Milan and Lake Como

I love Italy. There is such a chaotic yet relaxed feel to it's cities but it's the smaller ones like Como which really charm.

Of course, Como is blessed with a lake named after itself but still it is the most gorgeous city if not quite the most beautiful in Italy.

The same can't quite be said about its big brother, Milan but then again Milan isn't really about beauty - apart from the Duomo, Galleria and Castello of course.

Milan was built to embrace Italy's consumerism and it shows with the streets littered with big global brands. It's a window shopping haven. But just to show that they want to cater to everyone, there's a McDonald's and Ciao in the opulent looking Galleria.

I like Milan. I wouldn't spend more than a day there as a tourist although if I had a job and lived there, it's not too bad a place.

Zurich

I love Switzerland. I don't want to leave it but I need to move on...

By the way please bring Mövenpick back to Wellington.. Love it's Swiss chocolate ice cream.

Lucerne

Lucerne - the land of swans, wooden bridges and.. banana trees? Hmmm.. yes that is a banana tree in the middle of the park by the lakeside in Lucerne in one of the pictures below. Also took some shots of Lake Brienz which was on the way to Lucerne from Interlaken.

The Land of Heidi 3 - Grindelwald & A Look Back at My Time in the Central Bernese Oberland

After 3 days in Interlaken and its surrounding Central Bernese Region, I have to say I've covered it all - and probably also had more than my fair share of Korean tourists who have been staying at my hostel.

I mean, let's set the record straight, the hostel I'm staying in, the Backpackers Villa Sonnenhof in Interlaken is stupendous hostel - they give you 6 tokens to spend on washing machines and coffee, and you get the Interlaken - Wildersvil part of your train trip free - a great discount as it reduces the price of your train ticket to Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald, along with the discount you get for using the Eurail pass. I guess the quiet and clean nature of the place - and the fact there's no bar - means it will always attract a more quiet, genteel crowd, including Koreans, families and younger Americans. Not that that's a bad thing, I think I've had some of my better sleeps in a hostel here which is good given that I'm still working through a 6-hour time difference from Singapore.

Highlight of this part of the trip - indulging in what the Swiss people love to do the most, alpine walking. And why not? It's the most perfect conditions and scenery to do it in and the tracks are well laid out. The best walk for me was the walk from Grindelwald to just near the Grosse Scheiddig pass - to be honest, you don't need to go all the way to the top, as the views of the valley below and Eiger are already awesome once you're past the youth hostel.

But yes I have to say I love Switzerland and it's not too bad on the wallet either if you're backpacking especially if you're after cheese which is cheap in this country.

Anyway here are some shots from the walk from Grindelwald -

Contentment :)

The Land of Heidi 2 - Lauterbrunnen and Muerren

By the way, has anyone had any trouble uploading photo albums onto Facebook for the last couple of days? It's why I haven't been able to put up all my Interlaken photos at the moment. Anyway, here are more from Lauterbrunnen and Muerren - absolutely stunning places.