Day 5 - Switzerland (Titlis)

In short, we had a great day today. First of all, we woke at leisure, got up at 0730, had breakfast and left for Mt.Titlis at 0930.
Mt.Titlis, is 3020 metres above sea level. The approach to the Mount, is by cable car upto a place called Stand, by a lift from Stand and finally by a revolving car to Titlis. The journey was indeed very pleasant. We had been cautioned that it would be very cold and that it would be advisable to carry heavy woolens and a pair of gloves. We chose to ignore the advice (no point in investing on heavy woolens and gloves, both of which were extremely expensive).

We reached the summit at 1130. The guide explained the place to us. This is simple. The First floor is the Revolving car station, the second has a few shops, the third has a souvenir and photography shop, the fourth is the mount.

We rushed to the Mount. What a sight it was. Fully ice clad mountains all around was a treat to the eye. We had a good long walk in the ice mountains first to get acclimatised. The temperature, they said was -3 degrees Celcius. We did not feel any biting cold. I feel that once you are in ice, you do not feel too cold. I had a similar experience in Manali.

There s another open cable car ride, further up (we decided not to go). We had a lot of fun, for about an hour, We started throwing ice balls at each other, and amongst other tourists. Most of the tourists, noticeably were from India. It was really a nice feeling that India generates so many tourists in Europe. We found an ice man, made by somebody and pretended that it was made by us. I also tried climbing up the mount and sliding down in ice. I would have climbed about 6 feet. What efforts. We held flags in our hands, a symbol of conquering the Alps.

While the place is a must see for any tourist, my mind could not help draw a comparison with Manali. In Manali the ice was more wettish and slippery. That is probably why there is an insistence of wearing rubber boors in Manali. The area in Manali was to me whiter and the ice more snowish. I personally felt, with due apologies to Titlis, that Manalis is a better tourist spot. If only the Indians can promote tourism better, Manali would be a bigger and better attraction.

We spent some time in a coffee shop, had good coffee and then another 30 minutes in the ice, before going down. At the first floor, we also have some very attractive ice caves.

When we got down from the cable car station, we were greeted by a nice Indian restaurant, on a caravan selling hot Masala tea. It was wonderful.