Ursula

Phil: You are absolutely right about the Fondation Beyeler. They do in fact expect a lot of people for this special Monet exhibition. It will show Monet's influence on artists such as Pollock, Warhol, etc. The museum is absolutely outstanding and usually very crowded. I suggest you be there, if possible, at 10 am to avoid lines or go on a Wednesday (late opening). <BR>I plan to see the exhibition very soon.<BR>www.beyeler.com<BR>BTW, I grew up just a couple of minutes away. It's amazing to see what change the village of Riehen has been going through since the opening of this museum a couple of years ago.

topping

tp

jw

Hello! What fun to check this thread after an absence and find some great information! You people really do brighten my days. First of all, my rigatoni with gorgonzola wasn't so great. I guessed at the proportions and don't have it right just yet -- my memory of it was so creamy and delicious. I suppose I should confess that I was trying to make it low-fat (you are probably revolted by the very idea) by not using cream, but substituting evaporated skim milk and ricotta, and I probably didn't add enough gorgonzola -- though I did take care to purchase the best of that I could find. I'll welcome suggestions but no jokes, ok? Ingo, I plan to find that sport hotel's menu as soon as I have time --<BR><BR>Phil, I bet Sattel is the village. The name rings a bell, so maybe I did glimpse the station name. Wish I could find some pictures on the net somewhere. I have indeed visited Einsiedeln. I've mentioned before that I spent seven nights in Rapperswil one summer and never ran out of places to visit. Einsiedeln was one of the highlights and was a contrast to the other destinations.<BR><BR>And about those museums! The Rosengart sounds great (cannot wait to hear details when you visit, Ursula) and the Claude Monet to digital (?) exhibition at the Beyeler gives me all kinds of ideas for my teaching! I never thought about connecting Monet to Pollock and Warhol! But now it seems like a no-brainer. I'm afraid I was compartmentalizing old Monet, even though I stress to my students that his work was a bridge between traditional and modern painting. I can't wait to see if the Beyeler site has a good section on the exhibit! J.

luvSchweiz

I need a therapy fix!

judy

hello all you switzerland enthusiasts! i wonder if i might ask for some help...my husband and i are going there in august for about 10 days, and i am too overwhelmed to plan anything. we will be based in zurich (we have a friend there), but of course we want to see lots of the rest of the country (and my beer-loving husband wants to go into bavaris also!) oh, and i do NOT want to drive (i can't look at the scenery that way!) what sort of train pass do we want? is it better to get a swiss pass and book hotels here and there, or do one of the package deals that eurail offers in switzerland, or just buy daily point-to-point tickets? how much stuff can we do from zurich in day trips? will we need lots of hotels? please help, my head is spinning...

jw

I'm sorry, luvschweiz, I got carried away. But if you had read my first message, you'd have been forewarned.

yodel

Judy...don't worry, its not that difficult. First, read thru the posts here, there is a ton of information that has been posted and posted. Also, your friend in Zurich should be able to help you immensely with arrangements and info once you're there. The best thing is to think about what you like to do and see and then start to work around that. For example, if you like hiking, where can you go? If you like mts. but just looking at them, not hiking, or do you like museums and shopping, or eating the local food?? Its YOUR vacation!

Phil

jw:<BR><BR>I'm glad Sattel rung a bell. Try the village's official website, surprisingly at http://www.sattel.ch/. It is in German, but navigation seems quite straightforward.<BR><BR>At fondation Beyeler they expect up to 250'000 Visitors for their Monet exhibition (which will close on August 4th).<BR><BR>The title of the exhibition is *really* Claude Monet...to digital impressionism. It shows 40 late Monets in contrast to works by Pollock, Rothko, Johns, even up to Pippilotti Rist's video art (hence probably "digital"). There was an excellent review in today's Neue Z&uuml;rcher Zeitung, page 61.<BR><BR>The local transport authority will operate an extra streetcar stop just outside the fondation (only on your way out; for your way back, you will have to walk almost a quarter mile to the centre of Riehen to the nearest stop. I suppose this compromise was reached to please shops and restaurants of Riehen .<BR><BR>Ursula: Yes, it is really amazing, what impact this museum has given to the northern part of Riehen (a "village" of 20'000 inhabitants). When I was at school, a friend of mine lived at Essigstrasse, and I remember that there was virtually nothing on the west side of the road to L&ouml;rrach beyond the Bachtelenstube. Maybe this development brought the community to drop its official designation of "Dorf" in favour of "Gemeinde" a few years ago. A sad thing, I always liked the understatement of calling a place larger then half of the Swiss cantonal capitals a "village".<BR><BR>As to the Rosengart collection in Lucerne: I heard an interview with Angela Rosengart this afternoon: She has ordered her paintings to be hung in strict chronological order, quite in contrast to most modern galleries (as Beyeler), so there won't be any immediate comparison of the influence from Picasso or Klee on other artists. I wonder, if this will work out.<BR><BR>The building the Rosengart collection is housed, incidentally, used to be the Swiss National Bank's Lucerne branch, so obviously, even bank buildings can become more friendly ;-). It was refurbished by the Basel architects Diener & Diener, who also built the annex to the Swiss embassy in Berlin.<BR><BR>Enjoy<BR><BR>Phil.

jw

Thanks, Phil. I've taken a look at Sattel's site. And. . . the Beyeler is including great information and images re the Monet exhibit! Marvelous! I became a fan of the Beyeler when I stumbled upon its announcement of an exhibition called 'Ornament and Abstraction', or something like that. I had a vision-impaired student who was fascinated by the calligraphic symbols of different cultures, and somehow that exhibit popped up in my net research. The Beyeler's way of re-aligning and bringing fresh insight to well-studied arts is a gift to teachers.<BR><BR>Hi, Judy, you've got such pleasure ahead of you, planning and then visiting Switzerland with friends waiting for you! Welcome to this thread, and do take the time to read the contributions of Phil and Ursula and Ingo and S' -- If you've got the patience, we've all mentioned and re-mentioned our favorite places. If I had a place to stay in Zurich, I'd use the Swiss Pass to day-trip from there. And maybe a one-night stay-over along the Lavaux of Lac Leman(French Switz) and Lake Lugano (Italian Switz). You could probably spend the entire time based in Zurich, but it would be nice to get a taste of these two contrasting areas. As a way to start getting a feel for what you can do, use the SBB website and plug in all sorts of day-trip destinations. And don't forget to spend some time on the lake boats -- covered by the Pass. J.

jw

Hello again. For those of you in the U.S., I've just realized that the program I saw on Zurich is part of a set of the same on "Burt Wolf Travels and Traditions" (pbs). There's a website with the transcripts and a couple of recipes for each show at burttravels.com.

judy

jw -- thanks for the info. (that's funny -- i am a jw also!) i understand, from your posts, that you are on a tight budget when you go. so are we. can you recommend (i think you might have, but my head is so full of info from all these posts!) good inexpensive places to stay in lavaux/lugano? by the way, lavaux sounds fabulous! my husband and i are huge wine (and winery!) lovers...mmmmm, vineyards. those glowing descriptions i read of seeing the vineyards and the lake and the mountains are making me do my "switzerland dance" again!

jw

Hi Judy, I'm happy to read the words of someone as head over heels for Switzerland as I am. My most recent experiences have been with three two-star places: The Auberge du Rivaz in Rivaz on Lac Leman, the Hotel Panorama in Gerra-Gambarogno on Lago Maggiore, and the little Hotel Hirschen in Leissigen on Thunersee. I was perfectly happy to stay in all three. The auberge in Rivaz is just along the lake among the vineyards and across the road from the little boat dock and train station. The rooms are basic, but the restaurant is terrific. I've stayed there twice and will go again when I can. The Hotel Panorama (web address somewhere among these postings I think) is off the beaten track along the east shore of Lago Maggiore, but it's the best two-star I've ever stayed in. On Lugano's lake I have not tried any of the places, but I've seen a lovely hotel right on the shore -- Fischer's Seehotel-- and also I know there's a reasonably priced one in Gandria, but I can't make a personal recommendation. Good luck and keep in touch! J.

judy

hi jw! thanks! i must say, i looked at the web site for the panorama and it looks beautiful!! i am so excited to go i can hardly contain myself. i have a question for you about the swiss pass: i keep reading in my lonely planet book about these regional passes -- if one has a swiss pass, is a regional pass necessary? have you heard of those? and how much transport other than rail is inlcuded in the swiss pass? none of the web sites i have been to have really detailed information on that.<BR><BR>the auberge sounds good (and cheap, too! very important.) ooh ooh i can't wait! i'm doing my switzerland dance again...

jw

Hi Judy, I've always traveled using the Swiss Pass and it's been the perfect tool for me, trains, buses, boats, and most city transportation. But I think there are many folks at this site who will advise re other passes depending upon how much you will be using public transportation and over how large an area of the country. I'm on and off boats and trains and buses every day when I travel. See if you can do a search at this forum for Swiss rail passes. Now the unhappy news: the only lake on which my Swiss Pass was not accepted was my beloved Lago Maggiore, because the boats are Italian. There I purchased a daypass in Lucerne. On Lugano's lake, however, I used it quite a bit. And on Lac Leman I just about wore it out. I purchased the Swiss Pass available when two people travel together -- it gave us a bit of a discount. Something else you might want to inquire about -- I always thought I had to buy the pass in the U.S., but I'm reading here that it is cheaper if you wait till you are in Switzerland. I can't advise about that, but I know you will hear from someone. Keep in touch. J.

jw

Judy, it's me again. I've just remembered that you'll be staying with friends in Zurich. If you are thinking in terms of spending just one night in Ticino to visit Lugano, then the Panorama might be too out of the way for you. Before you decide, you might want to search for the rates at Fischers' on Lugano's lake, from which you can visit Gandria and Morcote by lake boat (Swiss Pass). Or have you decided to be away from Zurich (and your free place to stay I'm thinking) for more than one night? J.

judy

hi jw -- i have found, in my research, that it seems to be cheaper to buy the swiss pass over there. but not by a whole lot -- maybe $10, given the current rate of exchange. anyway, i was thinking we would spend 2 nights each in ticino and lake geneva area, in order to have enough time to see everything. so i think panorama would be ok for us, since we can get trains to bellinzona/locarno/lugano. (am i correct in that?) a day trip to lucerne from zurich, and a couple of days in zurich. we did want to go into bavaria also, but i don't think we'll have enough time for that. (man are we going to have to save a ton of money between now and then!)<BR><BR>are you back to school yet, or are you on spring/easter break?

jw

Hi Judy, I am so envious of your trip plans! Yes, we are on a short Easter break till Monday, so teachers can build their strenth to make it through the last two months of the year. <BR><BR>Have you played around with the sbb.ch website to see train, bus, and boat schedules? You probably cannot access the summer schedules yet, but if you use an April or May date to test the possibilities, the schedules will not be so different. As the trip comes closer, you'll be able to print out the schedules you'll need so you'll have them with you as you travel. If I'm not mistaken, you can even access the track numbers of your trains -- especially helpful when you want to make a quick change. You'll notice that the Gerra schedules include some conntections for 'posta' and some for NLM, indicating bus and boat combinations. If you want to get to Lugano w/o using the postal buses (which, by the way, are perfectly timed in accordance with the train schedules), there will only be a few possibilities per day. Notice that those scheds. require one train change.) The bus stop is just down the street from the Panorama, so it's just a matter of how streamlined you want your daytrips to be. I think our most ambitious daytrip was one in which we took the 7:22 (?) from Gerra, spent some time in Lugano, then boated to Gandria for lunch, then on to Morcote, then back to Lugano and shopped just a bit and sat in a cafe to soak it up, and then took a late afternoon train back to Gerra. Of course, a visit to Bellinzona or to Locarno will be simpler. In hindsight, I think that Lugano/Gandria/Morcote combo was a little nuts. I think I'd relax a bit, boat to Gandria for a lazy lunch, and omit Morcote. After all, you want to save something for the future.<BR>ahh. J.<BR>

judy

wow -- thanks for that tip! i never would have thought to look at that, and now it seems i must rearrange my itinerary, since it looks as though many of the trains to/from gerra run m-f only! although perhaps that will change in the summer. (it won't let me look as far in advance as august.) how come when i look at trips from geneva, though, it doesn't give me boat options? are those separate trips to be booked when in geneva? i would love to take the boat from geneva to rivaz/st-saphorin/vevey, etc.<BR><BR>i had a very strange dream last night that i was driving along a lake and i saw the fischer's seehotel -- and then i thought, in my dream, how can that be? i'm still in the united states! never mind the fact that i have never been to switzerland and would therefore have no idea what it looks like!<BR><BR>this trip is affecting my brain...

s

judy (other judy!),<BR><BR>Thought I'd throw in my 2c though I've been reading & enjoying this continuing thread!<BR><BR>Yes, the ferry routes around Lake Geneva are wonderful and well worth the time! But you may not be gettting the schedules at www.rail.ch because they only run in the summer time; be sure you enter a date that fits. Also, you may not recognize the boat designation: it is "BAV" or "BAT" under the "Train" heading on the schedule. If you want to isolate these boats, click on the "Options" button and un-click everything and click "boat only" and you'll see a full schedule.<BR><BR>Finally, the most comprehensive schedules & options & fares are on the CGN website (www.cgn.ch) which operates the ferries. After selecting "English," go to both "Timetables" and "Theme Cruises" to see all that's available.<BR><BR>And be careful: the delirium is just beginning!<BR><BR>s

judy

thanks s! after cruising around alittle on the sbb site, i actually found the whole options thing (and then felt like an idiot, just click on "help", duh!) so i found out about boats. <BR><BR>stupid question (for jw, who's been there twice): how do i go about booking a room at the panorama? i don't remember seeing anything on their web site about bookings...the auberge i think i can book online, through the montreux-vevey website.