Besan ki barfi / Indian fudge - with a twist

I have grown up watching my nani making huge amounts of sweets and savory snacks (enough to feed an army). So did my mother though to a lesser extent, but by the time I grew up this trend had dwindled a lot. Old timers still lament about those good old days when everything was made at home and now they have to make do with packaged and processed stuff with all kinds’ of  chemical additives and preservatives.

For most of us who have grown up gorging on our desi mithai there is nothing to beat it. Making mithai at home might seem tedious but it is totally worth the effort, it tastes way too better not to have a go at making it yourself. As for me, I am into this new phase where homemade is the new mantra and I am  very bemused at how ultimately, we take comfort in  and go back to doing things that we grew up with.

This besan barfi is also known as the seven cup barfi, a popular Indian sweet. I have modified it a bit and gone easy on the ghee and sugar in keeping with today's times and here I am sharing my own version of it. I have added some whole wheat flour which gives it a better texture and adds a nice nutty flavor to it. The barfi turns out soft and fudge like and keeps well. It is very easy to make, doesn't take too much time, and tastes absolutely delicious. So here you go -

Besan ki barfi

Besan Ki Barfi

3/4 cup besan (chick pea flour)

1/4 cup atta (whole wheat flour)

1/2 cup desi ghee (clarified butter)

1 cup dessicated coconut

1 cup sugar (powdered)

1/2 teaspoon elaichi (green cardamom) powder

1 cup milk 

20 almonds thinly sliced

Grease a square pan or tray with ghee. Take a thick bottomed heavy kadai (wok) and pour in the ghee, besan and atta and roast the two on low heat. This roasting helps in removing the raw taste of the flour. Add in the dessicated coconut and half of the finely sliced almonds. Stir constantly till the mixture turns nice brown. This would take around 15 minutes.

Now add the powdered sugar and the milk and stir continuously to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom. Continue to cook till it starts thickening and begins to leave the sides of the pan and comes together, then switch off the burner.

Pour the hot mixture  into the greased pan and level it out with a spatula, then sprinkle the remaining sliced almonds on top.

Let it cool down then cut into diamond or square pieces and enjoy.

Indian fudge

Scandinavian charm - Bergen

A Scandinavian vacation is incomplete without savoring the essence of Norwegian life – nothing epitomizes that better than the historical city of Bergen.

Bergen means ‘a meadow in the mountains’ and is Norway’s second largest city. It goes back about a 1000 years in recorded history. Everything in Bergen has a historical flavor – be it the wharfs, the buildings, the museums – a town with a rich historical culture which seems to have got embedded in the lifestyle of the city.

Bryggen (wharf) area, right besides the city jetty still has the some of the 15th century wharf warehouses which have been converted into museums, souvenir shops, cafes etc. This area is brimming with activity and life, with hordes of tourists swarming around. The best way to partake Norwegian culture is to sit outside one of the cafes here with a beer or coffee mug and see life pass by – you have a good chance to see some state of the art cruise liners docked right nearby.

The jetty

There is so much to do and explore in Bergen and I saw some wonderful places which will always remain etched in my memory like - the Old Bergen Museum which is an open air museum with wooden houses and is a perfect representation of Bergen architecture as it was in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

There is the Fantoft Stave Church which was built in Fortun in Sogn in 1150 in a village near Sognefjord and moved to Bergen in 1883.  It was burnt down by arsonists in 1992 and was later rebuilt just the way it was. What is unique about it is that in medieval times when churches in other parts of Europe were made of stone these were made of wood and showcase Norwegian architectural legacy.

St Mary's Church is the oldest building in Bergen from the 12th century; it’s a great Romanesque church. Though, we could not see it from inside as it was closed for restoration and will open in 2015.   

We took a near vertical ride on the Floibanen Funicular cable car from the city centre to the top of the Floyen Mountains which is 1,050 feet above sea level.

Funicular ride

The journey up takes 5-8 minutes and here we got a bird's- eye view of the city with the mountains on one side and a magnificent view of the islands nearby. At the top there is a cafe, Floien Folkerrestaurant, which is an attraction in itself. There are a lot of hiking trails here and on the way back we trekked down and it was a picturesque walk passing through the wooded terrain.

Panoramic view of Bergen city

Old Bryggen is a UNESCO heritage site with cobbled pathways and old harbor buildings and is a reminder of the town’s importance as part of the Hanseatic Leagues trading empire from the fourteenth to the mid sixteenth century. Its wooden wharf houses are a part of nine hundred year old Norwegian tradition.

Wooden wharf houses

There is a massive fish market right near the harbor which the foodies can't miss and you get to select the choicest catch which is then cooked for you or you can get it packed too. The market also has souvenir shops run by locals, selling trinkets and clothes.

Fresh catch

Zachariasbryggen is a building on the harbor front next to the Fish Market and is filled with bars, cafes and lounges, in the heart of the city. It’s a nice place to relax and remains open till late at night. A well known restaurant here is Peppes Pizza; it’s a buzzing joint (though pricey but then Norway is not called the most expensive country for nothing) with some great tasting authentic Italian  food. They have a great bar too where we chilled out in the evening with Norway's local beer- Hansa.

Bergen has something of interest for everyone, a great eclectic mix, clubs - for the party goers (Rick's, Banco Rotto),  a great cultural life and a thriving indie music scene and most definitely deserves to be on everyone’s list of top places to visit in Europe.

I found Norwegians to be warm, simple and a fun loving lot.

Celebrations and Parades in Bergen

Kheer - traditional rice pudding

‘Rakshabandhan’ is a festival celebrated in India with a lot of enthusiasm. This festival is unique to this part of the world as it is a celebration of the special bond that exists between a brother and sister.

It’s that time of the year when you have a string of festivals lined up and there is a lot of festivity in the air. Bengali Market in my neighborhood was totally choc a bloc with people doing their last minute shopping. The shops were spilling over on to the pavement with their display of colorful 'rakhis' (sacred thread tied by sisters on the brother's wrist) and gifts and apart from the traditional rakhi designs there were quite a few funky ones too. Both the sweet shops, Nathu's and Bengali were also jam packed with people and one heaved a sigh of relief that even though the financial pundits might be shorting India, it has not dampened our spirit of joie de vivre.

All my memories of this festival are related to food - of how my mother would get busy in the kitchen from early morning preparing kachoris, kaddu ki sabji,methi ki launji and a whole lot of other dishes that went with it. For mitha (sweet) she always made kheer. My mother was an excellent cook and this western UP food was her specialty. We sisters would go light on the breakfast in anticipation of the yummy food that we were going to feast on. I have continued with the same tradition at my home too and when the children were around they both would be very agog about the goodies being made.

The kheer that I make is a very simple one. The milk along with the rice is put on a simmer for a couple of hours till it takes on a light creamish tinge. The whole essence of preparing  this traditional Indian dessert is to let it cook slowly so that it thickens to a nice creamy consistency and gets that kadha (condensed) flavor. The kheer tastes very good on its own and really does not need any added flavoring. But if one wishes then some cardamom powder can be added to it once it's cooked. Saffron strands can also be added by first soaking them in warm milk to release their flavor and then adding it to the whole milk.

Kheer

2 litres milk (full cream)

6 tablespoons long grained (basmati) rice soaked

11/2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon green cardamom (elaichi) powder

8-10 saffron (kesar) strands

Soak the saffron in one tablespoon warm milk. Bring the full cream milk to a boil in a pan with a thick base, add the rice and the saffron and cook on a low heat. Keep stirring the milk from time to time to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Let it simmer till the milk thickens and takes on a creamish hue.

When the kheer is almost done then add the sugar and mix well. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes and then switch off the burner. Now add the cardamom powder and mix.

Transfer the kheer to a bowl and serve either warm or cold. 

The Words - a story of Karma

'The Words' is a romantic drama written and directed by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal in their directorial debut. It has an impressive star cast.

The movie begins with author Clayton Hammond (Dennis Quaid) reading excerpts from his latest novel 'The Words'. His book is about a young writer Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper-Hangover/Limitless) who after struggling for five years attains literary success with a book that he has not actually written. His moral turpitude comes back to torment him when he meets the Old Man (Jeremy Irons) who is the real author of his novel. He has to come to terms with the fact that wrong doings come at a cost and he would have to pay a personal price for placing ambition and fame above honesty.

Clayton's multi-layered novel also touches upon the story of a WW II soldier (Ben Barnes) who is in love with a French woman (Nora Arnezeder); they are a young couple living in Paris of the 40's and the death of his child leads to his penning a manuscript which his wife ends up losing; this loss has a huge impact on their lives and leads him to taking decisions he would regret for the rest of his life.

The story line is very forceful and keeps you engrossed till the end. The actors are absolutely brilliant. Ben is very realistic in his character as one who loved and lost. Bradley Cooper is magnificent as a disheartened writer in the throes of desperation and  delivers a subtle performance that show cases his range and Jeremy Irons, the acting icon essays perfectly the role of a broken old man who has lost the zest for life.

Certain scenes are very true to life, the writer's father advising his young son that he would be a man when he begins to recognize his limitations. While it’s good to dream it is equally necessary to gauge our own potential for we often fail to realize that what we aspire to be may be a pipe dream. The movie touches upon the moral dilemmas that we encounter- Bradley's character has to live with the guilt of having claimed someone's work as his own and also the realization that it was never possible for him to be a great writer.

The movie is honest and touching and makes you reflect on life and its uncertainties, on human frailties, mistakes we make and live with, our pains and heartbreaks, which are so much a part and parcel of life. It is important to acknowledge and make peace with our inadequacies, to put the past behind and to move on with life. Hindu philosophy espouses the theory of Karma and the film too dwells on it poignantly.

The movie has a rather enigmatic end, where it is left to the viewer to sift reality from fiction and to interpret whether 'The Words' is an autobiography or simply a work of fiction. The movie makes for a definitive watch for its thought provoking story line which leaves you ruminating for long.

Whole wheat mango cake - sans guilt

This is a very unpretentious no fuss cake. It’s a delicious dessert with wheat flour that’s easy to prepare and filled with flavor and wholesomeness. It’s the kind of cake that one could put together in a jiffy using whatever fruits are in season - here I have added mangoes. Any other fruit like plums, peaches or even apples could be used instead.

Whole wheat mango cake

This cake has the goodness of whole wheat and buttermilk and one can go for seconds without any guilt. It makes a great cake for your tea time table or as an after dinner treat. The whole wheat flour results in a cake with a delicate crumb and the buttermilk gives it moistness without making it heavy. I have used fresh, ripe mangoes which add a unique taste and loads of natural sweetness to the cake so that it requires less sugar. It’s a wholesome seasonal cake with a lot of natural heartiness. Indulge yourself by serving it with fresh whipped cream. Whole wheat mango cake

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup sugar

11/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup mangoes peeled and cubed

2 eggs

1/3 cup oil

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

2 tablespoon dessicated coconut

Preheat oven to 180C degrees and grease a round cake tin. A tube pan or a Bundt pan can also be used.

Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Beat the sugar and eggs in a separate bowl till the sugar dissolves then add the oil, buttermilk, vanilla essence and mix well. Pour the buttermilk mixture slowly into the flour and fold in. Mix the batter until just combined, it’s very important not to over mix it.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and dot it with cubed mangoes and sprinkle coconut on top. Bake for 35-40 minutes till the cake looks done and a skewer inserted inside comes out clean. It will be rich golden with specks of coconut on top.

If you don't mind the added calories have it with ice-cream or a dollop of freshly whipped cream.

A page from a Homemaker's Diary

“Of all the rights of woman, the greatest is to be a mother” 
― Lin Yutang

How time flies, it's been four years since my son went abroad for his undergrad; it seems as if it happened in the not so distant past. I remember my son waking me up in the wee hours of a winter morning to tell me very proudly that he had been accepted into the college of his choice. The memories come rushing back- of how unabashedly thrilled we were, there was a quite pride in his accomplishment and we saw in him a young lad burgeoning with confidence.

All too soon it was time for him to leave. I did recognize this fact that imperceptibly things were changing and my child was leaving the nest and though he would keep coming back, but from now on it could only be for short durations. I knew that now my role of nurturing him had gotten over. It was time for me to let go of him and for him to move on and embark on the next stage of his life ...which he alone would have to navigate and his learning’s would help him flourish as a person.

Nonetheless, I was anxious about how he would cope on his own without any support system. Turned out that, I worried about him for nothing ...he adjusted beautifully in the new environment and for someone who had never been away from home for more than a couple of days he was not a wee bit homesick. I had asked him when he was home for his winter break whether he missed home and he had replied very simply that no not at all. I had very mixed feelings about his answer ...it left me thinking that should I  rejoice at this fact that my son was not a mama-papa boy and showed signs of independence or was it something to be bothered about ...his nonchalant and blasé answer left me somewhat disquieted.

All too soon it was my daughter's turn to go to college. In the exhilaration that she was going to be near her brother and in the run up to her leaving there was no time to dwell ... it hardly dawned upon me that I was going to be without both my children. The daughter  had been the more pampered one so to begin with she missed our mollycoddling but she too found her groove and settled down.There was no more senti ones from her, rather she was pushing me to think beyond them.

It was an anxious time for me, as a parent of young adults. I felt scared that all this new independence doesn’t lead them into some not so good habits- drugs, drinking and whatever else that comes with the Western way of life. My only choice was to trust them and believe that our traditional Indian values will not be completely lost on them and though they might not live and behave the way we would wish them too but still the basic values they had  imbibed over the years will hold them in good stead.

So how was it with both the children not around? Not too hard I liked the fact that for the first time I had time for myself, time to catch up with friends without having to worry about neglecting my responsibility, could sleep to my heart’s content, no more getting up early to fix their tiffins and no more of those dreadfully boring Parent Teacher Association meetings in school.

It is not to say that I didn't miss my children - they had been such an integral part of my existence and to begin with I sure felt bereft without them. I missed my daughter’s incessant chatter, her coming to my room and filling me up on all that had happened in school. When they had been around their friends would come for sleepover and the house would be filled with activity- their fights, screams, howls, food and more food, loud music, things flung around, dirty shoes, walls plastered with what not, their rooms in a disarray, clothes littered everywhere ... OMG ... that time I longed for when would all this get over -yet those were very satisfying and joyful days ... and now all of a sudden there was this quietness which was rather deafening.

But more than that was the gradual feeling of purposelessness. I had been very hands on with the kids till then - my identity had been that of a mother, now there was an identity crisis. I figured out that work was the panacea to all my ills. This was a phase of introspection, of discovering my passion and working on it. I totally immersed myself in my work. Though I had started doing it to keep myself busy but gradually realized that I was enjoying it too. This was a new exciting phase in my life -a phase where I was evolving, thinking more about me without feeling guilty.

One talks a lot about pursuing one's dreams but few can actually manage to do so. When I decided to venture into work I gave a lot of thought about what was that one thing that gave me happiness because I wanted to enjoy doing what I did and this is the 'gyaan' I give my children too ... follow your dreams and rest would come true.

There is an unmistakable realization, of how precious times spent together as a family are. So we take holidays together with the children for we know that it’s only a short while before they are hard pressed to find time as they move into jobs and have responsibilities of their own- but then that is life ... bittersweet.

I am now a lot more comfortable being on my own ... get more time to talk with the hubby, we do our own simple things which we missed doing in their growing up years ...we travel a lot more, have rekindled my interest in reading ... it's a new life which beckons me. Yes, children are still very important to me and I shall always be there for them when they need me ... yet I realize they have dreams and  ambitions ... they will  need to find their place under the sun, and this discovery will be their own ...

  

South Indian fare in and around Lutyen's Delhi

Dosa at Sagar Ratna

In the past few years as Delhi  became more cosmopolitan its gastronomical scene changed a lot. More people were travelling abroad and thus being exposed to different cuisines. They looked for the same authenticity in their food back home too and gradually there was a whole new breed of restaurateur who were sparing no efforts in trying to give the same experience - be it Ritu Dalmia serving Italian cuisine in her Cafe Diva and just as there is Shalom for Mediterranean experience ... and a host of others got it right too. But what stood out here was that they catered to mostly the top end of the market.

Yet, what you cannot take out of Delhiites is their intrinsic love for butter chicken, kadhai paneer,dal makhani and naan -the typical North Indian fare.In such a scenario one wonders how South Indian food aeons of years ago managed to make its mark at all, particularly when the general populace was barely open to trying anything new. The main recipe for success of this cuisine or more particularly of the Dosa, Idli and Vada trilogy in North India was the entrepreneur’s ability to tweak the flavors for the local palate. With some trial and error they were able to give that right amount of zing to suit the Punjabi taste buds. The fact that today South Indian food joints are doing swinging business is indicative of the fact that they have been successful in pulling in the masses.What we have definitely got is a host of  South Indian restaurants all over the city serving amazing food and here is my list of a few of them.

Andhra Bhavan Canteen

This place is housed in very leafy and sylvan surroundings of Central Delhi ... just walking distance from India Gate. I had passed by it umpteen number of times but somehow never had the heart to brave the long queues that one often spotted waiting outside the canteen. One fine Sunday morning we finally got around to going there for breakfast. Apparently a lot of the political leaders are regulars here and in the air conditioned confines of first floor a couple of tables are reserved for them.

It's a no frills place, but the food makes coming here, worthwhile. We bought our food coupon at the cash counter, normally there is a wait of 15-20 minutes but we got lucky and were ushered to our table in no time. Everything here works with clockwork precision and all the servers here have their work laid out while one of them ushers you to your table, another one collects the coupon while another serves food. I guess that is the reason they are able to cater to such a large crowd which fills up the huge dining area.

It's a fixed menu for all three meals of the day along with some a la carte dishes. The breakfast menu has a masala dosa, sambhar, an idli and a vada along with ghee, chilli powder, coconut chutney and filter coffee. The service was quick and the food came in no time and was reasonably hot. The rice idli was well made, so was the vada, crisp from outside and soft inside.  The staff is efficient and keeps refilling your sambhar and chutney bowl. The food has a simple homely touch to it, though served in the most basic style but the meal rounded off with their robust filter coffee leaves you a very contented lot.

For lunch they have unlimited Vegetarian thali which is very popular and has two veg dishes,poori/roti,spl rice, boiled rice, daal, sambhar, rasam, curd, kesari bhath or halwa, potpourri of chutneys,bowl of ghee,gun powder, pickle and papad. Non vegetarian needn’t despair on Sunday's they serve special Hyderabadi Biryani which is a huge sellout. Though I have not tried their thali but the regulars swear by it and for hundred bucks it's definitely more than value for money.

The secret to the popularity of this place is consistently good food and low pricing. The fad of eating out has resulted in mushrooming of restaurants, yet few of them are able to stay afloat ... Andhra bhawan inspite of being low on the swankiness quotient thrives because emphasis on maintaining quality has never been compromised. They ensure this by relying on the traditional method... cooking humungous amount of food by hand

Chidambaram's New Madras Hotel

This is very obscure looking shop in Khanna Market and that's why even  a frequent visitor like me never noticed its existence. It was only recently when a friend happened to talk about this place that we went searching for it.

An added attraction of this area apart from Lodhi Gardens is the Meher Chand Market nearby, which is gradually becoming the new hip address in town and may soon become Khan Market's bête noire, what with all the high end designers opening shop there.

This shop has been around since 1930 and is an old establishment. It's a modest looking place but very well known for its authentic Tamilian food. It serves the usual fare of idli, dosa, utthapam, vada. Their 3- in- one Rava dosa is a huge sellout and so is their dahi vada. For the calorie conscious there is Ragi dosa.

I had my usual masala dosa because I feel that with this staple dish nobody can go wrong. The husband had dahi vada and masala vada. The dosa was fine and so were their other dishes. The food is simple, not very spicy and tastes close to home cooked food. One can round of the meal with their filter coffee.

What didn’t work for me was that for an establishment which is not so up-scale the pricing should be more competitive. If you are in the vicinity the food here can be tried out, if for nothing else than just to experience its old world charm.

Saravana Bhawan Janpath

The queues here are exceedingly long and waiting around is the norm (and if you dropping in for luncheon it would be wise to come early) but I guess that is an indication of its popularity.  The food served here is strictly vegetarian. This place has been a big hit with Delhiites for its authentic South Indian meals. Their signature dishes are ghee pongal, Mumbai halwa, fixed thali.

 I had the mini idlis served with ghee and sambhar-they were unadulterated joy and do melt in the mouth. They have a great variety of dosas so you will not be left short of choice and their spicy kara dosa which is available after 11 am, is a personal favorite. The tiffin platter is a good option if you want to taste different dishes at one go. For those with a sweet tooth the almond halwa and Puran Polis are good choices.

It's an ideal place for breakfast as it opens as early as 8 am. For some of us who have a generous appetite they have a South Indian thali in which along with the usual fare there is a very interesting dish which is basically green chillies marinated in spiced up buttermilk and served fried. We rounded off our meal with a sampling of their badam halwa - it was extremely delicious though sinfully rich.

A great place to go if you are not rushed for time though once inside they will  help you make up for the lost time. They serve you super efficiently and hover around you till you don't take the hint and quickly finish off and leave.

Murugan South Indian Cafe Amar Colony

Amar Colony (Lajpat nagar) is overrun by tuition centres and that is how I got here. My kids used to come here for their Economics coaching (Saddam's place for the uninitiated), so whenever I used to drop them I had to kill a couple of hours here. This ultimately didn’t prove all that tough because I soon discovered what a big food haven this place was and it was easy to spend time in any one of the cafes dotting this area. This market is choc-a-bloc with food shops. For South Indian there is Sagar Ratna too but surprisingly Murugan's was the one drawing the crowd. The really good thing out here is their vada which are just so rightly done, a crisp outer covering,   nicely cooked inside and very spongy too. I could make out that the batter has been well beaten because they doubled in size while getting fried. His vadas are at par if not better than the best and definitely worth a visit. Not only are they inexpensive but also first rate. Have it in the morning - when it's fresh and warm. You just wouldn’t be able to stop yourself for coming over and over again.

Sagar Ratna Connaught Place

I recently came to know that Sagar Ratna has a branch in CP, close to my place. I was quite thrilled at the thought that it would be possible to visit it more frequently.

Sadly, neither the ambience nor the food matched up to their flagship Defence Colony oufit.The chutneys were totally lacking in taste and the rest of their stuff was also below par. I guess that's why had never heard of it in so many years. Made me realize that though they may have multiple outlets but one should stick to the original one.

Sagar Ratna Defence Colony

This place is an iconic landmark for South Indian food and my absolute favorite. I have been coming here since the time it was known only as ‘Sagar’ and can definitely say nobody in town does it better.

The place has a very relaxed ambience. You can linger over your meal, service is very quick and the food comes piping hot. The restaurant gets it all - the rich and not so rich ... a nice blend of people ... the bowler hatted to the jean T-shirt types ... it appeals to old and young alike.

We prefer the dining area on the first floor as it's more spacious and if you can find empty tables near the window then do go for that as it has a nice view. All the usual South Indian fare is on offer from dosas to idlis,vada and uttapam and one can't miss out on their amazing colorful chutneys - coconut, tomato and the green one too (dunno what it is made of)

The food has always been delicious and amazingly consistent. Be it their masala dosa which has just the right amount of crispness or their idlis- which are soft, spongy and leave you with a very light feeling ... both are nicely complemented by their perfect sambhar and chutneys ,  both of which they keep an endless supply flowing. The piece de resistance is their paneer dosa which has a generous stuffing of perfectly spiced paneer and you wonder how they have managed to create a perfect blend of North Indian stuffing in a South Indian dosa. Another must have is the dahi vada served with a sprinkling of boondi.The lightly sweetened curd is the perfect foil for the melt in the mouth vadas.

Eating at this place is always a treat and for South Indian food lovers an experience not to be missed. Sagar Ratna in Def Col is undoubtedly the 'king' for madrasi fare in Delhi.

Wengen - Switzerland at its best

Switzerland has a lot of charming locales and one is totally spoilt for choice. Unfortunately by falling into the tourist trap one tends to overlook the lesser known places, which are often overshadowed by the more popular tourist hotspots. One such hidden gem that we discovered was Wengen in the Bernese Oberland. It was by sheer chance that we stumbled onto this enchanting place. When we were doing the bookings for our stay we looked at places near Interlaken like Grindelwald and Murren, as our base for Jungfrau. Nothing was working out as most of the places either didn’t appeal to us or was booked since it was the peak season. Interlaken didn’t enthuse us because we wanted to stay somewhere not overrun by tourists. Then we came across this place in Wengen, fortunately it was available on the date we were going and that’s how we ended up staying in this charming hamlet

Amazing mountain view from Wengen

Wengen is only accessible by train or foot. From Lauterbrunnen (a valley couple of hours from Interlaken) we travelled by cog railway to Wengen. The carriages are painted bright green and yellow and the seats inside are wooden. The train has so few carriages that on a mountain curve one can catch a view of its tail end. It's around 15 minutes of steep climb through magnificently picturesque surroundings.

Lauterbrunnen valley

Switzerland's natural beauty is legendary but this stretch from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen just takes your breath away, the scenery is absolutely spectacular, there are mountain streams which run along the way, the water is absolutely crystal clear and one can see the bottom of the flowing stream. The whole area is so very green and amazingly also so very white (snow colored peaks which seem quite close and not far away) and you get an unforgettable and mesmerizing view of the valley below which is dotted with ‘chocolate -box' wooden chalets.

 Wengen is a small alpine village which is car free. There is a short little street which is the only marketplace in the town. It has a couple of restaurants, handful of bars and a bakery shop which has really delish freshly baked stuff. There is an ice rink too and lots of chalets which have been converted into hotels. Most tourists pass by Wengen on their way to Jungfrau.

Amazing night view from the chalet

The chalet that we had booked was a good 20 minutes walk from the train station and a fair part of it was uphill. The first day it seemed kind of  painful and we were thinking that- maybe it was not such a sensible thing to do- living in wilderness merely because we fell in love with the place and that - maybe we should have stuck to a more central location even though that might be less fancier.  But all these thoughts just disappeared once we reached the chalet, it was even more prettier than what it looked online and the back drop was to die for....imagine the sight from the chalet...on a clear day we could get a spectacular view of the three peaks the Jungfrau, Eiger and Monch.

A view of the Jungfrau from the chalet

 All our misgivings went away in a puff and now my husband was patting himself on the back for having the foresight to realize that we all would love the place. Though now we had another problem at hand, nobody wanted to leave this place for any sightseeing.

The Telescope for mountain gazing

The 'modern' chalet

The couple who own the chalet are Irish. This is their holiday home and they mostly come down here in winters with friends and family for skiing. Wengen is a very popular ski resort and I believe that it gets way more packed in winters when all the skiing enthusiasts descend here.

There are lots of places around and we did day trips to see all of them. There is Murren, which has no road to go onto ... a cable car from Lauterbrunnen takes you up till Grutschald and then a single carriage train ride lands you into Murren.This was also the location of a James Bond movie (On Her Majesty's Service).

Murren

Then to Isenfluh through a spiral tunnel ... this is such a tiny hamlet inhabited by a small populace and here one can buy fresh cheese (the taste of which you will never forget) from the local farmer. From here there is a cable car for Suwald which is also called a cow car as it can take six people or a cow. One fine day we also did a small trek.... a trail from Wengen to Lauterbrunnen which took us an hour to do.

The Falls at Lauterbrunnen

Since we were going down it was not hard on us but on the way we met a lot of cyclists doing mountain biking and we were wondering how they were attempting it for to us it looked very tortuous.

Green vistas at Wengen

Wengen has a very unhurried pace of life and it is highly recommended for  people who like fresh mountain air, soaking in the stunning scenery, doing the hiking trails or maybe even mountain climbing. For me personally, this place is all about taking time to savor stuff at your own leisurely pace. I love all of Switzerland but the one place that I would most definitely like to revisit is Wengen. What I remember of my stay is that it was one week- of air so fresh and pure, of cow bells waking you up in the morning, of pearly white snow peaks staring from your window sill, of smiling and contented faces, of life at its heavenly best.

Cows grazing outside our chalet