Switzerland - on the cheap
 

Switzerland isn't cheap so we gave up some convenience to be able to splurge on other things.

Transportation: a Swiss Saver 2nd Class pass for two people traveling together for 10 days for $281.50

Stops: Montreux, Adelboden, Zermatt, Chur, Lucerne.

Hotel: Hotel du Famille has a Montreux address but it is in Vevey. It is a lovely hotel, $88 per night when booked through GTA and it was clean, quiet and only three minutes from the Vevey train station. We actually like Vevey better than Montreux but our preference is for smaller towns generally.

Our only reason for stopping here was Chateau de Chillon. We were not disappointed. This is a castle that you can actually picture people living in and what a lovely location. We received a 'Riviera Pass' good for our stay from our hotel. It was good for the buses and a substantial discount on the Chateau de Chillon.

Adelboden (reliving our childhood)

Two trains and a Postal Bus later, we are in Adelboden, a less well-known part of the Berner Oberland.

Hotel: the Girl Guide/Girl Scout Chalet. Can't beat the price of $55 pernight including breakfast and dinner and it fulfilled a childhood dream we both had of staying there. Accomodations, for the most part, are in 4 bed dorms with bathrooms down the hall. Since it is owned and operated by Girl Scouts, it is probably the cleanest place you will ever stay. I fully expected to be doing dishes but everything is handled by the staff. Breakfast is buffet with cereals, breads, cheese, deli meats, yogurt and a bowl of fresh fruit along with the bottomless coffee cup. Dinners were 'home cooked'. We had lasagna, roast turkey and roast pork while we were there. No coffee was served at dinner but there is a do it yourself pot in one of the chalets. You do not have to be a Girl Scout to stay here. Reservations need to be made well in advance though (ourchalet.org).

We took one of our two full days here to catch up on laundry, the internet and sleep. We spent our other day in the town of Adelboden. The most interesting site was the Reformed Church in the middle of town.

Restaurant: The Terrace of Hotel Adler. It was a beautiful day, perfect for eating outside. (spargle soup, bundnerfleisch sandwich, coffee, wine for $11 each).

On to Zermatt

I wanted to see it once but since this was high season in an expensive tourist area we gambled on having a chance to see the Matterhorn.

Hotel: Hotel Alphubel ($147 for one night). Couldn't be more convenient to the train station, a short block off the main street and yet quiet. Many hotels in Zermatt insist on four nights so I consider this a great find.

We only had an afternoon so we rode the Gornegrat. It was half price because of our Swiss Saver rail pass. Unfortunately, for me, the top was not above the thick grey clouds so there wasn't much of a view but it was fun watching the skiers and sleders and checking out the newly renovated hotel at the top. After we descended, we grocery shopped at the Coop for our picnic lunch for the Glacier Express the next day. After dinner we walked most of the length of Bahnhofstrasse.

Restaurant: The Swiss Chalet was across the lane from our hotel. He wanted beef fondue and their menu came the closest. We had Fondue Chinoise which was beef and veal cooked in boullion. It came with salad and french fries and along with a carafe of wine came to $34 each. We were the only English speakers that we heard.

The good news about Zermatt was that the next morning I stepped out onto our balcony and there was the Matterhorn, clear as could be.

Glacier Express: covered by our Swiss Pass except for the $10 reservation fee. It leaves Zermatt at a decent hour allowing another walk along the Bahnhofstrasse to photograph the Matterhorn from every possible angle. There was a half hour break in Brig to switch engines. This was an all reservation train except for some locals who treat it like any other train coming through and ride to and from intermediate stops. The scenery was fabulous and the day was clear the entire route. The other passengers were friendly and a lone corkscrew was circulated freely to anyone who needed it. In 2nd class, the windows were down a great deal of the time. In some places it looked like there was three feet of snow on the roofs. It was a winter wonderland.

We were disappointed when we arrived in Chur and the ride was over. (Chur was another great little city though.)

Next - the Bernina Express

Chur was convenient as an overnight stop between the Glacier and Bernina Expresses but it has an appealing 'old' town and a lovely walking district. The best part of Chur was that as we were walking with our luggage and a map looking for our hotel, two women knew exactly where we needed to go and walked us to the hotel door.

Hotel: Hotel Drei Koenige, Reichegasse 18 ($225 for two nights for two including a buffet breakfast- cheese, lunch meat, yogurt, breads and cereals.

The next day we rode the Bernina Express to Poschiavo and back. During the winter the train goes to Torino and back each day. We chose to get off at Poschiavo because it sounded interesting. There were several churches but nothing was open during the two hours we were there. We were able to see inside the Catholic Church and the Ossuary next door, definitely something you don't see every day. The Bernina Express had panorama cars in 2nd class but no opening windows. As the day went on, it became quite warm. Your only alternative was to lower the shades but that distracted from the beautiful views. Once again, there were snowy mountain peaks, snow covered villages and wonderful vistas. There were lots of older locals out for a day trip on the Bernina, again without reservations which were required of other passengers.

The following morning we chose to walk around Chur and take a later train to Lucerne.

Restaurants: The Winecellar at the Drei Koenige (good food, good service but only one other patron, $19 each including a glass of wine), The Winecellar at the Hotel Stern (excellent food, attentive service, crowded, $32 each. Our salad was arranged like a nosegay with a baked wonton for a 'holder'.)

Lucerne

Hotel: Hotel Alpha, Pilatusstrasse 24
Luzern ($74 per night for two including
breakfast for two nights but with toilets and showers down the hall.) It was an easier walk than it appeared on the map.

We booked our train to Paris, took the walking tour offered by the TI and generally enjoyed Lucerne very much. We only had one day so going to the top of a mountain wasn't a choice. We spent the rest of our time poking around the old town and trying to figure out the messages in the paintings on the wooden bridges.

Restaurant: Taube (a wineceller not far from the river.) Dinner was veal dumplings and mushrooms in a puff pastry. We enjoyed this meal so much that we ate at the same restaurant and had the same meal the next time. $29 each.

Our last day was spent on the train from Lucerne to Paris. The TGV was fully booked two days before so we used a 'slow' train through Basel which started an hour earlier and arrived 15 minutes later.

Our last night in Paris was in the 1st arrondisment. Our hotel was Prince Albert on Rue Hyacinthe (nice sized room, large old bathroom and friendly helpful staff. They sent us to a Bistro down the street, Le Zinc de Honore, where we had pate for a starter, roast pork for a main and a carafe of red wine.

Our flight, the next day, was in the evening so we spent our free time at the Louvre. Air France flight home was uneventful. I had a bulkhead seat which I enjoyed (no babies).

Thank you for all the help provided. This forum is a wealth of information and all you have to do is use the search function.

Barbara in CT

How nice, Barbara! Thanks so much for coming back with your report. J.

What a wonderful trip! Thanks so much for your report.

Don't you love it when you're all pouty because the Matterhorn is shrouded in clouds, then you wake up and THERE IT IS! I nearly fell over one morning when I drew the draperies expecting to see nothing.

Thanks for a great trip report.