Wrenwood's 2nd ( but not last!) Trip to Switzerland

Dear Wrenwood,

I had answered some of your questions when you were planning your trip to Ireland. Did you ever get to Mullingar? I would love to hear about your trip there. I am going back to Mullingar in August to see the "cousins" and also to travel to Donegal, Derry and Belfast. I can not wait!

Roisin

Oooooohhh, this is awful. Just awful. It hurts!

Sounds like a *wonderful* time!

s

Hi wrenwood -

Did you spend just one night in Zermatt?

Roisin1 ~ we stayed at a wonderful cottage near Athboy, so I think we through Mullingar to get to Birr Castle, but never ate dinner there or stopped. We had a marvelous time, but that Trip Report will have to wait as it was almost 3 weeks! This trip to Switzerland was only 10 days, so I figured it was a good start to doing Trip Reports. I'll go backwards, Ireland 2008, Switzerland 2007, England and Wales 2006.....I owe everyone a lot of feedback for all the help I've been given!


Hi Melnq8 ~ we went back to Zermatt for 3 more nights....to be continued

.......just wait Swandav, this is going to get really painful!

By the way Roisin1 this is where we stayed when near Mullingar. One of the nicest cottages we've ever stayed in.

http://www.clonleason.com/

And you were right, it is a pretty area. We enjoyed Belvedere and Birr Castle and had a great visit at Tullynally Castle, more later! ( will copy this to Ireland thread)

OK, back to Switzerland

6/17
Really wonderful breakfast at Waldhaus. Huge selection on the buffet and omelets made to order. Croissants wonderful again ( I know, whole grain European breads much healthier, but I never have croissants except on vacations!)

After breakfast we went downstairs to get the shuttle down to the bus stop. One of the brother/owners (Felix) came out before we left to talk. Said the view from the church/cemetery in Soglio is in his heart, would like to be buried there “it is surely heaven”. I agree.

The bus we took (free bus passes from Waldhaus) went over the Majola Pass to Promontagno, where we got off and waited for 5-10 minutes for the bus to take to Soglio. The pass is beyond beautiful. We had planned on driving to Soglio from St. Moritz so we could stop and I could take pictures, but when we weren’t able to book ahead of time because at the last minute husband’s back was “acting up” and we weren’t even sure if we would make it, the rates went up as high as the Mountains for a 2 day rental. We decided to do the bus, and it was fine, even if I couldn’t stop for pictures. Next time

The little village of Promontagno was charming. DH talked to a man from Spain that had been on the bus, while I wandered around taking pictures and talking to the ducks in the little pool. They quacked in German and Italian, fascinating.

Then on the bus to Soglio, up, up, up the hill through the Chestnut Trees (not quite in bloom) to the top and IT WASN’T RAINING!!!!!!!

Walked from the bus stop uphill for 5 minutes to Palazzo Salis. Soglio was even more beautiful than I remembered.

OK, slight “divergence.” Anyone experienced feelings of “genetic memory” or “feeling connected” to an area? When we were in Germany for the first time several years ago I commented to the left brained males (sorry) that I was so surprised that I felt so “at home, so connected” to Germany. Was it the landscape ( similar to central PA where I grew up) or because I had ancestors from the area? Husband and male German friend laughed and rolled their eyes, said they understood, they also felt “connected” when they saw a pretty girl ( is male-bashing allowed on Fodors??)

ANYWAY, I feel the same about Soglio. I have no evidence that any of my ancestors were from that area, I just want to go back again and again and just absorb that village. I found a great house to buy, but DH wouldn’t go ask if they wanted to sell.

Did I have ancestors that lived there? Gathered chestnuts? Walked the trade routes of the the Romans? Who knows. There are many places I like or love, Grindelwald for example, but I am not as obsessed with them as I am with Soglio.

My poor husband!

Excellent report wrenwood. You've managed to pique my interest in Soglio, a place I'd never heard of until your recent posts.

I've lived in Switzerland over 20 years. 80% of the Swiss do not know Soglio or Gimmelwald.

Soglio has really caught my interest. Gimmelwald hasn't. The Swiss Tourism board also markets Soglio's beauty but ignores Gimmelwald. Probably rightly so.

Soglio is incredible. It was Ingo who got me & some Fodorites there some years ago -- we were very grateful! Gorgeous spot!

s

Gimmelwald doesn't raise my heart rate the way Soglio does but I did find it charming. We had done the Schilthorn, then came down and walked through Murren, had lunch, then walked to Gimmelwald. Gimmelwald seemed to have real people living in it. Lots of goats and sheep and chickens, some "home" businesses, laundry drying on lines, and beautiful ( but functional) vegetable gardens. Maybe it was an illusion for tourists, but it didn't seem that way.

Anyway, that was 2 years ago, so I'm off to work, will post more this weekend about last month's trip.

Someday I might even get my thousands of travel pictures on line! I guess I need to check threads for recommendations.

Your trip report tempts me to go back this summer. LOL, must be the tenth time or so now. It's too beautiful there ...

Thanks for posting this report and yes, please post the pictures!

6/17 continued

OK, I got sidetracked wondering if am genetically predisposed to Soglio.


So, up we go to Hotel Palazzo Salis. From the website ~

”The Palazzo Salis in Soglio was built in 1630 by the Knight Baptista de Salis. In 1701 his descendants extended and embellished the Casa Battista to its present splendour. Thereafter they continuously added to the interiors with great flair.

When Napoleon separated the Veltlin and Chiavenna from the Grisons in 1797, much of the family property was confiscated and the income from services in foreign armies rapidly declined. Thus obliged to seek new professions, the family eventually left Soglio.

In 1876 the Palazzo, which is still owned by the family, became a hotel.
In recognition of the careful renovations recently undertaken the Palazzo Salis was nominated "Historic Hotel of the Year 1998" by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).”


We were greeted by Monica who speaks and understands English. She was also one of the people who Felix from Waldhaus has asked us to say hello to (hmmmm, Felix, she’s very pretty.............)

Our room was on the top floor. 48 steps up and 48 steps down. (but this was just the beginning of steps on this vacation!)

Once up the 48 steps we were in a large central room, 2 stories high, white walls with beautiful heavy wooden doors on the perimeter. A beautiful paneled wooden ceiling, old oil paintings of coats of arms, important people from earlier times, beautiful carved furniture, swords, armor, axes and other weapons. A partial balcony above went to more rooms. I’m in a time warp.

One of the heavy wooden doors opened into our room. Again, fresh white walls, light drapes on the 2 sunny windows and a beautiful wooden canopied bed with exquisite carvings. A huge wooden wardrobe. The two carved wooden chairs at the foot of the bed had trees carved on them. Chestnut trees I would guess! I am in a museum in a time warp. The ceiling again was paneled wood, except over top of this amazing ceramic (?) stove for heat in the wintertime. There the ceiling was plastered.

The bathroom was small, but modern, plenty of hot water. Thoughtful touches ~ some fruit on a plate, and 4 (FOUR) pillows in arranged like snow capped peaks on the bed. Maybe you think I’m silly but the only things that I’m not very fond of in Switzerland, Germany and Austria are the somewhat hard beds, soft flat pillows, and duvets. There was also this cool cylindrical pillow that looked like a party favor stuffed I assume with Buckwheat hulls for under your neck. It did feel nice.

So we changed to go hiking, walked down 48 steps and headed out to find the Sentiero Panoramico Trail. Or so we thought. We asked Monica where the trail left from, and she pointed and said it was easy to find and did we have water ( she got us some) and told us some options if we wanted to take a bus back. We looked and saw a trail and benches so we went down past the church to check it out. But Fodorite LLindaC had warned us to be sure not to take the lower trail which although nice, went to Promontogna. So we decided this must be the trail to Promontogna. We went back up towards the Hotel and saw a sign for Sentiero Panoramico ~ we had found it. So we headed out.

Towards the edge of the village was this lovely wooden sign on a nicely kept building that said “Pension Murias” ........and also beautifully carved on this sign was a large mouse ........or rat? We puzzled for a few minutes why anyone would want to sleep at place with a mouse, or a rat, on the sign. Didn’t seem to be very good advertising, subliminal messages and such.

So on we went. Well almost. I then decided that it really WAS sunny and I needed my visor. So my saint of a husband went back to the Hotel, up 48 steps, down 48 steps, and delivered me my visor with only a faint narrowing of his eyes.

The trail was gorgeous, took us forever. I had to keep stopping to take photos as the light changed. The mountains were stunning, we kept stopping and gawking and just absorbing it all. Orange Lilies and other flowers were blooming, we watched lizards scramble away from us as we interrupted their sunbathing routine. And the trail with the rocks set in it ~ was this part of the old Roman Road? We were having a great time but hmmmmmm we seemed to be going slightly downhill.

Yep, somehow we had missed the “high road” it was obvious we were headed back to Promontogno. Once we got there we checked the bus schedule to see if we had time to continue further to Castagagna, but there wasn’t quite enough time. So we walked around Promontogna until it turned into Bondo, it was actually very pleasant. We wouldn’t have seen this if we hadn’t goofed!

So, we got back on the bus and went back to Soglio, walking through through the village. Houses and small barns sit side by side in a maze of narrow cobblestone alleys, streets, and paths. Everyone has flowers somewhere, and the vegetable gardens make you hungry just looking at them. We checked out the store that sold the Crema di Castagna, they don’t ship so I had to figure out how many jars I wanted to take home in my suitcase. I don’t think UPS delivers to Soglio.

We were early for dinner so we got 2 glasses of wine and headed out back to the garden area of Palazzo Salis and sat under one of the mammoth giant Sequoia trees in the garden. We are both tree freaks, so it was really fun to watch people go up to the trees and look up, touch their bark, and just plain appreciate their beauty and grandeur.

Dinner was simply delicious. We shared a tomato and mozzarella salad, and chestnut soup. I must learn how to make chestnut soup, it was really good. I had the same polenta with mushrooms I had for lunch 2 years ago, it was just as good as I remembered. DH had a risotto with arugula and air dried beef, and we shared a raspberry gratin for dessert.

We took a short walk back through the village to buy 2 jars of the Crema di Castagna and to admire the view from the church again. I figure those 2 jars will only last a year, and I only know one place to buy it.........................

Back up 48 steps to our beautiful bedroom. I woke up at some point in the middle of the night, it was quite bright, and the twinkling stars over top of the heavy stone roofs was beautiful. I wanted a picture but I knew I’d wake up my husband so I just stood and stared and listened to the quiet.

Oh yeah, Soglio, the Palazzo Salis ... and Promontogno *is* charming. Bondo even more. And almost totally untouched by tourism.

Could that be a marmot on the sign by Pension Murias? Would make sense in the area.

Oh no Ingo, it is a mouse or a rat. Long skinny tail, actually a very beautiful mouse or rat. I'm checking out photo sharing sites or I can email the photo to you. I know Marmots, they look like American groundhogs or Prairie Dogs. It seemed very inappropriate as the pension itself looked very nice.

And by the way Ingo, you have spoiled me. When I said in another thread that Lugano was too large..........I want Soglio or Guarda on an Italian Lake!

Yep, email me, please! ibrenn at web dot de

Soglio or Guarda on an Italian lake? Not going to happen, lol. But Gandria comes close. Or Ronco s. Ascona.

We must have passed Gandria on the bus from Tirano. We stayed in San Mamete (Hotel Stella d'Italia) which looks like it's not too far from Gandria.

I like what I read on a google search for Ronco s. Ascona

"The road passes by Ascona and winds its way up the incline, going higher and higher until we can see a broad panorama of Lake Maggiore with thousands of lights from villages and houses. You can readily see that it is a different world up here, whatever the time of day or the season. Ronco was originally an isolated little peasant village up on the mountainside. The peacefulness of this location enthrals everybody from the very first day."

All the posts about Soglio have got me interested. I just booked the Palazzo Salis for 1 night in September. I originally had planned on staying in Stresa on my way back down to Milan to meet my son. Now he will meet me in Bellagio. Can't wait!

Be glad you're not in Geneva today--they've been pounded with rain and thunderstorms.
http://www.meteoschweiz.admin.ch/web/fr/meteo/temps_actuel/image_radar.html

(it's looking kind of stormy here too, but nothing popping up on the radar)

scatcat I'm already jealous. I'm still thinking about Soglio when I daydream. I hope you can get there early on your arrival day and leave late on your departure day. September should be lovely. Will you do any hiking?

Let us know about Bellagio, I hope we'll be in that area next year. I think I saw on another thread you decided on Hotel du Lac, that was one place we were considering, so I'll be interested to see how you like it.

I will be arriving on a Sunday around noon and I will leave in the afternoon on Monday. So I will have a little time to get acquainted with Soglio. I'm sure I will want to return.

I am staying At Hotel Du Lac in Varenna while I am solo. Then I am meeting my son at Bellagio and I have booked Hotel Bellagio Centrale. It's a screwed up trip. Originally, my son was flying into Berlin and I would meet him there. Then he decided he wanted to go to Lake Como too. He doesn't like to stay in Europe for 3 weeks like me, so he comes a week later. And at one time, he thought he may cancel entirely and get a J-O-B. (he sells real estate currently and owns rental property) He figured since real estate was slow that it would be best to get a confirmed paycheck. But being his usual care-free self, he decided against a job. So, I am not discarding my own plans just in case he gets the urge again to get a job. Therefore, I will be visiting Lake Como twice in September.

After my solo to Varenna, I am taking the Bernina Express to Chur, then the next day heading on to Wengen for 3 nights. On my way back to Italy is when I will be in Soglio.

Doesn't matter if you're all over the map, doing it with your son will alwys be special!

we have two nights booked in Guarda for late August and now feel the need to drive and check out Soglio. We will be driving in from Lauterbrunnen after a few days of hiking in the BO. How long of a drive is it from Guarda to Soglio? We would like to add a special hike into our day and then return for the evening back to Guarda. Do you think this is reasonable?
Any other great stops we must see in the local area, we will have a car. thanks

Would love to see some of your photos especially of Soglio

No problem I think if you leave early from Guarda. Maybe 1 1/2 to 2 hrs max?

And you should still have decent daylight hours in late August .....I think...Ingo? Swandav?

The first time we went to Soglio we went from Guarda. (where are you staying by the way?)

Our weather that day ( 2 years ago) was rainy, so the trip over Majola pass took longer. But then maybe it's about the same if it's sunny, as if it's sunny you'll probably be stopping along the way for pics and to just stand and gawk.

The hike we took on the (wrong) trail down to Promontogno and the bus back to Soglio, couldn't have beem more than 3-4 hrs total ( and we hike very slow, I get distracted easily by flowers and lizards and odd questions that pop into my mind!)

The hike we intended to take on the "high" road, the Sentiero Panoramico Trail, I think we went out about 2 1/2 hrs and 2 1/2 hrs back. We just turned around when we felt we should. It is a rocky trail with lots of steps, but totally worth it. My 57 year old shins and knees were not happy with me, but I guarantee you, when, not if, we go back, I will go back on that trail.

I probably will not have time to get photos onto a website before you leave, but I will be happy to email you photos if you like.

When you come back from hiking you must have some "refreshment" in the garden behind Palazzo Salis.

Buy some Crema di Castagnea at the store on the same side as the church, before the church. It is awesome on bread, but my mind is already formulating a recipe for a nut tart using this as a base on the pastry with nuts and whipped cream. "Nusstorte Soglio"

Obviously I'm smitten.

Driving time Guarda - Soglio is two hours normally. No photos stops or so included. I am not sure it is worth this long drive if you have only one full day in Guarda. My gosh, there is SO much to do in the area. I personally would drive to Punt Muragl, take the funicular up and hike to Alp Languard, chair lift down and back by bus to the car (or walk). This will take about 4 hours I think. And it would still leave enough time for driving along the lakes to Sils and walking around there, maybe taking a horse-drawn carriage into the Fex Valley (to Fex Crasta at least). Have coffee and cake in Pension Fex or Hotel Sonne, walk back to Sils (1 hour).

Ingo

we will be staying at Hotel Meisser in Guarda.

I love reading other trip reports and gleaning fun ways to spend our short time in such fantastic locations.

We loved our stay in Hotel Meisser, and we loved Guarda. I hope the gentleman that plays the Zither is there, and when you walk through the town, maybe you'll see the goats on the balcony. The town is just exquisite.

And Ingo is right, there is so much to do in this area, you'll have a hard time making up your mind what to do .I'm already thinking about our next trip!

Also try to have plan A and plan B in mind........sunny or rainy.

Let me know your email address if you want some pictures, or you could just google images.

Will try to post 6/18 in the next day or so, work calls

6/18
Got up a little earlier so we could get going on our hike on the Sentiero Panoramico Trail. Breakfast was the usual buffet of fruits, yogurts, meat, cheeses, bread etc., all of it tasting even better than usual as we had our breakfast at the tables in the front of the Hotel, outside. Best view I’ve had at breakfast for a long time!

Since we were checking out that day and we weren’t sure when we would be back from our hike, Monica said we could leave our suitcase in the reception area.

This trail was definitely panoramic! The views were gorgeous, and again we saw lots of wildflowers and lizards. And lots of steps. And more steps. And more steps. LLindaC wasn’t kidding when she said it was a little rocky with steps, but well worth it, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

We used some maps to try to calculate how far up from the valley floor these mountains rise, we think about 7500 feet. Anyone know for sure?

So,we’re assuming some of what we were walking on was part of the old Roman Roads? In parts some very large stones were cantilevered out over the retaining wall about 4’ to give more width to the trail/road. It appeared that one of these walls, about 10’-12’ in height had small steps down along the wall to a water source. Some of the trail/road had the steps chiseled into bedrock, some of the road was made up of very large stones (and steps, many steps) and some of the trail/road had the stones laid on edge, almost a rough cobblestone effect. Between enjoying the views, discussing the trail/road construction and old trade routes, and taking pictures ( large glade of Aruncus, a woodland flower commonly called “Goatsbeard”) we didn’t make it very far. We only made it just past the big waterfall, didn’t make it to the Cheeseman. Next time we will find the Cheeseman!

Once back in Soglio, we went to the hotel and freshened up a little, then went back to the garden behind for a light lunch. I had a green salad and a glass of wine, DH had 3 scoops of ice cream. We then got our suitcase, said goodbye to Monica and headed back through town towards the bus. It was such a beautiful sunny day, we stopped at the Church again for one last look. Felix is right, it is surely heaven.

The bus ride back was beautiful but a little sad, time had gone so quickly. Once back in Sils the shuttle arrived within a few minutes to take us back up to Waldhaus. They all greeted us by name and asked how we had liked Soglio and what we had done.

Dinner was different than 2 nights before, no salad bar, but a 4 course meal (which again was excellent) and this night we had live classical music in the dining room, piano and violin. It was lovely. And when we arrived at our table our partial bottle of wine that we had taken back to our room 2 nights before (but been too sleepy to drink) was waiting for us. We had left a note with it in the room when we left asking them to save it for our return, but I wasn’t sure if housekeeping could read English. And another surprise, when we picked up the menu........there was an English translation. When Urs came by our table to welcome us back to Waldhaus from Soglio, we commented that he must have been working hard that morning. He beamed and said “You see! It has English translation!” My husband had as an appetizer a Beef Bouillon Soup “ made from beef which only grazes naturally and has been raised by the local policeman”

Love it! Only in Switzerland!

wrenwood

Do you remember how long it took you to walk that part of the trail? I am assuming it is just a walk not serious hiking? I will be alone, so I don't want to venture off too far. Also, can you give me directions from the bus stop to Hotel Palazzo Salis? I am arriving on a Sunday and I don't know if I can locate someone to point me in the right direction.

We just walked out about 3 hrs, back about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. It's such a lovely trail you don't mind backtracking. So just go out as far as you want to and turn around.

No, it is not what I call "serious hiking." We wore good walking sneakers, it is slow and rocky at times, you cross a stream via rocks. It's not not really exceptionally steep, but there are lots of steps! Sometimes the progress is a little slow if you are a klutz like I am and you are concentrating on the rockiness you are walking on. I'm 57, HATE going uphill (but ya know it's the only way to see what I want to see!) My knees and shins complained some, but nothing some Advil didn't help. If you want to see photos of the trail, let me know your email address.

Palazzo Salis is at the top of the hill. From the bus stop just follow the yellow brick road uphill, the main road up the hill from the bus stop. The church will be on your right, just keep going uphill.

Did you notice, there is a recurrent theme when visiting Soglio........ steps .......... uphill......

But again, totally worth it. If we had been there longer I would have gone right back out the next day ( after 2 Advil!)

wrenwood

Thanks for the info. I don't have any trouble with my knees or legs, but I can get lost in Wal-Mart. So as long as I follow the trail, I should be able to find my way back. I am sure I will have a room on the top floor of the hotel. I have stairs at home, but not 48! I hope I'm not wore out before I go to the trail. It sounds so pretty, I can't wait to go. I am deathly afraid of snakes and lizards. Are they small lizards? I can run really fast when I'm scared.

Once you find the trail there's no problem. When you come out the front door of the hotel turn left, there's a wall with a large dark brown door under and ivy covered arch. On the wall are some school-bus yellow signs one of which says Sentiero Panoramico

Next watch on the left for the carved wooden sign with the cute mouse that says “Pension Murias” As I remember the Sentiero Panoramico sign is on a wall/building on your right as you face the front door of Pension Murias.

I know we missed the trail the first time because we were so busy looking up at the mountains and all around us!l And discussing that sign!

The Lizards are very small, salamader size, just sunning themselves on the warm rocks. As soon as we got close they scurried to a hiding place. If you don't see them ahead of time you might not even see them as we had to slow down and be quiet to get close. Probably saw no more than 10 off and on. Just don't get scared as I don't think you want to run fast on this trail!

I am printing out your directions. It's really nice to have someone to hand down info. I am not leaving Soglio til about 2:00 PM on Monday. I want to be able to walk around town while shops are open.

Just read your trip reports. Thanks. I'm from Central PA. Roaring Spring, where were you from? Leaving for Switzerland middle of Aug.

Nlingenfel, I grew up in State College. I ASSUME you are a PSU fan?

Still have several days to report on, should be able to do it next weekend. My work schedule this week is not pretty.

I wish I was going back to Switzerland middle of August! Have you been before? Where are you going?

6/19

Got up early and had another wonderful breakfast and then headed out on the Hotel transport to the Train Station to catch the early Bernina Express

The trip was very enjoyable, we saw a lot more than we did our first trip in 2007. The pass on top however was still pretty overcast/cloudy, but we saw a lot more of the glaciers and mountains towards the top.

When we got to Tirano we checked our 2 suitcases in at the customs/ticket area, it cost 5 euros each, but was worth it not to have to wheel them all over town.

It was quite hazy, hot, and humid in Tirano, quite a shock from the weather we had been having, it felt like we were back on the east coast in the US!

We stopped at the second restaurant after coming from the train station, it was surprisingly nice. I had a local wine, and we tried the pizzoccheri, it was really good, I'll be checking out a recipe to try at home. I would never have thought of putting potatoes together with pasta! My husband had some really good gelato there, he thought it better than the place that we walked to where we had been in 2007. We tried one other gelato place, but the first cafe still won.

Next stop was the bus to Lugano, which was parked right next to the train station, very easy. It was here however that we got our first hint that all would not be quite smooth.

We had booked for that night at Hotel Stella d'Italia, in San Mamete outside Lugano. Our email from the Hotel had suggested that we ask the bus driver to let us off in front of the Hotel, that this was not an unusual request. Quite the contrary, the busdriver shook his head vehemently and said "polezei" several times. So we realized we would be going into Lugano.

The trip was 4 hours with a stop, very hazy, okay, but nothing we would repeat. The most interesting part was as we got closer to Lugano. The roads got narrower, the turns tighter, with rush hour traffic coming towards us. The bus driver had to hug the stone wall that was covered with plants on our side of the road in order to have enough room in several places for two vehicles to pass, and honk his horn to stop oncoming traffic so that he could swing wide to negotiate the tight turns. I'm sure it was the norm for him, but there were many tourists taking pictures out the windows! He received a lot of applause at the end of the trip!

We called the hotel. The said they would send a cab. Now we did not know if they were paying or if we were. We were. It cost us 65 swiss francs, depleting our cash reserve of francs.

When we arrived at the Hotel, the owners looked at us blankly. We said hello and who we were. They said nothing about our problems getting there, no "I'm so sorry you had problems", no handshake or real greeting. Just an acknowledgement that we were checking in for one night.

This absolutely stunned us almost speechless, as we have had nothing but pleasant experiences everywhere we have been in Europe.

So we were escorted upstairs to our room which was on the second floor, not the top floor as I had been told in my email confirmation. I said nothing as I wanted to make sure when I got home that I hadn't misunderstood my confirmation. The room was pleasant enough, a little dated, but a nice balcony with a stunning view.

The dining area is also just lovely, even if you don't have a prime table right at lakeside. Our appetizers were ok, my entree pasta had totally inedible shrimp, they were so mushy I was afraid to eat them thinking they might be bad. My husband's seafood was also tasteless. We waited for someone to come by and ask the usual "is everything ok?" no one ever did. So we finally finished our wine and left.

So if anyone else decides to stay there I hope you have a better experience than we did. The setting is just beautiful, but I would not recommend it. It was recommended on this board by two different posters, one of whom has apparently stayed there multiple times, so apparently there are good times to be had there. Trip Advisor does have varied reviews, some of which mention the coolness and apparent lack of concern of the owners.

6/20
Up early so we could pack to be ready for our 8:30 taxi to Lugano train station. The lake was beautiful in the morning. Breakfast was not memorable, again except for the setting, so we left Stella d'Italia, paying another 40 Euros for our taxi.

We picked up our first train to Bellazona, then another to Lucarno, then to Domodossola. All very easy, very enjoyable. The valley we went through was very different, quite "wild" I almost wondered if it was a National Park of some type. It was beautiful.

Eventually to Visp and back up to Zermatt. We really enjoyed the train ride up to Zermatt again.

We called Bella Vista who came to pick us up in Zermatt. The couple that owns and runs Bella Vista couldn't be any nicer.

We took it easy, watched to see if the clouds would leave the Matterhorn (no such luck) then walked into town to Walliserkanne for dinner. I had a wonderful raclette, husband's dinner he said was okay, it is a fun place to eat.

Walked back up the hill to the Hotel, sat on our balcony and drank some of the Vanilla Plum Liquer we had purchased, and just soaked in the view.

6/21
No alarm clock today, slept in and had a great breakfast. Bella Vista has so many breakfast choices and the quality is excellent.

We dressed in layers and packed some extra warm clothes and headed down to town to catch the cog railway up to Gornergrat where the temperature was about 28 degrees F. Fresh snow had fallen the night before, and although the Matterhorn refused to show herself ( very moody mountain, it must be female!) the mountains to the other side were quite clear and interesting to watch. We counted six glaciers, the expansiveness reminded us of Alaska. There was a man sitting on a rock close by who was sketching the one mountain and the way the glacier ribboned down from the top. I wish I had the patience to do that. We got some hot chocolate and just sat a while, they have warm pillows and blankets available for the chairs. Explored a little more, took more pictures and then got back on the train and headed down to Riffelberg.

We walked around Riffelberg waiting to see if Ms. Matterhorn would show herself, but not to be. I took a lot of pictures of Alpine plants, it is just beautiful walking and doing nothing.

Got back on the railway and went down to Riffelalp and headed out on one of the trails. We took the trail all the way down into Zermatt, a descent of about 2200 feet. It took us 5 hours as I was stopping so often to take pictures of the wildflowers, or try to identify one I didn't know. My husband is a very patient man!

The wildflowers were utterly amazing, both in beauty and variety. You could easily see different ecosystems by the type of plant groups that were growing in different places. Some areas were obviously drier,some wetter, some more acidic or alkaline. Several places on the trail still had quite a bit of snow, and in those areas the lower branches of the Larch trees were not yet fully leafed out (or should I say "needled out"?)

We did get some glimpses of the top of the Matterhorn as we hiked down, very pretty when framed by tree branches. At one point on the way down as we got closer to Zermatt there was an older lady and a young girl ahead of us. Seemed to be maybe a girl with her grandmother. They were holding hands and seemed to be the best of friends. They were talking constantly, a time or two the grandmother (?) stopped and drew something in the dirt with her walking stick, or stopped and pointed to something with it, all the time the both of them laughing and talking. It was wonderful to watch them share their walk and time together, not something we see often in the US.

Since we ended up in Zermatt close to dinner time, we walked around a little bit and then went back to Walliserkanne for dinner. I had some great Spaetzle, husband again had pizza not as good. But I wouldn't hesitate to tell someone to try the restaurant, it's very pleasant, good service, and my dinners were good! Maybe depends on what you order.

Back up the hill to Bella Vista and our lovely balcony and the Plum Liqueur

So sorry about your bad experience in Italy but I guess the positive experiences in Switzerland outweighed that. Had probably been a good idea to get off in Menaggio instead of going all the way to Lugano.

Glad to see you're posting again

I.

Hi Ingo, how was Munich? We plan to go there someday.

I'm getting another break from a busy work schedule as my husband had a business seminar In Ohio (I shopped) and now we are in Indiana visting several of his family.

Oh yes, the good experiences FAR FAR FAR outweigh the bad experiences. And it wasn't really terrible, it was just so surprising. And we will try Italy again, next year in fact, as that is a place my sister-in-law wants to visit.

hi wrenwood,

just found your thread - clearly the very good bits way outweighed the odd bad bit.

i do hope that the same will apply to your Cornish trip in September.

regards, ann

6/22
I wake up in the middle of the night hearing rain. And sure enough the next morning it is raining. We eat a leisurely breakfast hoping it will let up, but it just keeps drizzling. By the time we get upstairs it has almost stopped but we decide not to go hiking because I am such a klutz, hiking up and down on slippery slopes is not a wise choice for me.

So we decide to explore a little, hop on the train down to Stalden (I could really get into this "hop on a train thing"!) and then take a bus to Saas Fee. Another gorgeous valley!!!!!!!!! The weather was now quite clear with just fluffy clouds (except for the Matterhorn of course, which was still sulking)

Most of the town's stores and restaurants were not yet open for the season, it was very quiet. We debated taking a gondola up but we figured all those clouds were lurking on the other side so we decided to just walk around town and explore for about 2 hours. We had a nice lunch and headed back to Zermatt to see if it had cleared there, we wanted to go up to Gornergrat again.

However the closer we got to Zermatt the cloudier it became, and when we checked the weather and videos, it was very cold and windy up there.

Disappointed we walked to the chocolate store I had seen earlier. ( I think it was Laderachs?) Surely we must take some chocolate home to friends? Surely some chocolate would help our depression?

So we bought some milk chocolate and dark chocolate bars for friends and we bought this beautiful glittery cellophane bag filled with various samples of their beautiful chocolates.

We went back to our Hotel, then decided to eat at Hotel Julen. It was excellent! We splurged and ate in the restaurant and it was worth it. We skipped dessert as we knew we had the chocolate back at the room.

The chocolate was extremely good. We sat on our balcony and watched the clouds over that irritating mountain and decided we should eat the whole bag so it didn't get crushed in our suitcases.

Hi Ann, it was a wonderful trip, we are still reminiscing about it. At some point I will get pictures online!

The trip to Cornwall and Devon is pretty well planned. We have two to three days after Ilfracombe unscheduled and two days after we stay at Chydane outside Helston unscheduled (that will include Stourhead Gardens) Hard to believe it's only a little over 2 months until we leave!

6/23
It's 4:30 AM in Zermatt and the birds are singing. Love them but want to go back to sleep. Doze off, wake up again, it's just starting to get light outside and surely there are 10,000 birds singing. I open an eye and I can see the one mountain ridge outside the window. Clearly. I can SEE the one mountain ridge outside the window. I jump up and check out the balcony. There is a postcard out there!!!!!!!!!!!! The Matterhorn has appeared!!!!!!!!!!!

I grab the hotel terrycloth bathrobe and slippers, my camera, and the duvet off my side of the bed. I wrap myself into a cocoon (it was probably in the high 30's out there) and settle down into the chaise on the balcony. For the next hour or so I proceed to take about 40 pictures ( you never know when the light is going to be best or those pesky clouds are going to appear again!)

The German ladies on the balcony above us have also come out to see! They see me and laugh, as does my husband. I am happy.

Later......going to watch our Ireland DVD from last year with my sister-in-law.

Yes. there really is a Matterhorn

Hi wrenwood! I am enjoying your report. We were there the same time, I suppose, but we didn't hardly have any rain...just a sprinkle or two. We DID have snow in Arolla! What happened in Italy? I must have missed it. On our trip in 2003, we arrived in Milan and took the train to Lugano. It was absolutely horrible and I couldn't believe how rude they were there. We will probably never go back through Milan again.

My Munich trip was pretty good. I have a sort of (short) trip report up here somewhere, just in case you're interested.

Chocolate! HA - that makes up for anything! Glad you finally had the picture-postcard view of the Matterhorn.

wrenwood

I am glad you ate all the chocolates. It would have been a real pity for them to get crushed. You have the same reasoning as I do.

wrenwood -

I wonder if the potato and pasta dish you had in Tirano was
aelpermakronen? I gave it a try on our last trip to Switzerland and it was carb heaven comfort food...noodles and potatoes in a creamy sauce - I felt very guilty for eating it.

Love the Walliserkane - never had a bad meal there.

The food you had in Tirano is indeed confusing. You describe it as potatoes and pasta mix - but that is NOT pizzocheri. These are pure pasta made of buckwheat. A specialty in the region.

Sorry, pizzoccheri ~ it was a darker pasta (the waiter called it black pasta, but I'm sure it was buckwheat) with cubed potatoes and greens (chard? spinach) unhealthy amounts of butter I assume, and lots of wonderful cheese. Does this sound right? The pasta was not made of potatoes, they were in the sauce with the greens. It was pizzoccheri on the menu

wrenwood -
Re: Your experience with that hotel outside of Lugano. We have been in Switzerland twice. The only time we had an outright rude waiter was in Lugano! Everyone had told us that in the German speaking part of Switzerland the people would be cool. Some were - but not rude. And that once in the Italian speaking part people would be "warm". What a lot of stereotype hogwash. It wasn't till the Italian speaking part that we got attitude.

wrenwood - that's an interesting combination. I've only had pizzocheri neri "pure". That means with butter and parmigiano. I have no idea what the dish is called what you had.

kenav - agree completely that these stereotypes are rubbish. Just for the record, wrenwood's bad hotel experience was in Italy, not the Italian speaking part of Switzerland.

Regarding our bad experience at Stella d'Italia, it wasn't really arrogance or attitude. The owners are older, and we just got the feeling they didn't care. She did respond to my email, suggesting that because English wasn't their native language there might have been some misunderstandings............I guess I never knew that warm smiles and handshakes had to be given in a certain language.

Oh well, back to more pleasant times on 6/23

I finally put down the camera and we headed downstairs for our last breakfast. The lovely German ladies were down there still smiling at me, making gestures of being wrapped up and taking pictures as the sun came up. Silly American tourist!

After breakfast we packed and were taken in the little electric car one last time to the train station, and down through the valley away from Zermatt and on to Montreux.

Hotel Masson was as nice as we thought it would be. The people that greeted us were lovely and friendly, showed us the Hotel, explained about dinner, and showed us our room which was very nice. We had a big beautiful old Cedar of Lebanon not too far off our balcony that looked over the lake.

We decided to have dinner there, and walked down to Chillon. It is really worth every minute that you spend there. It is much larger and more extensive than it looks, in a stunning lakeside setting as all the pictures show.

The model of the Castle and the surrounding territory show why it held such a strategic location. It controlled passage for a long time on the only road through the mountains connecting northern and southern Europe. Wow.

The inside is extremely interesting and well restored. It is an absolute maze of connected buildings, rooms, passageways and courtyards. We spent about 3 hours there, bought a bottle of Clos de Chillon white wine from the giftshop and walked back along the lake until we headed uphill to Hotel Masson. We drank the wine on our balcony and headed downstairs to a surprisingly good dinner. The menu is limited as was noted on another thread, but we liked everything that was on the menu that night so we were happy. The service was very good and cheerful, and the dining room was almost full. With every course thay asked if we would like more.......well except for the Strawberry Mousse dessert, much to my husband's disappointment!

Off to sit on the balcony one last time, and then to sleep one last time in Switzerland. So sad.

Breakfast was a letdown after a nice dinner, fruit cocktail instead of fresh fruit, one type of yogurt, 2 types of cheeses. We were spoiled by Bella Vista, Waldhaus and Palazzo Salis!

The trip home was uneventful. Again we loved those 5 extra inches of legroom in Economy Plus. When we arrived home our mountains in Virginia looked very small!

It was a wonderful trip, and again, thank you all SO much for all your help and patience. We are already thinking about our next trip to Switzerland!

First off big thanks for this long and detailed trip report. Enjoyed reading a lot and travelled virtually with you. LOL

I am very glad you had such a great time in Switzerland (again). Well, nothing else expected, though!

I share your enthusiasm about Chateau Chillon - my favourite castle. I visited on a rainy day which added to the medieval, mystic atmosphere. And I stayed at the Masson, too! It seems they decided to improve the quality of dinner but in return reduced their effort for breakfast. Too bad ... we had fresh fruit, several sorts of home made jam (yummy!), excellent bread/rolls, delicious cheese and an assortment of salami, ham etc.

Thanks again,

Ingo

Hmmmmmmmmmm Favorite Castle........might be Burg Eltz, that one was hard to beat. But Chillon was far more interesting than I thought it would be. And I loved Heidelburg, first time I was down below in the town looking up, I suddenly understood what it was like to be a peasant in awe of aristocracy!

I love how Europe makes you think about history and makes you feel not just like an "American" but a part of the process of humanity.

I am going to try this next month and in the winter to post very overdue trip reports for England and Wales 2006, Switzerland 2007, and Ireland 2008. Long overdue, but so many people helped me, maybe some of my ramblings will help future travelers!

Ingo, what time is it over there, go to bed!

I just want to thank you so much for your advice to visit Soglio. It was a perfect day. It is now on our top 10 list of our favorite places.

I really enjoyed reading your trip report! Thanks for sharing!
A question though -- were you referring to Grindelwald or Gimmelwald? ..just wondering...