Thursday, June 29th

At 9:10, we hopped on the IR70 from Zurich HB, a five minute walk from our hotel, to Lucerne, which traveled along Lake Zurich, Lake Zug and Lake Lucerne…the water looked calm enough to waterski!  We changed trains in Lucerne to PE (Panarama Express) to Interlaken, passing teal-colored lakes, cascading waterfalls and jagged mountain peaks!  The mountainsides were dotted with “Heidi-style” homes complete with hanging flower baskets!  The final leg of our journey from Interlaken to Grindelwald was on a smaller regional train with windows that could be opened to smell the fresh mountain air!  We were able to check in early into our hotel when we arrived…chock another one up to Swiss efficiency!  Given anticipated weather conditions, our hotel receptionist recommended Lar & I try to change our tickets for Jungfraujoch if possible since the forecast suggested bad weather tomorrow!  We quickly packed our day bags and headed to the Terminal via the city bus!  Once at the Terminal, we were told cancellation was only possible due to illness, injury or something like that!  So, instead, we took the gondola to Mannlichen for lunch!  Clouds rimmed the horizon and glimpses of the Eiger were breathtaking!  The gondola passed over neat & tidy chalets and green pastures habited by Holstein cows adorned with clanking bells!  The anticipated rain began just as we bought lunch and the sky opened up when we took a quick walk around the summit.  I got soaked in the short walk to our gondola!  We took the bus back to our hotel for a rest before dinner.  We met Karen & Phil in the lobby and decided to eat dinner at our hotel given the downpour outside!  Dinner was delicious; we shared bacon, mushroom, cheese “tarts” that looked more like thin-crust pizza, which was as thin as a tortilla!