Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Swiss base with German style?

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Swiss base with German style?

Going to Europe for the first time this September/October. Italy->Switzerland->France. We plan to stay in Switzerland for 4 nights. We will be there the first week in October. I'm looking for a good base city/location with a strong German orientation and in a location (if possible) where day hikes in the Alps and other mountain experiences are possible. We can't make it to Austria or Germany this trip so we'd like some strong German influence. We were thinking of Bern. Since we're heading directly to Paris after this, Bern also seem good due to it's good rail connections. Am I on the right track? Thanks, Joe

Joe, you're definitely on the right track. :o) IMO, Berne is probably your best choice, if you want to be 'close' to the mountains, German influenced town, and good train connection to Paris. Have fun!

Hi Joe. You see, as soon as you get a response from Ursula, there will be no contradictions. She just knows what she is talking about. Before she replied, I was going to blurt out 'Lucerne' for the German influence. But when I read her message, I thought again. Berne does have great rail connections, is perfectly situated for rail day-trips to Thunersee and the Oberland, as well as to Lac Leman and the Lavaux vineyards (French Switzerland);and it is a lovely old city with arcaded streets and the most delightful collection of painted fountains I've ever seen. But if you are really interested in spending your days hiking in the mountains, maybe you should move closer to them. Well, at any rate, use the sbb.ch rail site to check the train schedules from Berne to Wengen or wherever you might hike-- to see if you will mind spending that amount of time training to and from your walk site. Maybe Interlaken would be a compromise -- with regard to rail connections anyway. But don't misunderstand, it doesn't come close to the architectural or cultural interest of Berne, nor is it as good a day-trip base IMO. Good luck with your decision. If you are going to trust one bit of advice, make it Ursula's. . . or if you are a serious hiker, Ingo's. J.

I agree, Ursula is close to the source so to speak; she lives there. I visit Switzerland for at least a week each year, and I go there specifically to hike in the Alps. In fact, I am xing of the days until I get to Lauterbrunnen in early September. Given that my intent is to find a place to view the alpine peaks from a high spot reachd by trail, I would not base myself in Bern. Were I based in Bern I would have a long commute, about 2 hours one way, to reach an alpine trailhead to start a real hike. For example, the train ride from Bern to Grindelwald is 1:45. From the train station in Grindelwald you have a trip to a trailhead. For example, if you wanted to make the classic walk from First (place name) to the top of the Faulhorn, you would need about 30 - 45 minutes or more from the train station, (Walk through town and take the gondola ride up.) If you left Bern at 8 AM, you might start your hike by 10:30. After 4 to 5 hours on the trail, you could be back in Grindelwald by 3:30, and back in Bern by 5:30. Of course you did not stop for anything much. I can see a day or two of that kind of activity, but I would not enjoy a week of commuting 4 hours each day to walk a few miles of alpine trail. Going to the Jungfraujoch from Bern is 3 and a half hours, one way. Returning to Bern requires the same amount of time. So you are investing 7 hours transit time for 2 to 3 hours of viewing time. Interlaken is perhaps a little better as a base. But no spectacular alpine trails are on your doorstep in Interlaken either. I am also curious about this "German influence" you desire. I lived in Germany for a year and I have visited Switzerland for more than a week several times. True, the people in the areas around Bern, Basel, Luzern, Zürich, etc speak German as their primary language. (Many of them command 2 or more languages.) But they always struck me as having a distinctly Swiss culture. Unless you speak fluent German, I doubt if you are going to talk to them much in German anyhow. The accent in some of the mountain towns is quite distinctly Swiss, and I cannot understand any of it. They will humor me in German, and I can understand simple responses to my questions and requests. But my becoming involved in a conversation among locals is hopeless.

Dear Joe, As a Swiss-American, I would warn you about using the term "German-influenced" with the Swiss. This will not go over well in any circle with which I am familiar. If you want a good base for mountain hiking, outstanding local outings, exceptional beauty, and a little out of the way and unusual, try Meiringen. Home of meringue, made famous through Conan Doyle and the death of Sherlock Holmes at the Reichenbach Falls, in a valley surrounded by 3700 to 4000 meter peaks, and with a long history of Alpine climbing, hiking and hospitality, Meiringen is one of the roads less travelled in the Alps. Trains from Italy (via Luzern) or to Paris (via Basel or Bern) is easy. There are excellent day trips for lousy weather, plenty of locals who speak English, and if the weather is fine, you can climb on a over 100-year old steam train to the top of the Brienz Rothorn and walk down to the lake below. Try the Alpine Sherpa Hotel there if you want fine hospitality and expertise on mountaineering. The present owners father trained Sherpa Tenzing for the latter's climb of Everest. Therefore the name. No, I am not from the Meiringen tourist board (live three hours from there in Appenzell, another gem area), but I know this country rather well, and think one does best to get away from the large cities and iconic tourist centers if one really wants to experience the country. Meiringen and the Hasliberg above are still one of the great unflooded (tourist-wise) areas of the country. E-mail if you want some links.

Joe: Here is another suggestion if you really prefer smaller villages in the mountains, try Zinal in the Valais region in the Val d'Annivers. Make your train connections for Sierre and then bus to Zinal. This is really fantastic area for dayhiking with a multitude of high peaks and spectacular hikes to mountain huts. I have met many Germans there, who have chalets and come for the hiking, the quiet, and the beauty. This is a whole different experience than the touristy villages around Interlaken.

amen on Zinal and Grimentz in Val d'Anniviers. The valley is French speaking, but many others visit there. We spent a beautiful few days at Hotel le Trift in Zinal. And the hike to Cabana de Moiry is one that will stick in my mind forever. What an awe inspiring view into the maw of the Moiry Glacier as you ascend a couple of thousand feet.

Joe; I thought Adelboden (Bernese Oberland)had a German flavor, and the menus were in German mostly and many locals seemed to speak only German. We engaged in a lot of hand waving and pointing since I speak a little French and no German. Anyway, it is a beautiful little mountain resort (on the World Cup Ski Tour, I believe) lots of hiking and cable cars to take you up and up and up. This would certainly be less of a tourist trap than the area around Interlaken and closer to Paris than Zinal. But if you're going to the Valais, try Saas Fee for the Germanic influence.

I spent a week in Saas Grund, just down the hill from Saas Fee. Yes, the people there in the valley speak a dialect of German. But their culture is Swiss, and they are proud of their customs as they well should be. We rented an apartment from a Swiss family, and the wife spoke zero English. We got along in German. My wife speaks no German, but she and Frau Zurbriggen somehow communicated on how to use the washing machine. After that experience I understood fully what my Dad meant when he told me that women communicate in ways men never will understand. The Saas Tal is so remote that I was told that the roads were not paved until the 1930's and that access was on mule back. There is a bus that goes there, but the rail line takes the other fork to Zermatt at Stalden. The scenery there is awesome. I am not sure the word beautiful fits because the landscape is so dry and rocky. But the sight of the Dom rising nearly 2 vertical miles above the floor of the valley is awesome.