Switzerland – Swiss Alps with Views out of Fairytales
Without a doubt the best part of our vacation was our next stop…… Switzerland. We visited way too many places to go into detail so I’m going to outline some of our favorites. See the hotel section of my site to get details of lounges and hotels. I equate the cleanliness of the Swiss to that of the Japanese. Virtually no litter in sight and friendly people everywhere…. that is except for Geneva where it becomes more of what Americans are used to but still substantially cleaner than any big US city.
Zurich: High end shopping, a crystal clear lake and bad food. This pretty much sums this city up. Travel through the city center for some nice window shopping at Louis Vuitton, Dior, Rolex (don’t expect to find any watches available for purchase), and many more. With the Swiss Travel Pass you get access to the boat tour of Lake Zurich. The tour varies from 90 mins to 3 hours and some include a dinner package. The trams run up and down the city so don’t bother walking. For a quick cheap meal hit up Migros which is a local supermarket. In general dining in Switzerland is quite costly and the local foods such as fondue are less than desirable for my asian palate.
Alps: Our hub was Wengen. Just a few scenic hours on the train from Zurich and you are there. From Wengen you are a 20 minute train ride to a ton of villages such as Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Murren, Kleine Scheidegg and even Grindelwald. For those fearless of heights, a pricy but jaw dropping ride on a gondola will take you to the likes of Grindelwald. The gondola rides are not covered under the Swiss Travel Pass. Hit up google or travel advisor for must see stops but in a nut shell: Skip Jungfraujoch (top the Europe) if you have ever been skiing or get altitude sickness. Weather permitting, you may see nothing but clouds or a few peaks. Really not that impressive compared to the summits at your local ski resort. The cost of the train ride up may not be worth it and the travel pass doesn’t pay the way. Lauterbrunnen is a must for magnificent waterfalls as is of course Iseltwald (home of the infamous Korean drama – Crash Landing On You piano scene). The lake at Iseltwald is absolutely breathtaking but besides the pier there isn’t a whole lot to do there.
Zermatt is the home to the Matterhorn. If you are feeling adventurous then by all means schedule a tour to the summit but do expect to pass out a few times if you are not in top physical condition. We elected to stay in the city and had a hotel with views of the Matterhorn. A definite must is the sunrise onto the peak which turns it into a “Golden Matterhorn” and this may have been the highlight of our trip to Zermatt. The city is busy and is loaded with hotels. The taxi from the train to your hotel will cost you about $20 francs to go 100 yards but with cobblestone roads it could be worth it for those of you that haul heavy suitcases. If not, about a 20 minute walk is all that’s needed through the main street and you are in hotel row.
Geneva was not nearly like the rest of Switzerland. It was much busier and “dirty” for their standards. Getting around wasn’t nearly as convenient as Zurich and required buses and trams. We elected to take a taxi to and from the airport which really wasn’t worth it but the luggage made getting to the train station a bit of a pain. Lake Geneva was also a bit underwhelming but the shopping was very much like Rodeo Drive.
Transportation: The Swiss Travel Pass is plenty expensive at nearly $400/adult for a 6 consecutive day pass but it includes unlimited travel on the train, buses, trams and will cover all your needs for the entire country. Unless you rent a car, there really is no other way to get around. The Alps does not permit cars and at about $20 per round trip to each village, you will be forking out plenty of francs as a family. Kids age 6 to 16 are free with an adult if you have the travel pass. Once you get to the villages in the alps you will be extremely happy you dropped the coins for this pass since it is the only way to get around. The pass will get you everywhere except train rides to Jungfrau and includes boat tours of Lake Geneva and Zurich. The trains are not crowded at all and are very comfortable and clean. They run very frequently and do have restrooms on board most of the times. If ever you want to bite to eat, jump off at any train station for lots of choices including plenty of Migros supermarkets.
