Portfolio - Special Edition Switzerland

34 Special Edition Switzerland Summer Canton Bern where Interlaken is located, I somehow escaped a more in-depth visit here. Over the last decade, the town of 5,000 developed a reputation for package tourism, especially popular with Asian tourists from Japan, Korea, India, Singapore, and China. Unlike other Swiss villages, its residents make up a real mix of nationalities including many foreign-born guides who fell in love with the picturesque town and permanently settled there. It has a vibrant selection of foreign restaurants, including a Korean BBQ joint, a dozen- plus Indian restaurants including a Biryani and Tandori, several Chinese and Thai spots, and of course the typical Swiss restaurants. CHOCOLATE BREAK Interlaken’s selection of independent schoggi (chocolate) shops are some of the best value in all of Switzerland and a far cry from the ubiquitous Duty- Free Lindt and Nestlé that you’ll find everywhere. Grand Café Restaurant Schuh is famous for its patisserie, pralines, and seasonal chocolate figurines — squirrels, hedgehogs, and chestnuts graced the display windows during my early October visit. Another is Confiserie Rieder, master bakers of pastry, berry tortes, quiches, and raspberry truffles. At Funky Chocolate Club, run by a husband-and- wife team from the Czech Republic and New Zealand, guests sign up for a 75-minute workshop to make their own Sail the skies or ride the rails to them SKYWINGS PARAGLIDING Based in Interlaken, Skywings Paragliding offers 10-30 minute tandem paragliding flights. Moreover, a variety of adrenaline- pumping activities like hang-gliding, kayaking, canyoning, and even skydiving from helicopters are also available. skywings.ch JUNGFRAU RAILWAY The Jungfrau Railway stretches nine kilometres up to the highest railway station in Europe. The daily train pass includes access to the variety of attractions on the top as well as the gondola to First, Harder Kulm, Lauterbrunnen, and Wengen. jungfrau.ch EXCURSIONS AND OUTFITTERS chocolate bars. I spent a fun hour there donning a chef’s toque and learning about the differences between ruby, caramelised white, grades of dark, and just plain old milk chocolate which was invented in Switzerland in 1875. While there are numerous alpine hiking trails you can embark on from the town’s centre, the town itself is also ideal for strolls. At its centre is a giant meadow called the Höhematte, the summer home to a local herd of Fleckvieh cows, whose silky ginger and milk coloured coats catch the glints of morning light as they graze on its grasses and wildflowers, typically from May to October. Surrounding it are numerous shops hawking elaborate Swiss army knives, antique pocket watches aside the latest Cartier and Hublot models, wooden toys, Swiss whisky, even embroidered lederhosen and cuckoo clocks which come from Germany’s Bavaria and Black Forest respectively. Nevertheless, the town retains a magical, nostalgic alpine quaintness that you won’t find in Geneva, Zurich, St Moritz, or Lucerne. As if the scene wasn’t bucolic enough, the impossibly blue Aare River, fed from the ancient Aare glaciers, also snakes through Interlaken. Like all Swiss rivers, the water is also for swimming. Dozens of badi (swimming lidos) line Aare’s banks. If you’re lucky, the water temperature reaches a comfortable 22 degrees by August. While window-shopping in a light rain after dinner, I stroll past a boat launch and spy a local quietly taking a midnight swim. The general rule for swimming in Switzerland is that if there’s a body of water, people will swim in it. There’s also seldom a shortage of spas and thermal waters. The next morning, I do just that at the Victoria Jungfrau Grand Hotel and Spa, which isn’t kidding about the grand. Its century-old Art Nouveau stained glass, clubby billiard rooms, winter terraces and painted ballrooms recall the golden age of alpine exploration. But the property’s 5,500-square-metre Spa Nescens is a modern warren of saunas, sultry steam rooms, thermal baths, sun decks and a massive fitness centre. Their anti-ageing treatments are results-orientated using stem cell ingredients, promoting tissue renewal, rejuvenating cellular structures, and strengthening the skin’s natural defences. I sign up for a destressing one- hour massage, followed by an anti-ageing facial which had me glowing all weekend.