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Swiss Trains not on time and boats not run at all - great time

Swiss Trains not on time and boats not run at all - great time

Old Jul 15th, 2017, 11:17 AM
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Swiss Trains not on time and boats not run at all - great time

We're back from our week in Switzerland with departure from Milan and trying to catch up of life. I'll post some travel report thoughts as I get time.

We were meeting up from two continents. My husband wanted to go somewhere we hadn't been before in Switzerland and I wanted to go to the mountains. We both wanted to walk. We ended up separately flying into Zurich where we met up at the Holiday Inn Express Airport. Afternoon/evening in Zurich. Day trip to Ebenalp in Appenzell. Stop in Thun. Three nights in Zermatt. Then on to Locarno. Wander around on trains to Milan for a couple of nights before flying home.

The HIE Airport turned out better than I expected. We were flying in hours apart with my husband on an overnight flight so it made sense for the first night. Then I decided a second night would give a day in the Appenzell region, something new, while he is recovering from jet lag, perhaps a folk museum, perhaps the gondola followed by trail to the historic sites on Ebenalp depending on weather and energy. The hotel shuttle was dependable. The HIE staff nice. Price around US$100 including breakfast. My husband couldn't get an early checkin when he arrived, but when I showed up at 1pm we were immediately checked in and after a quick lunch at the cafe in the nearby gas station (great bakery), we both got a nap in the great air conditioning.

The hotel was 5-10 minute walk to the Rümlang S-bahn station where we and other tourists bought tickets at the machine (no staff on weekends) after a few tries. I was glad I had researched the zones, etc. in advance. 30 minutes to city center where we walked, bought an iPad cable to replace the one my husband forgot at home, and ate dinner. Our impression was the center was OK, but not a city I would go out of my way to visit. Back in the train station we could not find a S-bahn map and did not remember the numbers of the lines or final destinations to get back to the hotel. The information booth was closed. We knew we could go to the airport and take the shuttle to the hotel, so that is what we did. The map was on the train, so I saw we could get off at an intermediate large station and switch to correct train to Rumlang, but my husband didn't trust my interpretation and didn't know how long the wait would be, so we continued to airport and shuttle. Another couple on the train started smiling as I looked out the window and tried to persuade my husband to switch at the intermediate station. Turns out they were having the same problem finding the correct S-bahn, so were also riding to the airport and would take a taxi or shuttle from there to their hotel. When we were leaving the hotel, my husband found a small piece of paper with some S-bahn instructions they gave him at the front desk, but he had not noticed what it was.
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Old Jul 15th, 2017, 11:24 AM
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Why didn't you USE that Ipad to get info?
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Old Jul 15th, 2017, 12:27 PM
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Their iPad most likely was wifi dependent. Perhaps no wifi was available where they were?
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Old Jul 15th, 2017, 12:59 PM
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Trains in Switzerland alas do not IME either run on on time -but they usually hold up connecting trains and there are so many trains that you never have to wait long.

Always glad to read reports about Switzerland.
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Old Jul 15th, 2017, 03:17 PM
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My experience with Swiss trains is that they run like clockwork...almost.

We've had to wait a few minutes here and there, but we're always thankful when our connecting train is held, or when a bus is sent in when there's a technical problem, which happened to us just last month.

One year when our arriving train was stuck in a freak snowstorm near the French border, they unlocked the closed train station so we didn't freeze and the conductor was incredibly apologetic for being late.

Look forward to reading more Kay2.
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Old Jul 16th, 2017, 03:39 PM
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After the ease of wifi access on Dutch trains, I was disappointed in Switzerland. At both Zurich Airport and the train station, wifi was offered with registration via a code sent by text message. I entered my US cellphone number, no no text message from either, so we could not log on to check schedules.

In the Netherlands, several trains were 5+ minutes late plus there was announced construction that caused disruptions, but I was a little surprised in Switzerland. I remember being on a Swiss train delayed in a tunnel near a station with a conductor beside himself because we were going to be late because of a train on our track, taking it personally. This trip we had some 5-10 minute late trains with either no explanation or an announcement that we had to wait for another train. Leaving Zermatt on our regional train, we had to stop for 30-45 minutes. The Glacier Express was blocking the track in front of us. The conductor said it "lost its air" which we took to be the brakes. He checked for passengers headed to airports, talked to people about alternative routes, and warned that we might all be put on buses. We eventually made it to Brig where people dashed into the main station. My husband and I had a 1-hr layover that was now 15 minutes, so no worries for us. The conductor told us he felt like he had already worked a long day 11am.
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Old Jul 16th, 2017, 04:05 PM
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Appenzell--
For our leisurely day out from Zurich, I gave my husband the choices of Lucerne, Stein am Rhein, St Gallen, Appenzell, Urnaesch, Ebenalp, or Friedrichshafen. Not unexpectedly, he chose the gondola and hike on Ebenalp. I think would be a lovely region to explore by car, stopping in small towns, riding up the mountains, etc.

We were purposely slow that morning, arriving at the top of the gondola around noon to a fierce wind with rain. When my husband saw the trail sign for the major sites (cave, hermitage, guesthouse) pointed down, he balked. He always wants to start hikes uphill, then finish down, not start down with finish up. So, he chose to go uphill to the restaurant and start with lunch. We ordered some local sausages with sides. They were OK, but others' lunches not local specialties looked better. After lunch we continued uphill to make a loop according to the map. The trail was more challenging than expected, the mist swirled around us, rain spit on us, and our easy day turned into a real workout. We did find a turnoff down through a cow pasture and back along/under a cliff face that was scenic. From there we could see the lake below as clouds move in/out. We later found a trail that we hadn't seen on our way up because of the poor visibility which again led down to the major sights. By then there was no way my husband was going further downhill, so we climbed up to our lunch spot and caught the gondola down.

We didn't stop at one of the towns to see a folk museum (one of the easy activities I had planned), preferring to head back to the hotel for a warm shower and dinner. We knew the trains would be crowded--a major pop music festival was being held near St Gallen. Young people in muddy boots with bags of camping equipment packed the train and only moved their belongings from seats under my polite/stern teacher request to allow others to sit. It reminded me of the recent Bridget Jones movie music festival.

We bought takeaway food at the Zurich station and caught the proper S-bahn back to the hotel for hot shower, picnic, and early night.
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Old Jul 16th, 2017, 04:25 PM
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An image that stays in my mind from the day at Ebenalp is a woman with 5 children probably under the age of 7 (one on her back) hiking the trails. One woman, 5 children, slippery trails on a mountain. We saw them headed down a trail under the cliffs with her yelling for the leader to slow down and wait (understandable in any language) and then we saw them at the train station (some had gone inside the small station and she was yelling, searching for them). They all seemed to make it onto the train after a successful outing.

Buying our train tickets from the machine at Rumlang, Ebenalp and other places took me some time as the machine offered alternative routes, sometimes none of which matched what I expected.

I understood from the helpful folks on this board that I could buy a ticket for a route that was not tied to a specific train, but was tied to the route. If my route was, for example, Rumlang - change Zurich HB - St Gallen, I thought that is what I would see on the machine (St Gallen via Zurich HB). Instead, the alternatives would list several abbreviated names that I did not recognize and not necessarily the one at which I wanted to change. I assumed they were intermediate stops, but I didn't recognize them and didn't know which to choose.

I thought it was just me, but another tourist at Rumlang was stumped until a deaf woman who read lips tried to figure out what the confusion was and helped her to buy her ticket and validate it. Interesting experience.

A French speaking fellow at Ebenalp also went through the options for routes to his destinations several times before making a choice and jumping on the train. Then we started the same process and missed that train, having to wait for the next one.

Buying our Swiss half-price card at Zurich HB was easy and the line much shorter than at the airport. The clerk was very helpful and wanted to make sure we were buying the correct choice for our travels.
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Old Jul 17th, 2017, 01:43 PM
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Thun--
With rain, not in a hurry to get to Zermatt, so we stopped off to wander in Thun, a town we had not visited. We stowed our bags in a large locker (8 CHF in coins) and went for a walkabout based on some info I had downloaded the night before.

Lovely covered bridge with the gates gushing water. Each time I stopped along our route from station to bridge to promenade to take photos, a fellow pushing one of those wheeled walkers with a seat passed us. He was moving at a steady clip. He seemed headed to the casino.

It was a quiet Monday on the main shopping street, but I popped into an interesting gift shop along the way. Interesting Fulehung monument and story. We wound our way to the back of the castle and thus found the gradual climb rather than the steps. Walked down along the wall and tower, past the curling hall, to the river and the island. Seemed like everyone was having a picnic lunch so we visited the grocery and joined in. We bought some extra as we were uncertain as to the size of groceries in Zermatt, but we found out that the Coop and Migros were quite large there, so no need to bring supplies except sufficient chocolate or pastries for the train.

When the sun came out it was quite hot with the heatwave returning, so we caught the hourly train on to connect to Zermatt.
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Old Jul 19th, 2017, 07:56 AM
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Zermatt--
The sun emerged as we rode toward Zermatt and we caught glimpses of waterfalls and the peaks ahead as the train curved up the valley. We chatted with a translator living in Zermatt for 2 years who told us she and her family delighted in their good fortune to live there. The conductor pressed us to buy roundtrip Gornergrat bahn tickets from him--"avoid the lines, same price, you'll want them even if you are walking part way down". We didn't experience long lines at ticket counters and we didn't ride all the roundtrip. I think he must have a target to meet in ticket sales.

The throng of groups standing around the station as well as pushing up the main street combined with the mass of taxis and even horse drawn carriages assaulted us upon arrival. We pushed through and down the few blocks to the Hotel Walliserhof with me thinking "What have I done bringing us here?" But the clear view of the Matterhorn as we walked and the simple but comfortable room
at the hotel reassured me. We quickly found the parallel streets and only went back to the train station to buy tickets upon departure, so we managed the crowds with relative ease.

We had a wonderful time in Zermatt over our 3 nights. We rode up 3 mountains (not all to the top), walked on two, ate good meals, took about a million photos, met some nice tourists, and generally enjoyed ourselves. I'll add what we thought were the highs and lows in hopes others will be able to use.
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Old Jul 19th, 2017, 08:54 AM
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Switzerland costs--

Like many tourists, we have previously experienced sticker shock in Switzerland (but not like Norway). This year with the current exchange rate and prices, we found hotels to be a bargain, train prices reasonable, but food very expensive.

We usually picnic a lot because we hike plus we don't want to be tied to restaurant locations and time. This time we ate more in restaurants because they were so conveniently located at the top of every train and lift. Food varied in quality and some of the restaurants on the mountains had the same menu.

By looking for the menu of the day on chalkboards in Zermatt, we found a full dinner plate of meat or fish plus vegetables or a pizza in the CHF 20-30 range instead of the 30-60 range on the standard menu. We were warned that we would need reservations, but we walked into restaurants up to 7:00pm and were shown directly to a table in Zermatt.

Similarly, we found a great deal on a trout menu of the day in Bellinzona and a pork roast with vegies in Locarno. Not such luck in Zurich walking through the old town.

The hotels we stayed provided substantial breakfast as well.
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Old Jul 19th, 2017, 10:55 AM
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Thanks, Kay. We're heading for Switzerland in just under 3 weeks time and though we're not going to be in the same places, your tips are still very useful, especially about finding reasonably priced meals.

I am still leaning towards buying a swiss rail pass for the entirety of our trip - we're likely to be using a lot of boats and cable cars/lifts as well as trains so it will certainly be more convenient, rather than grappling with ticket machines.

BTW did you have the swiss rail timetable app? I managed to find it in the end and it's great! not sure if it works off line though.
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Old Jul 19th, 2017, 11:19 AM
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annhig -

I think you'll find Switzerland a bargain after Iceland. We certainly did.

It also felt like a bargain after living in Perth, Australia.

Bargain is relative of course, but to us, while Switzerland isn't cheap, it's certainly good value.
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Old Jul 19th, 2017, 11:51 AM
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annhig if you do decide to buy a pass and are uncertain which one to buy I would go for the half Fare pass for one month costing 120chf. You can buy it on arrival at which ever airport you arrive at. It does what it says on the tin half fare wherever you go.
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Old Jul 19th, 2017, 11:51 AM
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thanks, Mel - that's encouraging.
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Old Jul 19th, 2017, 07:53 PM
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Hi Kay2,

Oh gosh, your description of Zermatt is one of the reasons I can't get myself to like it. It's the crowding ... crowding of humans as well as of buildings! There is no more space to build, but they keep on throwing up more & more chalets, sorta crammed into every nook & cranny. It has always felt overcrowded & overbuilt & slightly chaotic to me. I spent a week skiing there one time, then I went back once to see if perhaps my impressions had been wrong. Nope, I still didn't get it.

You say that you wanted to go somewhere in Switzerland you hadn't been, so I hope that means you've been to other places in the country. There's so much to see and so many places that are beautiful and calm...

For annhig -- one thing you may want to do is have your main meal at lunchtime, when restaurants are cheaper and often offer the same evening menu. I usually spend about 20-30 chf for lunch. Then for dinner, just pop into a grocery store for yogurt, bread, cheeses, hams, chocolate, wine, etc, and have a lovely Swiss picnic. That's how I always eat in Switzerland.

Thanks for posting, Kay2 -- love to read about Switzerland!

s
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Old Jul 20th, 2017, 06:21 AM
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I'm enjoying your trip, Kay2... signing on to continue with you.
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Old Jul 20th, 2017, 09:08 AM
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good tip, swandav, thanks. We have quite frequently done that too, especially in Spain where you can usually find a cheap menu de dia for €10-12 or so. I'm not expecting Switzerland to be that cheap, as you indicate, but it should save us some money to eat like that.
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Old Jul 21st, 2017, 04:18 AM
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Pass vs half fare card -- I did a quick comparison of estimated price of tickets we expected to buy (trains, gondolas, etc.) on sbb.ch with and without 1/2 fare card vs. the passes and the 1/2 fare card was easily the cheapest total deal. I have used some European passes in the past when I wanted total freedom with no worries about tickets or itineraries, but then still had to check if reservation required on long-distance or high-speed trains. If you use ticket windows, the clerks are extremely helpful.

Zermatt is a crowded tumble of buildings old and new with more traffic than I expected from all the little construction trucks and taxis zooming around.However, we weren't there to spend time in the town. We were at breakfast at 7am each morning, pushing the staff to meet their advertised opening time, and at the train or lift before 9am. We returned to town around 5pm, showered and went to dinner. Then relaxed in our room or on the deck. The view from our deck and windows was of a tiny garden between the buildings. A higher floor would have views of the mountains.

The crowds mainly consisted of large Japanese tour groups. They packed the stations and the toilet areas but were generally polite, just concerned about staying together. Once away from those choke points, we were able to either be on our own or only interact with small groups of tourists like us except at lakes or other major destinations.
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Old Jul 21st, 2017, 11:31 AM
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We were in Zermatt this past January. It was busy but not crazy. Saw no large groups. So perhaps it depends on when you go! It was a gorgeous area.
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