Switzerland trip..help me decide
 

I thought I had posted this message before but it didn't seem to work. I am going to Switzerland for 2 weeks next August. I am trying to decide how to spend 4 days. The options are to go to Schaffhausen and see that area and then a couple of days in Alsace. The other option is to spend 3 nights in Zermatt and another on the way. Any advise? THanks

Unless you're into hiking or taking cable cars into the high mountains there is little to do in Zermatt for three days save stare at the Matterhorn - IF it is clear - iffy at any time of year. So it depends what you like - Schlauffhausen, Rhine Falls and Alsace much more varied.

You have a point. I do like to hike, but we will also be in Wengen for a few days so I imagine we will be doing alot of hiking then. I was thinking it might be very hot in August? and being in the mountains would be cooler. I initially thought the Alsace part would be just something different and it is somewhere I have always wanted to go also.

I think it sounds great! Schaffhausen and Alsace are beautiful areas.

Weather? Impossible to predict. Check out a weather website before you fly for a ten-day forecast and pack accordingly.

I've read all your posts and you seem a little distracted and all over the place for this trip, so I don't really know how to advise you. I'll try to give some of my suggestions/advice and maybe you can do some more reading/research and come back with a plan.

As to weather IN GENERAL, Switzerland usually does not have hot summers; however the summers of 2002 and 2003 were very hot, 2004 was much more normal, 2005 started out OK but then had the torrential rains and cooler weather. Take a look at weatherbase.com for historical averages. Most homes, restaurants and hotels, even in the lower elevation cities like Zurich, are not air-conditioned, which gives you and indication that typically summers are not that hot. It is hard to predict what temps will be next August. Traditionally, the mountain areas would be cooler, but even the lower elevation places are usually pleasant.

I know from other posts you will have a BMW that you need to drop off somewhere to ship back to the US and will have 2 weeks for vacation. I think with that amount of time and that fine German automobile, coming down from Munich you could easily go to the Engadine, then Wengen, Zermatt, Gruyere/Lake Geneva and then move up over to Alsace. You can spend 1 -3 nights in each place, walking and exploring. A great day's drive would be from Wengen to Zermatt taking the Susten Pass and the Furka Pass, really fun drives, stunning scenery much of it above the tree line. (A bit shorter would be the Susten Pass alone. If weather is bad, you can take the tunnel at Kandersteg and skip the passes entirely.) The Matterhorn does pack a wallop, the town will be jammed with day trippers in August, but there are ways to avoid this (i.e. stay in a hotel on the Gornegrat and walk/hike out from there). From Zermatt head to Gruyere for the day (another nice drive from Zermatt), then over to Vevey/Laussane for a few days, then up to Alsace/Colmar and finally over to Schauffhausen to drop the car off in Zurich and fly out of Zurich. I can take a look at my map and work out timings over the 2 weeks and plan a sample itinerary if you want. Distances are really not that great so you would not spend all day in a car. Munich to Guarda in the Engadine, for example, should not take more than 3 to 3.5 hours with no traffic. Should be less from a place on Lake Geneva like Vevey to Colmar.

I would avoid Murten. There are so many other really charming villages. There are some tiny towns perched hanging above Lake Geneva that are so much more charming (and wine is involved there. . . .)

The Engadine has what I think is the most charming village in Switzerland: Guarda.

Appenzel also has some very charming "typical" Swiss villages, you could work out a drive through it on your way to the Wengen area, or as a day trip from Zurich.

I know you have relatives from Schauffhausen, but IMO Alsace and the Colmar area are actually prettier and more interesting, so between the two I would skip Schauffhausen. The falls are really nothing to write home about if you have seen Niagara or other really big waterfalls. However, if you want to look up relatives, dead or otherwise, that is another matter.

If you think you want to skip Schauffhausen and maybe stay towards Alsace/France, you might want to drop the car in Geneva. You would need to figure out where you last stop would be and whether that would be nearer to Geneva or Zurich.

I can't offer a lot, but, I thoroughly enjoyed both Zermatt and Geneva (actually Vevey) last summer so you can't go wrong there.

We spend 3-4 days in Alsace in June 2002, and we can remember it was so hot, and few hotels had A/C. We longed for the opportunity to jump into the new bimmer and turn the A/C on full blast. ((a))

Alsace is a beautiful area. I would make sure your accommodations were equipped with A/C that time of the year. ((b))

Thanks for all the suggestions. So far we are flying to munich and spending two nights there (or in the area). On Monday morning we pick up the car. We then have four nights before we need to be in Lucerne. I am planning on staying in Lucerne 2 nights. They have a lake festival on Aug 5 with a firework display over Lake Lucerne. The three nights after that we plan to spend in Wengen. Then we have two more nights before we need to be back in Zurich on Aug. 11 to drop off the car. We will spend 2 nights in Zurich over the weekend and fly out Sunday. So basically we have 4 nights in the beginning and 2 nights toward the end still left to plan.

I second Cicerone's suggestion for staying in the Engadin after leaving Munich. Although I love Guarda (and I agree, it is probably the most beautiful village in Switzerland) I would not want to stay there 4 nights. It is tiny ... so you better stay in Scuol, which is somewhat bigger (but still not a town) and has more to offer: restaurants, hotels, a bit of shopping, and the best is its spa. Scuol is very charming too, especially the lower part near the church (called Scuol suot).

Cicerone is right, the drive from Munich should not take more than 3.5 hours. And from Scuol to Zurich it is less than 3 hours I think (Scenic drive across Flüela Pass - fun with a BMW).

On the drive to Scuol you might consider a detour to Samnaun (30 minutes) - tax free, and gas is cheap!

If you do make it to the Geneva area, here's another vote for going to Vevey and Montreux.

Oh, I misunderstood, I thought you had a longer period of time that was unplanned. I'd like to think about your days and get back to you with my suggestions. My initial thought is to tell you NOT to stay in Lucerne, but to stay in Weggis or Vitznau on the same lake and go into Lucerne by ferry or train for the fesitval. See my responses to Budman on this topic. The best place to see the fireworks may in fact be from a boat on the lake. Staying outside Lucerne will IMO this will save you many headaches with traffic and parking, esp as you are going on a weekend and a festival weekend to boot. Also that weekend is the weekend of the techno pop street parade in Zurich, so many people over the age of 25 will be escaping Zurich (and may escape to Lucerne) as over a 1 million Estacy-fueled 20-somethings descend upon Zurich. You may find hotel prices higher than normal in the Lucerne area over this weekend, you should book a hotel early.

I just read that Aug 12 is when the street parade is. Is that the one you are talking about? That is when we are suppose to be in Zurich, since we fly out the 13th.

Hmm, usually it is the first weekend in August, but I did just look at the website, and see it is indeed August 12 next year. I would NOT spend your last two nights in Zurich if that is the case. Kids will start arriving on the Friday evening and camping out in the streets. The music will start around 9 am Saturday August 12 and will go on until about 3 am August 13. You can hear the beat for miles, and unless you like techno-pop and literally a million kids high on every type of drug dancing in the streets, I would avoid being in Zurich itself or nearby. It is Switzerland so it is fairly well organized and safe, but so not fun IMO unless you are into that kind of thing. I made the mistake of being in town for the first year and never did it again (and even tried to escape that time by going down the lake midway through the day to a friend's house about 10 miles down the lake, but I swear you could still hear it faintly, it might have just been my head pounding after hours and hours of hearing it in my flat in downtown Zurich. . . .)

There are some places you could consider staying instead. What time is your flight out of Zurich? You might be able to time a car drop off in the morning of your flight if your flight is not really early am.

Our flight is at 11am so I will need to stay fairly close to the city. Any suggestions? We drop off the car Aug 11 and fly out on the 13th. Is it really that insane. I guess my daughter might like it, but techno music Ahhhhh!

Well I made two reservations in Zurich.One is in a hotel in the center, The hotel Adler and the other is the Romantik Seehotel Sonne, Kusnacht which I thought might be alittle quiter. Does anyone know of it? Other suggestions. Looking at the website for the street parade Aug. 12 it definately looks like 1 million kids.

cparris,

Here's a link to my review of the Seehotel Sonne at Tripadvisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...itzerland.html

I've included some photos of the room I was in as well as the bar/garden.

It's a winner.

s

Thanks for the review. It does sound nice and probably will be much less noisy with the street fair going on. It sounds like it is easy to get to the airport from there too? My daughter is thinking we should stay in the center(she is 16) and is thinking the street fair will be great. I am thinking that maybe I am too old to stay there with over a million kids.

Swan, I see that you have also stayed at the hotel Masson which is another one I have booked. I am glad to see good reviews for that too.

Hi cparris,

Yes, it's very easy to get to the airport from the Kuesnacht train station -- about 20 minutes with 0 changes (there are more possibiities with one connection at the main station).

The trip from Kuesnacht to the main Zuerich station takes about 10 minutes.

You can check all the schedules and connections at www.rail.ch (be sure to enter "Zurich airport" for that one --).

I don't think you'll be disappointed with the Sonne -- I fell in love with it quickly. Loved the restaurant too.

Sorry, I haven't ever stayed at the Masson in Montreux -- you must have confused me with another poster! I've stayed at the Eden, the Royal Plaza, the Hermitage, and the Victoria -- never the Masson. But you're right, the Masson is a big favorite, both here and at tripadvisor. A friend of mine recommends it highly.

Have fun!

s