Have auto..staying in Grindelwald. Is a credit card accepted to pay for Jungfrau train excursion? <BR>

Yes. Credit cards are accepted virtually everywhere. I just got back from France, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and Morrocco last night and did not use a single of the travelers cheques I brought for emergency. I went on the excursion to Jungfraujoch. I bought my ticket in Interlaken, furtber down the valley. It cost 75 Swiss Francs which is about $50. Just buy your ticket at the train station. The excursion was AWESOME!!!! I LOVE Switzerland and you will, too. Be sure to dress warm. Also, FYI, it was very overcast and cloudy in Interlaken the day we went up to the Jungfraujoch. However, the train went above the clouds and WOW!!!!!!! Words can't even describe it. Also, you can take the train up in one direction and come down the mountain in the other direction. For example, I went up on the Grindelwald side and came down through Lauterbrunnen. From there, we took a bus to Trummelbach falls (5 min) which are nine waterfalls inside the mountain. Worth a visit. Also, you can go up the mountain from there to Murren and Gimmelwald, typical Swiss villages where no cars are allowed. Have fun!

Caryn: Thanks for your prompt reply .You have not only answered my question, but made my trip easier. I really didn't want to deal with travelers cheques.

For Caryn: the price you quoted for the Jungfrau excursion is less than I have been told. Could you supply a few more details on how you did it? <BR>I will be there September 18, 19, and 20. So that is one trip I wanted to take. So please share with us. <BR> <BR>

I think you can expect to pay $50 to $100 for the Jungfrau excursion, depending on where you travel from, discounts if you have certain rail passes, and time of day. I remember getting information on prices from the web last year before I went. Go to www.junfraubahn.ch/3e12.htm. There you will see the current rates for the trip. The current exchange rate is around 1.5 Swiss francs to the dollar. Hope this helps. It is well worth whatever it costs, especially if you have clear weather.

I forgot to add how to take the trip up. All you do is take a train from Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg. Then you get on a special train there that only runs to the top of the Jungfrau and back. If you want to do the best hike around for stupendous views (only less than 1 hour walk), take cable car from Grindelwald up to Mannlichen. Then walk downhill to Kleine Scheidegg (very easy walk). You could do it in reverse, but your back would be to the big three mountains, and you wouldn't save the train fare that way. A pointer - do these two things early in the day. Late afternoons can get quite cloudy and rainy. <BR>

My wife and I made the same trip last July from Interlocken. We had a Eurail pass and I believe it still cost about 40 or 45 USD. Without a Eurail pass the cost was slightly over 100USD. Of course from Grindelwald it would be slightly less. There is also a discounted trip leaving Interlocken early in the morning (around 0630). This cost less than half of what later trips cost. Check it out at the local train station. Don't miss this trip. We had a clear day and it by far was the most spectaular scenerio we had ever seen. Well worth the money no matter what it cost. Email me for further info. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip <BR> <BR>Larry

Thanks to all you who have taken the time to respond to my questions. You are a confirmation to the reason I'm addicted to this site. In a few days I will be leaving. I thought I had all the answers I needed. Alas, I was wrong. Again, thanks to all who have responded to my questions over the months. You have helped make my trip planning easier. <BR>

To Bob and Joyce: Sorry, Dan reminded me that I did indeed get a discount on the fare because I had a Eurail pass. It is a little more expensive without one, but still well worth it. Don't even worry about the cost because as Larry said, it is well worth it. I also recommend going fairly early (we set out at 10am) because it definitely was cloudier on the way down in the afternoon. However, no offense to anyone, but our hotel manager told us not to go on the first trains around 6:30 because they will be totally packed with Japanese tourists. And let me tell you, I have never seen so many Japanese people in one place as I saw in Interlaken and at Jungfraujoch. (I haven't been to Japan yet). <BR> <BR>Don't worry about what sounds like a complicated route up and down the mountain. There are clear maps everywhere and the trains are all timed in a certain way to meet each other. It is all quite self explanatory.

This is great information! I am heading to Switzerland on Sept. 15 and just came to this site by chance and what a find! We are planning on staying in Murren for about 4 days. Does anyone know if this is a great place to run? My husband and I are big runners and want to be able to keep it up while on vacation. Is it too hilly? or is the beauty worth it? Thanks for the tips on the train, as well. We will be taking advantage of that. <BR>

Thanks for the great help, all of you. <BR>I have one more question about the financial end of things. I will be armed with credit cards, but will my <BR>Nations Bank ATM card be useful to withdraw small amounts of cash for those little expenses?? I have heard that there are many banks in Switzerland, but <BR>if someone could tell me about the ATM scene, I will feel fully informed -- <BR>at least on how to get folding money. <BR> <BR>

As you can read all over this forum, ATM is the only way to go. I just returned from France, Spain, a day in Morrocco, Portugal, and Switzerland. I brought $150 in travellers cheques and did not use one. There are banks everywhere and I never had a problem. I, too, felt wary at first. But I trusted the advice of others and will continue to use the ATM in the future. I don't know why we Americans seem to feel that Europe is still in the dark ages and doesn't use the ATM. We found them everyplace we went, large and small, even in Morrocco. Trust everyone who has given this advice.

I would like to offer a little more clarification about my request for information about using Nations Bank ATM cards. <BR>My concern was not that the folks in Europe were backward. Quite the contrary, my concern is, or was, that Nations Bank did not have the connections. Thus, rather than thinking the Europeans were in the dark, it the opposite case. I can cite three incidents that raised my concern: (1) several weeks ago, I asked at a local branch of Nations Bank if a Nations Bank ATM card would work in Europe. I got vague, not very convincing answers from the local employees. (Like I was told that the standard ATM card would not work but a debit card would.) Calls to more central banking locations revealed no new information -- certainly I found no one who really knew or knew how to find out. (2) I then asked if the ATM would not work, what would be the next best alternative? The answers were something like take lots of American cash. Could I get Swiss currency through Nations Bank? Yes, perhaps, but the fee was much higher than going through American Express. Could I get Swiss CHF denominated travellers checks? <BR>Yes, but at extra cost to have them sent plus a beating on the exchange rate. (I could do better by far at AAA in Atlanta.) (3) I asked last year if my ATM would work in Canada, and got a similar answer. After trying my plastic in a bank in Revelstoke, I found that I had no need for concern. But the bottom line is that I could not find out from my bank whether or not its ATM cards would work in Europe or Canada. The employees I spoke with simply did not know and had little interest in really trying to find out. <BR> <BR>So given responses of that caliber, I was hoping to communicate with someone who had actually walked into a bank in Switzerland, inserted a Nations Bank ATM card or check card, and walked away with a fistful of Swiss currency. If that method is reliable, then it beats toting a wad of travellers checks about. Exchange rates are better and one can draw out amounts suitable to the need and purpose as most of us know. <BR> <BR>I now assume that my ATM card will work. But no one has actually said to me: "I put my Nations Bank ATM card in the slot and got money while I was in Switzerland." <BR> <BR>If anybody employed by Nations Bank reads this, I suggest that rather than taking umbrage at my remarks, you strive to educate your employees. <BR> <BR>

Correction-I was just looking at my visa bill and the Jungfrau excursion was <BR>124 SF=$84 with a discount for having a eurail pass. It was not $50. That price was for something else I bought.