Switzerland Tour-Luzern to Mt Jungfrau

Our
wait for others to arrive turned into anxiety when the clock started
ticking nearer to the departure time-we were witness,standing on
those platforms of Luzern railway station,how punctual were these
arrivals and departures.If the departure was meant for 0755 hours,the
guard would waive off the train a few seconds before the clock could
strike 0755 and then it will not wait for anyone.We could see a
disabled Swiss man,hobbling anxiously with his crutches to catch the
train and was able to reach the coach just as it was meant to roll
out.The train guard waived him sorry and the train rolled out on
time.The ruthless efficiency of the system was to be seen to be
believed.

Frantic
calls were made for the rest of our group to join us but to no avail
and we were so disappointed to see our train rolling out of the
platform without us.It was a matter of a few minutes delay,as we
Indians are so accustomed to stretch the
time,but this was Switzerland.Rest of us grumbled,growled and got
impatient-the next train was an hour later.It was not too good a sign
to start off on a vacation-but it served a good purpose-we were never
late after that.

The
next 45 minutes were spent in exploring the 2 tier railway
station,with steps,escalators and elevators connecting the two
levels.hopping in and out of supermarkets,fashion stores etc.A visit
to the toilets put us back by 2ChF(Rs 90) individually and the lure
of hot popcorn was not to be ignored by shelling out 3 ChF(Rs 135).

The
weather was cool,and a varied mix of localites were commuting-office
goers,college students,elderly people,people proudly carrying
cycles,walkers with dogs on a leash,cute children wearing all kinds
of sweet clothings.You could spend hours sitting on the platform
benches and watching the sea of humanity pass by.

It
was all very surreal yet real.

The
wait got over and we impatiently jumped into our coaches as soon as
the train rolled in.The Indian traveller’s blood flowing in our veins
could not believe-Aha,the coaches were sparsely populated and you
were spoilt for choice.The elegant and modern train coaches were so
superior to Indian train coaches that you would rub your eyes with
disbelief.