Berchtesgaden und Interlaken

Well, the bad news is that I finished the latest Harry Potter in 22 hours, leaving me slightly panicky about what exactly I was supposed to do for the next day and a half in Berchtesgaden, a small small place where I heard no English and absolutely everything closes on Sunday (of course... I got in on a Sunday and nearly starved). The good news is that the next day I took a bus to a nearby lake called Konigsee and took some lovely pictures and a great video, which I strangely can't seem to figure out how to put up just now. So you'll have to be satisfied with these. =) Berchtesgaden was a nice break from the massive amounts of sightseeing I've been doing, and when the stores opened, I bought some really nice cheese, bread, and fruit and had a little picnic on the riverside. These were my first real views of the Alps on this trip, so that was exciting.

After a couple of days in Berchtesgaden, I took the train into Switzerland, to Interlaken. I've been there before, with my family years ago, but I didn't recognize a thing. Apparently I was too busy with the chocolate and fondue to notice my surroundings the first time around! Interlaken was really lovely-- great weather, nice walks, and beautiful views. I'd already done the expensive stuff like going up to the Jungfrau with my family (that's the white mountain in the picture--thanks Mom and Dad!), so I wandered around in the valley a bit. The first day I went to the nearby village of Oberhofen and visited a castle that my family had gone to, and it was even nicer than I remembered. The bus ride to Oberhofen follows Lake Thun, and the whole 40 minutes there I was glued to the window.
Once I reached the castle, I literally gasped in awe at the view-- the green gardens with flowers everywhere, the blue of the lake, and the mountains in the distance.



I had a nice afternoon sitting on the shore, eating grapes and reading a fashion magazine that cost me a laughable 12 francs (everything in Interlaken/maybe all of Switzerland is about 3 times what you'd pay at home. I never thought I'd say it, but I couldn't wait to get back to the euro).

The next day I took the train up to Lauterbrunnen, which may just be the most beautiful mountain valley on earth. I took a nice long walk through the valley to some waterfalls that are inside the mountain-- you pay 10 francs and they take you up to the top in a claustrophobic elevator, and then hike down. They were pretty interesting, but the views outside were much more impressive.

More to come in a couple of days about Turkey! I've been here less than 24 hours and I'm already in love with the place. However, I haven't taken any pictures yet and goodness knows I can't make a post without visual aides, so I'll write more later. Ciao!