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It was my first weekend in Switzerland and the weather was fantastic. A bright sunny day is what the forecast told me. I bought a 4 day Swiss Travel pass which entitles me to travel anywhere in Switzerland (by train, tram, boat) for 4 days. I need to use it wisely to maximise the benefit. A good friend Jeet recommended Brienz which is a cosy little town located in the Swiss Alps and is not a typical touristy place. I wanted something of this kind. I had been to Switzerland last year and visited most of the touristy places like Pilatus, Titlus, etc but what I enjoyed the most were the less crowded, unknown places like Rapperswil. This time, being alone I was eager to explore the lesser known areas.

I started my journey by a train from Oerlikon(Zurich city) to the beautiful town of Lucerne. I changed trains at Lucerne and the began a beautiful spell binding journey- it was a train ride for 1.5 hours but I did not look at my kindle at all, as I was busy soaking in the natural beauty. The turquoise coloured lake, dense trees with shades of green, yellow golden and red, the mountains and the traditional Swiss houses, see a few glimpse s of these, pics taken from train.

I reached Brienz and one of the biggest attractions is a train ride- an old fashioned cogwheel train that takes you up the mountains. As the train leaves every one hour, I was lucky to jump aboard. An old man with a fluffy dog came and sat in front of me, I am scared to death of dogs but I had no choice as the carriage was full. I ended up patting the cute doggie and he rested his head on my foot. I badly missed my daughter Angel who is madly in love with dogs, I could picture her hugging the dog and smothering it with kisses.

The ride was fantastic with so many beautiful scenes to soak in, it lasts for almost an hour with the train stopping to refill water. We get a glimpse of Mt. Jungfrau the tallest peak, which is 4158m high.

Once we reached the top, I went to explore the mountains, there was a viewing deck and the climb to it was tiring and scary. For one there was no barricade put and peeping down made me feel sick, I had to tread very cautiously. I managed a few good clicks though!

I took the return train at 3.30 pm and the climb down seemed a bit long. I was starving as I had no time to eat. Once we reached the station, I quickly grabbed a chicken burger and hot chocolate.The guy forgot to put chicken in my burger but I was so hungry that I wolfed it down. Burgers are messy and I don’t like eating them but had no choice. He realised and apologised offering me a free drink, but I was content with the chicken Pattie.I bought a little swissie cow toy for my daughter, she was insistent that I must get her a cow, a pig, a camel and lots of lollipops!

I then headed to the lake for a cruise. There was 1.5 hour cruise to Interlaken and I boarded the steamer. This was another wonderful ride, the pictures cannot to justice, in fact nothing can except seeing it and soaking in the beauty. The best part was the boat was not crowded.

After the boat ride, I took the train and returned home- it was a day well spent. I was travelling alone after a very long time but I felt at home. Being able to explore places at my own pace, click pics, have that sense of fulfilment and make the most of this trip.

Being a long and tiring day I decided to take the next day lightly and do some sightseeing in and around the city. Watch out for my next post in this Travel series which covers Switzerland- the lesser known places and experiences as a solo traveller.

I am participating in  The Write Tribe Problogger October 2017 Blogging Challenge.