Day 5 was the most fun day of the trip. As daylight breaks, the picturesque Lucerne Lake came into sight.

 

While waiting for the missus to get ready, I opened the windows braving the chilly winds, climbed onto the table and sat absorbed in the blue hour portrayal of the surroundings.

 

 

After breakfast, we set off to Lauterbrunnen where we took the train up to Kleine Scheidegg. The views along the ride were spectacular.

 

 

The snow-dusted Alps covered with alpine trees resembled cakes sprinkled with sugar icing being swarmed by a colony of ants.

 

 

There was also the assembly of wooden houses with snow covered roofs. The snow was piled so neatly that they resembled topping on cakes.

 

 

Exiting the cabin at the Kleine Scheidegg station, we stepped into winter wonderland. The ground was carpeted white with a thick layer of snow; children and adults shuffled in the knee deep piles; skiers sashayed down from slopes with grace under the vigil of the majestic trio of Eiger (Ogre), Mönch (Monk) and Jungfrau (Virgin).

 

 

Standing in front of the infamous Eiger's north face that claimed many lives attempting to scale it.

 

 

The clear blue streaks of alpine glaciers on the Jungfrau are like sashes that decorate the beauty of the mountain.

 

 

For the next hour or so, we became kids again making merry in the winter playground. We plodded onto the snow piles, flapping our hands and legs exaggeratedly to create snow angels; waddled arduously up the snow hills sinking into the soft ice with every step and sledded down the more compact ones.

 

 

We had lunch at Restaurant Bahnhof, a traditional Swiss course of Bratwurst (sausage) with Rösti (crumbled hashbrown).

 

 

After lunch we took the train down where we transferred to a snow-chained bus to Mount Bulsapp for the most anticipated activity on the itinerary: Sledging!

 

 

Being a fan of Calvin and Hobbes, I have seen the many strips where they sled down treacherous slopes and almost always plopping into a snow pile. Recalling the joys on their faces filled me with anticipation.

 

 

On reaching the Mount Bulsapp, we were given a crash course on manoeuvring:

- put the soles on the ground to brake

- lift up to accelerate

- to steer the sledge in a particular direction, stick out the corresponding leg and press it onto the ground e.g. stick out right leg to turn right.

(The force applied generates a torque that steers the sledge in that direction.)

 

As mentioned previously, the soles of my boots were unfortunately only as rough as a baby's bottom. Braking became a challenge as I had to jam my heels into the ground to slow down. At some stretches covered with solid ice, it was almost impossible to brake and I just accelerated uncontrollably.

 

 

The sledging guide also warned us about a reflex action that often leads to crashing into the banks. And I fell victim to that.

 

At a right turn, I was swerving dangerously close to the outer bank and instinctively stuck out my left leg to push myself away but that action caused me to swerve into the bank instead. Thankfully I only got away with a small cut.

 

 

After our adrenaline-pumping adventure, we were bused to the Interlaken, which is a town flanked by two rivers: Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. It is located 570 m (1,870 ft) above sea level, which is equivalent to ~125 storeys high!

 

Source: Wikipedia

 

We checked into the Lindner Hotel Beau Rivage to clean up before dinner. Albeit also a 5-star hotel, it was different from the one that the agency had proudly advertised in their package - Victoria Jungfrau. We were told that it was fully booked and our guide tried to placate us by promising some other upgrades which were already supposed to be in the package.

 

Checking into our rooms, we were greeted by two bars of complimentary chocolates placed on our bed. Other than that, the room was a disappointment. The room was small and the layout was unconventional: there was a wall mirror plastered in front of the bed; and the television set was placed on the side dresser which meant we had to turn our heads sideways to be able to watch televsion on bed.

 

We walked ten minutes to Bebbis Restaurant for dinner. The ambience of the restaurant was boisterous and fun-filled. Throughout dinner, the flamboyant owner Bebbi Boesch sang and danced and cracked Singapore-related jokes.

 

I was one of the lucky diners to be invited to blow the alphorn (alpine horn). As I stepped up to try the horn, Bebbi attempted another local joke claiming to have met me at Lucky Plaza calling him 'ang moh' and trying to sell him fake watches.

 

 

Having no experience at playing wind instruments, it took me two attempts to produce a mellow resonating sound. The trick is to vibrate the lips (like trying to produce a fart sound) rather than blow into it.

 

Dinner was a 3 course fondue spread. First was cheese fondue: we forked pieces of bread into hot melted cheese with a dash of alcohol, blow on the coated bread for it to harden before biting into it.

 

Next was Meat Fondue Bourguignonne: dipping raw meat in bubbling oil until it turned golden brown. The glistened meat didn't taste as oily as it looks and dipping them in the 6 different sauces made it taste even better.

 

And last was chocolate fondue: coating marshmallows and fruit pieces with thick chocolate and nuts. The dark chocolate added a bitter taste which complemented the sweetness of the fruits.

 

Source: www.tripadvisor.com