Interlaken, Switzerland

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What a train journey !

Stunning mountain scenery - had a book to read, but that would have been rude. Snow-capped mountains, deep valleys (it could have been Wales!) and breathtaking turqoise lakes. We changed trains at Spiez, which would have to go down as the most beautiful setting for any train station in the world (even more so than Furze Platt !!)

Picture postcard, Interlaken

Twenty minutes later we arrived in Interlaken (the adventure capital of Switzerland - if you're into paragliding from dizzy heights etc.) We soon found out that the restaurants were totally over-budget (250hk dollars/ 17quid per head for a simple main course - time to hit the supermarket for the rest of our stay and light up the hobs in the hostel kitchen.

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Cycling around the great lakes, having a picnic beside the lake (Iseltwald), going up through small villages in the mountains, coming across waterfalls (Glassbach)and putting the bikes on a ferry and being taken slowly back to our starting point would have to be one of our best memories of the trip. The sun was still shining and still in the 30s - fabulous weather- yes, i got nicely sunburnt!

The hostel had free vouchers for the local swimming pool / sauna which came in very handy (on the one day that we had some cloud cover - one day without clear blue skies and bright sunshine - unheard of (for Europe).

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The big day trip was the three connecting trains we needed to catch to go up to 'the top of Europe' - Jungfraujoch. We had to wait about 20 minutes at each station in order to acclimatise (the air is pretty thin up there). After going past more waterfalls, picture postcard mountain villages and cows with bells on (pull the other one) we went through the long tunnel before reaching our destination.

After we finished some long "Swiss" sausages, with a view of the snow, we had to get outside and "savour" the biting cold, buffeting wind (to justify wearing a cold weather clothes specifically packed for the ordeal). Then to the Ice Palace and outside again for a cup of tea, while watching people trying to get a hole in one - surreal !! Did a bit of downhill on a dustbin lid (sledding); unfortunately, the husky dogs were (ill??) so we couldn't ride with them. Coming back we went through the most picturesque village in the world - Grindelwald (for all those HP fans out there).

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Amazingly, on the last day, we met a family from Fanling, Hong Kong (just 2 minutes up the road from us) staying on the same floor. Small world!

Very peaceful and relaxing place. The streets were bereft of rubbish and graffiti - just fill your lungs up with fresh air.... on to the beer capital - Munich, Germany!