vibhav

I am an avid landscape photographer ... Not a professional ... but pretty close ... OK, I am tooting my horn, I am good but not THAT good ... Just that I cannot stress enough how important photography is to me ...

I have been to Europe four times, stayed for 3 months in Italy one of the times ... I have ALWAYS driven ... Been to Spain, Italy, Austria and small parts of FRance, Germany and Slovenia ...Only took the trains in Spain but even there I had a car for 4 days in the white towns ... But never used the trains in Italy, France, germany, austria,... there is such a charm to driving in these countries ...I LOVE the flexibility of stopping anywhere for a photo, going to very remote and less touristy places, changing things on the fly to be able to catch the perfect sunrise or sunset ...I always travel with my wife and son, so I like to balance family time with photography ...

This is my first time to Switzerland and i have been wanting to go forever ... I plan to dpesn 8 days or so in Bernese Oberland and Zermatt ... I plan to stay in Lauterbrunnen/ Wengen/Murren for 5-6 days and then in Zermatt for two ...

I have read a LOT of the posts here comparing trains to cars for this region ... The overwhelming reposnse seems to be that this is the only region in Europe where EVERYONE prefers to take the train...I just wanted to make sure and ask from a photographer's view point as well ... I understand the constraints of parking, accessibility to small towns with a car ... and I am completely open to taking trains, buses, cable cars eveyrhwere ...Now my son is 5 years old, so he can definitely enjoy those well ... My only concern is that I do not know if there are special tucked away gems (villages, or lakes or waterfalls or driving routes ) that are a must do for an avid landscape photographer ? If there are, then I would not want to miss out on those just because I do not have a car ...

Your feedback will be greatly appreciated ... please let me know either way ... if you think that trains are the best way to go, let me know ... if you think driving might have some additional advantages, please let me know ..

quokka

Thing is, the finest places in the Berner Oberland, including for example Wengen, are car-free and cannot be accessed by car, so driving is not an option anyway. The same applies to Zermatt, you have to park the car in Täsch a bit further down the valley. That's why everyone is taking the train. The only alternative, which gives total flexibility but has some disadvantages, is walking.

bobthenavigator

After 26 trips to Europe, I almost always prefer to drive, but not in CH. The trains are so efficient in the mountains that is your best option.

bettyk

Well, not everyone! We prefer to go by car. My husband, like you, loves photography and has spent alot of time and money on his "hobby".

We like the freedom of being able to pull over to take photos whereever we are. Maybe we are in the minority, but we are spending our travel dollars and our time, so we plan to keep doing it our way as long as we can.

Some of my husband's Switzerland photos:

http://travel.webshots.com/album/554510509SyxotU

nytraveler

Car - no question. there is nothing so frustrating as seeing a place you want to visit out of a train window. with a car -- you just go and do it - and can take advantage of every opportunity.

Granted there are some mountain towns that you can;t reach by car - but for most of the country car is a much better choice.

Caveat: We always do rod trips unless we are just stopping in one or two major cities. We feel it gives us many more opportunities to explore and see things we have never found in guidebooks.

swandav2000

Hi vibhiv,

Here are a few other considerations for using the trains:

You can take a road trip practically anywhere, but using a workable and fun train system is a somewhat unique experience.

You get closer to the locals and other travellers, and you'll more than likely have some interesting conversations. Children seem to be especially gifted at making friends on trains!

You can always go back to the spot that you saw out of the train window -- either on foot, by bike (my personal favorite), or by a train or tram. I think you'll find lots more photo opportunities when on foot or on bike anyway.

Local residents use the trains, too, not just tourists, so it's not difficult to find one of those off-the-beaten track locatons.

To my mind, the *only* obstacle to using trains is that train travel sometimes takes longer -- it's more difficult to hit three towns in a single day. It force you to slow down . . . which is all good.

Finally, of course using the trains is more **green** yaaaay! The Swiss rail site (www.rail.ch) has a new feature that lets you compare your trip to other methods of travel using carbon emissions, etc. You may be happy with yourself for doing something that helps to preserve the beauty for your son's son.

Have fun!

s

greg

Ask quokka indicated,

No cars allowed: Zermatt, Wengen, Murren
Cars allowed: Lauterbrunnen

In the Berner Oberland you can drive between towns at the bottom of the valley. For higher ground towns, irrespective your desire, charming or not charming, in the beaten track or out of the beaten track, it is not up to you to choose to visit by car.

A car is also useful for visiting outside the BO. But they don't seem to be your destinations. There are still pretty scenes from the valley level. For those shots, a car might let you be there then the light condition is favorable.

dreamon

For the best option: not cars; not trains; feet. Definitely walking gets you the best views. Also, the trains are well supported with an extensive network of postbuses. www.sbb.ch/en will allow you to check timetables for both.

vibhav

Thanks a lot for all the good feedback ... The "absolutely car" feedback from bettyk and mytraveler definitely appreciated. that is exactly how we feel ... we can never reconcile with seeing something out of a train window but not being able to stop... But we are struggling with this region ... If we have to take trains after Lauterbrunnen, like everyone else who vouch for the trains said, then is it worthwhile to drive from Zurich to Lauterbrunnen?

Does anyone have specific small towns or driving trips that they did in the BO region that would help me decide to drive rather than take the trains?

And thanks to everyone for the bike and on foot suggestions. Definitely plan to do both of them

Midnightsun

Vibhav: We were based in Interlaken a few years ago. We drove into Interlaken from the south along E35 and then west on 11, as we were coming from Italy. It was a rainy afternoon/evening, so it wasn't terribly scenic (the clouds were low). Four days later, at the suggestion of our hotel, we made our way back to Italy along highway 6 and over the Grimsel Pass. There were many places where we stopped and marveled at the scenery. We also took almost as many photographs on that morning as we had taken in the previous four days around Interlaken (and we had taken many)...wonderful photo route.

PalenQ

Have to pay expensive parking fees to leave your car in Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald as as others say private cars are Verboten above these towns - where the true gems IMO of the Jungfrau Region lay - like the Loop up to Murren/Schilthorn- dramatic aerial cableway up to Grutschalp from Lauterbrunnen and then hike or take the cableway down to Gimmelwald, a unique place - great for awesome pictures of a Top of the World vista and then a thrilling cableway back down to the Lauterbrunnen Valley and then a postal bus back to Lauterbrunnen - cars can do no part of this, my favorite excursion in all the Berner Oberland - and if you have a Swiss Railpass then the whole excursion is 100% covered - except if you go Murren to Schilthorn then that is 50% off from Murren. Anyway for lots of info on Swiss trains, railpasses and things like the Half-Fare Card, Swiss Card, Swiss Transfer ticket, etc. I always spotlight these fantastic IMO sites - www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.sbb.ch (Swiss Federal Railways to check regular fares); www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com.

Kswl2

Bettyk, love your husband's photos! We ended up spending a day in Thun summer before last sort of unexpectedly and it was charming--

bettyk

Thanks, Kswl2. We really enjoyed Thun. Spiez was a surprise also. But our absolute favorite was Stein am Rhein. So lovely.

Melissa5

We love traveling and treasure our photos too. Our photos for New Zealand, Costa Rica, Switzerland, Italy, and Ireland bring the trips alive for us again!

In New Zealand and Ireland, a car is great for photography.

But in the BERNER OBERLAND, one of the most STUNNING places on earth we have ever visited...a car isn't needed. Our favorite photos were all taken in spots in the Berner Oberland NOT accessible by car. We spent 11 nights in the Berner Oberland, and split our stay between Murren and Wengen, NEITHER of which is accessible by car. From Murren, we took the Almendhubel cable car up to incredible trails such as the North face trail where flowers were blooming everywhere...it was STUNNING. My husband is a biologist and photography is one of his hobbies and I'm a dreamer/writer...If you are talking about the Berner Oberland in particular, a car won't be helpful.

There are probably areas in Switzerland where a car would be useful...such as on the French-speaking side, there are some remote little spots where a car would be helpful I have heard.

We had 1st class Swiss passes and we could have gotten off the trains anyplace and taken photos if we had wished. But no place in our Swiss travels did we see anyplace that was as incredible, for us, as the Berner Oberland.

I also agree with the poster above who said that your FEET will take you to the best photos! Your feet will take you to amazing spots far away from where trains and cars can go.

I might also add that some people complain about crowds in Switzerland during the beautiful June/July season. That's another reason we loved staying in Murren...it's a car-free village and NONE Of the walks and hikes above Murren (accessible by the Almendhubel cable car right from Murren) were ever crowded during our visit in June/July. If you stay in a car-free village, you will leave the crowds behind on your walks. There are also walks from Murren, but I liked taking the cable car up to access the walks higher up.

Enjoy! Switzerland is stunning, especially the Berner Oberland.

PalenQ

For lots of fantastic photo opps go to Gimmelwald - an old lost-in-time farming village out in the middle of nowhere - but in actuality only a few-minute cable car ride from Murren (or an easy few-mile or less downhill stroll from Murren (accessible by aerial cableway and train from Lauterbrunnen.

vibhav

Thanks everyone for their detailed responses and for all the points of view ... Melissa, your post did the trick finally to convince us over to the no-car trip ...

We are also planning to stay in Murren ... We have 5 and half days in BO ... Too short to split between Murren and Wengen probably ... We deifnitely want to stay in one of the quieter car free towns and do lots of easy hikes and a couple of easy bike rides ... Shilthorn and Jungfrau are on the list ... Trying to see if I can manage a couple more days in BO ... Feel like 5 days might be short ... we want to really savor BO the best we can ... But we are coming in from Cesky Krumlov and that journey is almost taking 24 hours ... Cesky - Prague - Zurich - Murren ... We start at 3 PM from Cesky and reach Murren at about 2 PM next ... all on trains including an overnight from Prague to Zurich ...

Only if one could take a vacation for a month every now and then

vibhav

Oh and I forgot to add for PalenQ ... that is exacty why we are leaning towards Murren over Wengen ... we are completely enchanted with Gimmelwald, though not sure if we can stay there ... WIth Murren only 30 mins from Gimmelwald and then a cable car back up, we are sort of leaning towards Murren ... Have been reading a lot of Murren vs Wengen posts and trying to decide ...

neckervd

I don't understand your timetable. I get:
Ceski Krumlow dp by bus 8.00 - Salzburg ar 11.00, dp by train 11.56 - Mürren ar 20.55; change at Zurich, Berne, Interlaken Ost, Lauterbrunnen and Gruetschalp
OR (as you seem to like overnight trains)
Cesky Krumlow dp by train 19.00 - Budweis ar 19.44 - dp by overnight train (sleeping car) 20.08 - Zurich ar 8.20, dp by Intercity train 8.32 - Muerren ar 11.28; change at Zurich, Berne, Spiez, Interlaken Ost, Lauterbrunnen and Gruetschalp

neckervd

As to your initial question (car or train):
As you want to go to one of the very few Swiss mountain areas that you cannot reach by car, you will have no choice.
But for any mountain Pass and mountain Valley except this Interlaken/Jungfrau thing, Riederalp/Bettmeralp or Zermatt, the car would of course be the better choice.

Michael

I think that the train has left the station a long time ago