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On day 13 of our tour after a good buffet breakfast -an early lunch we left Interlaken to reach Geneva in 3 hours. Geneva is Switzerland's most international
city - one third of Geneva's population includes foreigners and unlike Interlaken, the official language out here is French as it is walking distance away from
the French border. On arrival, we had a couple of hours spare time at the lake. The lake gives Geneva a resort flavour. During the summer it is possible to
engage in a number of sports such as sailing, rowing and water skiing. The “Mouettes” boats provide a quick means of crossing from one bank to the other,
while larger boats offer cruises. The Jet d'eau fountain is a famous icon and is included in most tour brochures which have Geneva as part of the package. It
decorates the bank of the lake with its white plume of water. This
water fountain has, over the years, grown to be the symbol of Geneva. In 1891, it was
transferred to the “Rade”, to become a major tourist attraction. |
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However, it was not until 1947 that it was provided with an autonomous pumping station,
propelling 500 litres of water per second to a height of 140 metres at a speed of 200 km per hour (124 miles/h). Eight 13,500-watt projectors light the
fountain's majestic column in the evening as it soars skywards.
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The Flower Clock, which is located at the edge of the English Garden or Jardin Anglais since 1955 is a symbol of the world renown watch industry of Geneva.
It is a masterpiece of technology and floral art. Formerly only decorative with its sole dial comprising over 6,500 flowers, the new millennium provided it with
decisive artistic dimensions thanks to the ingenuity of the gardeners of the Service of Green Spaces and the Environment. It is now composed of eight
concentric circles, the colours of which vary with the seasons and the plants which make up the display.
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The United Nations European headquarter is also located here and was constructed between 1929 and 1936 to house the League of Nations. The Palais des
Nations became the headquarters of the United Nations in 1946 when the former organization was dissolved. The vast wooded park overlooking the lake,
where it is located was donated by the City of Geneva. Today, and after the completion of a new wing in 1973, it is the second most important centre of the
United Nations after New York. Its surface is that of the Palais de Versailles and its Assembly Room, seating 2000 is as large as the Paris Opera House. Over
25000 delegates meet here annually to negotiate for world peace.
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Coming to the Flower Clock, it is from here that the unique minitrain functions with solar energy! No noise, no smoke, for the comfort of the passengers and
no pollution in order to protect the environment. It enables you to discover the beautiful lake front of Geneva's left bank. Leaving from the centre (Jardin
Anglais / English Garden), it takes you for a quiet ride along the quays and parks to Port-Noir, close to the marina of the Societé Nautique of Geneva which
hosts the America's Cup. You can stop to visit the parks and the rose garden and then to hop on to the next train. It costs 7 Swiss Francs(RS 250 approx)
for a return ticket.
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Later in the evening we proceeded towards Villars, 320 kms. from Geneva where we reached at 1900 hours and checked into our hotel 'Le Bristol' - it was by
far the hotel with the best view.
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The next day was a day at leisure and there were several activities to choose from including Paragliding which would cost 135 Swiss Francs (Rs 4725 approx.) or taking a train journey to a ski-resort at Betraye or simply relaxing by the poolside in the hotel. I opted for the train journey which costed us
around Rs 600 for a one way ticket from Villars and within 25 minutes we were at
Betraye. To our surprise the station was deserted and on enquiring we
were told that Betraye is famous for its 3 frozen lakes which attracts the tourists. However, being sunny there were mere patches of melting snow and
therefore there were no tourists around The most adventurous part of the trip was yet to come and that was our descent from Bretaye to Villars on foot. We
were informed in Villars that it was 1 and a half hour of Bush Walking.
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We walked for 40 minutes along the same road and enquired with people to find that
we had not even covered half the distance. The trekkers walking towards Bretaye said that it would take a minimum of 2 hours to reach Villars. Then we
thought that may be walking along the railway tracks would be a better option.
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So we crossed the fences and started to walk along the tracks. When we heard the train chugging down Villars we rested under a tree close to the tracks.
When the motorman spotted us he signaled that it was forbidden to walk along the tracks.. We decided to cross the fence again and started walking along
the road but there was no road in sight. In just 10 minutes we spotted the main road. We were so tired by then that we opted to leave the bush and started
walking along the road. We enquired with a few people if we were on the right road leading to Villars. When we spotted our Hotel we heaved a sigh of relief.
Later in the day, we had an interesting, entertaining and a colourful evening. We had 2 hours of non stop Dandiya Raas followed by Tambola.
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Next day after an early lunch we departed Villars to head towards Bern - the Capital of Switzerland. Bern is a small quaint town, very pleasant, attractive and
a friendly place. It retains its old worldly charm with the perfect preservation of the medieval Old Town. The shopping promenade ranks amongst the longest
and most varied in Europe and trams are a welcome respite to weary shoppers. Here you can visit a bit of modern history by dropping into Einstein House
where the famous scientist pondered over his theory of relativity. We went for a short city sightseeing on foot appreciating the well preserved medieval city,
compact main streets with remarkable facades of sandstone, arcades and various historical fountains along the way.
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Our starting point was the Church of the Holy Spirit (baroque 1726-29)- after which we traversed via Spitalgasse to the Prison Tower (city gate 1256-1344)
and later to the Clock Tower (city gate until 1256) which has an astronomical clock and famous figure play from 1530 (set in motion 4 minutes before every
full hour) down Kramgasse to the left view of Town Hall (beautiful secular building in Gothic Style, 1406-16), past the Justice Fountain to the Bear Pits (Bear:
heraldic animal of the city arms). Do not miss the Bern Show at the Tourist Center close to the Bear Pits. After a couple of hours at Bern, we left for Lucerne
which is 2 ½ hours from Bern.
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What is Nordic Walking?
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Nordic Walking is the greatest invention to come out of Finland since the sauna. In the 1930's, cross country skiers used the technique to train in summer,
and with the addition of special light poles it was eventually developed by doctors into the sport it is today- a trendy total body workout. About 90 per cent of
the muscles are trained which increases heart rate, energy consumption and firms up the body. The use of poles reduces the load on knees and other joints,
and even walking at a moderate pace is good aerobic training. Nordic Walking returns your zest for life. There are 15 km of marked trails in the Swiss Nordic
Park, where you can feast your eyes on magnificent vistas, and particularly fine views of the Rigi.
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Lucerne is Switzerland's most picturesque city, located on Lake Lucerne and is an all-time favourite tourist destination. The old town surrounds the Reuss
River, spanned by the 14th Century Chapel Bridge distinguished by its octagonal water tower over 34 meters high. This was built as part of the city wall.
Used as archives, treasury, prison and torture chamber, Lucerne's trademark and the most photographed monument in Switzerland is the Chapel Bridge
which was constructed in the first half of the 14th century as part of the city's fortifications. Named after St. Peter's Chapel, the paintings that were added in
the 17th Century illustrate scenes of swiss and local history including the biographies of the city's patron saints.
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Then we walked to the Lion Monument - “the dying lion of Lucerne” which is one of the world's most famous monuments. It was hewn out of natural rock in
the memory of the heroic death of the Swiss mercenaries at the Tuileries in 1792. Globe trotter Mark Twain described the Lion of Lucerne as the “the saddest
and most moving piece of rock in the world”, After this we took an easygoing walk through a maze of small streets, bridges, promenades and plazas
dominated by countless historical towers, fountains and frescoed buildings. In the evening we boarded the Lake Lucerne Cruise with its fabulous Swiss
Folklore show. We also participated in a Swiss dance - on board the cruise which lasted for an hour before leaving for our hotel.
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Next morning after breakfast we drove to Vitznau to board the train to Mount Rigi - a traffic free holiday village is worthy of its name “Queen of Hills of the
mountains”. There are 2 ways you can reach Mount Rigi, first you can board the cruise from Lucerne to Vitznau or take the road and then take Europe's first
ever Mountain Railway - a smooth and pleasant cogwheel ride to the mountain top (1800m/6000ft), surrounded by a magnificent, magical mountain and lake. The other option is to drive from Lucerne to Weggis and then board the panoramic aerial cable car enjoying the splendour of nature while gliding over the
clear landscape right to the top of Mount Rigi.
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After an early lunch at Mt Rigi we returned back to Vitznau by train and proceeded towards Engelberg to board a cable car to Mt. Titlis -
3020m/10000ft.- the highest viewpoint in the lake Lucerne Region. Here you can experience the first revolving cable car in the world that takes you into snow, ice and glacier at
the peak of Mt Titlis. Try the chair lift “Ice Flyer” that lets you truly experience the glacier crevasses. Enjoy the trendy snow toys at the Summer Glacier Park.
Other highlights: Glacier Cave, a variety of restaurants where you can visit the highest watch and accessories shop in the world! The photo studio, the kiosk,
the souvenir shop and the “Swiss Lion” watch and accessories shop, all have wonderful selections of souvenirs to take home with you.
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This unique glacier
paradise is conveniently located just a short distance from Lucerne, Zurich, Basel and Bern. You can reach Engelberg in 1½ hours. A round trip from Lucerne
to Mt Titlis takes approximately 4 hours. The trip to the summit takes approx 40 minutes:
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At Engelberg (1000m) you can board the gondola and journey up to the Trubse half way station (1800m), then continue to the Stand Glacier Station by cable
car. During the journey with the Rotair, the floor of the cable car rotates once around its own axis which enables you to enjoy a breathtaking panorama on
top of Mt Titlis, 3020 metres above sea level. On our return from Engelberg we planned to take the other route to go to Mt Rigi that is the panoramic aerial
cable car from Weggis to Mt. Rigi. In Mt.Rigi we checked into Rigi Hostellerie, a certified Nordic Fitness Hotel.
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About Cuckoo Clocks
Evolution of Cuckoo Clocks
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In the beginning of 1630 the first clock was made in the Black Forest. It looked very simple- just 3 wooden clog wheels, a wheel for the balance instead of a
pendulum with stones for weights. You had to wind once in every 12 hours so you would have to get up in the middle of the night and then you would find
that it has only one hand so you can see the hour but not the
minutes. So you have to do some guessing.
Immediately after that in the 1760's there was a new character in the clock and that is the 'Cuckoo' and by 1860's they started making station house clocks
with the Cuckoo ready to come out of his home. Cuckoo was a famous bird in the black forest and it was an easy sound to imitate. The shop also displayed
the biggest Cuckoo clock. It costs just 4000 Euros and if you like to buy one they will wrap it up for you. The reason it costs so much is because it involves a
lot of work.
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It takes one man 6 to 8 weeks only to carve the wood.
Some of the interesting clocks were 'The Dumpling Eater', where the man gets to eat dumplings every hour; you could see the enthusiasm in the eyes of the
man. The next one was a tailor sitting at the window, this was known as the 'Mother-in-law clock' - every hour he gets a batter on his head from his mother-
in- law.
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How is the Cuckoo Clock made?
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The wood used is soft and it has very little veins and very good for carving. A piece of wood would have to be dried for 4 years before it is used because it is
moist and would split while carving. When it is ready to be used they would place a stencil with the desired design on the wooden clock and spray paint it.
Then they would cut out the outlines and make holes and cut out the design this is the only part that is done by machine. The rest is done by ordinary tools.
Mostly you will find the carvings of wine leaves or maple leaves and typical Black Forest animals like Rabbits, Fox, Deer, Birds and Squirrels on the frame. |
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There are 4 types of mechanisms that we have in the Cuckoo Clock, 2 for the music and 2 for the cuckoo sound. So how do you identify them? Its simple - you
look at the weights, if you see a clock with big weights you can say that it is an 8 day mechanism and you have to wind them once every week. If you see a
clock with smaller weights you know that it is a one day mechanism you have to wind them every day. And if you see weights of the size of an earring you
have to wind them every 5 minutes. If the clock has 2 weights, it means one for the time and one for the cuckoo, but if it has a third weight that means the
clock also plays music. Now I have to disappoint you because there is no real cuckoo inside - its just the sound. |
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So I advise you please don't feed the cuckoo. Everything for the
cuckoo clock is made in the Black Forest except for the music box which is made by the French and is imported from Switzerland.
Another important feature of
the Cuckoo Clock is the switch at the side which enables you and the cuckoo to sleep at night. If you switch that off the music stops the cuckoo stops and
everything is quiet. Another interesting clock was the Romantic Clock because every hour after the cuckoo the happy couple on the Clock kiss each other. The
Drubba Shop has 120 cuckoo clocks all guaranteed for 2 years and it also has a service centre in Mumbai.
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On day 17 of a tour, we returned to Vitznau station by the cogwheel train. At Vitznau we boarded our coach and proceeded towards Rhine Falls, a 90
minutes drive into Germany to witness the largest waterfall in Europe. Rhine Falls is without doubt the main attraction for the countless visitors who arrive
here from all corners of the globe. It is situated in the city called Schaffhausen. From this approximately 17000 year old dramatic natural feature- measuring
nearly 150 metres wide and some 23 metres high- 700000 litres of water per second thunder down into the Rhine Falls pool. A boat trip into the Rhine Falls
pool, and climbing the famous rock are unforgettable experiences for any visitor. After visiting the Rhine Falls we proceeded towards the Black Forest and
halted at Drubba for shopping Cuckoo clocks and having our packed lunch. To know more about some interesting facts on Cuckoo Clocks read the information
provided elsewhere in the article.
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After lunch we continued to Frankfurt, the commercial capital of Germany. To know more about my experience in Germany and Netherlands you will have to
wait for the next issue of Opportunities Today.
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(to be continued...)
Sanaya Dadachanji
Senior Tour Consultant - Compact Travels
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