Leaving for Bern in just over 2 weeks!
 

Down to the nitty gritty (train/bus schedules, museum and castle opening hours, current exhibits,etc)!

I have rented an apartment in Altstadt Bern for 8 nights.
1) * Arrive Sunday early via Zurich. Transfer to Bern, find apt, orient to area,
small grocery shop, climb Muenster, maybe re-visit the 'new' Bear Pits. Dinner and
crash.
2) Monday?- Stay local- Tram to Gurten/hike back down, ipod audioguide or just
meander (I have visited Bern twice previously on daytrips). Possibly, travel in evening to Luzern Fall Festival (had fun there last year)!
3) Tues? Solothurn and Schloss Waldegg
4) Wed? Stockhorn hike
5) Thurs? Bern morning markets/Paul Klee museum/browse arcaded shops. Possibly, evening travel to Luzern Maas (if not already there) OR Affoltern Cheesemaking (realizing they close at 6:30 PM)
6) Friday - ?Fribourg
7) *Saturday - Alpabfahrt Lenk im Simmental
8) * Sunday - Murtensee roundtrip cruise +/- evening Luzern Maas if not already there
9) Depart Switzerland

Monday thru Friday are interchangeable days (but not targeted activity), depending upon weather and fatigue, but Saturday and Sunday events are ONLY available on those days...

Anyone 'on the ground' in Sw. foresee any problems/complications?
Thanks for the help in putting this itinerary together-
Trip can't get here soon enough!

Try to take in the Chinese warriors exhibition if you can.

http://www.bern.com/en/city-of-bern/...top-events/qin

And have a great time! Hope you enjoy Solothurn ��

Thanks WT! Hope to use several of your earlier suggestions....

Murtensee boats will run only Friday to Sunday after Sept 29th. There is one exception , however: the boat Murten dp 14.30 to Biel/Bienne will run daily. All other boats on Bielersee run daily except Monday.
The Aar river boat Biel/Bienne - Solothurn will run Saturday and Sunday only after Sept 29th.
There may be frozen snow on the Stockhorn trails; check after your arrival at Berne.

BTW: don't miss the Fete des Vendanges (Wine Festival) de Neuchatel!
http://www.fete-des-vendanges.ch/f/a...2-dimanche.htm

Since the 2013 Fete ends on Sept 29, it's pretty unlikely the OP will get to it (the OP is leaving two weeks from Sept 17)

Yes, thanks neckar, I was aware that the roundtrip cruise out of Murten only runs Fri/Sat/Sun in fall, hence the fixed placement! After a lot of cosideration, I nixed Biel from my lineup...
And unfortunately, if the Neuchatel Fete ends Sept 29 and I arrive Oct 6, I will miss it!

About Friday - there isn't all that much in Fribourg, but in the region you can see how cheese and chocolate are made, and indulge - see www.la-gruyere.ch/en/cheese-and-chocolate.html‎

Hi Mokka,

Just want to say we might be crossing paths somewhere along the way...I was dancing around the office yesterday after finding out the autumn holiday passport for Swiss residents is back. This allows two weeks unlimited travel around Switzerland for 219 francs (second class) or 299 francs (first class). I'm going for the first class option. I did this last year and it was fantastic. I will be taking the second half of October off and have these daytrips planned:
Lugano
Poschiavo via Bernina Express
Bern
Thun
Lausanne
Gruyeres
Murten and/or Solothurn
Locarno
and one or two more as the spirit moves me, maybe Leukerbad for the spa. One thing I learned from last year is that the Engadine, beautiful as it is, is mostly closed during this time period (as are Wengen and Gstaad). A few places were open but it was mostly...very very quiet. A nice surprise was Appenzell, which I went to because they'd had an early heavy snowfall. (I've changed my profile photo to show how much snow there was around Appenzel in October last year). If there's a similar snowfall, I might head back.

Anyway, happy travels!
http://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holiday...ps/autumn.html

Darn! For swiss residents only, you say?
Guess it'll still be the Half Fare Card for me ;-( !
Are you an American expat or swiss-born?

I have half-seriously begun considering relocating at some (later) point to Switzerland, but found that, unless moving for work, one must guarantee an annual income of > $100,000...does this seem true to you?
I even considered finding a FeWo to sublet, but ones in even non-touristy areas seemed to be starting at $350,000---didn't seem like I would break even with taxes,unsteady occupation, a rental agency on the gound, usw.
I will likely revisit the issue in 5 or more years, or just resign myself to annual vacations in Germany or Switzerland....

Yes, I'm an American, but DH and I live and work in Switzerland. We love it here.

A $100,000 income is not that much in Basel. Lots of admins make about that much. The cost of living is high but not really so different from where we lived in the UK, yet the salaries I was offered for comparable level jobs there were about half (at best) of what I make here. And the quality of life is unparalleled. Well, except for the distinct lack of good sushi restaurants and the highway robbery that passes for Swiss taxi fares (when I was in New York City and Philadelphia in June, I couldn't get over how CHEAP everything seemed. Esp cab fares.)

mokka4,

I hope I'm not being too intrusive by offering my experiences here --

Like you, I spent most of my life imagining I would retire in Switzerland -- for me, it was the Canton of Vaud. That is, until I began to try to make it happen. I was astonished (guess it shows my naiveté) at the housing I could afford -- big apartment complexes that were dingy and dark, with smelly hallways.

So I retired to the Bavarian Alps instead. No, it's not the same -- trains aren't as good, no car-free villages, etc. But it's still the mountains. It's much more affordable. And Switzerland is only a 4-hour or 5-hour train ride away (lots better than an 18-hour flight).

It's pretty easy to retire to Germany -- all you need is some guaranteed income (NOT anywhere near $100,000) and medical insurance.

Anyway, hope you get to make your dream real!

s

Yes, it can seem high, but if you put it in the perspective of Swiss salaries, it's not as bad. We have a comfortable 3 bedroom, 2 bath apartment with large balcony overlooking a private park in a well-managed building in a good neighborhood. The rent (including charges) is 18% of my pre-tax salary and a hair over 25% of my take-home salary (which means after taxes, "three pillar" retirement/savings contributions and company stock purchases). If I were to add in other income (bonus, profit sharing, etc), our annual rent would come out to about 14% of my gross annual income. Seems pretty reasonable.

Thanks swandav...my thoughts exactly! I work in the medical field in a position which has no equivalent in most of Europe (France has something vaguely comparable, but I'm sure professional licensing issues would be difficult to overcome anywhere!) I would even consider working (if the time ever comes)as a waitress in a tourist area to pay the bills, and not have to dip into retirement funds... I will consider all in the decade ahead!