Lucerne And Interlaken

Gina arrived in Zurich on August 27, and we thought about taking a day for her to recover from jet lag. But she was determined to stay up so we went on the city tour, which included a boat ride around Lake Zurich. After the bus ride, however, she was exhausted so we saved the boat ticket for another day and went back to our hotel room.

The next day, we embarked on our first big tour to Jungfraujoch, the top of Europe, in the Bernese Oberland. First stop was Lucerne, where the town's cobblestone streets, slender spires and frescoed house facades evoke the storybook image of a classic Swiss village.

Surrounded by an indigo lake and mythical mountains, Lucerne features a well-preserved Old Town, as well as covered bridges, sun-soaked piazzas, brightly-colored houses and waterfront promenades. The city is perched on the western edge of Lake Lucerne and straddles the Reuss River, which drains into the Rhine River and the North Sea.

Next stop was Interlaken, positioned in the isthmus between the crystalline lakes of Thun and Brienz at the foot of the Jungfrau Region. The town of 5,200 residents or so is a floral paradise, with exquisitely landscaped gardens and neatly trimmed buildings.

Beyond Interlaken lie the ghostly white silouettes of Eiger, Monck and Jungfrau, where our journey will take us. But there’s plenty of action right here: rock climbing, kayaking, hang-gliding and other outdoor pursuits were pervasive in Interlaken.

As an extreme sports mecca, turns out Interlaken is one of the world’s best places to hurl yourself off a bridge or down a cliff. How does one say “Geronimo!” in German?