A Snowy Day in the Alps (Guest Post)

As part of my blog’s first anniversary, I am hosting a ‘blog party’. Today my guest is Akshata Ramesh. She is a Chartered Accountant by profession and passionate about her career in the corporate world. When not looking at the Pnl of trading desks, She is a Story Teller, Dreamer, Voracious Reader, Blogger, Mommy to a little munchkin, Shopaholic, Day Dreamer. Her niche area is short stories, She also writes on parenting, sexism, life’s experiences and flash fiction. She won the best Parenting blog post at Momespresso the largest parenting website in India, 4 times and several of her posts have been published in the #MostPopular category on this site garnering millions of views. She also writes on Bonobology, Rivo Kids, Women’s Web and Youth Ki Awaaz. She was chosen as one of the Top 10 Indian women bloggers in 2017 by Women’s Web- one of the most popular sites for women in India. She blogs at Akswrites. She is an amazing woman who is managing her career and motherhood with amazing efficiency. Last year she went on a solo trip to Europe. Here she is recounting one of the days from that trip. Enjoy!!

Imagine going to Switzerland and not having seen the snowing Swiss Alps? Hard to imagine.

Switzerland is known for its sprawling mountains, lakes and scenic beauty. One of the perks of visiting in winter is enjoying the snowfall. The last time I visited Switzerland in Nov 2016, I missed seeing the snow by a week and it was a major disappointment. This year as I had an extended business trip for 2.5 months I looked forward to experiencing snow. It was one of the regular weekends. I was in Zurich where I worked and it’s a place which doesn’t normally see much snow. I had just stepped out of a cafe after a late lunch at 3 and I could see snowflakes all around. I hastily pulled out my phone do have a video call and show this to my little girl.

My husband visited for a few days when I was on the trip and we couldn’t miss doing the Alps. He was eager to see snow and looked forward to the cable car ride- which takes you up the mountain. The last time, 5 years back on our honeymoon in Kashmir, the cable car at Gulmarg was under maintenance and he was really disappointed- you are destined for greater things I told him then.

We visited Pilatus Mountains which is one of the famous mountains in Lucerne Canton (city), a height of 2128 meters. There is a legend of a dragon who once lived here and he had healing powers. Some say his spirit continues to roam here.

One can go up the Pilatus Mountains either by a cable car or cogwheel train. The cogwheel train is said to be the steepest ride in Switzerland which I had to forego it for the 2nd time in 2 years. The train wasn’t running due to excessive snow. So the cable car it was!

It was a non-touristy season and a weekday. We managed to get into the cable car quickly. (A handy tip: A Swiss pass for tourists works best as the ride up/down is free which would otherwise cause 80CHF.This pass entitles you to free travel by train, tram, bus and boats for a day anywhere in Switzerland, Its most convenient, economical and the best way to explore the country.)

The scenery as we begin the ascent is spell binding. The green trees and brown mountains start turning white as you move higher up- the one trees covered in snow are a sight to behold.

We finally reached the station and alighted. We came out and took a few pics but for some reason it was so damn cold that I found my hands were freezing. A searing pain in my palms is what I felt and I rushed inside. For a few seconds I felt numb but it got better. We then took another cable care- a bigger one which 30-40 people can occupy and went up higher.

We reached the summit and thats where there was quite a crowd. There are restaurants there, souvenir shops, a few musicians playing something and people posing for pics.

We roamed around, thankfully the sun was shining bright and -4 degrees dint feel that bad. After spending time in the snow, and our hands almost freezing, we decided to satiate our rumbling tummies with some warm food and my all-timefavorite hot chocolate.

We then spent some more time in the snow and headed down. The cable car ride was as amazing as it was the way up- the snowcapped mountains made way for the lake and greenery as we descended.

We also visited Harder Klum in Interlaken on a Saturday and it was as beautiful though not as high as Pilatus. It was a funicular ride this time.

A misty day it was. The adventurous part was trying to climb the mountain to get to the peak. The ice was still fresh and I skidded thrice. We did not get to the top as we had to get back down in time for my pre booked paragliding slot. But it was an adventure nevertheless.

These wonderful snowy adventures in the Alps will stay as warm memories in my heart.

This post is part of ‘Wanderful Wednesday Travelogues’. If you have a travel story to share do link up. Link your post to this post and just leave a comment with your post link and I will get back to you.