Since all good spy stories seem at some point to involve,a boat on a lake in Switzerland, and we have just one more day of laying low, a nice little joint in a paddle steamer to an ancient hotel where Sherlock Holmes once battled with the dastardly Moriarty seemed entirely appropriate.
A rare failure of management, the result of which was that we found ourselves in steerage class on the steamer all the way to Giessbach at least allowed us to watch the workings of the ancient steam engine as we chuffed along, but it did keep us nicely warm while outside conditions could be most aptly described as somewhere between “it would be much nicer tucked up in bed”, and “abominable”. With a maximum temperature of three degrees, the kind of visibility you get when you put a paper bag over your head, and the sort of rain my mother would have described as “set in”, standing next to the engine for a bit was really quite pleasant.
On arrival at Giessback, Europe’s first Funicular transported us to the Hotel Terrace where aforementioned management redeemed itself, having had the presence of mind to have booked an indoor table for luncheon the day before “just in case”.
Normally a highlight of any visit here (apart from lunch) is an exploration of the pathways that lead one beside, across and beneath the monster waterfalls that traverse the site, creating the perfect location for bad guys to lead good guys on a merry chase.
Today, given the conditions, it seemed much more sensible to simply take a photograph of others undertaking that particular activity before ducking back into the warmth for dessert and coffee .
1 comment
"a nice little joint". Now there is an expression that could have resulted in this story having an entirely different ending.
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