernese restaurant;
the Restaurant Kornhauskeller . Another long lunch, but a good one and well
worth the time we spent there. Patsy and I decided that we would venture off on
our own instead of taking the guided walking tour. Our Granddaughter, Alison,
had asked us to check on Albert Einstein (she had studied him in here 5th
grade science and history classes) and we didn’t want to disappoint her by not
putting forth just the least little bit of effort—so off we went.
With our trusty map—I can get anywhere when I have a map; there’s a lot
that can’t—we
headed back down the main street from the clock tower until we came across #46
Kram-Gerechitgkeits grasse, Einstein’s Haus. Check one off for us.
Einstein Haus
#46
Kram-Gerechitgkeits grasse
After our discovery, we made our way back up to the Kornhauskeller
to meet up with our guide to show us to where our bus was parked. As soon as
everybody checked in, we were on our way to Basel to meet our riverboat.
Arriving in the outskirts of Basel, we encountered our first European traffic
jam. It was rush hour and all those German and French workers working in the metropolis
of Basel were headed home for the evening. Our driver artfully maneuvered us
through the traffic and found our port location where we found our floating
hotel (riverboat) for the next few days—the
Amadeus Elegant.
Amadeus Elegant
One we were aboard and checked into our rooms, we had but
little time before the evening’s activities: welcome briefing, safety
instructions (life vest drill), the Captain’s welcome and our elegant dinner.
Before you can say cast off, we were and headed down the Rhine River—traveling north in this
case.
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