So American. So Swiss.

Yodelers. Sorry for the gigantic Pause.

Uh, will you listen to The Frau? She is SO American now, starting every sentence with “Sorry.”

Sorry. The Frau has been busy.

Oh, busy too? How American of her.

The Frau threw a slightly lighter stone...

Ahh. The Frau hears herself being so American and she can’t stop it anymore. Oh well. Despite being oh-so-American now after almost, yes, three years back in the U.S., The Frau is still up to her Swiss ways too. Earlier earlier this month she was running around Switzerland doing research for a couple of projects, including a piece about a very special festival in Interlaken, which ran in the Financial Times a week ago.

The big news (if you don’t have time to read the FT piece) is that The Frau threw a big boulder at a Swiss festival called Unspunnen. This festival, held only every 12 years in Interlaken, was amazing because it was the first festival that really allowed anyone—yes, even tourists like The Frau—to not only witness Swissness, but to participate in Swissness.

Because here’s the thing—watch something at a festival and you might take a picture. Participate in something at a festival and you’ll tell a story about it instead.

Thus, the boulder throwing. Throwing a gigantic stone is one of three traditional Swiss sports (along with Hornussen and wrestling) so at least now The Frau has a claim to Swiss sporting fame. While she didn’t volunteer to throw the 184-pound boulder (she could have though, you know, Swiss personal responsibility and all) she did throw a 30-pound stone—wearing sandals, no less.

During her trip to Switzerland she also biked the Albula Pass (you must do this next year, Yodelers, if you haven’t—the SlowUp makes it easy by closing the road), hung out in St. Gallen, Appenzell, and Schaffhausen—you know for research purposes, and saw a few friends too.

It’s still hard for her to come home to America after Switzerland, at least the America that’s going on these days. But someone has to try to make it a better place, and The Frau continues to try, this year by taking a leadership role with her local citizen’s council.

And in the meantime, there’s book number three to finish, all about American life after Switzerland—in other words—American Life: 30 Things I Wish I’d Known. And boy are there a lot of things The Frau wishes she had known about her own country. Way more than 30, but now the fun part begins of choosing exactly which 30 to highlight. Stay tuned.

And if you haven’t check out book number two: 99.9 Ways to Travel Switzerland Like a Local—it’s filled with un-touristy ideas for the upcoming fall and winter. And it's in black and white now too. 

Alternative to Interlaken: Thun

A few posts back, it was discussed that the city of Interlaken is Switzerland's ultimate tourist trap. Hooter's. Japanese Gardens. Loud motorcycles. The town's got everything but the traditional Swiss feeling people go there to find. So what's a traveler in the area to do?

Go to Thun.

Recommended by Romy, in the comment section from the "What happened to Interlaken" post, Thun really is worth a day trip. A Swiss friend from Appenzell also recommended it to me, so with the parents in town, we went last week, and it was wonderful.

Now you won't see Thun in most guidebooks. Usually this is a good sign as the amount of space something takes up in a guidebook usually corresponds to the amount of unfortunate neon signage that you'll encounter when you get there. So I always make it a point to take the less trampled, less written about places.

It's easy to get to Thun from Interlaken and the best way is by boat. (from anywhere else in Switzerland, check the train schedule here)

Get on the boat to Thun (takes 2 hours total from Interlaken). Stop by Spiez on the way and visit the castle there. After peeking around the castle grounds, jump back on the next boat and take it to Thun. On the way, you'll pass by several other gorgeous castles. When you get to Thun, enjoy a restaurant on the river. Afterwards, climb a castle that's so uncrowded that you'll feel like you own it. At the top, enjoy the views of the Alps, the lake, and the river and then stop by a spotless garbage recepticle and throw away that Interlaken-touting guidebook. Now that's what I'd call happily ever after.

What happened to Interlaken?

When I came to Switzerland in 2005 as a tourist, I thought Interlaken was God's gift to mountain beauty. So needless to say, I always get a little emotional about going back there only to realize the place is a tourist trap full of fake fondue and plastic signage.

Ok, maybe the fondue isn't exactly fake, but it's not exactly the real deal when you have to stare at a room full of Americans and Japanese photographing their every bite while eating it. In fact, the tourist office in Interlaken has definitely zeroed in on their target audience and installed both a Hooter's Restaurant and a Japanese Garden since I was there last. And you have to give them credit, they know how to give back to those who love them.

"This place really terrible," said my Swiss friend Peter, as we gave up our search for a quaint lunch spot and ate at the Coop Restaurant near the train station instead. And trust me, it takes a lot for Peter to eat at a Coop, which he claims is no different than eating in a nursing home.

In any case, the Coop Restaurant was the best Interlaken had to offer in terms of the tourist/local ratio, so we enjoyed our Coop salad and spaghetti accordingly.

For those of you looking for an Interlaken alternative, may I suggest Mürren or Grindelwald, both which are much less offensive when it comes to restaurant signage and general tackiness.