Having gone to bed really late
with last minute packing arrangements and school work, it was no surprise that
I had a really disrupted sleep, not helped by kids talking in their sleep,
because I was worried we wouldn’t wake up for our early morning departure.
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| Adieu Istanbul |
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| Last Metro to Ataturk Airport |
As it happened, all worked well
with us getting up at 0445 hrs to catch the first Metro, which we did by a
whisker, and change trains which we also did by a whisker AND get to Ataturk Airport in plenty of time
for our 0925 hrs flight. We were ushered
to a family check in point, which was a nice gesture! It was then that we realised my handle on my
travel pack was REALLY stuck and no amount of pounding it down would help. I emptied the contents of my carefully packed
bag on the floor but it made no difference.
Finally with a bit of Indian Hair oil for lubricant the dodgy handle was
encouraged to go down!
We had to take a long trip on a
runway bus to our plane – Turkish Airways TK 1923. A lovely airline where service is
premium. The meal with printed menu was
so tasty and we even got the standard olives, feta, tomatoes and cucumber
Turkish breakfast. So it was a lovely
journey to Basel International Airport. We could see the Alps as we descended and it was EXCITING!
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| The Alps |
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| Turkish Airline TK 1923 from Istanbul to Basel |
Immigration was no problem and we
could choose from Switzerland or France.
Fortunately, we knew we had to meet the Oak Hall coach on the French
side but then we needed Swiss Francs so Karl had to go back to the Swiss side
of the airport to get the money and then cross the border again! It all seems so arbitrary!
The coach journey to
Lauterbrunnen was enjoyable with lots of good conversation in English which was
a treat! After a stop for lunch at an
uber priced service station, Swiss prices such as $AUD8 for a coffee, we passed
beautiful Lake Tun and Interlaken and headed for the mountains. We could see the Wetterhorn with its rugged
peaks covered in snow and the enormous glacial valleys of this region and
finally arrived in Lauterbrunnen.
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| Lindt Chocolate in Switzerland! |
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| Green coca cola?! |
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| More odd looking soft drink |
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| The Wetterhorn |
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| Ah...Switzerland you are beautiful! |
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| Little bridge at Chalet Jungfrau |
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| Our neighbourhood! |
Chalet Jungfrau, although I
stayed there in 1990, didn’t seem familiar but the little bridge over the
stream did. It’s funny the things you
remember! It was snow covered when I was
last here but the snow is limited to the peaks now, being March.
We settled in and enjoyed a
lovely meal and conversation. Luckily we
could get some Nutella and bread for the uber fussy Luke and we all tucked up
in our beds early. It is so quiet and
peaceful here.
Looks beautiful Helen! :)
ReplyDeleteOh Jane, there is nothing that is not beautiful here!
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