March 11, 2015

For those that know me, March 11 holds a special meaning.
It's the day that I've lost my parent's roots and  my childhood home
It's the day that I've lost family
It's the day that I've lost close family freinds and classmates.
It's the 4th anniversary of the Tohoku Tsunami that occured in Northeastern Japan.
It's the day that breaks me the most. Every year I do something special (this is what I did last year) to try to commemorate all the lives that were lost and those who still continue to live in temporary housing including my 2 aunts.

This year I decided to go to a place to clear my mind in a beautiful place and also pray in a place that's high up. I've decided to go to Mürren because I heard that you're able to see the three famous mountains of  Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn which are considered "holy"mountains of Swiss after Matterhorn. It's also a car-free zone in which you're only allowed to enter the village through electric car or mountain cables.

You can imagine it's not easy getting there. First you take the train to Bern (1), then transfer to go to Interlarken (2). From interlarken you take the cable car to Lauterbrunnen (3), then the mountain train to Mürren (4). Whew 4 transfers! All in all, it took close to 4 hours to get there!

早くも5回忌となった今年の3月11日。色々考えた末、少しでもお空に近いところで空気が澄んだところに行きたいな、思ってたところ見つけたのがミューレンという小さな村。なんでもスイス三大山のJungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhornが見える唯一の村なんだとか。ここに決ーめたという感覚で出発。が、長かった・・・
①電車でジュネーブ→ベルン
②スキー列車でベルン→インターラーケン
③ロープウェーでローターブルーネンまで
④登山電車でミューレンまで

と国内でもかなり時間がかかる　汗。でも綺麗な空気とパワーをもらうため、いざ！

View of Lake Leman from the train

Bern Station

Transferring to get on the "ski express" to Interlarken

Change of scenery from lake to mountain

During ski season, the trains fill up!

Cutest dog ever　スイスの列車で犬はしょっちゅう見かける。このおばさま達はローカルなのでワンちゃんも慣れている様子。

And now in snow territory

Off to high up on the cable car!　これからロープウェーに乗ります♪

View from cable car, stunning

高いな～まるでディズニーランドのアトラクション並み。他の乗車客はローカルの方かスキー愛好者のみ。やはりここまえ観光に来る人は少ないよう　；＾＾

Last transfer!

登山電車に乗ってやっとミューレンが近づいてきた！

Love the old school design of the train　内装はかなりレトロで気に入りました

Not even there but the view from the train is beyond beautiful already!　もうすっかり雪国

Ça y est!　そして乗り継ぎ３回、計４時間近く。やっと着きました！

First thing is first: had some fantastic rösti and Swiss beer after a long ride. Being in the mountains in March, of course there's still heavy snow all around but the snow is soft and fluffy. I decided to take a walk around the village to take a good view of the mountains. And the scenes were breathless. I just walked around meditating and clearing my mind as memories of 3.11 once again rushed through my mind.

This view with great beer　とりあえずビールでしょ

There's lots of different röstis but my favorite one is with egg and tomato :)　スイス名物ロスティー。お味はハッシュポテトのベースにチーズや卵のトッピングを載せてオーブンで焼いたもの。間違いなくおいしい。寒い冬に暖まる一品

これぞスイス！って感じの村　笑　すごい風情

hehe love this philosophy

夏はハイキング、冬はスキーで賑わうそうだけど、今はオフシーズンなので村自体は静か。
閑静な村をぐるっとお散歩した後、見晴らしのいい場所を見つけたのでそこで静かに東北大震災で亡くなった方々、家族の冥福を祈りました。やっぱり車禁止ゾーンだけあって空気はものすごーく澄んでいます。寒いけどすごく清清しい気分で村を後にしました。今度は夏のハイキングシーズンに来たいな～・・・

Following the dog on my walk

I found a quiet place with a great view of the mountains and I must've stayed for half an hour, just closing my eyes and offering my prayers. I was only there for a few hours as I had to head back but the cold and clear air brought solace and comfort. I hope to come back again, next time when it's warm!

Can you spot the hang glider guy?