KCR Summer 2024 Magazine FINAL 1 - Flipbook - Page 36
Eager to Munch in Jungfrau
Switzerland is best enjoyed alone. Controversial perhaps, but many Romantic poets so fond of solitude felt similarly on their Grand Tours, not
least Lord Byron, whose dedicatory plaques are littered up and down
the country. In fact, his name pops up so frequently at sights of natural
beauty, you9d think he was haunting your every move.
Like Caspar David Friedrich9s Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, I orst
stumbled across the Jungfrau region on a solo Interrail trip in 2007. I9d
left my passport in a hotel deposit box in Rome and was forced to take
refuge in the mountains.
Exploring Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen in search of an afordable
youth hostel, I found myself staring up at the only glacial waterfalls in
Europe, Trümmelbach Falls. The discovery was a spiritual awakening of
sorts. Mother Nature in all her sublime glory, inspiring a mix of awe and
fear, in the true Romantic model.
Returning to the region nearly twenty years later, I was glad to embrace
some luxury at the Victoria-Jungfrau Hotel in Interlaken, the perfect
hybrid of old-world charm and cutting-edge design. Boasting balcony views of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountain ranges (which
magically disappear in certain weather conditions), the hotel is home
to Stefan Beer9s spectacular, green-starred restaurant, Radius, where
regional produce is sourced within ofty kilometres.
The hotel was originally built in the middle of the nineteenth century, a
little too late for Lord Byron to enjoy, although I9m certain he would9ve
stopped in for a full body massage and a bottle of Bernese pinot noir.
Truth be told, it9s worth travelling to Switzerland for the sole purpose
of dining at Radius, even if that goes slightly against the point of an
eco-conscious establishment. It9s earned all its badges - both a red and
green Michelin star - and there9s a beautiful theatricality to many of the
dishes on the local 8-course tasting menu. Centre stage is a weeping og,
but in terms of the food, this place is more greenhouse than hanging
garden. Even dining alone, I enjoyed the science-lab vibes of smoky
garlic lamb and a milky digestif served in a test tube. I couldn9t help
noticing one of the dishes on the vegan menu was dubbed
