[ lifestyle ]
ALICIA WILLARD
A Helvetian Honeymoon
With its rich culture, ethereal scenery and architectural
tradition deeply rooted in the Romanesque style, my husband,
Blake, and I quickly found ourselves with a 20-page itinerary
while planning our Helvetian honeymoon in Switzerland.
When we told friends and family where we were going, we
often heard, “Why Switzerland?” At first, we didn’t have an
answer. Most people consider the beach a typical honeymoon
destination, but after 30 minutes of sun and sand, Blake and
I are bored. He had never visited a foreign country, and living
in cities across the U.S. over the past five years left us wanting
a true escape from reality, especially after months of wedding
planning. Also, growing up in western Maryland and attending
West Virginia University, we longed for the experience of
exploring an international mountain mama. After researching
European vacations, I stumbled upon photos of Switzerland.
Soon both of us were answering, “Why Switzerland?” with
“Why not Switzerland?”
Zurich
At nearly 16,000 square miles, Switzerland is smaller than
most U.S. states. In fact, it’s only a bit larger than half of West
Virginia, but that in no way means it has half the amount of
attractions. Our first stop was Zurich, where we began the
day by walking along the River Limmat to Old Town, taking
in our new surroundings and the views along the way. The
unique shopping district was full of pubs, restaurants that
feature cuisines from all around the world and, of course, Swiss
cheese and chocolate stores.
That first evening, we explored Zurich’s nightlife where we
fell in love with an intimate spot called Old Crow. The pub
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delicately yet inexplicably mixed upscale with dive and offered
more than 1,600 spirits, specializing in whiskies. Blake was
thrilled with the eclectic selection of whiskies, and I enjoyed the
refreshing, unique and well-mixed cocktails. Customer service
was of the utmost importance at Old Crow, which allowed us
to find our own corner by the window as we lost the night to
a few drinks and talk of our perfect wedding.
The next day we spent the morning in Zurich’s City Gardens
before we drove to our next destination. The botanical gardens
are home to about 250,000 plants that are common in public
flower beds around the city and houses 17 different species of
tropical birds. We soon learned that everyone in Switzerland
has a green thumb. Every home, cottage, apartment windowsill
and office cubicle has some sort of flower arrangement. More
often than not, if there’s yard space of any kind, it’s an oasis.
Interlaken
For the rest of the trip, we made our home base in a suburb
of Interlaken called Bönigen, which sits along the edge of Lake
Brienz. The quaint village is a quick 15-minute bus ride to
Interlaken, which is the perfect hub for anyone who wants to
see a lot of the Jungfrau region, Lake Thun and Lake Brienz,
as it sits on the edge of all three. Although surrounded by the
Alps, it is not actually in the mountains.
While Interlaken itself is not the prettiest town in the region,
it is home to the Interlaken West train station. This station was
the starting point for each of our adventures every morning.
From Interlaken West, visitors can reach the top of Interlaken,
known as Harder Kulm; Jungfraujoch, the highest accessible
point in all of Europe; and St. Beatus Caves, rich in local