April in the Alps: A Swiss Walkabout
Jun 5th, 2009, 04:00 AM
#63
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The only time we've been charged for tap water in Switzerland was last summer at the Schilthorn's Piz Gloria, (1 Karaffe Wasser 6.00 CHF, according to the receipt in my journal).
The server said something about having to bring it up from the town below everyday, which of course made sense, so there would be the charge. I told her it was okay, that we were just really thirsty, and sometimes water is the only thing that works.
I'll never forget the smile on her face when she brought it to the table. It was a HUGE pitcher -- I mean like a whole gallon -- full of lovely, chilled water. Certainly worth the money on that day!
This has been so fun to read, Melnq8. I will miss your tidbits when it is all done.
We will be in the region late July once again. Always on the lookout for new hikes, I've made note of several of yours. No snow for us in July, however
. We hope to be able to catch the Mannlichen Folk Festival this year. Last few times it's rained out on the scheduled date, so we missed it.
Happy travels!
The server said something about having to bring it up from the town below everyday, which of course made sense, so there would be the charge. I told her it was okay, that we were just really thirsty, and sometimes water is the only thing that works.
I'll never forget the smile on her face when she brought it to the table. It was a HUGE pitcher -- I mean like a whole gallon -- full of lovely, chilled water. Certainly worth the money on that day!
This has been so fun to read, Melnq8. I will miss your tidbits when it is all done.
We will be in the region late July once again. Always on the lookout for new hikes, I've made note of several of yours. No snow for us in July, however
. We hope to be able to catch the Mannlichen Folk Festival this year. Last few times it's rained out on the scheduled date, so we missed it.Happy travels!
Jun 5th, 2009, 04:30 PM
#64
schuler - We asked for water, they brought a small pitcher.
Thank you swisshiker - July will be here before you know it - I hope you'll consider posting a trip report on your return!
Thank you swisshiker - July will be here before you know it - I hope you'll consider posting a trip report on your return!
Jun 5th, 2009, 11:59 PM
#65
April 25, 2009: A posh hotel, wine angels and kebabs…
We packed, tidied up, empted the trash and made one last run to the recycle bin before locking up the apartment and dragging our luggage to the bus stop. It was a spectacularly clear day, and we had one last glimpse of the Breithorn before catching our bus to the station (2.20 CHF each), where 10 minutes later we were boarding a train to the Zurich Flughafen via Interlaken Ost and Bern (37 CHF each).
We were both a bit sulky at having to leave, but nonetheless, we enjoyed our ride from Interlaken to Bern aboard the Intercity Express. The train was rather flash with private compartments and tray tables in the seatbacks just like on a plane. There was a section in the middle of the car for luggage, in addition to overhead storage large enough to accommodate our wheeled carry on bags. We gazed wistfully at the Thunersee as we zipped along the rails on this flawless spring day. Before we knew it we were changing trains in Bern, and then on our way to Zurich on another Intercity Express. We went through tunnel after tunnel, exiting to find that the landscape had gotten depressingly flat in a hurry. The train only made one stop between Bern and the airport, at the Hauftbahnhof. We’d reached Zurich in record time, arriving just past noon.
Once at the Flughafen we collected our left luggage (106 CHF for 14 days), and trundled over to the Radisson Blu, which is conveniently connected to the airport.
http://www.radissonblu.com/hotel-zurichairport
On previous visits, we’ve stayed near the airport in Kloten or in the city, taking a shuttle and train combo to get to and from the airport. Staying AT the airport seemed the perfect solution for us – easy access to both trains and planes. The deal was sealed when I discovered that this hotel offers excellent weekend rates. When I first booked, the rate was 220 CHF, but when I checked back several weeks later, the rate had fallen to 195 CHF, so I cancelled and re-booked. It’s a heck of a deal for Zurich, as this is a luxury business hotel that charges between 395-425 CHF for the same room during the week.
We had no troubles checking in early and were given room #319, a sleek, modern room decorated in black, grey and burgundy. It wasn’t huge, but big enough, with a desk, flat screen TV, safe, electronic mini bar, king sized bed with loads of pillows AND adjustable spotlights next to the bed (!), similar to those found in Business Class on planes.
The bathroom was equally sleek with shades on the lights, nice amenities and an opaque window that separated it from the bedroom. Around 4:30 pm, window blinds on the exterior of the hotel automatically came down and then tilted, effectively blocking the afternoon sun.
Our room also had a bizarre iron contraption that I’d not seen before; the iron was attached to the board and both were attached to a hanger that hung in the closest. Odd, but it worked.
But best of all, the place was incredibly quiet and we didn’t hear so much as a peep from the airport right next door.
Finally tired of potatoes, pizza and cheese, the carnivore was craving meat, so we walked over to the airport where Bill’s eyes lit up when he saw.....drumroll please.......McDonalds. I’m not a fan, but I’m a pretty good sport, so it’s here that we had one of our most expensive American fast food meals of all time (18.50 CHF for a double cheese burger, medium fries and a Happy Meal. Oh yeah, and .20 per packet of ketchup), but the man was happy, what can I say.
After relaxing in our posh hotel for a few hours, we walked to the train station (beneath the airport), purchased a 24 hour ticket for 12.40 CHF each (oops, guess I lied about our last train journey), and then caught a train to the Hauftbahnhof in search of kebabs. We wandered around for a bit, had an alfresco drink at the Cinema Restaurant, and then stumbled upon Zuri Snack 1, where we had some pretty good kebabs (16 CHF for two). We made one last stop at the Coop to load up on chocolate and gummy bears, and then it was back to the hotel, where we had drinks in the Wine Angel bar in the lobby. About those angels: the Radisson has a huge glass enclosed area in their lobby where they store 4,000 bottles of wine. Whenever someone from the restaurant orders a bottle of wine, an ‘angel’ (a young woman dressed in a white body suit) is lifted via harness to fetch the bottle. Hmmm....
We packed, tidied up, empted the trash and made one last run to the recycle bin before locking up the apartment and dragging our luggage to the bus stop. It was a spectacularly clear day, and we had one last glimpse of the Breithorn before catching our bus to the station (2.20 CHF each), where 10 minutes later we were boarding a train to the Zurich Flughafen via Interlaken Ost and Bern (37 CHF each).
We were both a bit sulky at having to leave, but nonetheless, we enjoyed our ride from Interlaken to Bern aboard the Intercity Express. The train was rather flash with private compartments and tray tables in the seatbacks just like on a plane. There was a section in the middle of the car for luggage, in addition to overhead storage large enough to accommodate our wheeled carry on bags. We gazed wistfully at the Thunersee as we zipped along the rails on this flawless spring day. Before we knew it we were changing trains in Bern, and then on our way to Zurich on another Intercity Express. We went through tunnel after tunnel, exiting to find that the landscape had gotten depressingly flat in a hurry. The train only made one stop between Bern and the airport, at the Hauftbahnhof. We’d reached Zurich in record time, arriving just past noon.
Once at the Flughafen we collected our left luggage (106 CHF for 14 days), and trundled over to the Radisson Blu, which is conveniently connected to the airport.
http://www.radissonblu.com/hotel-zurichairport
On previous visits, we’ve stayed near the airport in Kloten or in the city, taking a shuttle and train combo to get to and from the airport. Staying AT the airport seemed the perfect solution for us – easy access to both trains and planes. The deal was sealed when I discovered that this hotel offers excellent weekend rates. When I first booked, the rate was 220 CHF, but when I checked back several weeks later, the rate had fallen to 195 CHF, so I cancelled and re-booked. It’s a heck of a deal for Zurich, as this is a luxury business hotel that charges between 395-425 CHF for the same room during the week.
We had no troubles checking in early and were given room #319, a sleek, modern room decorated in black, grey and burgundy. It wasn’t huge, but big enough, with a desk, flat screen TV, safe, electronic mini bar, king sized bed with loads of pillows AND adjustable spotlights next to the bed (!), similar to those found in Business Class on planes.
The bathroom was equally sleek with shades on the lights, nice amenities and an opaque window that separated it from the bedroom. Around 4:30 pm, window blinds on the exterior of the hotel automatically came down and then tilted, effectively blocking the afternoon sun.
Our room also had a bizarre iron contraption that I’d not seen before; the iron was attached to the board and both were attached to a hanger that hung in the closest. Odd, but it worked.
But best of all, the place was incredibly quiet and we didn’t hear so much as a peep from the airport right next door.
Finally tired of potatoes, pizza and cheese, the carnivore was craving meat, so we walked over to the airport where Bill’s eyes lit up when he saw.....drumroll please.......McDonalds. I’m not a fan, but I’m a pretty good sport, so it’s here that we had one of our most expensive American fast food meals of all time (18.50 CHF for a double cheese burger, medium fries and a Happy Meal. Oh yeah, and .20 per packet of ketchup), but the man was happy, what can I say.
After relaxing in our posh hotel for a few hours, we walked to the train station (beneath the airport), purchased a 24 hour ticket for 12.40 CHF each (oops, guess I lied about our last train journey), and then caught a train to the Hauftbahnhof in search of kebabs. We wandered around for a bit, had an alfresco drink at the Cinema Restaurant, and then stumbled upon Zuri Snack 1, where we had some pretty good kebabs (16 CHF for two). We made one last stop at the Coop to load up on chocolate and gummy bears, and then it was back to the hotel, where we had drinks in the Wine Angel bar in the lobby. About those angels: the Radisson has a huge glass enclosed area in their lobby where they store 4,000 bottles of wine. Whenever someone from the restaurant orders a bottle of wine, an ‘angel’ (a young woman dressed in a white body suit) is lifted via harness to fetch the bottle. Hmmm....
Jun 6th, 2009, 12:52 AM
#66
April 26, 2009: Time to go…
By now we were both fighting colds, but we’d had a comfortable night and woke semi ready for the long trek to Nevada. The weather forecasters were promising a high of 30º C for Zurich – yikes – this is April?
While Bill showered, I went foraging for breakfast in the shopping area of the airport, which once again proved very convenient. I picked up caffeine at Starbuck’s (13.40 CHF for two tall lattes!) and found some fantastic chocolate filled croissants at Bakery Steiner (5.60 CHF). Sure wish I’d found those on our first day in Switzerland instead of our last!
A few hours later we were checked in for our flight and hanging out in the Swiss Business Class lounge. The lounge had both smoking and non-smoking sections, computers with Internet access, a full bar, chilled champers, and a variety of snacks (what, no chocolate???). There was a dish called ‘aelpermakronen’ on offer, which I’d seen on a few menus, so I decided to give it a try. Talk about carb heaven comfort food; noodles and potatoes in a creamy sauce…it was good, but I sure felt guilty eating it.
I was a bit worried about our carry on bags; they were full of meltable goodies we didn’t want to check, and we’d been told Swiss had an 8 kg limit regardless of flight class. Lucky us, no one even gave our bags a sideways glance.
When planning this trip, we’d hemmed and hawed over whether or not to fly Swiss and I have to say, neither of us was impressed.
Our 12.5 hour flight to LAX left 30 minutes late, but was mercifully smooth. We had bulkhead seats in the center of a small Business Class cabin on an Airbus A340-300. Lack of storage near our feet was certainly no hardship, but we immediately missed those little cubbies you often find in Business Class; our seats were completely devoid of any storage areas.
We were quite comfortable when semi-reclined, but our seats were downright awful when fully reclined. There was no way to elevate our legs, so we slid right down the seat. It was impossible to sleep, but fortunately we didn’t need to as it was a daytime flight. We also found the entertainment system awkward. The screens were big and there was a good selection of programs, but we had a few issues. Bill’s system cut out on him three times in the middle of a movie and wouldn’t resume, he had to restart the movie each time. The programming on my screen was in Italian and when I tried to change the language it kept switching back to Italian. I asked a flight attendant for assistance, but he was completely unhelpful, saying he was too busy with drink service. We always travel with our own headsets, which was a good thing as theirs were complete crap.
As far as the food goes, Bill said his was okay, but my vegetarian meals were completely uninspired; the first consisted of rice, green beans, carrots and cooked spinach, the snack consisted of cucumbers and tomato on soggy bread and the second meal consisted of plain lentils, carrots and more cold vegetables. It just wasn’t good and not what I expected in Business Class.
After the meal service the flight attendants vanished and we had to go back to the galley several times to ask for water. They were neither helpful nor friendly and I don’t really have much good to say about Swiss. I guess I’ve gotten spoiled by Singapore Air.
Grousing aside, we took off and we landed, for which I’m always thankful.
It took forever to reach our gate at LAX and then we were towed in. I always dread entering the US at LAX, but Customs and Immigration were a breeze – no lines at either – it seems that 4pm is a good time to arrive. We had a long walk from the International Terminal to Terminal 7 for our connecting flight, but the fresh air did us good. Well, if you can call LA air fresh that is…
________________________
The world’s longest trip report is FINALLY finished. I’ll post a short (I promise) comparison between what we paid for transportation with a Half Fare Card vs. what it would have cost with a 15 day Swiss Pass once I crunch the numbers.
By now we were both fighting colds, but we’d had a comfortable night and woke semi ready for the long trek to Nevada. The weather forecasters were promising a high of 30º C for Zurich – yikes – this is April?
While Bill showered, I went foraging for breakfast in the shopping area of the airport, which once again proved very convenient. I picked up caffeine at Starbuck’s (13.40 CHF for two tall lattes!) and found some fantastic chocolate filled croissants at Bakery Steiner (5.60 CHF). Sure wish I’d found those on our first day in Switzerland instead of our last!
A few hours later we were checked in for our flight and hanging out in the Swiss Business Class lounge. The lounge had both smoking and non-smoking sections, computers with Internet access, a full bar, chilled champers, and a variety of snacks (what, no chocolate???). There was a dish called ‘aelpermakronen’ on offer, which I’d seen on a few menus, so I decided to give it a try. Talk about carb heaven comfort food; noodles and potatoes in a creamy sauce…it was good, but I sure felt guilty eating it.
I was a bit worried about our carry on bags; they were full of meltable goodies we didn’t want to check, and we’d been told Swiss had an 8 kg limit regardless of flight class. Lucky us, no one even gave our bags a sideways glance.
When planning this trip, we’d hemmed and hawed over whether or not to fly Swiss and I have to say, neither of us was impressed.
Our 12.5 hour flight to LAX left 30 minutes late, but was mercifully smooth. We had bulkhead seats in the center of a small Business Class cabin on an Airbus A340-300. Lack of storage near our feet was certainly no hardship, but we immediately missed those little cubbies you often find in Business Class; our seats were completely devoid of any storage areas.
We were quite comfortable when semi-reclined, but our seats were downright awful when fully reclined. There was no way to elevate our legs, so we slid right down the seat. It was impossible to sleep, but fortunately we didn’t need to as it was a daytime flight. We also found the entertainment system awkward. The screens were big and there was a good selection of programs, but we had a few issues. Bill’s system cut out on him three times in the middle of a movie and wouldn’t resume, he had to restart the movie each time. The programming on my screen was in Italian and when I tried to change the language it kept switching back to Italian. I asked a flight attendant for assistance, but he was completely unhelpful, saying he was too busy with drink service. We always travel with our own headsets, which was a good thing as theirs were complete crap.
As far as the food goes, Bill said his was okay, but my vegetarian meals were completely uninspired; the first consisted of rice, green beans, carrots and cooked spinach, the snack consisted of cucumbers and tomato on soggy bread and the second meal consisted of plain lentils, carrots and more cold vegetables. It just wasn’t good and not what I expected in Business Class.
After the meal service the flight attendants vanished and we had to go back to the galley several times to ask for water. They were neither helpful nor friendly and I don’t really have much good to say about Swiss. I guess I’ve gotten spoiled by Singapore Air.
Grousing aside, we took off and we landed, for which I’m always thankful.
It took forever to reach our gate at LAX and then we were towed in. I always dread entering the US at LAX, but Customs and Immigration were a breeze – no lines at either – it seems that 4pm is a good time to arrive. We had a long walk from the International Terminal to Terminal 7 for our connecting flight, but the fresh air did us good. Well, if you can call LA air fresh that is…
________________________
The world’s longest trip report is FINALLY finished. I’ll post a short (I promise) comparison between what we paid for transportation with a Half Fare Card vs. what it would have cost with a 15 day Swiss Pass once I crunch the numbers.
Jun 6th, 2009, 08:37 PM
#67
On past trips to Switzerland we’ve always purchased the Swiss Saver Pass, which covers unlimited travel on most trains, buses and boats throughout the country and includes free admission to many museums as well as a few other perks. The Swiss Pass also offers a 50% reduction on most mountain excursions, which include a vast array of trains, funiculars and cable cars, several of which have been mentioned above.
http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/pro...e.php?passid=1
The Half Fare Card is exactly what is sounds like, a pass that entitles the purchaser to a 50% reduction on the entire Swiss Public transport system, most private and mountain railways, boats, buses, funiculars, cable cars, etc. The Half Fare Card is valid for a month from the date of purchase and can be purchased at most train stations within Switzerland.
http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/en/reisemarkt/abonnemente/halbtax
As an experiment, we decided to try the Half Fare Card this time, knowing that with the exception of our location changes (Zurich-Kandersteg-Zermatt-Lauterbrunnen-Zurich), most of our trip would involve transportation only covered at 50%, regardless of which pass we bought.
So here are the numbers:
Half Fare Card: 99 CHF x 2 = 198 CHF
Total spent on ½ price transportation that would have been covered by the Swiss Pass at 100%, including buses: 208.70 CHF x 2 = 417.40 CHF
Total for two people = 617.40 CHF, including the Half Fare Card*
15 day Swiss Saver Pass good for two or more people traveling together:
If purchased within Switzerland: 386.75 CHF x 2 = 773.50 CHF
If purchased in the US: $335 x 2 = $670 (roughly 727 CHF at today’s bank exchange rate of .92)
*I haven’t included the cost of any mountain excursions (Sunnega, Gornergrat, Wengen to Kleine Scheidegg, etc) as both passes give you 50% off, so it’s a wash.
So, we saved about 110 CHF using the Half Fare Card instead of the Swiss Saver Pass.
______________________
If you've made it this far, I admire your patience, and I hope all the little details might help the next person planning a trip to Switzerland. Auf Wiedersehen.
http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/pro...e.php?passid=1
The Half Fare Card is exactly what is sounds like, a pass that entitles the purchaser to a 50% reduction on the entire Swiss Public transport system, most private and mountain railways, boats, buses, funiculars, cable cars, etc. The Half Fare Card is valid for a month from the date of purchase and can be purchased at most train stations within Switzerland.
http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/en/reisemarkt/abonnemente/halbtax
As an experiment, we decided to try the Half Fare Card this time, knowing that with the exception of our location changes (Zurich-Kandersteg-Zermatt-Lauterbrunnen-Zurich), most of our trip would involve transportation only covered at 50%, regardless of which pass we bought.
So here are the numbers:
Half Fare Card: 99 CHF x 2 = 198 CHF
Total spent on ½ price transportation that would have been covered by the Swiss Pass at 100%, including buses: 208.70 CHF x 2 = 417.40 CHF
Total for two people = 617.40 CHF, including the Half Fare Card*
15 day Swiss Saver Pass good for two or more people traveling together:
If purchased within Switzerland: 386.75 CHF x 2 = 773.50 CHF
If purchased in the US: $335 x 2 = $670 (roughly 727 CHF at today’s bank exchange rate of .92)
*I haven’t included the cost of any mountain excursions (Sunnega, Gornergrat, Wengen to Kleine Scheidegg, etc) as both passes give you 50% off, so it’s a wash.
So, we saved about 110 CHF using the Half Fare Card instead of the Swiss Saver Pass.
______________________
If you've made it this far, I admire your patience, and I hope all the little details might help the next person planning a trip to Switzerland. Auf Wiedersehen.
Feb 21st, 2010, 12:22 AM
#68
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Melnq8, I've just printed out your trip report so I can enjoy it, and use my highlight pens! Wow! Thanks for the novelette of Switzerland! 
Your trip reports and info on New Zealand certainly enriched our trip to NZ. I'm looking forward to all the details you have included here on Switzerland! I'll be back to pester you with questions.
I don't think we will be doing too much sledding...since we are going to Switzerland in summer...probably end of June/beginning of July. So I will enjoy the snowballs in your report.
Your trip reports and info on New Zealand certainly enriched our trip to NZ. I'm looking forward to all the details you have included here on Switzerland! I'll be back to pester you with questions.
I don't think we will be doing too much sledding...since we are going to Switzerland in summer...probably end of June/beginning of July. So I will enjoy the snowballs in your report.
Feb 21st, 2010, 03:16 PM
#69
Glad to help Melissa.
Just keep in mind that this was our 9th or 10th trip to Switzerland, so we'd already done/seen much of what first timers like to do/see, such as the train to the Jungfrau, the cable car to the Schilthorn, and several summer activities such as the cable to Mannlichen and the walk to Kleine Schiedegg (from Wengen), the Schynige Platte and several excurions from Grindelwald.
I have detailed reports and photos from these trips posted on another site, I'll provide the links if you're interested. Just send me an e-mail.
Happy planning!
Just keep in mind that this was our 9th or 10th trip to Switzerland, so we'd already done/seen much of what first timers like to do/see, such as the train to the Jungfrau, the cable car to the Schilthorn, and several summer activities such as the cable to Mannlichen and the walk to Kleine Schiedegg (from Wengen), the Schynige Platte and several excurions from Grindelwald.
I have detailed reports and photos from these trips posted on another site, I'll provide the links if you're interested. Just send me an e-mail.
Happy planning!
Mar 2nd, 2010, 07:00 AM
#73
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Melng8,
Wonderful report! We are really looking forward to our April trip, so this is especially interesting to us.
This will be our third trip to Switzerland, but first to the Berner Oberland.
Actually, we had plans to visit the region during our last trip to the country about three years ago, but we were enjoying Luzern so much that we cancelled our reservations and stayed there. So this is a long-awaited make-up trip.
Again, thank you for a delightful report! I'll probably have more questions in the coming weeks!
Byrd
Wonderful report! We are really looking forward to our April trip, so this is especially interesting to us.
This will be our third trip to Switzerland, but first to the Berner Oberland.
Actually, we had plans to visit the region during our last trip to the country about three years ago, but we were enjoying Luzern so much that we cancelled our reservations and stayed there. So this is a long-awaited make-up trip.
Again, thank you for a delightful report! I'll probably have more questions in the coming weeks!
Byrd
Mar 16th, 2010, 11:47 PM
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Melnq8, thanks for taking the time to post your detailed trip reports, as always. I enjoyed a quick-read of it. I appreciate the way that you include details...such as the eye-popping views...and the sore, tired knees...and always, the food details as well!
I have so little time in which to plan our upcoming trip to Switzerland...I'm starting to feel a bit frantic, although we are excited! I have resorted to turning off my cell phone so I can have a few hours to myself to plan the trip! I have some questions but I won't post them on your trip report.
Wonderful trip report! And happy travels.
I have so little time in which to plan our upcoming trip to Switzerland...I'm starting to feel a bit frantic, although we are excited! I have resorted to turning off my cell phone so I can have a few hours to myself to plan the trip! I have some questions but I won't post them on your trip report.
Wonderful trip report! And happy travels.
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