Switzerland

The glaciers are disappearing ! At least that's what the experts keep telling us. So, when J and I had a few days off together we decided to get up close and personal with one before all that's left is stories of "Remember when..."
Our journey started at Schiphol Airport Amsterdam. We were flying stand-by to Zurich, so it was just a matter of waiting to see if we got on. Luckily there were a few open seats so no problem.
Once we arrived we needed to buy train tickets from Zurich to Interlaken. It took some time to decide what type of ticket to buy since we were first travelling on the national system then switching over to a local one. And we didn't want to pay a whole lot for a Swiss Rail Pass. The salesclerk was very helpful and expained which one would best fit our itinerary. Once that was settled, we were on our way. It's no joke that the Swiss are punctual !
And I would recommend travelling first class if you can afford it.
We weren't sure how far we would get in one day so we had arranged a hotel in Interlaken for the night. The hotel was located on the far side of town from the train station so it was a bit of a hike. But the area was so beautiful we didn't mind.
I had to smile when we came upon our hotel...next door was a Japanese garden. Just another reminder that many Japanese flock to Switzerland for vacation. I remember going through St. Moritz my first summer in europe and the second language posted after English was (and I imagine still is) Japanese. Anyhow, that's another travel story.