Bill Daniel

My wife and I plan a three day stay in the Brienzersee area. Can't decide between Ringgenberg or Iseltwald. Any advice on which and where to stay would be appreciated.<BR><BR>Bill

JW

Hi Bill, I've been to Iseltwald twice by boat for a short afternoon visit. The first time I was infatuated by its quiet lanes and nooks and crannies. The second time, I felt like it had been neglected; it didn't appear as pristine as I'd remembered. Now this might just have been a bad day; it was warm and I was tired, and I was not actually staying in Iseltwald, so my impressions might have been too short. But I can say this: I think that from Ringgenberg your view across the lake will include the mountains, whereas from Iseltwald you'll be looking across the lake in the other direction. The only other thing I can think of to mention is that the train stops in Ringgenberg, but Iseltwald has no rail connections. If you're driving, of course, it will make no difference. If you are trying to get away from us all, Iseltwald is probably the place for you. There is at least one Iseltwald fan who visits this site, so he'll probably be able to give you a more enthusiastic impression. For what it's worth, I intend to go back again to take one more look. Iseltwald is near those beautiful falls, by the way. J.

jw

topping for Bill; no other opinions? Bill, I'm still wondering if you'll be driving or training? Wherever you end up, you'll love Brienzersee! Is price a consideration? I know somewhere on one of these threads, someone has mentioned apartments in Ringgenberg. I've thought about Oberried, as well. Very quiet and on the same rail line as R.

anon

We stayed in Ringgenberg last year, at a chalet rental (schwizi.com). It was a VERY small village in the Berner Oberland, and we loved it. It was a short drive from Brienz, Interlaken, and Grindelwald. Would recommend the area (and Schwizi's chalet rentals) highly! Views of the lake and Alps are gorgeous from here.

W R Daniel

Thanks to those who responded. Have chosen to stay at the Brienzersee in Ringgenberg, because we will be training. Here's another goodie. How convenient is it to fly to Paris and then take the TGV to Geneva, and if convenient are costs comparable to flying directly to Geneva? The reason I ask is that Summer Gares to Geneva seem outrageous.<BR><BR>Bill

jw

Hi Bill. I've always wondered that myself, though I usually change planes at CDG and then fly to Geneve. Is that the combo that you say is so expensive? --or are you really talking about a direct from the US to Geneva? Anyway, out of curiosity, I checked the sbb.ch website of the Swiss RR, and went to timetables and plugged in Charles de Gaulle and Geneva. It looks like a 4+ to 5+ hours trip with a change probably in Lyon. How much does the TGV ticket cost? Here in the states it costs as much to train as fly often, so I never really thought I should even think about it. But you've got me wondering. Keep in touch. J

s

Bill,<BR><BR>Because my vacations in Switzerland often go to the Lake Geneva area, I have given this routing some thought. I usually fly into Zurich and take the train to Geneva. Here's why.<BR><BR>The first reason is cost. Flying into Zurich is about $200 - $300 cheaper than flying into Geneva via Paris on my favorite airline. You can buy a Transfer Card so that your round-trip train ride to your final destination in Switzerland is about $100. <BR><BR>The second factor is timing, or the quickest arrival into Montreux (my usual destination at Lake Geneva). My favorite airline's flight into Geneva arrives at about 11:10 or 12:20, depending on the flight connections from Paris. The flight to Zurich arrives at 8:45 am, and I can usualy catch the 9:45 train out to Lausanne (from there I go to Montreux). Your arrival in Geneva would probably be about 12:00 or 12:30, pretty close to the flight arrival time.<BR><BR>So the third factor is convenience and comfort. Personally, I would prefer to be moving through a train station than sitting in an airport, and I prefer the comfort and the scenery of train travel over the herding and boredom of one more flight. I also like eating cheese and chocolate and yogurt on the train and being "in" Europe instead of being still "enroute."<BR><BR>Of course, this conclusion will be different with your own airline's schedule and fares, and with your own preferences. <BR><BR>You can check the Swiss rail schedules and fares at www.rail.ch, if you don't already know it.<BR><BR>Feel free to e-mail me for more info --<BR><BR>s

anon

I posted earlier on in this thread, and realize I made a typo. We stayed at a chalet rental from the Schwizi family in Ringgenberg (they also have rentals in Oberreid). I gave the wrong web-address, however. It should be: schwizi.ch The rentals were clean and very contemporary, and we thought they were perfect accomodations (we preferred not to stay in a hotel).<BR>Enjoy your trip! I'm envious!