În Ceasescu's footsteps: Switzerland, Serbia and Romania via SQ346/345

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We flew east over the Swiss and Austrian Alps before crossing into Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia.



Spacious loos on the A220.



Aircraft cabin.



A few empty rows at the rear of the plane.



Overflying the former SFR Yugoslavia as the aircraft approaches BEG.



At this point, a crew member distributed 'thank you' chocolates, as is customary on LX.







At this juncture, we began our descent into Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport.



We overflew the airport and the city before banking 180 degrees and landing from an easterly direction.









A large terminal building with many aerobridges but virtually empty when we landed. Passed by an AnadoluJet B738 which was the only other aircraft parked at the terminal.



We park at gate A10 which is at the far end of the terminal. Notice the 'Follow-me' car.

[RedEyeflight]

Once airborne, I noticed the metallic trim around the seats. Here's a picture of the metallic coat hook.



Cabin crew then came around distributing bottles of water.



Magazines were available but one had to scan a QR code to access the online content.



No more free service items. Inflight shopping and buy-on-board were available on this short 1 hour and 20 minutes flight.

[RedEyeflight]

HB-JCK flying ZRH-BEG today.












Interestingly the safety video was shown through these small screens next to the seat belt sign.


Taxiing in ZRH.

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Back in Interlaken just after noon.



I had half-an-hour to kill before my train back to Bern and onwards to Zurich. So, I'd have to eat on the train.

Packed lunch from a nearby supermarket, consisting of turnips, carrots and grilled salmon. It was a decent meal. Being price conscious, I wasn't sure how much it would cost to eat on the train, but there were dining cars on both trains between Interlaken and Bern and between Bern and Zurich Airport.



Flight: LX 1418
Aircraft: Airbus 220-300 (HB-JCK)
Origin: Zurich (ZRH)
Destination: Belgrade (BEG)
Class: Economy
Date: April 2024

The train from Bern to Zurich was incredibly crowded, with people even sitting on stairs and standing by the doors. Eventually, I arrive at Zurich Airport and take the escalators up to the station mezzanine. LX-dedicated check-in counters are available here for passengers who have already printed their boarding passes and are merely dropping bags off. That wasn't me however, and it was a slightly complicated walk to get to the main check-in area for LX.

Walk to check-in area that required exiting the terminal. I will be back in ZRH after 10 days of touring eastern Europe.







No queues for check-in. I am printed a boarding pass and my bag is checked-in. Boarding gate is D57 a bus gate within the main terminal. With Swiss efficiency in full force, I clear security in less than 10 minutes and emerge airside.



As Serbia is a non-EU, non-Schengen country, I have to be stamped out of Schengen. So, I proceed through passport control and head downstairs to the D-gates. The D concourse is located below the B concourse and consists purely of non-Schengen bus gates. Most narrow-body UK and Ireland flights on LX depart from here.



Boarding commences but with no separation by groups. An LX gate agent sees my KF status and gives me a kind greeting.

[RedEyeflight]

The next morning checked out from the hotel.



I had a few hours that morning before I had to head off to ZRH for 5pm flight to BEG. I bought a train ticket for Grindelwald, another town close to Interlaken.



Grindelwald is famous for its gondola system that takes you up to a cliff walk with stunning views of the surrounding mountains.



Views from the cable car.

[RedEyeflight]

Back in Interlaken, still feeling jet lagged and a bit knackered. Decided to settle on a youth hostel restaurant a stone's throw from the main railway station.





Took a stroll before sunset around Interlaken.

[RedEyeflight]

After wondering around Gimmewald, I headed back up the cable car to Murren. I walked across the village to the train station and took the train back to the cable car to Lauterbrunnen.

Train in Murren.



I took the cable car down to Lauterbrunnen and felt 'mountain-ed-out' at that point. But I decided to go to the last town of Wengen since I was already there. Wengen is two stops from Lauterbrunnen on another train.

Getting off the train in Wengen.

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Took another cable car to the village of Gimmewald. Turnstiles where one scans their ticket to enter the cable car system.



Gimmewald.



This car-less village had some interesting street signs.





A house in Gimmewald.



Public fountain.



A street in Gimmewald.

[RedEyeflight]

Getting to Murren is a bit more complicated. I initially headed to the main train station, but then was told to head to another building to catch a cable car to a standalone train line that is completely disconnected from the rest of the main train lines that connect Lauterbrunnen with Interlaken and the other surrounding villages.







Reaching the top.



Once at the top, there's a train waiting for you. It's two stops to Murren and you arrive around 20 minutes later. Views from the train.



Views from Murren.



Stopped by Hotel Regina for lunch

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The restaurant in the hotel afforded excellent views.

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Breakfast was an excellent spread of cheeses, croissants, other kinds of breads, breakfast meats and yoghurts. A simple spread but all high quality products.

Took the bus into town to catch a train to Lauterbrunnen, a village in the Alps. From there I would catch even smaller trains for more remote carless villages in the mountains.



The train to Lauterbrunnen was equipped with a cogwheel and corresponding grooves on the track to allow the train to climb steeper hills than normal.



Emerging from the train station in Lauterbrunnen.



Made my way to a local waterfall.



Took a stroll around the village.







Head back to the train station for the next village of Murren.

[RedEyeflight]

View from my room the next morning.



Decided to take a walk to the local town before breakfast began at 8am.



Came across these cows a few houses down.

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Decided against going out to dinner and went downstairs to the restaurant. It had some great views of the nearby mountain range and was well-patronised by locals from the surrounding area.



Ordered steamed fish, caught in the local lakes in the area.

[RedEyeflight]

It was then a short 10 minute hop on the public bus in Interlaken to my hotel, Hotel-Restaurant Burgseeli, located in Goldswil, a town adjacent to Interlaken. I was lucky to find this charming little hotel on Booking.com less than a month before my trip and for a good price too. Once off the bus, it afforded excellent views of the alps.





It's a small hotel with a restaurant at the bottom and a few rooms on top.



Views from the parking lot.





Cozy rooms which were adequately-sized. No television sets, but definitely well-worth 3.5 stars for a two night stay, breakfast included.



The only issue with the hotel was its location. Even so, it was in a charming small town with breathtaking views and only 10 minutes away on the bus which was free. And, most importantly, it was frankly a nice respite from the hoards of tourists that descend on Interlaken in the spring and summer.

[RedEyeflight]

Saying goodbye to Zurich for the time being. I'll be back for two nights before leaving for SIN.



Most trains to Interlaken require a change in Bern, the capital of Switzerland. I took a 2pm departure departing from Zurich main station.



The first of two trains goes to Geneva Airport. I will only be taking it up to Bern.





The ride to Bern is not that scenic. Consists of going past farms and ducking into a lot of tunnels.



Swiss trains work like clockwork. My connection in Bern is only a mere 6 minutes. I arrive exactly on schedule with my connecting train on the opposite side of the platform.

The train ride from Bern to Interlaken is breathtaking, particularly as the train approaches the town of Thun.






Views from Interlaken Ost, the main railway station for the city.

[RedEyeflight]

Headed to Zeughauskeller a family-run restaurant with a colourful history serving local Swiss German fair for some local sausages and mac and cheese.



The restaurant was located in a nice town square.



Headed back to Zurich HB for an afternoon train to Interlaken. The walk back afforded nice views of Grossmunster.



Decided to take the tram back the rest of the way. Like most European cities, Zurich has an extensive network of trams.