EuroTrip - Day 77

On the Top of the World

Presently the Swiss countryside has only three colors - that of green grass, white snow and the golden winter sun. Trust me you won't even ask for any more color. It's just as beautiful as it could get. Might sound cliche but I have to tell - if there is heaven anywhere on earth, it is in Switzerland. I have fallen in love with this place. I am not putting my camera to too much work as I know it just cannot capture the Swiss beauty. You have to be here to enjoy it (I know how much everyone will curse me for saying things like this! Still)

After spending a quiet day in Geneva, it was time to see some real Swiss attraction - snow capped mountain tops. And what better place to do that then Mount Titlis. Situated close to the beautiful city of Lucerne (Luzerne), this is one of the most beautifully developed tourist attraction in this country and is part of every travel plan. For Swiss people, it is one of those place where they come to every now and then to unwind themselves by skiing down some of the most exciting slopes in Swiss Alps.

In Mt. Titlis you meet only two kinds of people - those who are skiing enthusiasts or those who are Indians. There are just too many of us visiting this place. Bollywood movies and SOTCs of the world have heavily sold this region of Switzerland as the best honeymoon destination. Swiss tourism now does not need to do much apart from putting some instructions in Hindi. The local businesses have adapted well too. You can find Paneer Butter Masala being served in the restaurant at the top of Titlis (that is at a height of 3200m asl). They just can not afford to ignore Indians anymore.

Mt Titlis is an experience presented in a golden platter. It starts with a train journey in red toy-like narrow gauge train that takes you through beautiful Swiss countryside in an hour long journey from Luzerne to Engelberg. Don't mind, if half the bogey is filled with Indians. You might wonder why they have not yet started selling chana jor garam in this train yet!!

Towards the end of journey, this train almost converts into a funicular climbing steep hilly terrain at tortoise speed. The speedway runs alongside the train route most of the time. DJ had been suggesting me that we should do a car trip in Swiss countryside. Today, it became clear why he had been saying so.

Engelberg is a sleepy little town (or at least that is what it appeared to be) in the base of Alps. It is surrounded by snow capped mountains from all the sides and is a base for some very popular adventure sports destinations. However a bright sunny day compelled us to not 'waste' any time in this beautiful town and directly start the cable car journey.

It takes a journey of around 40 minutes in three different cable cars to reach the peak of Mt Titlis. The first cable car just takes you from the dark alpine forests to start of snow covered hills. A foreplay of a kind, it just gets you excited well enough of the things that you are about the experience.

The second phase of cable car journey is done in a bigger gondola that takes you almost midway to the peak at a stop called Stand. This is where you start seeing the skiers in action. While a lot of them will be lazying after a quick journey down the slope from the top, others are getting ready for their turn. The last gondola from here is a special one. Its a revolving one giving you a panoramic view of terrain and takes you to the mountain top that is situated at 3020 m asl. This last 600 mtr long segment is the best part of the cable car experience. Incidentally, this was first of its kind revolving areal cable car to be installed in the entire world.

The thermometer was reading -9 degree at the top. There were snowy winds awaiting to welcome us as soon as we got out of the gondola and crossed the huge commercial complex. And there we went. Right away in the snow. Without even checking on our preparations to do so. First touch of the snow and we were ecstatic. It just did not occur to me that dressing up in snowy winds could be harmful. Like a warrior, I removed my gloves to check on my jacket and in that process exposed them to snowy winds for a long time. Next hour or so, I was just praying to god to save me from any snow bite or chill blitz (damn Bora!). My hands were getting frozen and it was difficult to even bend my fingers. I could feel the pain but there was no way I could stop playing with snow. It was my first time of seeing so much of snow. All around. Snow white mountain tops - till the horizon in every direction. We were on top of the world.

The skiers all around us were enjoying their rounds. It's a different world out there for them. High of excitement and passion. Excitement can be contagious. We tried our hands at walking and rolling on the snow. And then we took the "Ice Flyer" glacier chairlift that offers breathtaking views of the crevasses on the glacier at the top of the Titlis. It could not have been better than this. The chilly winds got colder and colder and we lost track of everything. I just knew that I had to do one thing - make a call. Titlis has a big transmission tower for Swiss Telecom, the second best thing they did after making the Rotair cable car. Every soul needs to be in this heaven with their loved ones. Or at least get a chance to talk to them. :D

We had lost track of time, of our self and of everything. That's the euphoria of this place. We were in heaven. If not heaven, it was his second cousin for sure. The best of what I have seen so far. Our return journey and then search for food in the beautiful town of Engelberg was really insignificant compared to what we had experienced. It takes time to coming back to reality. Who wants do that anyways?

ps: I have taken a couple of videos and lots of photos, just in case if I could not describe my experience better. I knew that I will really find myself short of words. As I had spent time writing this post, I am posting here. I will upload the videos and photos soon.