Switzerland vs. Greece

Old Nov 2nd, 2011, 11:17 PM
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Switzerland vs. Greece

Hello there,
My fiancee and I are planning our honeymoon trip for April 30th to May 6th of next year. We have been going back and forth between Switzerland and Greece for more than a month now, and can't make up our mind. I am a little concerned over the instability of Greece right now, however Greece does offer a more affordable trip and delicious food.

Food is very important for the both of us, so we want to try as many new tastes as we can. Aside from that, I am very interested in the architecture and history of the area, she... not so much. We both enjoy nature and clean air. I would love to go for a drive through some mountain twisties. If we went to Switzerland, I am afraid that after three days, we may find ourselves a little bit bored. We enjoy nature, but we aren't avid hikers. I don't see us hiking the mountains the whole time we are there.

Please help us try to decide between these two countries.

P.S. A trip to Switzerland doesn't rule out the possibility of visiting a second country in addition to Switzerland.

P.P.S. We will probably be flying out of South Korea on Sunday, the 30th of April.

Thanks for any advice you might have.
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Old Nov 3rd, 2011, 12:35 AM
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Switzerland is pretty expensive at the moment while by the time you get to Greece it will be very cheap. If you are worried about stability then Greece and Italy (the south of which would be a good alternative to Greece) will be a bit odd but as a visitor you should be pretty safe.

It sounds like you are after mountains, great building and good food so maybe Austria?
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Old Nov 3rd, 2011, 01:20 AM
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intercontinental.com Athens my fav that time of year.

Great views food from $55/nt for me betterbidding.com

Priceline.com get suite upgrades with my Priority Club

Membership.

greecetravel.com greekislands.com

ikies.com best sunsets in the known universe.


Switzerland I go a lot for my work cold expensive food sucks

unless you like blood sausage or raklette(swiss cheese)


Marriott Zurich from $80 nice when I go bid priceline.com

myswitzerland.com rural areas and Italian lake country

are pretty with better food but slushy not a good time to go.


Happy deciding!
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Old Nov 3rd, 2011, 01:21 AM
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Switzerland is absurdly expensive, especially now, as the Franc is ridiculously overvalued. If food is important, then you will be hard-pressed to find ANYTHING to eat for lunch less than CHF 10 and, at that price, you are talking kebab or similar take away. Any place where you get table service will likely run CHF 35 and up (sometimes way up), even for pizza. And, to be brutally honest, even with unlimited funds, I think you would be disappointed in the food in Switzerland - there is some good stuff, but nothing mind-blowing.

Honestly, I think costs in Switzerland have gotten so far out of control that it is simply a bad vacation destination for all but the super-rich. I'd look at maybe Austria (still expensive, but cheaper than Switzerland) or Italy.

Not sure what to say about Greece, given the instability out there now. I don't think I'd fear for my safety, but not sure what a Euro exit and disorderly default would mean. The closest parallel I can think of is the Argentinian collapse and, while it didn't mean armed struggle in the streets, I'm not sure it was the sort of relaxed environment that one would want for their honeymoon. It would be cheap, though.

Assuming that the Greeks aren't as stupid as many fear and man up and accept the restructuring, then I'd offer that Greece in the euro, while hardly expensive, isn't that cheap. And that time of year is kind of in between. Probably a great time to visit Athens and see the sites, but not quite the season for the islands - you might get great weather and a deal, but you might not and will likely encounter some closures. Given the average temps in the upper-60s to low-70s, not my idea of a great time to visit what is largely a beach destination.

Honestly, if I had to choose a European destination for that period, given the desire for good food and some clean air and history, I'd look at Spain (might not be the lush landscape of Switzerland, but it can be beautiful in its way) or Italy.
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Old Nov 3rd, 2011, 01:25 AM
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Greece may go bankrupt before you come will make everything

cheaper for tourism insuremytrip.com always wise but

I would not worry about it either way history culture

way better there www.eurocheapo.com/athens good tips w map

Congrats!
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Old Nov 3rd, 2011, 01:46 AM
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Congratulations on your engagement and enjoy your honeymoon wherever you go!

I wouldn't be worried about violence in Greece (against tourists, anyway) but I would worry about strikes that could affect transportation, museums, etc.

I live in Switzerland and yes, there are many good restaurants, BUT you won't get away cheaply. For example, my husband and I had a lovely lunch on Saturday at Bottegone del Vino in Lugano. It's one of our favourite restaurants and not expensive by Swiss standards. Still, our meal (which included a bottle of very good Ticino red, appetizers, main courses, coffee) cost a little over 130 Swiss francs (around $150).

IMO, a good option for you would be a honeymoon in the Italian lakes region. Beautiful scenery in spring, great food, plenty to see and do, and you could day trip to Switzerland (have a very simple meal and spend the money on drinks and/or pastries at a nice cafe)

To get an idea of the Lake Como (Italy) scenery, watch this music video (Gwen Stefani's Cool)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGwZ7MNtBFU&ob=av2e

A lake-view room at the Hotel Florence in spring would be pretty high up on my romance scale: http://www.hotelflorencebellagio.it/camereeng.htm
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Old Nov 3rd, 2011, 03:06 AM
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You can hike in Greece - check out the mainland, especially the north. I wouldn't worry too much, things should have sorted themselves out by nex spring. For ome info on minland Greece that early in the year see my TR at wilhelmswords.com/eur2006
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Old Nov 3rd, 2011, 05:25 AM
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I wouldn't worry too much, things should have sorted themselves out by nex spring.

I doubt that. Given the timing of an early December referendum, you are talking maybe 5 months for Greece to have either acclimated to a return to the drachma or for them to have come to terms with what will be pretty severe austerity measures. I doubt the problems associated with either scenario will be fully resolved within 5 months. Again, not likely to be a safety threat, but why risk even moderate inconvenience on your honeymoon?
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Old Nov 3rd, 2011, 07:01 AM
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Thank you all so far for your comments and advice. I will take all of them into consideration.

Concerning Greece, I am not worried about violence, but riots and strikes are a small concern, just cause I don't want them to ruin our day. And there's always the issue of closures for museums and transportation. I am quite confident that Greece will NOT work out its problems by then. As for the islands, while I would like to see them, it seems that just getting to them takes a half a day on a ferry, a real damper on an already rather short honeymoon.

The suggestion about Spain is interesting, because Spain was my first choice before it eventually got eliminated because she knew nothing of it. Concerning Spain, where does it lie in terms of costs for restaurants, etc.?

Lastly, Switzerland... I know very little of its food, but the images I have seen give me the impression it is rather heavy and perhaps a little on the greasy side? Forgive me if I am mistaken, but so far, that has been my impression.

Again, thank you all for your quick responses.
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Old Nov 3rd, 2011, 07:34 AM
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Concerning Spain, where does it lie in terms of costs for restaurants, etc.?

IMO, it is among the best values for dining in Europe. I think this is pretty true across the spectrum. And, while there are certainly some lousy places, I think the overall quality level is pretty high and that many of the cheap places can be very good. Tapas, yum...

Not sure how much you want to travel or what your interests are, but you could do worse than Seville and Granada. Alternatively, you could also split between Madrid and Barcelona, though this would offer a bit less in the "clean air" department.

Lastly, Switzerland... I know very little of its food, but the images I have seen give me the impression it is rather heavy and perhaps a little on the greasy side? Forgive me if I am mistaken, but so far, that has been my impression.

Oh, I don't know if it is that greasy, but my experience is that salt is used with a heavy hand. Depending where you are in Switzerland, it will tend toward German, Italian, or French, though perhaps a bit on the hearty side in all areas. Frankly, though, I wouldn't say that "Swiss" restaurants are the norm and that you will find a broad range of cuisines available in a lot of locales. And the Swiss often do use very good ingredients. In general, I wouldn't go to Switzerland for the food, if only because anything you get there will be overpriced for what it is.

Not to overload you, but if you have deep enough pockets and really wanted a trip that took in the most exciting cuisine in Europe, I'd actually split between Copenhagen and Stockholm. No joke that you might spend on one meal what you would spend for 3 meals in Spain, but 7 nights of dinners hopping from noma to Geranium to aoc to Herman to Mathias Dahlgren to Frantzén/Lindeberg to Lux would be one heck of a gastronomic tour.

You can also take all my thoughts with a grain of salt, as if I only had a week from Korea, and was traveling for the food, I'd probably go to Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, or Singapore.
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Old Nov 3rd, 2011, 07:48 AM
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Any interest in Turkey?

You could probably find most of what you want near Istanbul.

Turkish cuisine is probably the best in that part of the world and has many similarities with Greek: olive oil, lamb, seafood, eggplant etc.

There are wonderful Greek and Roman ruins -- often in better shape than those in Greece and Italy -- as well as remains of the Ottoman days.

Farther afield, there are lots of opportunities in the great outdoors for hiking such as the Lycian Way.

Even some good mountain twisties on the drive through the mountains to the SW coast.

If it interests you start a separate thread and one of our resident experts may come along to help.
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Old Nov 3rd, 2011, 09:56 AM
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As for food, I'm pretty sure you'll get better food in Switzerland (Greasy? heavy? No.) than in Greece. At least that's my experience. But if cost is a factor - then forget Switzerland.

I second the idea of going to Spain instead. Strikes and riots *may* affect your trip in Greece, nobody knows so far.
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Old Nov 3rd, 2011, 09:58 AM
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I wouldn't worry about getting bored in Switzerland. You can explore by train/boat/bus/funicular/tram/gondola and so on. I don't recommend a car in Switzerland because the public transportation is so good and because some of the prettiest villages are carfree. However the beginning of May is not the best time for Switzerland. It's between seasons; they'll be doing maintenance on the gondolas, etc., and the trails if snowfree will be muddy.

If you're worried about Greece, lots of good alternatives have been suggested.
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Old Nov 3rd, 2011, 04:17 PM
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Loved the beauty of Switzerland but did not like the food at all,heavy on potatoes and cheese, pork...I loved the food in Greece, fresh fish and salads, lamb. Greece is beautiful too, not as breathtaking as Switzerland, but has incredible history which makes for a more interesting trip.Greece is also much more affordable.
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Old Nov 3rd, 2011, 04:45 PM
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Switzerland has beautiful cities (good museums, lovely and interesting architecture, parks, restaurants, concert halls) and of course lakes and mountains. I can't imagine not finding fun things to do for a week's trip. I found the suggestion of Italy's lake district to be perfect. We just spent a few days in Switzerland then went on to Lake Como. We had lovely food everywhere but nothing was really inexpensive. Stayed at Villa d'este which, if you're saving money for a honeymoon, would be a wonderful romantic choice. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding.
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Old Nov 3rd, 2011, 09:31 PM
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Folks you cannot compare two countries that are completely different.....
Switzerland has nothing in common with Greece and it's islands..
As for the food, Greece has great and healthy food from the biggest city to the smallest village....
But i cannot immagine that someone would visit a country only because of it's kitchen.

Talking about riots, i will repeat that when they took place in was always at Syntagma squate, so if you stay away from it, you won't notice anything. Try hotels near the Acropolis instead. There are no riots in the rest of Greece !!

Any try to predict on the economical or political situation of Greece for next spring is wrong.
This year nearly 17 Million people visited Greece, i think this has something to say.

As for Switzerland, i have been there many times.. it looks very similar to Austria, or the Bavarian Alps ( being only more expensive), while Greece is unique in what it offers..
and if you like mountains, there are still wonderful mountaineous regions with many great boutique hotels in Pelion, the Peloponnese or Epirus in Western Greece.

There are many Greek regions that are unknown in this site , as Fodorites tend to visit 5-6 must sees, while Greece has much more to offer...

Just my 2 (euro)cents....
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Old Nov 3rd, 2011, 10:12 PM
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Clausar: "it (Switzerland) looks very similar to Austria, or the Bavarian Alps ( being only more expensive)"

Hmmm, you've got me wondering: What part of Bavaria looks just like the Ticino? What are the Austrian equivalents of Lugano, Ascona, Morcote and Gandria?
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Old Nov 4th, 2011, 01:29 AM
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But i cannot immagine that someone would visit a country only because of it's kitchen.

At least half of my trips are food and drink oriented. I spend far more time choosing where I will eat than what sites I will visit.

Any try to predict on the economical or political situation of Greece for next spring is wrong.

I don't know about that. I think an assumption of continued economic recession, continued pressure on public expenditures, onerous borrowing costs, and continued capital flight has at least a 90% chance of being correct. As for the political situation, I think assuming massive corruption and continued opposition from the population to any attempts to pare spending or increase tax collections would stand at least a 95% chance of being correct. Greece has a long history of corruption, tax evasion, economic mismanagement, and governmental fraud. These sort of things don't change overnight. Assuming continuity is always a decent bet.

Layering the constraints that will come with any attempts for Greece to deal with her external debt (whether from EU loans or exiting the eurozone and defaulting) on top of what is a very deficient political culture means that Greece will not have many options available.
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Old Nov 4th, 2011, 10:45 AM
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One important thing to understand about Switzerland when you ask about food, is the different parts of the country. It is unique in that there is the French-speaking, German-speaking, and Italian-speaking regions... all within Switzerland. I only know the Lac Leman area outside Geneva (Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux) but the local food is not heavy or greasy in my experience.

There is also plenty to see and do for more than a few days in Switzerland. I've been there 5 times and yet to go hiking. That said it IS expensive.

I would suggest you look at Spain, Portugal, or even Italy for your honeymoon.
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Old Nov 6th, 2011, 10:10 PM
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Thank you all for your kind words of advice and encouragement. I have read them all and considered them all carefully and we have decided that we are going to visit Switzerland, Italy, and France. Personally, I think that this is insane to do in one week, but because of our financial situation, we won't be able to do this again for a long time to come. We will fly in to Zurich on the 30th of April and fly out of Rome one week later. I am assuming that I cannot make it to Paris within that short amount of time, not without sacrificing a lot of time to travel there, so in the southern part of France, near Switzerland, what are the Must See sights?

Again, thank you for your comments.
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