Switzerland, Prague, London
 

Hello everyone,
This is the most helpful site I have found. I have spent the last few days just reading the wise words of wisdom you have to offer and now I'm ready to ask your advise.

My 18 year old sister and I (25) will be spending 5 days in Switzerland (Interlaken will be our home base with one day in Zurich before our flight to Prague), 5 days in Prague, and 3 days in London.

Do you have any advice on restaurants in these places, hikes in the Alps, or day trips from Prague? We are both very active and enjoy a good meal. We don't mind taking a couple hour train rides from Interlaken or Prague in order to enjoy the country. I like art, but she isn't into it as much, so we will probably stick to more active activities.

Thank you in advance!
Christie

Hi Christie-
Sounds like a great trip! It would help if you could give some indication of what your price range is for restaurants, likewise does a "couple" hour train ride mean two hours each way, or two hours round-trip?
For Prague, since you enjoy the outdoors I'd recommend exploring Letna and Petrin Parks - the former has a huge metronome overlooking the Vltava and the city where a huge Stalin monument used to be, and also has the beautiful (if expensive) Hanovsky Pavillion with a beautiful overlook, the latter has a series of buildings at its peak (it spreads across and up a large, steep hill) with an observatory, rose garden, and a scale Eiffel tower with an observation deck. There's also Vysherad, with gardens and trails to explore. Many opportunities for picnics!
For day trips, many go to Terezin, Karlstejn Castle, or Karlovy Vary. Check out www.martintour.com for some ideas. In addition, I was in Prague in March of this year and posted a trip report- if you click on my name and scroll down on the left you should be able to find it...
Happy planning!

Thank you for the great recommendations. I will certainly look at your travel report.
A couple hour train ride would be two hours each way. I don't think we would want to do anyl onger than that.
As for prices, our range varies. I imagine we will mainly eat cheaply and splurge on a few meals (such as afternoon tea in London) We are definitly willing to pay if the restaurant is worth it.
Thank you for the park recommendations. We will definitly go there.
Thanks again!

Please don't splurge on afternoon tea in London. You're really much better to splurge on a dinner. If you are after cakes and little sandwiches go to a smart patisserie which will be far cheaper.

You can get a fantastic dinner in one of the capital's top restaurants for little more than you'd spend on some very average and unimaginative cakes and sandwiches. Furthermore, Londoners rarely bother with tea, it's a tourist thing.

I would trade a day in prague for an extra day in london if you can. 5 days is alot in prague and you could use an extra day in london to hit stonehenge and salisbury or bath. try www.stonehengetours.com. and dont forget the tower of london and the abbey are a must.

for a great spot to eat in prague, try nebozezik. its on a hill overlooking the whole city and the castle. fantastic food when I was there.

Very good advice on Prague and its environs. As for Switzerland, last year we stayed in Wengen, south of Interlaken, and easily filled the time with a trip to Bern (great medieval center not far from train station), a ride up to the "Top of Europe" (the Jungfrau - you should only go on a sunny morning when you can be more certain of good views at the top, and be prepared to pay the high price for the ticket), a trip up the funiculaire from Lauterbrunnen to the town of Murren, and lots of walking. Around the towns south of Interlaken (Wengen, Grindelwald, etc.), there are numerous well-marked hiking and biking paths of varying degrees of difficulty and you can stoip in any of the towns along the way for a hearty lunch. In London, if you don't so anything else spend as much time as possible in Westminster Abbey - the entire history of the nation is contained there.

First, Interlaken is not within view of the high peaks of the Alps to the south. You need to go to Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald. If you have a car, you can drive there. If you don't, the Berner Oberland Bahn system runs trains to both places. One train leaves Interlaken Ost, and divides at a station on the way. So you need to decide on your destination and get on the right coach. They are of course marked.

From Lauterbrunnen, it will or course, be necessary to go higher for the best views. I can suggest one outstanding excursion (clear day assumed) from Lauterbrunnen.

Take the Wengener Alp Bahn from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen, the first major stop. Get off the train there and walk through the village to the cable lift that goes to the top of that towering ridge called the Männlichen.
There is a restaurant up there as well as paths north and south. If you walk north, you come to a viewpoint that is fabulous. If you go the other way, you can walk down to a station known as Kleine Scheidegg. From there you can walk down to Wengen or take the train.
Please note that three tain lines meet there. One line goes up to the Jungfraujoch itself, a second goes down the hill to Grindelwald, and the third goes to Wengen.

From Grindelwald I can suggest a second major excursion. Take the train (or drive) to Grindelwald. If you take the train, walk from the station up the main street to the First Gondola.
First in this case is a Swiss German word that means "ridge"; it has no relationship to second, although it is the first gondola line you come to.
You will need to look a little left to see the cables, and follow your nose,so to speak, to the valley station.

The ride up is thrilling. From the top station you can walk to a lake, and if you have the leg strength, you can go all the way to the top of the Faulhorn for the view of a lifetime.

A third trip many people like to take is to the top of the Schilthorn. Again, you travel to Lauterbrunnen, and take the cable car and train to Mürren.
There, you walk through town to the station for the Schilthornbahn, which is a cable cabin hanging from a cable that goes to the top.

Both the Schilthorn and the Jungfraujoch are expensive rides.
If you take all 4 of the rides (First, Jungfraujoch, Schilthorn, and Männlichen) you can hit the breakeven point with the Berner Oberland Regional Pass. I bought it one year and on the 3 free days we ran all over the place like school kids and got our money's worth. One caution about the free days. The last leg of the Jungfraujoch trip and the last leg of the Schilthorn trip are not ever "free". The best you can do with any of the passes that I know of is get 50% off those final legs of each journey.
First and the Männlichen will be fully free on a free day as will the train rides up and down the mountains from Interlaken Ost to all the way to Wengen, Mürren, and Kleine Scheidegg.

A fourth visit that I like is the cable lift up to a place called Pfinstegg. You then walk through a barnyard, close the gate please, to the inner mountain world behind the north wall of the Eiger. The place is called Stieregg, and there is a cafe there. Going on beyond there is possible, but you need to be agile because you have to cross a gully while hanging onto a cable.
Fun if you can do it.

If you run out of things to do in the BOB, take the train to Kandersteg and take the chair lift up to the Oeschinensee. It is a spectacular lake nestled right up against towering cliffs. And you can explore a little of Spiez while you are there to change trains from Interlaken.

And if you have rain, go to Luzern and take in the transportation museum. It is a fun place to visit. You can even take a limited balloon ride.

Wow, thank you all for your wise words of advise. I think I will take your recommendation m_kingdom and splurge on a nice restaurant instead. I will search here, but do you have any recommendations?

I really appreciate the detailed hike descriptions on BO. This is the part of the trip I'm looking the most forward to.
Should we invest in a Swiss Youth Pass? We plan on taking the train from Geneva to Interlaken as well as Interlaken to Zurich. We will do most if not all of the excusions recommended by bob_brown by train.
Thank you again

I'd recommend any of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants or associated restaurants for some modern British cuisine.

If you'd like Italian, I always dine at San Lorenzo or Scalini.

The Ivy is excellent for traditional food, but is hard to get a table at.

If you'd like some more advice, and can provide your tastes - Oriental, Indian, classical, contemporary, etc. I'd be more than pleased to help.

I regret to say that the Swiss youth pass is not something I ever investigated. I quit being a youth about 45 years ago!

I looked up the price of a Swiss Youth Pass on the SBB or SFR (English abbreviation). The 4 day pass cossts 180 chf. If I interpret the information correctly, the Swiss Youth Pass is the same thing as the Swiss Pass, except it is 25% cheaper.
The problem is that it is valid in 4, 8, 15, 22, and 1 month increments. So if you needed to use a pass each day for 7 days you must buy for 8, or pay full fare on non pass days. Also, the Swiss Pass only yields a 25% discount in the Berner Oberland on the cable lifts.

(I know the Swiss Pass is valid as far as Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald on the BOB, which is a private line. I am not sure if it gives you a free ride to Wengen. Someone else will have to answer that question. I never had one of those passes, so I don't know.)

One other option you might consider is the Swiss Card. It provides a free trip from the Swiss border to your destination, and it provides a free trip out to the border. In between, you get 50% off the regular cost of tickets.

It is particularly valuable in the Berner Oberland because you get 50% off of just about everything, including the Jungfraujoch trip.

It is a close call between the cost benefits of the Swiss Card and the Berner Oberland Regional Pass.
The cost of the regional passs is high enough that you have to use it quite a bit on the free days to get a savings.

Given the fact that you can use the Swiss Card to get in and out of the country at no extra charge often swings the decision in favor of the Swiss Card.

I compared the benefits last year between the two passes - Card and Regional Pass. I decided that the net savings for me would be better wioth the Swiss Card because I was coming from and returning to Munich. With the Swiss Card, I rode free from St. Margrethen near Bregenz to Lauterbrunnen. The same was true on the return. Had I paid full fare for those two tickets -- St. Margrethen to Lauterbrunnen and return -- the cost would have been 165 chf. I almost paid for my Swiss Card right there.

So before you jump on the youth pass, compare what it will do for you savings wise with the Swiss Card.

Thank you again for the assistance!
I obviously still have a bit of research to do with the Swiss pass. I did not realize that there were so many options!
m_kingdom, I love Italian food, so I am going to try to book us reservations at San Lorenzo or Scalini. I will also try to get to one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants so we can have modern British cuisine!
Thank you everyone for your help,
Christie