D22: Traveling to Switzerland
Oooofta, I feel like hell this morning. My first stop this morning is to a pharmacy to get medicine to address my sickness. After taking meds, I feel like an entirely new person. My train would be leaving in a few hours so I walk to a coffee shop to get some work done, and find that I chose a coffee that doesn't allow laptops. What kind of rule is that? I'd already ordered so I spent the time journaling instead.
I make my train to head to Interlaken, Switzerland and while on my train I realize I'd only booked trains to get to Spiez, which is a town about 30 minutes away from Interlaken. Woops, I guess I'll have to figure that part out once I arrive. My train tickets are extremely confusing on this trip because they don't really indicate what train I should be on. I have to transfer in the town of Brig and based on my understanding of the ticket, I'd have an hour to make the transfer. But upon arriving and getting off the train, people start to run. A general rule of travel I have is that if a group of other people start to run, I should follow just in case… and it is a good thing I do. I get to the information board listing the trains and see my train is departing in a minute. I run to the train and get on just shortly before the doors close, and hope this is the right train because sometimes the information boards are confusing.
Thankfully, it turns out to be the right train and I make my destination, Spiez. Now I need to find how to get to Interlaken and ask a gentleman who doesn't speak English. In the course of our exchange, a stranger sees us struggling to communicate and interjects with perfect English and helps me figure out where to go.
The scenery out the final train to Interlaken gives me chills. The mountains are snowcapped and majestic. Interlaken is a place I always knew I'd go to, but now that I am here it doesn't feel real. I am in awe of the landscape and feel just complete excitement to explore. It sucks I am feeling sick here since I want to do some amazing hikes. Let's hope I feel better the next day.
The hostel I am at is extremely nice and has a hot tub! I meet a fellow American, Kaylie, who is from Chicago and we get dinner together. Interlaken, I discover, is crazy expensive. The cheapest meal in town is around $23 for dinner, and that is just pad thai. Whoa.
I do laundry and because the dryer is almost $8 to use, I dry my stuff out at the hostel. I end up getting in trouble for putting my clothes on the fireplace… but hey, it dried them quick :)