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Getting around

A journey to the Jungfraujoch is incredibly popular bit it’s certainly not cheap. When combining some of the best views of the Alps with taking a ride on a modern-day marvel of engineering, this is one train ride worthy of a spot on your bucket list and worth the ticket price.

Route: Lauterbrunnen – Wengen – Kleine Scheidegg– Jungfrau or Interlaken – Zweilütschinen – Grindelwald – Kleine Scheidegg – Jungrfrau.
Duration: Roughly 2 hours one way
Don’t miss: The towns you pass through. They’re so picturesque – so leave time to stop in Wengen or Grindelwald.

Gelmerbahn Funicular

With an incline of 106% this is one of the steepest funiculars in Europe. 

The Gelmerbahn runs daily from 21st May – 25. Oct. It runs roughly every 25 minutes starting at 9.00. The last ride up is 15.48 (16:36 in Jul/Aug) and the last ride down is at 16.00 (16:48 in Jul/Aug).

After a ride with spectacular views you're greeted by Gelmersee, a man-made reservoir with beautifully bluw water. The Gelmer funicular is how the workers got up the mountain to create the reservoir back in the 20's. 

Lake Thun Cruise

Lake Thun is one of most picturesque destinations for a boat cruise that you can experience. I really enjoyed the leisurely trip  from Interlaken to Spiez, taking in the views of the Bernese Oberland on clear blue waters. Spiez Castle is surrounded by vineyards in what is said to be the prettiest bay in Europe.

There are so many more cable cars and trains journeys we took and to be honest, they were all spectacular. You won't be disappointed by any of them. I recommend heading to this site for a full breakdown of all the things to see and do.

Eat

Switzerland can be a tad expensive so we prepared our breakfasts and evening meals at the apartment to both save costs and rest after really long days out exploring. We did treat ourselves to come lovely cakes and coffees whilst out but the standout meal for us was at the Swiss restaurant Weidstübl in Lauterbrunnen. They had a varied choice of traditional dishes like rosti, fondue and sausages and the surroundings were very quaint and cosy. We ate in the outdoor seating area (heated) and our dog Coco was very welcome there.

Until next time, Switzerland!

Gugelhupf Cake

This is one of my favourite treats and reminds me of my holidays in Zell am See and Innsbruck with my husband. Served both in cafés and Austrian homes, Gugelhupf cake is an absolute classic. There are also sweet raisin-filled yeast bread versions of this cake but the marbled one is equally as delicious.

• 170g unsalted butter
• 4 eggs, separated
• 330g  plain flour
• 170ml milk
• 330g icing sugar (plus a little extra to decorate)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla sugar
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 3 tsp cocoa

• Preheat your oven to 170°C  and coat the bundt cake tin with plenty of melted butter.
  
• Whisk the butter with the egg yolk until foamy, add all the icing sugar, and stir until creamy. Add vanilla extract or sugar (sachets of vanilla sugar are very common in Austria and Germany but I've never seen them here)
  
• Beat the egg whites until stiff. Sift together the flour and baking powder. Mix half of the flour into the butter mixture and combine. Add the milk, combine, then add remainder of the flour. gently fold in the egg whites.
  
• Pour roughly half of this mixture into the cake tin. Add cocoa to the rest and mix. Pour the darker batter on top of the lighter one into the tin.
  
• Drag the handle of a wooden spoon or a fork through the batter and wave it around to achieve the marbled look.
  
• Bake for 50 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes on a cool rack, then take the cake out of the pan. Dust with icing sugar before serving.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  If you have a go at baking this please tag me in any photos you share, I would love to see.

• 115 grams kimchi, chopped (I used this one)
• 3 tablespoons of kimchi juice 
• 2 teaspoons gochugaru (chilli flakes)
• 1 teaspoon gochujang 
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce 
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil 
• 2 servings cooked rice (day old is best) 
• 115 grams pork belly 
• 2 Spring onions (finely chopped) 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped  

• Cook chopped pork belly in frying pan until slightly browned  
• Add half of the spring onion and all of the kimchi and cook on high heat 
• Mix the kimchi juice, garlic, gochujang, gochugaru, sesame oil and soy sauce together  
• Add the rice and mixed ingredients to the pan and reduce heat to medium
• Stir until everything is well incorporated and the clumps of rice are broken up, cook for 3 to 4 minutes. 
• Top with a lovely, runny fried egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds and remaining onions to serve.
  
  I've also made a recipe card for those who like to print and save these kinds of things 😊