My Dreamland!

From my childhood, Switzerland had been my dream country. Fuelled by lots of indian movies, I guess that is true for many indians. Once

the crown of India, Kashmir, became a risky place for shooting, indian film makers chose switzerland as their main foreign shooting spot.

From that time, lots and lots of song sequences have been shot in ice covered alps mountains. While the hero dancing in full suite, the

costume designer always falls short of cloth for heroines!

When my trip to Belgium got confirmed, one of the first things went in my mind was about visiting switzerland. But for some reasons (no

company, not good weather, etc, etc.), I couldn't visit their, though I have been here for the past 1.5yrs. Since my assignment completes

in the coming april, I thought I wouldn't have a chance for that much awaited trip.

All of a sudden, two of my friends over here decided to go there in december. When they asked me if I was interested, I got very

confused. December, one of the winter months, isn't the right time to visit such a place. That too this winter is predicted to be a lot worse

than the lost one. Even in Belgium, there was heavy snow fall in November end. I've not noticed such a one even in January last year.

Anyhow, after a short one-sided war, my desire to visit swiss won over the other odds. So, finally we set out to go on December 3rd for

a four day trip.

Though we've visited many places over there, three things blowed me away completely.
1. Goldenpass panoramic train journey:
This is a very famous train route from Geneva to Luzern. We took this trip from Interlaken, the city where we stayed to Luzern. It was an

amazing sight all the way through. Since it was winter almost all mountains on the way wore white cap. For people like me, who rarely get

a chance to see snow, it was a feast. There were a few beatiful valleys & landscapes too.

2. Mount Titlis:
One of the most famous peaks in switzerland. It won't be fair, if I don't appreciate the effort & money invested by the government in

building those cable cars till the peak. It was a nice experience watching the snow becoming thicker & thicker as we went higher &

higher. In the peak, the temperature was -15deg C (Shhhhh... don't tell anyone... it was only -11, we all decided to state increased cold

to increase the excitement of our listeners ;-) ). Before leaving, all weather forecasts sounded like they were ready to bet millions on

cloudy/shower. Damn them! Just like italy trip, this time also they were wrong completely. It was very bright sun throughout the day. We

were playing in snow for a long time. I'm sure those snow fights, walking in knee high snow heaps, sliding in ice slopes, etc. will remain

green in my memory for a long time.

3. Mürren:
The train route to Mürren was in mountain slopes covered with x-mas trees everywhere. When we were travelling, it was snowing heavily

& all the x-mas trees were covered with snow. It was just unbelievable view. We also travelled in sledge! It was fun.

Finally the question: Is it winter a bad time to visit Switzerland? Hmmm... I'm not sure. Though I've not been there during summer time, I believe, the winter experience will be a lot better for people, who are from hot regions. I have a feeling that during summer there won't be much snow in mountains except peaks & also murren won't be that impressive. So, it is upto you, what you want to see. If you are interested in nice landscapes & want to escape from hot sun, come during summer. If your aim is to enjoy snow & snow based views, may be winter is the best time.