cls2paris

First of all, thank you all for the helpful information I have found on this forum, whether from one of my posts or just reading other posts on Switzerland. Some background: this was my 5th trip to Switzerland but the first time I ventured out of the central region. I had a few days alone and was with my brother most of the trip. We have a cousin in Zug and spent time with him and his family. The itinerary was: Zurich, Zug, Brienz, Locarno, Appenzell, and back to Zurich. Here?s a short recap of each town visited and I?ll be happy to answer any questions.
Zurich ? stayed at the Hotel Arlette. It was a bargain-priced hotel in a good location but I found little information about first-hand experiences there, but I took the plunge because the price was right, it had air-conditioning and CNN. For the price (110 CHF/about $90), it was great. It was a walk of less than ten minutes from the train station and about five minutes from the Neiderdorfstrasse. I took a walking tour offered by the Tourist Office and it was great! The guide was very knowledgeable and it a good way to learn about the history of Zurich. I think it was 25CHF, but I bought a Zurich Card (free admission to lots of stuff, free bus/trolley/boat and reduced tour price) and so it was only 15CHF. I took advantage of the free bus/trolley, free boat ride and 2 museums. When I got to the lake to ride the boat, a sudden hail storm erupted! The hail was bigger than golf balls and coming down very hard. People were bleeding on their heads and arms from it. I?m from Minnesota and have seen all sorts of weather but nothing like this. The ground was completely covered with these balls of hail! It rained about half the time I was in Zurich at the beginning of the trip and then brutally hot when I returned at the end of the trip. But the weather didn?t mess up my plans too much. I had good food at any restaurant I tried but the one that stands out is an Italian place on the Neiderdorfstrasse called Pulcino. There is such an array of food choices on that street that it was hard to choose. I really wanted to try the fondue at Swiss Chuchi, but it was too hot for that when we returned to Zurich.
To be continued...

cls2paris

Brienz ? we had a rental car (VW Polo 6-speed) and drove in the rain to Brienz. The trip was easy ? a few tunnels and one pass but the driving was not difficult. This is a beautiful town on a lake, surrounded by mountains. Even in the clouds, it was beautiful and we could not help wondering how spectacular it would be with a blue sky. We went to this town to visit the Huggler-Wyss wood-carving store and factory. We arrived on Sunday and only a few shops were open. It was too cloudy to take the cog-wheel train up the mountain but we walked the lake promenade and up a few hills for the view. We stayed at Garni Schonegg. It is a nice walk up the hill from the train station. The rooms were clean and mine had a huge bathtub ? a nice way to warm up after being out in the rain! Breakfast was the typical croissant, rolls, jelly, coffee/tea and juice. We left after shopping and visiting the woodcarving stores. I had 2 sets of directions to get from Brienz from Locarno and timewise they were the same so we picked one. I?m not sure we picked the best one for me, but it was the best for my brother. Our drive included a mountain pass. A big mountain pass and in the misty rain and eventually snow! We don?t have mountains where I live and the switchbacks and turn after turn were a little hard for me (as a passenger). The views were spectacular, even in the clouds. Again, we wondered how much more spectacular it would be with a blue sky. After we got down the other side of the tunnel, we were ready to enter the St. Gotthard tunnel. I was a little nervous about the tunnel, just being claustrophobic, but once we got through the traffic jam to get in, driving was fine. We went 80KMH and it went pretty quickly. We found it very interesting to approach the tunnel with cloudy skies and road signs in German and to exit the tunnel to blue skies and the road signs in Italian!

cls2paris

Locarno ? we stayed at the Hotel du Lac. This was a great hotel. I found a summer special for the room and it ended up being $500/double for 3 nights. This included a ferry ride and admission to Isole Brissago which is a botanical garden. I think that was about 55CHF. And it included a train ride to the monastery, which was about 7 CHF I think. The rooms were spacious, the staff at the front desk was very helpful and a good breakfast with meats, cheeses, yogurt, cereal, croissants, rolls, bread, jams and fresh squeezed orange juice. The hotel is across the street from the casino, on a pedestrian street and just off the main pedestrian zone. We had dinner at the highly recommended Albergo Navengna. It was about a 30 minute walk along the lake and worth every step. We splurged and got the chef?s four course menu with wine. It was 83CHF (about $70). The first course was rabbit and pear salad with a sparkling white wine. I?m not sure I have ever had rabbit before and this salad was so delicious. A nice balsamic dressing and fresh greens completed it. Second, pigeon ravioli in a butter/thyme sauce with a red wine. Never have I even thought about eating pigeon but vacations are to learn new things, so I dug in. The pasta was paper thin and melted in my mouth. We all agreed that we would be happy if we could get another plate of this delicious pasta. The third course was a choice of meat (a beef stroganoff dish or fish on a bed of various mushrooms). Both were delicious and very different from other meals any of us had. A nice red wine was served with both. For dessert, we had an ice cream-like dish that was just beautifully presented and came with another light dessert wine. It sounds like a lot of food, but the portions were just right and the meal lasted about an hour and a half. This was one of the best meals that I?ve ever had in my travels. The next night, we went to an Italian restaurant called Cittadella located in the old town. On the main floor is a typical trattoria with pizza and pastas with reasonable prices. Upstairs is a higher end restaurant that specializes in fish. We decided to eat on the main floor. The local wine is Merlot bianco or Merlot rosso. Both were excellent. My dinner was a green salad, ravioli in a sage and butter sauce and a couple glasses of wine ? 35CHF. From Locarno, we took day trips to Ascona (very scenic town with the best lake promenade we saw!) and to Bellanzonia to see the castles. Lots of steps to get to each castle, but worth it for the tremendous views.

cls2paris

Appenzell ? We stayed at the Hotel Taube. The single rooms were very small. I did look into a double room and they looked quite about 3 times larger than the singles. The rooms were 65CHF each. The price included a nice breakfast with croissant, rolls, fruit, juice, cereal and cheese. The best thing about this hotel was the restaurant- we ate there both nights. This place should be busy every night because the food was wonderful. I had a stroganoff one night that was so delicious, I wanted a second plate. They had an interesting wine list that included wine from Chile and Sicily, not the usual selection we had been seeing elsewhere. Appenzell was a beautiful town with many buildings painted with murals. It is small, you can wander into every shop and see the entire town in a few hours. But, I was ready for a small and peaceful town. We took side trips to St. Gallen and to Aldtstatten on our full day in Appenzell. This part of Switzerland is so beautiful. There are not the huge mountains we had seen elsewhere, but mountains that looked like large, rolling, green hills. This area is also known for the hand-made lace. There is more machine-made lace to be found in all the stores and it is very lovely. I did find a lace store in St. Gallen that had hand-made products. It is called Rocco. There is quite a price difference between the hand-made and machine-made table runners ? but a gal has to splurge sometime!

On our way back to Zurich we stopped at Stein am Rhein. A wonderfully preserved old town with the big gates, murals on the buildings and very picturesque ? but really, all of Switzerland is picturesque and each region has its own character. The next day, I took a trip from Zurich to Schaffhausen. Another wonderful town with many oriel windows that were hundreds of years old. But, I went on Sunday, no stores were open and not too many people. On top of that, it was very hot. After walking for awhile, I took a city bus to the Rheinfalls. The most spectacular waterfall I have ever seen. I had seen it a couple of times from a train but to be close to it was so cool (literally and figuratively!). I would definitely recommend making a stop there if you are in the area.

StephenG

Enjoying your report. I must say Switzerland has been low on my list only because I though it was very expensive, but after reading your report it sounds like a great value.
I am always glad when report includes prices for that reason. I think I will move Switzerland up my list a few places.

Grasshopper

I stayed at Albergo Navegna a couple of years ago and couldn't tear myself away from the hotel to eat anywhere else. Every dinner was fantastic and the ambience of the lakeside terrace was peaceful and serene. It's a nice place to stay, too.

cls2paris

Stephan - thanks for the nice words. I've visited several times because having a cousin there makes it convenient! My ancestors were from eastern Swtizerland so it has always been a dream to visit that area. I noticed that prices were much higher (because of the poor exchange rate), this trip than last year. So, I curtailed my shopping a bit and I was able to find some bargain hotels. I would definitely recommend visiting there for the beauty and the interesting differences between the regions.

cls2paris

Grasshopper - your trip report with the rave review was one of the reasons I wanted to dine at Albergo Navengna! I printed your report so I could read again once I got to Locarno. It was a great guide! I wasn't able to do all of the things I wanted this time, so I guess I will have to go back some day!

Grasshopper

Wow, that's great! I'm glad you had such a wonderful trip. Your report is so much fun to read. Now you must join the Support Group for Those Who Love Switzerland. Welcome to our fan club!