Switzerland itenerary 2.5 days
Aug 10th, 2015, 09:54 AM
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Switzerland itenerary 2.5 days
Hi
With help of this forum and wonderful people, we bought the ticket to Basel.
I am reaching Basel 10:30 am Monday 17th and have return flight from Zurich airport to India at 12:45 pm on 20th.
The first 2 nights I want to book wither Wengen or Grindenwald...have to decide today.. We will have some luggage and I was wondering that is Wengen really completely car free? how do we take out luggage from the train station to apartment/ hotel.
The last night I was thinking of Zurich but now that I see that train ride is only 2 hrs probably from Interlaken don't think we should stay there at night on 19th and take morning train to reach airport by 10 am or so?
What do u suggest.
Thanks
With help of this forum and wonderful people, we bought the ticket to Basel.
I am reaching Basel 10:30 am Monday 17th and have return flight from Zurich airport to India at 12:45 pm on 20th.
The first 2 nights I want to book wither Wengen or Grindenwald...have to decide today.. We will have some luggage and I was wondering that is Wengen really completely car free? how do we take out luggage from the train station to apartment/ hotel.
The last night I was thinking of Zurich but now that I see that train ride is only 2 hrs probably from Interlaken don't think we should stay there at night on 19th and take morning train to reach airport by 10 am or so?
What do u suggest.
Thanks
Aug 10th, 2015, 11:06 AM
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Wengen is car-free but I believe they have electric carts to cart luggage from the train to hotels. Contact your hotel. Rather than staying in Interlaken why not go to Lucerne - a lovely city that is about 45 minutes from Zurich by train or Zurich itself.
Grindelwald or Wengen are 30 minuts or so (Wengen a bit more) from Interlaken - and there is always a chance of a train stoppage though this rarely happens in Switzerland but staying in lovely LUcerne will be tops over a rather uneventful for most Interlaken.
for lots of great info on trains in the Jungfrau Region check www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.
Grindelwald or Wengen are 30 minuts or so (Wengen a bit more) from Interlaken - and there is always a chance of a train stoppage though this rarely happens in Switzerland but staying in lovely LUcerne will be tops over a rather uneventful for most Interlaken.
for lots of great info on trains in the Jungfrau Region check www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.
Aug 10th, 2015, 01:46 PM
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Grindelwald is largely car-free too except a few main access areas where cars must be parked - again electric carts I believe take you to your hotel if not into walking - bring luggage with wheels and you can walk anywhere.
Aug 10th, 2015, 09:16 PM
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Hi insearchofheaven,
Yes, Wengen is really car-free. Or rather, combustion-engine free. The hotels (and most businesses) have electric vans or carts to move people and supplies around town. However, there are not very many of these -- so you'll find that it's no problem to wander into the street and walk down the street without worrying about being hit/in the way of a car.
Grindelwald has traffic. The hotel I used for my visits there always had a regular combustion-engine van to pick up passengers, not an electric cart. Grindelwald also has quite a lot of tour busses in July and August -- and the off-loaded day-tripping passengers tend to congregate on the streets of town and at the entrance to all the shops. I found it really unattractive and unappealing, so I stopped staying in Grindelwald. The town is simply too small to absorb the number of visitors who are only there for the day.
I'd head to Wengen, even if it takes an extra 20 minutes to get there -- the entire vacation will be more sublime and peaceful for it.
Have fun as you plan!
s
Yes, Wengen is really car-free. Or rather, combustion-engine free. The hotels (and most businesses) have electric vans or carts to move people and supplies around town. However, there are not very many of these -- so you'll find that it's no problem to wander into the street and walk down the street without worrying about being hit/in the way of a car.
Grindelwald has traffic. The hotel I used for my visits there always had a regular combustion-engine van to pick up passengers, not an electric cart. Grindelwald also has quite a lot of tour busses in July and August -- and the off-loaded day-tripping passengers tend to congregate on the streets of town and at the entrance to all the shops. I found it really unattractive and unappealing, so I stopped staying in Grindelwald. The town is simply too small to absorb the number of visitors who are only there for the day.
I'd head to Wengen, even if it takes an extra 20 minutes to get there -- the entire vacation will be more sublime and peaceful for it.
Have fun as you plan!
s
Aug 11th, 2015, 06:09 AM
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Large sections of Grindelwald are car-free except for tour buses and hotel carts but that is only on the main drag - upper level streets are car-free.
Wengen for solitude - if into a more vibrant city - especially for younger folk - Grindelwald is nice too. I think swandav unfairly characterizes Grindelwald - IME much of the time it is, off the main drag, car-free and peaceful.
Grindelwald has a pulse at night - which some will like - lively pubs and this may appeal to younger folk - older folk and families with young kids may like Wengen more.
But Girndelwald ain't IME the pitts swandav constantly maligns it as being. She is giving her subjective take and not considering that others may like Grindelwald more - me for one.
Wengen for solitude - if into a more vibrant city - especially for younger folk - Grindelwald is nice too. I think swandav unfairly characterizes Grindelwald - IME much of the time it is, off the main drag, car-free and peaceful.
Grindelwald has a pulse at night - which some will like - lively pubs and this may appeal to younger folk - older folk and families with young kids may like Wengen more.
But Girndelwald ain't IME the pitts swandav constantly maligns it as being. She is giving her subjective take and not considering that others may like Grindelwald more - me for one.
Aug 11th, 2015, 09:23 AM
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Pal,
I'm not maligning Grindelwald, and I never came close to saying it is the pitts; I'm stating facts and my reaction to what those facts mean.
There are going to be people who post things that you disagree with; you don't really need to call names when you give your own views.
s
I'm not maligning Grindelwald, and I never came close to saying it is the pitts; I'm stating facts and my reaction to what those facts mean.
There are going to be people who post things that you disagree with; you don't really need to call names when you give your own views.
s
Aug 11th, 2015, 11:38 AM
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I said you unfairly criticize IMO Grindelwald by only pointing out the negatives and never ever its pluses - I've stayed in Grindelwald several times and never saw much of that that bothered me - I never called you names nor would I but I will call you out on a blatantly unfair one-sided take on a place that many will love more than Wengen - others like you will like Wengen.
Please when characteriizing Grindelwald give it pluses too though you clearly think, like Interlaken, it has none.
Again large areas of Grindelwald like the Nature Friends House and youth hostel are on upper lanes with no motorized traffic - at least when I've been there - I drove to Grindelwald once and had to park my car in a parking lot at the entrance to town and could not drive to my hotel.
The comings and goings you carp incessantly about are I think relatively few times of day - days when most folk will be out and about not in town. Much of the time it is car-less.
Again I would never call you names but will take issue with what I think is a blatant one-sided view where yes you make Grindelwald out to be the real pitts. It ain't and many folks actually, like me, do like it very much.
Your recommendation: <the entire vacation will be more sublime and peaceful for it> that you apply to all where some like me will beel a more sublime time in Grindelwald.
Please when characteriizing Grindelwald give it pluses too though you clearly think, like Interlaken, it has none.
Again large areas of Grindelwald like the Nature Friends House and youth hostel are on upper lanes with no motorized traffic - at least when I've been there - I drove to Grindelwald once and had to park my car in a parking lot at the entrance to town and could not drive to my hotel.
The comings and goings you carp incessantly about are I think relatively few times of day - days when most folk will be out and about not in town. Much of the time it is car-less.
Again I would never call you names but will take issue with what I think is a blatant one-sided view where yes you make Grindelwald out to be the real pitts. It ain't and many folks actually, like me, do like it very much.
Your recommendation: <the entire vacation will be more sublime and peaceful for it> that you apply to all where some like me will beel a more sublime time in Grindelwald.
Aug 11th, 2015, 12:35 PM
#8
My husband and I were in Grindelwald in September, 2011. We took the train in from Kleine Scheidegg for a day trip.
We walked a short distance from the train station and encountered the Dorfstrasse, which I would label the "main drag" in Grindelwald.
This road had heavy traffic. We also had to jump out of the way for a car turning into the Coop car park in town. We noticed lots of cars pulling in and out of the lot here.
Whilst walking down the Dorfstrasse toward the cemetery, we had to walk in the road because there was no sidewalk along a major portion of the thoroughfare.
I was concerned for my safety because cars were whizzing by.
We saw cars turning down intersections, so I don't know what parts of town are free of cars.
This doesn't mean that there isn't a section of the town that isn't car free because we did not explore every corner of Grindelwald.
Yes, Grindelwald is more lively that Wengen, but I think Wengen is more picturesque.
There are pubs in Wengen. Most of the major hotels have bars.
One of the nicest places to have a glass of Champagne is the terrace of the Hotel Schonegg.
Wengen is also classier than Grindelwald.
Thin, knows posh when he sees it
We walked a short distance from the train station and encountered the Dorfstrasse, which I would label the "main drag" in Grindelwald.
This road had heavy traffic. We also had to jump out of the way for a car turning into the Coop car park in town. We noticed lots of cars pulling in and out of the lot here.
Whilst walking down the Dorfstrasse toward the cemetery, we had to walk in the road because there was no sidewalk along a major portion of the thoroughfare.
I was concerned for my safety because cars were whizzing by.
We saw cars turning down intersections, so I don't know what parts of town are free of cars.
This doesn't mean that there isn't a section of the town that isn't car free because we did not explore every corner of Grindelwald.
Yes, Grindelwald is more lively that Wengen, but I think Wengen is more picturesque.
There are pubs in Wengen. Most of the major hotels have bars.
One of the nicest places to have a glass of Champagne is the terrace of the Hotel Schonegg.
Wengen is also classier than Grindelwald.
Thin, knows posh when he sees it
Aug 11th, 2015, 12:56 PM
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Well the two are very very different places and attract two very different crowds - my point is that one should give the pluses and minuses of both not just a one-sided tirade about how awful one is - but do like Snoot does above give a more objective picture.
Aug 11th, 2015, 02:29 PM
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Wengen is also classier than Grindelwald.>
another reason I'd rather be in grungy Grindelwald! Grindelwald to me has the most picturesque views of any Jungfrau Region town - a huge amphitheater unfolds from your hotel balcony - 180 degrees of majestic Alps - you can see tiny trains trundling up steep slopes - see aerial gondolas flying off in all directions - can walk or take a cable car to a glacier - and yes easier to get down to Interlaken from boat trips or day trips - rainy weather is not unusual in Alps at any time of year - a longer day trip from Wengen out - who would want to be stuck in Wengen in wet dreary weather?
Again Wengen is great and unique - no place I've seen in this area like it - but Grindelwald is neat too despite its warts and all - don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
another reason I'd rather be in grungy Grindelwald! Grindelwald to me has the most picturesque views of any Jungfrau Region town - a huge amphitheater unfolds from your hotel balcony - 180 degrees of majestic Alps - you can see tiny trains trundling up steep slopes - see aerial gondolas flying off in all directions - can walk or take a cable car to a glacier - and yes easier to get down to Interlaken from boat trips or day trips - rainy weather is not unusual in Alps at any time of year - a longer day trip from Wengen out - who would want to be stuck in Wengen in wet dreary weather?
Again Wengen is great and unique - no place I've seen in this area like it - but Grindelwald is neat too despite its warts and all - don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Aug 11th, 2015, 09:45 PM
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Pal, this is the language I object to:
". . . the pitts swandav constantly maligns it as being . . ."
". . . blatantly unfair one-sided take . . ."
". . . you carp incessantly about . . . "
All of that is negative language, giving me evil motives for my comments.
Yes, you're right -- I really don't see any positives about staying in Grindelwald, though I've stayed there two times for a week each time. For me, it just doesn't do it. And I give the reasons why, reasons that are personal but based on the facts.
I am not obliged to give both sides of a place; I am obliged to give a clear and true picture of my own experiences. I do this for all the places I talk about -- Gstaad, Montreux, Engadin, etc. I leave it to others who love a place to give the opposing view. And then I leave it to the op to see which experiences resonate the most and which picture sounds the best.
When people post comments that I don't agree with, I give my side. I do not say that their comments are maligning a place or are not balanced, and I never say that they are carping. I recognize that people have different opinions and different experiences.
Please drop the personal, negative language and give others the freedom to express opposing views.
s
". . . the pitts swandav constantly maligns it as being . . ."
". . . blatantly unfair one-sided take . . ."
". . . you carp incessantly about . . . "
All of that is negative language, giving me evil motives for my comments.
Yes, you're right -- I really don't see any positives about staying in Grindelwald, though I've stayed there two times for a week each time. For me, it just doesn't do it. And I give the reasons why, reasons that are personal but based on the facts.
I am not obliged to give both sides of a place; I am obliged to give a clear and true picture of my own experiences. I do this for all the places I talk about -- Gstaad, Montreux, Engadin, etc. I leave it to others who love a place to give the opposing view. And then I leave it to the op to see which experiences resonate the most and which picture sounds the best.
When people post comments that I don't agree with, I give my side. I do not say that their comments are maligning a place or are not balanced, and I never say that they are carping. I recognize that people have different opinions and different experiences.
Please drop the personal, negative language and give others the freedom to express opposing views.
s
Aug 12th, 2015, 05:18 AM
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And please give an objective look and present the pros and cons and let the person decide instead of saying automatically that 'Wengen will be more sublime' - yes for some but not for others.
Yes those are your own experiences and should not automatically extrapolate them to all as you do.
Enough said - sorry but give an objective look and then say what your subjective take is.
Yes those are your own experiences and should not automatically extrapolate them to all as you do.
Enough said - sorry but give an objective look and then say what your subjective take is.
Aug 12th, 2015, 11:43 AM
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I am not obliged to give both sides of a place; I am obliged to give a clear and true picture of my own experiences.>
No but I think you should so that the unfamiliar person with those places can make an informed discion as to what is best for them - not automatically be told your stay in Wengen will 'be more submlime and peaceful' - so we disagree on that.
I characterize Wengen differently now since you opened my eyes - I saw Wengen is a perpetua favroite with Fodorites who find the car-less, solitude, etc and then I say Grindelwald is more for younger folks who may feel Wengen is too isolated, too quiet - I saw Wengen is loved by families and older folks and Grindelwald more for young adults, etc.
So no you do not have to but then it is a one-sided look and that's what I always seek to address and give some reasons why lots and lots of folks love Grindelwald.
OK - enough said - I'll let you give your one-sided bromides and I will then give mine - making no reference to you. OK.
And BTW do not get too upset - it's not worth it and that would be the last thing really that I want. Yes my language was strong but I found yours to be so as well.
Cheers,
Pal
No but I think you should so that the unfamiliar person with those places can make an informed discion as to what is best for them - not automatically be told your stay in Wengen will 'be more submlime and peaceful' - so we disagree on that.
I characterize Wengen differently now since you opened my eyes - I saw Wengen is a perpetua favroite with Fodorites who find the car-less, solitude, etc and then I say Grindelwald is more for younger folks who may feel Wengen is too isolated, too quiet - I saw Wengen is loved by families and older folks and Grindelwald more for young adults, etc.
So no you do not have to but then it is a one-sided look and that's what I always seek to address and give some reasons why lots and lots of folks love Grindelwald.
OK - enough said - I'll let you give your one-sided bromides and I will then give mine - making no reference to you. OK.
And BTW do not get too upset - it's not worth it and that would be the last thing really that I want. Yes my language was strong but I found yours to be so as well.
Cheers,
Pal
Aug 12th, 2015, 09:22 PM
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Pal, I did think I gave objective & subjective --
objective: tour busses & offloaded passengers
subjective: I found it unattractive & unappealing
My comments are not "bromides."
My language may be strong -- after all, yes, I am passionate about the beauty of Switzerland and hope to help others to get the best experience. But my language is not personal and negative about what others post.
s
objective: tour busses & offloaded passengers
subjective: I found it unattractive & unappealing
My comments are not "bromides."
My language may be strong -- after all, yes, I am passionate about the beauty of Switzerland and hope to help others to get the best experience. But my language is not personal and negative about what others post.
s
Aug 16th, 2015, 03:07 PM
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We didn't pick any hotel as weather showed rainy in the Bernese Oberland area all 3 days and we wanted to keep it open as it is last minute anyways
Anyways we have train from Paris to Basel in the am today which reaches Basel at 10:30 am.. We are thinking of just staying in Lucerne now as that doesn't show any rain. Looks like next 3 days not good for mountains for our whole trip
..
Should we stay 3 nights in Lucerne? Our return flight is from Zurich 12:45 pm Wednesday.
How to make best use of these days in rainy weather?
Please advise if u can . I will book my hotel before I board the train at 8 am to Basel after checking weather one more time in the morning,
Anyways we have train from Paris to Basel in the am today which reaches Basel at 10:30 am.. We are thinking of just staying in Lucerne now as that doesn't show any rain. Looks like next 3 days not good for mountains for our whole trip
.. Should we stay 3 nights in Lucerne? Our return flight is from Zurich 12:45 pm Wednesday.
How to make best use of these days in rainy weather?
Please advise if u can . I will book my hotel before I board the train at 8 am to Basel after checking weather one more time in the morning,
Aug 16th, 2015, 09:48 PM
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I'm so sorry that's happened to you, insearchofheaven! I know I'm posting as you are stepping onto the train, but I think Luzern is a good idea. You can get to nearby mountains if you do have a clear day. And, as I said on your other post, I still like riding the lakes in the rain (if it IS raining . . .).
Hope it works out!
s
Hope it works out!
s
Aug 17th, 2015, 06:24 AM
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Lucerne itself is good for a day - and yes a boat ride even in wet weather can be nice and the sun may come out and if so hop on the train to Engelberg and Mt Titlis.
Einselden makes an easy day trip to see the famous pilgrimage church and pilgrimage mecca.
Zurich itself has some nice museums.
and Lucerne has the Swiss Trasnport Museum - a really neat place.
Einselden makes an easy day trip to see the famous pilgrimage church and pilgrimage mecca.
Zurich itself has some nice museums.
and Lucerne has the Swiss Trasnport Museum - a really neat place.
Aug 17th, 2015, 12:43 PM
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Thanks
We are in Lucerne and yeah no rain today
just walked aeoundlUcerne though and took boat ride.
Our flight back is actually Thursday not Wednesday so we will do a trip to Mt Titlis tomorrow
Wednesday we may take train to Zhermatt/ Matterhorn area, someone told it isn't raining there
Anyone has any idea?
Thanks
We are in Lucerne and yeah no rain today
just walked aeoundlUcerne though and took boat ride.Our flight back is actually Thursday not Wednesday so we will do a trip to Mt Titlis tomorrow
Wednesday we may take train to Zhermatt/ Matterhorn area, someone told it isn't raining there
Anyone has any idea?
Thanks
