Berner Oberland/Alsace plans
Dec 28th, 2006, 12:36 PM
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Berner Oberland/Alsace plans
Plans for our April trip are beginning to take shape and look interesting. Our trip started out as one of those, "Well, the only way we can go this year is if we score tickets for under $500 each." Found tickets for $448 each - into Zurich, out of Frankfurt. We have looked at lots of combinations of Swiss, German, and French areas. Finally decided on Lauterbrunnen (Hotel Schuetzen) and Riquewihr (Sarment D'Or) as our bases for further exploration. We are now searching old threads for all the best recommendations of things to see and do. (Schilthorn, Jungfraujoch, waterfalls, lakes, castles, wine)
Any new suggestions will be appreciated!
Also, we will have a rental car and need recommendations for good driving maps. KB
Any new suggestions will be appreciated!
Also, we will have a rental car and need recommendations for good driving maps. KB
Dec 28th, 2006, 06:39 PM
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For what it's worth, you can see my photos and read my trip report from a visit to Alsace in 2001 at
http://www.travelswithdiane.homestea...ip2001pg5.html
http://www.travelswithdiane.homestea...ip2001pg5.html
Dec 28th, 2006, 07:11 PM
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This site is currently in winter mode - keep an eye on it: www.berneroberland.ch/navi/winter/frame_en.htm.
If the weather goes foul on you (anything is possible in April), take a train to Bern: www.berninfo.com/en/welcome.cfm - a cool old but modern city, seat of the federal government (the house of parliament is right in the middle of town, no less, flanked by two of the main banks of the country...).
The Schilthorn will not be accessible from April 23 through 27, the cable car will close for seasonal maintenance work.
The train from Grindelwald to the Jungfraujoch, with a change of trains at the Kleine Scheidegg, takes 1:37 hours. Make sure you have not only warm clothing but also sunscreen and really good sunglasses, preferably wrap-around - it doesn't take much to get affected by the glare, and snow-blindness is no fun!
Not much point in having a rental car, use trains and buses in Switzerland, they have that down to a fine art - many places don't allow cars in the mountains at all, and you can't park - wait til you get to the Alsace, take the train to Mulhouse and rent a car there.
On arrival in Zürich, after you come out of the green "nothing-to-declare" door from customs hall, follow the To Trains signs into the adjacent building, up and over, through the glass bridge past the guy with the accordion and down two flights. The SBB (Swiss train system) have a set of counters in a lobby at one end of the floor, and down below are the train tracks.
You'll be in Lauterbrunnen in three hours! Some trains require a change in the main station of Zürich, others go right through to Bern where you always change to the Interlaken-Ost train, and a last switch to the regional mountain train for Lauterbrunnen gets you there.
Switching trains in Switzerland is a piece of cake, they have it all synchronized, just walk along the tracks and read the signs and pick your connection. It helps to know your exact departure time and to have that written down, so go to www.rail.ch and make a note of your likely trains soon after your scheduled arrival in Z.
Interlaken has two station, East ("Ost"
and West. It lies between two lakes, the public boats are at www.bls.ch/schiff/index_e.htm.
There is a cool waterfall near Lauterbrunnen, the Staubbachfall - anybody wil point it out once you get there.
You may hear about another waterfall, where Sherlock Holmes met his demise, at the Reichenbach falls - www.reichenbachfall.ch/ - it will open on May 17 in case you hang around.
Not too many castles in that region - Thun has a Schloss (castle) but I'm not even sure it is open. If you take the Panorama Express early one morning to Montreux (www.montreux.ch/index_en.html), you can go see the impressive Chillon castle (www.chillon.ch/en/index.html), but it is a long trip.
If you get up early and catch the 06:55 in Lauterbrunnen, you get to Montreux by 10:12, with two switches, one in Interlaken-Ost of course, the other in Zweisimmen where you transfer to the Goldenpass Panoramic Express (has glass roof for better views) - reserve early for that one, it leaves Zweisimmen at 08:28 and is popular with tourists.
Note that the main central station in most large cities is called Hauptbahnhof, in Switzerland abbreviated HB (in Germany Hbf).
On your way to Mulhouse you will go via Interlaken-Ost, Bern (maybe with a switch) and Basel, which sits inside of Switzerland but on the borders with France and Germany. Basel SBB is the Swiss train station, Basel-Badischer Bahnhof is the German, and Bâle SNCF is the French station.
You get off at the Swiss station Basel SBB, walk past a very often deserted border post to the French SNCF section - you hardly notice that you entered a different country except for the language on all signs (but you may already have gotten used to that from Switzerland where many things are posted in two or three languages). Then the train to Mulhouse only takes another 22 minutes.
If the weather goes foul on you (anything is possible in April), take a train to Bern: www.berninfo.com/en/welcome.cfm - a cool old but modern city, seat of the federal government (the house of parliament is right in the middle of town, no less, flanked by two of the main banks of the country...).
The Schilthorn will not be accessible from April 23 through 27, the cable car will close for seasonal maintenance work.
The train from Grindelwald to the Jungfraujoch, with a change of trains at the Kleine Scheidegg, takes 1:37 hours. Make sure you have not only warm clothing but also sunscreen and really good sunglasses, preferably wrap-around - it doesn't take much to get affected by the glare, and snow-blindness is no fun!
Not much point in having a rental car, use trains and buses in Switzerland, they have that down to a fine art - many places don't allow cars in the mountains at all, and you can't park - wait til you get to the Alsace, take the train to Mulhouse and rent a car there.
On arrival in Zürich, after you come out of the green "nothing-to-declare" door from customs hall, follow the To Trains signs into the adjacent building, up and over, through the glass bridge past the guy with the accordion and down two flights. The SBB (Swiss train system) have a set of counters in a lobby at one end of the floor, and down below are the train tracks.
You'll be in Lauterbrunnen in three hours! Some trains require a change in the main station of Zürich, others go right through to Bern where you always change to the Interlaken-Ost train, and a last switch to the regional mountain train for Lauterbrunnen gets you there.
Switching trains in Switzerland is a piece of cake, they have it all synchronized, just walk along the tracks and read the signs and pick your connection. It helps to know your exact departure time and to have that written down, so go to www.rail.ch and make a note of your likely trains soon after your scheduled arrival in Z.
Interlaken has two station, East ("Ost"
and West. It lies between two lakes, the public boats are at www.bls.ch/schiff/index_e.htm.There is a cool waterfall near Lauterbrunnen, the Staubbachfall - anybody wil point it out once you get there.
You may hear about another waterfall, where Sherlock Holmes met his demise, at the Reichenbach falls - www.reichenbachfall.ch/ - it will open on May 17 in case you hang around.
Not too many castles in that region - Thun has a Schloss (castle) but I'm not even sure it is open. If you take the Panorama Express early one morning to Montreux (www.montreux.ch/index_en.html), you can go see the impressive Chillon castle (www.chillon.ch/en/index.html), but it is a long trip.
If you get up early and catch the 06:55 in Lauterbrunnen, you get to Montreux by 10:12, with two switches, one in Interlaken-Ost of course, the other in Zweisimmen where you transfer to the Goldenpass Panoramic Express (has glass roof for better views) - reserve early for that one, it leaves Zweisimmen at 08:28 and is popular with tourists.
Note that the main central station in most large cities is called Hauptbahnhof, in Switzerland abbreviated HB (in Germany Hbf).
On your way to Mulhouse you will go via Interlaken-Ost, Bern (maybe with a switch) and Basel, which sits inside of Switzerland but on the borders with France and Germany. Basel SBB is the Swiss train station, Basel-Badischer Bahnhof is the German, and Bâle SNCF is the French station.
You get off at the Swiss station Basel SBB, walk past a very often deserted border post to the French SNCF section - you hardly notice that you entered a different country except for the language on all signs (but you may already have gotten used to that from Switzerland where many things are posted in two or three languages). Then the train to Mulhouse only takes another 22 minutes.
