I’m sure most of you have read, or at least heard of, the
famous Sherlock Holmes story where the famous detective takes on his nemesis,
Moriarty in a fight to the death at the Reichenbach Falls.
I had the opportunity recently to visit the falls, and the
Interlaken area, with around 80 members of the Sherlock Holmes Society. This
group, whose members come from all walks of life, hold regular meetings about
the work of Arthur Conan Doyle. However, every few years, they organise a pilgrimage
to an area highlighted in the stories. The pilgrimages are taken very
seriously, with each attendee taking on a character and wearing full Victorian
costumes, and various scenes are re-enacted.
Members are given full VIP treatment, being met by Mayors and the
leading lights in the places they visit.
Having said that, the pilgrimage also
has plenty of ‘down-time’ along the way.
Flying into Zurich on the daily flight from Dublin with
Swissair, I was slightly put out by the fact there wasn’t an Alp to be
seen. I had fully expected to see one
snow-capped high peak after another immediately. However, it wasn’t until the very efficient
Swiss Rail train from Zurich passed through Bern that I started to see the high
mountains I was expecting, though what I didn’t realise was the huge mountains
I was seeing were just babies compared to the big mountains!
From the Hotel du Nord in Interlaken, I could see I was
totally surrounded by breath-taking mountain scenery. From the Harder Klum mountain, reached by a
near vertical Funicular ride up the side of the mountain, I got a birds-eye
view of the town and got my first glimpse of the ‘big’ mountains in the
distance. I did ask myself what it takes
for a person to look at a mountain and say “I must build a railway up the side
of that”.
I answered my own question on a trip up to Jungfraujoch - at 11,333 feet, the highest point in
Europe. The journey from Interlaken
involves 3 train journeys over 2 hours, and takes you past some unbelievable
scenery and alpine villages. Nearly half
of the journey takes you up through the middle of the Eiger using a tunnel
created 100 years ago. It is a technological marvel and runs in all weathers
(even through snow drifts!) Train operators in the UK & Ireland could
probably learn a thing or two. Now,
before you think the top of Europe is a bleak rocky outcrop, I was amazed to
discover a full visitors centre, restaurants, a snow fun area and a number of
exhibitions. I also had the somewhat
surreal experience of enjoying a nice meal while looking out the window at
mountain climbers trudging up the 20km glacier outside.
Now, I am sure you are wondering what the “Sherlockians “
were up to while I was on my Alpine experience – well, they were there
too! They had sing-songs at the top of
the mountain, Moriarty hatched a plan to take over the railway and Mr Holmes
stopped him in his tracks (so to speak). We also witnessed the Cardinal being
buried at sea from a boat on Lake Brienz and, of course, visited Reichenbach
Falls, where Holmes and Moriarty re-enacted their final battle. To be honest,
standing there surrounded by Holmes, Watson, Queen Victoria and all these
people in their costumes, virtually living as their personas, it was hard to
remember that Holmes was a fictional character. The Society members take their
roles quite seriously and obviously use it as an ‘escape’ from their usual
life. Members I spoke to included
Teachers, Lawyers, Police Officers and Doctors.
From a tourist perspective, Interlaken acts as a magnet, and
be warned, prices are set accordingly. However, if you visit or stay in
surrounding towns like Meiringen (which I discovered is where Meringues were
first created) you will find them substantially less expensive. Public
transport is excellent in the area too. I think the Swiss invented punctuality.
The Swiss Pass allows you to use buses, trains and ferry transport in the
country and offers excellent value for money.
From a language perspective, Swiss people seem to use a mix
of German and French in everyday conversation, but English is widely used. Despite being a European country, the
currency used is the Swiss Franc
As for the website to visit for more information…..well,
that’s elementary! Its
www.myswitzerland.com
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