Several months ago, when planning our route and our accommodations I decided to add a rest day into the middle of this week. I looked at various options to go up to Interlaken as part of a professional tour, so that we could at least spend part of a day in the Swiss Alps (since it’s too mountainous for us to ride our bike there). They all seemed quite pricey and most were not refundable. So I decided to build the day into the schedule without planning our activities in advance.

It rained throughout the night. We woke up to comfortable temperatures (since we were in a house) and a whole lotta gratitude that we were not in a tent. Our Airbnb host brought us breakfast at 8:30, and by about 10 AM we were at the train station on foot catching a train to Interlaken via Bern.

One thing we’ve noticed about Switzerland is it is at least twice as expensive as France, probably more. Our 2nd class train tickets to Bern and Interlaken and back were $200 (total for both of us). The trip took about 1.5 hours due to the many stops. (It was 55 miles each way.) The train was comfortable and smooth. It is a good way to move around the country, ignoring the cost.  Had I done a better job planning in advance, I could’ve purchased discount tickets that maybe could’ve knocked off almost half the cost. 

We arrived to the beautiful town of Interlaken, with its breathtaking view, in a rainstorm with cloudy skies obscuring the mountains. We walked around a bit, admiring the town itself, and saw a small hole of blue in the sky. Unfortunately it didn’t open up. By the time we were leaving we could see para-gliders under the clouds, but the clouds remained low enough to block the view of the mountains. After a few hours we felt adequately cold and went to head “home.” We don’t regret trying, even though it didn’t work out. Had we not tried, we would constantly be kicking ourselves saying “we were in Switzerland and didn’t go see the mountains at Interlaken!” 

This side trip also gave me an opportunity to reflect on how much I like our regular mode of tourism – one that puts us far into the countryside and away from crowds. Were there highways that covered some of the places we’ve been, I’m sure they would be showing up in lists of the most beautiful drives in the world.

We took the train home, bought some simple food in a small grocery store, and returned to our Airbnb to cook dinner and rest and relax. While eating dinner we watched the broadcast of President Nelson‘s 100th birthday celebration. It was really fun to see. We had missed it earlier because of time zone differences. I especially loved the thoughts of President Camille Johnson, who talked about feeling the Savior’s love through President Nelson. It reminded me of how I feel the Savior’s love through the family and friends who surround me. I also feel it in the beauty of the earth.

We are sad that we only have 3 ride days left, plus one Sunday, and one other buffer day to pack the bike and work out logistics. These bike trips go so fast.