My wife has been wanting to go the Swiss Alps for awhile. A friend of hers recently vacationed there and raved about it. I've decided I'm going to plan a surprise vacation for our 20th aniversary. I've visited many cities in Europe, but I know very little about the mountains. I'm wondering if anyone could share recomendations for villages and/or accomodations. I do know she is intersted in greener areas with wildflowers, as opposed to stone and gravel. I guess I picture something like the background in the "Sound of Music" -although I realize that movie may have been shot in another country. You get the picture, green, wildflowers, majestic scenery etc. I'd appreciate any info, even where I may NOT want to go. Thanks!

Well, yes, The Sound of Music was shot in Austria since that's where the story took place. But there is a lot of that look in Switzerland as well. The real center of it all is Grindelwald and Murren. Do a search on here for those towns and you may find yourself in a Swiss avalanche of previous postings. Then come back and ask for more specifics if you have some questions.

Ok, here's a couple of suggestions. Take your wife to Zermatt, but don't stay in the town itself. Ride the cable car up a stop or two to the town of Furie and stay in the Hotel Sylvana. It will be the most beautiful sight you've ever seen, unless of course you take your wife to Wengen, near the Jungfrau, and stay in the Hotel Alpenrose. You cannot fail if you go to one of these two places. If you go to Wengen, don't forget to take the hike from the Mannlichen tram down in front of the Eiger around to Kleine Scheidegg. You'll be so glad she wanted to go! Have a fabulous time, I'm jealous.

Dan, The best of the Swiss Alps is an area known as the Berner Oberland. Do a search under that title, and go to the web site at www.twenj.com to get a feel for what that means. Also, try to include Luzern in any Swiss itinerary.

One of my favorite places is Interlacken. A charming town with plenty to do but not congested. Also a good location for day trips.

Another gentleman was planning a Swiss trip for his wife in the recent past. I hate telling you to search, as you probably already have. However, his post was looking for accomodations with balconies, flowers, Alps, etc. So, perhaps, if you search for "balcony" you can retrieve the great suggestions that he received. <BR> <BR>p.s. What a very lucky wife! She'll be thrilled with such a thoughtful gift.

Wow so many responses in so little time! <BR>Thank you. I've looked at your responses so far and I've done some internet searches on the suggested villages. They look fantastic. Here's another question. Our anniversary is September 7. Will this be too late for colorful wildflowers? This seems to be a huge deal for my wife. So huge, that I'll go an extra month or two early if necessary. Let's say in the Murren, Wengen area. Thanks

Of the various mountain resort areas, the Lauterbrunnen Valley south of Interlaken (note the correct spelling)is a charming place to visit with several prime destinations reachable by train and/or alpine lifts. I often get into arguments on which is the best village to visit. My vote is and will continue to Lauterbrunnen because it is on the floor of the valley and accessible by car and train. I can go easily from Lauterbrunnen to other destinations in the whole area, including Wengen, Kleine Scheidegg, Grindelwald, Mürren, Luzern, Bern, the Grimsel and Furka Passes, or even Zermatt with an early start. <BR> <BR>I do not deny one iota that Wengen and Mürren are beautiful locations. I cannot contest that the view of the Jungfrau from Mürren is lovely. Grindelwald is a more bustling, cosmopolitan place than any of the other three, with more restaurants, hotels, apartments, shopping and various tourist facilities. <BR>Having spent time in all of those places, I still opt to park my rental car at an apartment in Lauterbrunnen where I can come and go at will, be it by lift, train, bus or car. <BR> <BR>You should bear in mind that May is often post ski and pre summer season, hence it is a time when repairs are done and hotel personnel take some time off from their jobs just like we do. <BR> <BR>I am one, however, who feels that surprises are cruel, particularly when they presume that surpriser knows more about it than surprisee and forces the decision without mutual consultation. If someone pulled a surprise trip on me and took me to a place I had absolutely no desire to see, or at best to a place that was second or third on my list, I would be more than annoyed. Vacation money for me is not without limit and to invest it in a destination that the "surprisee" has little or no interest in would be a waste as well as a bitter disappointment. Why keep it a secret? Why not mutually consult and give the recipient a really longed for trip? <BR>Are you still trying to dominate the scene in the marriage and demonstrate who is in charge of the planning and the money? (Gotta be the top dog and exert control and power!!) <BR>I am assuming here that the intended surprisee knows a little about Switzerland and has some idea where some of the prime destinations are. <BR>It seems to me that if you really did your homework and, planned a well thought-out trip, you would develop several trip alternatives that would enable a satisfying choice. <BR>None of my business of course, but I do feel it is an alternative way of looking at it.

Thanks for your info Bob. I was actually think about staying on the floor of the valley too. Something else to look into. <BR>I know what you mean about surprises, but I know this is up my wife's alley. <BR>Also, each Valentines Day, my wife and I plan a surprise trip for two nights. <BR>They're not special, just driving trips from the Chicago area We try to create a trip the other will love. It's fun getting on the highway and guessing where we're going. I think that it may be my favorite tradition that we share.

I think a SUPRISE trip to any place in Europe would be great. I'm fortunate to have been to a number of places overseas, but I've planned them all. I would love it if my husband were to just tell me to pack a suitcase for a week or 2 or 3. He already has my passport with the travel stuff he carries (credit, car rental, hotel, etc. cards). I would have no idea where we would be off to. I can't imagine him picking a place in Europe (or anyplace else for that matter with the exception of a couple of continents that he knows I have NO interest in) that wouldn't be interesting to explore.

Early Sept. should get you plenty of wildflowers to see in Switzerland. We've stayed in several lovely parts of Switzerland but one of the cutest villages was Chateu-d'Oex near Gstaad. We stayed in a hotel that looked like Heidi's grandfather might have lived there. Slept under down quilts with our window open and had a taupe colored cow complete with bell practically poke his head in to see us in the morning. Gruyeres, the ultimate swiss cheese village is also near there. The other place we stayed that sounds like what your wife is looking for was Flims, in a heavy duty ski area near Chur. Wooded and beautiful, one can practically picture Julie Andrews twirling now.

Check out Romantik Hotel Julen in Zermatt, http://www.zermatt.ch/julen/ <BR>Hotel regina in Wengen, http://www.wengen.com/hotel/regina/ <BR>Hotel Gletschergarten in Grindelwald, http://www.hotel-gletschergarten.ch/ <BR> <BR>All are also listed in www.karenbrown.com, which I found to be a very reliable guide. <BR>Have fun!

I really enjoyed Zermatt. Very pretty scenery. Except don't go on a weekend because nearly the whole town shuts down. <BR> <BR>I also enjoyed the train ride up Mount Pilatus. I went in the first two weeks in June and there was some beautiful scenery along the ride. But it was cold when we got to the top!!

Maybe we can stir up some locals about the wildflowers. (Of course, they don't bloom on a specific schedule.) When we went in late May/early June to the area suggested, we happened upon wildflowers on just one hike out of 3 days--the fields looked like the photos and jigsaw puzzles of reds, blues, and whites. When we asked at the hotel, the host told us that the flowers were late that year, just lucky that we caught them. And we didn't plan to take that route as it was straight down the mountain from First, but I had left my camera in the railroad station and we were going back to retrieve it.

Dan, I agree with almost all of the suggestion. We just returned from 3 weeks in Europe and ended our trip in Switzerland. Flowers were blumming everywhere! I find that Interlaken is the most convenient, central place to stay. It is hard to find a bad place in Switzerland! If I were you I would do all my traveling by train and foot. Switzerland is a small country, but it is difficult to get around by car unless you stay in one area. If you want a good website try "www.visiteurope.com". It has alot of good info about all countries, just pick Switzerland from the list and you are there. I like the surprize idea. Have a good trip. <BR> <BR>Greg <BR>

Dan, we were in Switzerland in late June (18,19,20,21) and the wildflowers in the mountains were stunning. Maybe Ursula or Florence can tell you better, as they are from Switzerland, but my feeling is that the best time for wildflowers is in the late spring early summer. The season is short for flowers in the mountains, so my guess is to go earlier rather than later. You could try asking Swiss tourism on this one, as well. Good luck.

I have stayed at the Victoria Jungfrau Hotel in Interlaken and loved it! K

Good afternoon, Dan <BR>My choice would be the Berneroberland. <BR>One of the best views of the alps in <BR>the area might be from Murren, go into <BR>www.murren.ch or www.swisshotels.ch/ <BR>and will find hotels in your class and <BR>also some with balaconies that will <BR>give you an excellant view of the Jungfrau, Monch and Eiger. Wonderful <BR>view from the Schlithorn reachable by <BR>cable car from Murren. We have used <BR>the Hotel Schweizerhof in Grindelwald <BR>because of its second floor terrace and <BR>facing the north face of the Eiger. <BR>Look into www.grindelwald.ch and www.berneroberland.ch/.... Interlaken <BR>is find most hotels do not a good views <BR>of the alps, but Grindelwald, Murren... <BR>If you want more information on what to <BR>do in the Berneroberland drop me a line <BR>and will reply promptly... <BR>Richard of LaGrange Park, Il.. <BR> <BR>

Hi Dan, Your wife is lucky indeed, and all the recommendations have been appealing. May I interrupt and ask Julie to elaborate on Chateau-d'Oex and Flims? I spent one delightful afternoon in Chateau d', and would like to spend more time there -- Julie, can you remember the name of the little hotel? And did you visit the Folk Art Museum there? I enjoyed that so much. About Flims, is it possible to use that as a base for day trips into the Engandine (by train)? And did you visit Chur? Apologies, Dan, you won't go wrong with any of the suggestions. jw

Dan - although there are many good suggestions here, and the Bernese Oberland is truely an extremely pretty region, there is one thing I noticed. You said "as opposed to stone and gravel". Particularly by the time you go up to the Jungfrau, you get above the tree line. You can have an excellent time in places like Grindelwald, and while the view from a Wengen is nothing I would ever want to miss, you are talking cliff faces there and are getting towards an altitude that might not be what you want. The valley down at Interlaken is very nice, and it sounds like you have thoughts of that. But to me as valley's go, it's a little flat and places like Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen a little up the mountain may give you a little view that are better. <BR> <BR>To my mind, for some areas more like rolling hills, I would suggest looking at the eastern Swiss areas instead of central. I'm glad someone suggested Flims, I would add Davos is another place similar to that. I can also suggest Arosa as a nice view, higher up, but without the gravel and stone feel. <BR> <BR>That's the south east area, also very much look into the north east area - I suspect Appenzell would nicely fit the bill as well. <BR> <BR>To answer JW - Chur is a bustling larger size town, but not a tourist place. On vacation there are so many places in the area, I would seek places out in the country. Flims is right on the Glacier Express route so it's OK. Depending on where else in the region you're going about other places to try. Davos is on the other side of Chur, but it's better for a car as opposed to the train. If you're coming in by train and picking up a car, then I might suggest a train to Chur, pick up the car, then Davos. If it's all train, then probably don't use a single base - maybe one night in Flims, go to Chur and up to Arosa one night, back down to Chur and on to St Moritz, etc.