FainaAgain

Day 7 Wednesday May 25. Last glance at Interlaken out of the bus window. Off we go to Bern. First stop at the bear pit. Not to upset our lovely tour guide we all fake interest staring at the empty bear pit. Nobody knows why the bears are hiding. Skip the bear pit. Go to any zoo instead. Don’t skip the whole city though.

We had a walking tour with a stop at the Einstein house, famous watch - heard it, admired it, dutifully snapped at it. Snapped with our cameras I mean. Views of and off the bridges. The city is wonderful, I would go back in a heartbeat! Rose garden - it was too early for roses, but the blooming chestnut trees, other plants, ponds, and a gorgeous view of the city - what a great place! Saw some consulates and embassies, the American is sealed off after September 11, no access. The city looks so great, wish we’d have more time there. Highly recommend to visit.

Off to a lunch at a working farm. 3 toilet stalls for a group of 27. Old buildings, lots of flowers, lace curtains in the windows. Greatest food: salad, entree, dessert, drinks. For dessert we had mousse (chocolate of course!), tiramisu and black forest. When I saw them bringing out the cake, I asked the driver to ask the cook if I can take a picture of it. He said yes without any enthusiasm. So I asked the driver to translate this: “My husband doesn’t like to travel. He is at home now. I want to take a picture of this cake for him, so he can see what he is missing”. Now everybody, who was not yet overfed, was laughing. Who said European portions are small? They hadn’t been to a farm meal.

Then off to Taesch for a short train ride to Zermatt. What a view right off the train station!! Short walk through the cobble-stoned alley passing some black ancient wooden buildings. Are we there already? It can’t be it! But inside... what a difference! You walk into a bar before reaching the front desk. I walked into my room - it’s unreal! I have a balcony with the view of the Matterhorn. The Matterhorn! I left the night curtains opened and was awaken at 1 am by the full moon (no howling!) and huge stars. Did I mention the Matterhorn? Yes, out of all 4 places we stayed at, Zermatt is far the best.

FainaAgain

Day 8 Thursday May 26. The walking tour of Zermatt was very interesting. Ended up in the museum which I do recommend to visit. That day was a catholic religious holiday, and there was a church procession. People in Swiss costumes, I admired lace stockings. Soldiers looking exactly like German WWI (1914) soldiers. Girls in white dresses. Chorus singing while walking. And the general public at the end of the procession, most of them dressed in their holiday suits. Zermatt is a small village, I assume everybody knows everybody, and there will be lots of gossip about who came with whom, who was wearing what.

Somewhere in my description I’ve missed the horse ride similar to the hayride here. One horse was strong enough to pull our carriage with 14 passengers, ½ of our group, and.. what you call that man who takes care of that horse? horse driver? We took a ride around a tiny village and a couple of working farms, the name escapes me at the moment (of course!) and had some light refreshments. Alpine cheese is a bit tough, not exactly to my liking. Homemade apple juice – yummy! Also the lady of the house made pastries, fluffy dough with pear filling – never tried anything as good as this! With the exception of tiramisu of course!

Day 9 Friday May 27. Our group took off to Gornergratt and Klein Matterhorn, I was not ready for another cable car ride. Took it easy, relaxed in Zermatt, took a leisurely walk along the river to the church to see the cemetery. There is a special small cemetery behind the church for people who died trying to climb the Matterhorn. How young they all were! At least one grave is for unknown climber. A person lived, died, and nobody cared where he was? Unbelievable!

I sat down on a bench by the church, and there is a plaza with some municipal building I think. A woman on a bike rode up to this building, pull a pedal so the bike won’t fall down, and walked inside. She left the bike not chained up to anything!!!! Not even the front wheel! How weird is that for an American to see? I had to wait what happens. Nothing! About 20 minutes later she came out and rode off. Wow!

A nice stroll along the river… Good I didn’t walk off too far so didn’t need to see the street names, hard to find them. In the evening up in the mountains with the group in 3 of those “taxis”. Regular cars are not allowed in Zermatt, park in Taesch and take the train. Most of the vehicles are electric. Don’t know how much a taxi ride is. We went up to a restaurant to have a fondue. Maybe when the house is snowed in this dish of hot cheese with bread serves the purpose to keep alive. To me it was just highly unhealthy. Even with the wine. But at least once in the lifetime you gotta try to dip and swirl bread in the bubbling cheese and try not to drop any on the table cloth! Especially after a couple glasses It was fun.

FainaAgain

Day 10 Saturday May 28. This was the Glacier Express day. The views were the best ever! Stunning! This is something everybody must do! Our route was Zermatt-Disentis, and at the 1st or 2nd stop we went the opposite way. Which caused some panic in the ranks – as most of our group were elderlies, they couldn’t ride backwards. This route is a must, but not sure if riding the Glacier Express makes so much sense money-wise. We were in the 1st class supposedly air-conditioned, but if you seat on the sunny side you don’t feel it. 2nd class could opened the windows. We, in our reserved seats, were confined to the chambers. There was a food cart, and I ate the best cheese sandwich ever – with a touch of horse radish. Didn’t go to the restaurant cart. A woman walked in distributing tiny candy packages. “Riiiiiiiicoooolaaaaaaaaaaaaaa” we yodeled in a chorus. And then laughed at ourselves. We had large windows and glass ceiling, but it was not much more then the view out of a regular train. So, if you are on a budget and if there is a regular train going the same way, go for it. Do make reservations. The whole world is vacationing in Switzerland. And Disentis is a cute place.


A bus picked us up to take to Glattbrugg for our final dinner as a group. Nobody was talking about going home. Everybody was still there, in the Alps, in gift shops, in the restaurants and museums. Did I ever tell the ages? I felt like a spring chicken Out of 27 of us only 2 were under 30 – 2 girls traveled with their mother who was in a group of 4 or 5 under 60. The rest was over 70. This was strange as before I traveled with Cosmos, a budget tour group, they had all ages more evenly represented.

Day 11 Sunday May 29. Off to the airport in the free shuttle, another good-bye to the tour guide. She was there to see everyone off. Breakfast was exceptional. Continental tucked in somewhere at the end of the airport so from security (who handled your luggage? shuttle driver – this answer did not impress the guard) it’s a looooooong walk. Some turbulence on the way home, long lines at the customs – welcome home, citizen! For a week or so my body got confused as to when to get hungry, sleepy, caffeine deprived.

WHERE TO NEXT?

FainaAgain

to the top (how do you make an arrow up?)

FainaAgain

Going over my occasional notes.
I landed in Zurich, and went to the restroom. In the next 2 stalls 2 ladies traveling together. “No seat covers in Europe???” It’s nice to know I am not the only one surprised!

More about toilets. In Sofitel Zurich the toilets have 2 buttons to flush: one gives a stronger water flow. Fascinating!

The tour guide who’s English is just enough for the tour, tries to explain the thick toilet paper: we recycle. We used previously used paper and cardboard and make it toilet paper. A man’s voice from behind: “after you, madam?”

Television. Imagine my surprise when I turned the TV on and the Golden Girls spoke perfect German! The next day the same channel showed “The Newlyweds” Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson spoke English, and the show was subtitled. I know why: nobody would ever believe Jessica would be ever able to master a foreign language!

Taking trains. Have you noticed they don’t announce stations like in USA “the next station will be …” This gives you time to gather your belongings. I find it to be inconvenient.

On the way, I think, to Jungfrau, we changed trains at Kleine Something, and they have 2 teepees displayed on the station, yes, Indian tents! This looked so out of place!!

Who knows what .ch stands in the Internet addresses like www.myswitzerland.ch ?

TexasAggie

I don't know what the "ch" stands for but I love your trip report... your sense of humor would make you so much fun to travel with Faina

Fodorite018

Faina--Sounds like such a great trip! Yes, ice cream is definitely a good thing That is really interesting about the toilet flushes, lol!

cigalechanta

Faina, I told her she'd make a great comedy writer.
Thank you Faina, your reports are so much fun and erases a bad day.

Betsy

Faina (again), Switzerland is also known as the Confederation Helvetica (therefore the abbreviation CH).

Loved your report, giggled all the way through it. "After you, Madam?" Priceless!

Remember our good times at the SF and Yountville GTGs?

FainaAgain

Thank you, everybody!

Betsy, that's right, it was a Quiz question. Do I remember you? Yes, I remember a certain lady refusing to let me borrow her... oh, well, let's not discuss our differences in front of the whole world

Kal from USA forum sent me a reminder link today
http://www.worldisround.com/articles/96984/photo15.html
for those who want to put a face behind the lines

FainaAgain

Things I'm glad I had with me or done before coming. I had 100 Sfr with me, I know I overpaid (about $6) for them, but when I got off the plane, jetlagged, and looked at the long ATM line of backpackers, I was glad I was able to go directly to the shuttle.

I used the knife (metal, not plastic) to cut bread, tomatoes, fruit.

Flashlight was needed in Zermatt.

Sink stopper - don't laugh, in Interlaken it didn't work, I was glad I had my "universal" one. New set of clothes in the morning, change for dinner... I did the quick laundry.

Dry skin lotion - I use it a lot on the road, and in some hotels, like in USA, it's just impossible to get out!

Alarm clock - I don't know what I screw up on the last night before the morning flight out - it was my own programming, not that I'd missed the plane, but... feel better knowing I have that clock.

A nice plastic bag and zip-out bag (Baggallini type) for groceries and other purchases.

Band-aids and single use anti-bacterial packets – this time for fellow travelers.

Pants with expandable wasteline, although didn’t gain a pound eating ice-cream and all these cheeses!

Purse on a long strap to wear across the chest, so my hands were free and no fear of snatching.

kopp

Very enjoyable. I leave in 5 weeks for my Swiss Alps trip. Did you find those pear-filled pastries in any bakery? They sound yummy!

FainaAgain

Kopp, it was a special event for our Globus tour, I think, on a working farm in (or near?) a place called Giswil - this is how the driver spelled it for me - I was thinking of reporting on Fodor's! We had a horse-carriage ride first, then refreshments.

Ahh, the best things can't be repeated

If in Interlaken, go to a restaurant called "Shuh", I may misspell it, somewhere in the internet they advertise chocolate shows. Just go to their retail department and LOOK at the chocolates! Somebody will have to forcibly remove you from there, so good those chocolates look, I guarantee it! Taste them for me too, I didn't try any

FainaAgain

Some more notes and observations. Unreal colors of sunrise over Atlantic, insomnia is not always bad! Red, purple and white color of blooming chestnut trees and lilac bushes (now, biologists, don't blast me if lilacs are no bushes!). Tomato soup made of real tomatoes at Des Alpes restaurant in Lucerne. Swan feeding at lake Lucerne. Lauterbrunnen waterfall - one of the best. Beauty of Wengen. Train to Jungfrau with 3-D TV screens. Teepes at Kleine Something station - how weird is that! Lots of graffiti everywhere - don't they have cleaning laws? Overly polite drivers.

Observation platform in Gruyere with cow exhibit. Those "real life" cows are covered with all rainbow color paints, now I know where the mad cow disease is coming from! Vineyards on mountain terraces. Restaurant menus with prices in Swiss Francs and Euros. Roofs made of sliced rocks. Abundance of wood and woodcarving everywhere. The ground floors in old buildings made of rocks, upper floors of wood, because of mice we were told. Small windows with laced curtains, and flowers, flowers and greens everywhere.

I love Nutella, but couldn't find my favorite kind - "white" made out of filbert nuts. Or any nuts for that matter. In every Co-Op I looked it's only brown, chocolaty type. We have it here. Weird computer keyboard, had to ask how to produce @ as shift-2 didn't work. Z and Y are transposed, "how are zou" may impress or a question of sanity The shift key is on one side only! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Cobblestone narrow streets. Clear lakes, you can see rocky bottoms and fishes. "White" water in the rivers - calcium gets washed off the mountains with the melting snow, is it true or a fairy tale for tourists? Canton Uri - I have a friend with this name. "Who handled your luggage" question at the airport, they stopped this in USA some time ago! Stopover in Newark, feeling thirsty, too bad! Welcome back to USA, The Land Of No Mineral Water in the restaurants. Was Switzerland a reality or only a dream? My heart says it's a dream. My wallet disagrees.

FauxSteMarie

Thanks for the amusing trip reports.

I just returned myself. I went to Sicily this time. I put up the reports the other night but no one seems interested in reading them. My hunch is that it is because so few people from the US vacation in Sicily. It is a drop dead gorgeous place. Go and see for yourselves. I was on a cruise on a sailboat. The cruise was organized by elderhostel.

FainaAgain

Using public computers. When in Zermatt, I had to use e-mail so my husband won’t worry that I don’t call. I got on the Internet, and as I couldn’t find the @ sign I thought I may open Hotmail and use somebody’s address changing the name. I got into somebody’s e-mail! Fascinating, huh? And scary. I used the “back” key to open another e-mail! Wow! Don’t people log out? I used my e-mail account, logged out, and to be sure “backed”. I was in my own e-mail after logging out!! I logged out again, this time for sure. After that I always restarted computer after use and urged everybody to do the same.

The way they dress in Switzerland is different. More conservative and pleasant to see. Lots of skirts – easy to tell the gender Even jeans there are different, closer to dress pants then US jeans. At school girls wear anything: skirts, pants, jeans, but the clothing is not as revealing as here. No visible obsession with looking trashy. Now, our group was different. Nothing revealing of course in a group averaging 70. Jeans, capris (even in the snow! a woman from Texas, maybe she didn’t have anything else at home?) sneakers. One woman from Boston was wearing jeans skirt, white sneakers, white tube socks, and her bluish varicose legs were partially visible. One 80-year-old woman’s feet were so bad, she could only wear sandals. So for a trip to Jungfrau she wrapped her feet in plastic inside those sandals. To buy anything in Switzerland was problematic only because of high price, otherwise if money is no object, the stores look enchanting. Like museums: look, admire, can’t buy.

Would I do anything different on the next trip? Not really except going back to budget groups like Cosmos. Really didn’t feel it worth my hard earned money to pay for fire places, robes or slippers in the hotel rooms. Location doesn’t matter on the tours – the bus is always at the door.

And I am really enjoying writing and writing and writing this report – nice to be mentally “still there”.

Marie, I posted a reply with a question on your report.

seetheworld

Well, Faina, I <i>just</i> completed reading your trip report -- WOW!

&quot;I was not in the mood after a day in the snowy rain to be in a restaurant trying to eat while yodeling gets on my nerves&quot; Gee, why not, LOL!

My dear, you are for sure mentally &quot;still there&quot; -- well done!

FainaAgain

Forgot to talk about souvenirs. In the train I saw a girl from our group signing post cards. She got cards which I missed, they were sold in the hotel lobby in Zermatt, arghhh! A plain yellow card with holes cut out here and there representing the usual joke: beware of Swiss cheese, they sell it with holes.

I got beer steins for boys of all ages, including my husband, there was only one place (in Zermatt) with a 50% off sale, otherwise they were expensive!

For girls (myself included, of course!) I got those weather houses, somebody on this website told me the words in German, thank you! A woman supposed to come out when the weather is good; it's a nice day in San Francisco, and a man is out. Gotta take this house to a different room!

And of course lots of chocolates, I tried to avoid Lindt which we have here in San Francisco, but... I don't remember the brand names, something unfamiliar, not Toblerone, which I got for co-workers, they said those are great. For relatives I got liquor-filled Lindt chocolates.

I miss ice-cream already

Marilyn

Hi Faina! I finally had a chance to read your report and enjoyed it so much. It's great when you actually know the person writing and can hear their voice.

I always take my own alarm clock, tiny flashlight, and pocket knife when I travel. I've used all of them on every trip I've ever made.

So, where WILL your next trip be?

FainaAgain

Hello, Marylin, did you read this report with MY accent, LOL

Looking into Palm Springs for now, my husband is anxious to go.

It's been a while since our last GTG, time to think of a new one