To the top of Europe, and back again.
Aug 26th, 2017, 09:02 AM
#41
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 4,591
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
What a welcome! I have to say that a few years ago I finally abandoned the black suitcase in favor of an odd shade of blue. In 3 1/2 years now, I have only seen one other case like it in the airport. I almost never check my bag but saw more and more people go to the wrong black bag in the over head bin and decided to ditch the black bag.
Interested to read more, Ann. I have never been to Switzerland so am anxious to read about your experience and glad your husband is well enough to make this trip!
Interested to read more, Ann. I have never been to Switzerland so am anxious to read about your experience and glad your husband is well enough to make this trip!
Aug 26th, 2017, 10:11 AM
#42
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 1,925
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
We did exactly the same a few years back, but we based ourselves in Interlaken and went from there every day with our train pass. Seemed a good location for a base. Had a very nice day in Bern.. did you stop there at all?
And I too love NH Hotels.. we stayed in the one on Malaga in March to get away from the dismal north of England weather.
And I too love NH Hotels.. we stayed in the one on Malaga in March to get away from the dismal north of England weather.
Aug 26th, 2017, 12:25 PM
#43
did you like Interlaken, gertie? Perhaps our view was coloured by the weather [dreadful for all but one day of our time there] and by the changes that have taken place over the last 35 years. Who would have guessed that it would change so much in so short a time???
Yes, it was pretty silly to think that it would have stayed the same, and I'm sure that we would have liked it more had the weather gods decided not to have a good cry; it probably didn't have the best chance to entrance us. But I think that we made the most of our time there - on our first full day the sun shone, so we got the train to the boat station at Interlaken Ost and had a lovely cruise on Lake Brienz, ate lunch at one of the Gaststaette in the little town of the same name, and then cruised back again, admiring amongst other things the world's oldest funicular at Gleissbach the eponymous waterfalls, and the flowers round all the pretty boat stops around the lake.
The next day the promised rain arrived, so we took ourselves off to Bern where we had a rather damp walk around the city which was in the throws of setting up for what must be the world's biggest busking festival. DH having decided that he would like something other than pommes frites for lunch, we managed to find a place offering sausages with warm potato salad, only to discover that it wasn't actually on the menu! Fortunately they took pity on us and found some anyway, so DH had that and I had my first taste of Eierschwämmlisuppe [special prize for the first non-German speaker to work out what that is!] Of course he didn't manage to eat that much of it, so I got to share it too, which was nice for me, though not necessarily for my waistband!
As we came out of the restaurant the famous clock of Bern was striking 2 pm, so we stopped to watch that and eat an icecream [ the latter being more exciting than the former] and after an hour or so in the Art Gallery, we tramped our way back to the station and hopped on the train back to Interlaken.
Our third day we decided that we would ignore the rain and get the boat to Thun anyway, [yes I know that we could have gone on the train but DH fancied the boat so that's what we did] where we found that they were setting up for some sort of festival. Thun is a very floriferous town with its own covered bridge similar to the famous one in Lucerne, but DH was feeling quite tired after his exertions in Bern the day before, so we found what we hoped would be a nice restaurant and sat down. And what a choice it turned out to be - a real italian restaurant run by real italians, offering real italian food. Result! DH fancied the spaghetti alla seppia e suo tinto [spaghetti with squid and its ink] and I had the menu del giorno which turned out to be a green salad and ravioli stuffed with crab. Very nice but not a patch on DH's dinner, which he generously permitted me to taste, so that we both had nice black teeth by the end of the meal!
We had a lovely english/italian chat with the couple running the restaurant who were both from Venice, and after deciding that walking up to the castle was probably too much for DH [and me after that lunch] we wandered back to the boat station and sailed in style back to Interlaken.
Food in Interlaken was a bit disappointing; there was a lot of sausage and chips on offer, or very expensive and more elaborate meals that DH didn't really want, so we struggled a bit to find things that DH wanted to eat. This was to prove to be a continuing problem. One night we had a very good meal in the local indian/Sri Lankan restaurant, [well I did, DH had a chicken soup and a bit of my Thali] and on another, we had a pizza in an italian restaurant near our hotel. Most people in our hotel opted to eat there and many of them were on half board terms which in normal circumstances were good value [compared to full meals eaten in local restaurants] but was far more than DH wanted to eat. He was generally able to eat a good breakfast, and after that we played it by ear; quite often I had to insist that he eat something, if only some soup because he didn't really feel hungry but if he went for too long, he just ran out of energy AND got very grumpy. [not sure which was worse for him, but I know which was worse for me].
We liked our hotel, especially the room, and it looked as if it would have been nice to spend some time on their terrace and in their garden, had the weather permitted. They had a pleasant residents' lounge, and in the afternoon there was free tea, coffee or cold drinks from a dispenser, plus cake. [always lemon drizzle!] I took to going down there to read while DH was having his afternoon nap and had some interesting chats with other Brits in the hotel, who were mostly staying there for at least a week; one couple were there for 3! I also went off exploring Interlaken by myself and found the Altstadt quite interesting; there is a big pub in what seems to have been the Rathaus, and at the end of the week they were setting up an outdoor cinema in the square. We didn't get to see the other end of the town that much except one day when we were waiting to get the boat; there's a nice church [old outside, very modern inside] and i liked the look of the Hotel du Lac which was very close to the interlaken Ost station but also fronted onto the river.
http://www.dulac-interlaken.ch/en/menus_drinks.php
<<We did exactly the same a few years back, but we based ourselves in Interlaken and went from there every day with our train pass. Seemed a good location for a base.>>
In other circumstances we might have based ourselves there for the whole week, gertie, but I knew that DH would be very disappointed if he didn't get the chance to wake up in the mountains; OTOH I wasn't that keen on having to get the train from Wengen down to Interlaken every day if the weather was bad. So although they are very close to each other, we decided to split our time between Interlaken and Wengen and for us, that worked out very well, despite the fag of having to change hotels relatively frequently.
Next - Wengen and "probably" the best view in the world.
Yes, it was pretty silly to think that it would have stayed the same, and I'm sure that we would have liked it more had the weather gods decided not to have a good cry; it probably didn't have the best chance to entrance us. But I think that we made the most of our time there - on our first full day the sun shone, so we got the train to the boat station at Interlaken Ost and had a lovely cruise on Lake Brienz, ate lunch at one of the Gaststaette in the little town of the same name, and then cruised back again, admiring amongst other things the world's oldest funicular at Gleissbach the eponymous waterfalls, and the flowers round all the pretty boat stops around the lake.
The next day the promised rain arrived, so we took ourselves off to Bern where we had a rather damp walk around the city which was in the throws of setting up for what must be the world's biggest busking festival. DH having decided that he would like something other than pommes frites for lunch, we managed to find a place offering sausages with warm potato salad, only to discover that it wasn't actually on the menu! Fortunately they took pity on us and found some anyway, so DH had that and I had my first taste of Eierschwämmlisuppe [special prize for the first non-German speaker to work out what that is!] Of course he didn't manage to eat that much of it, so I got to share it too, which was nice for me, though not necessarily for my waistband!
As we came out of the restaurant the famous clock of Bern was striking 2 pm, so we stopped to watch that and eat an icecream [ the latter being more exciting than the former] and after an hour or so in the Art Gallery, we tramped our way back to the station and hopped on the train back to Interlaken.
Our third day we decided that we would ignore the rain and get the boat to Thun anyway, [yes I know that we could have gone on the train but DH fancied the boat so that's what we did] where we found that they were setting up for some sort of festival. Thun is a very floriferous town with its own covered bridge similar to the famous one in Lucerne, but DH was feeling quite tired after his exertions in Bern the day before, so we found what we hoped would be a nice restaurant and sat down. And what a choice it turned out to be - a real italian restaurant run by real italians, offering real italian food. Result! DH fancied the spaghetti alla seppia e suo tinto [spaghetti with squid and its ink] and I had the menu del giorno which turned out to be a green salad and ravioli stuffed with crab. Very nice but not a patch on DH's dinner, which he generously permitted me to taste, so that we both had nice black teeth by the end of the meal!
We had a lovely english/italian chat with the couple running the restaurant who were both from Venice, and after deciding that walking up to the castle was probably too much for DH [and me after that lunch] we wandered back to the boat station and sailed in style back to Interlaken.
Food in Interlaken was a bit disappointing; there was a lot of sausage and chips on offer, or very expensive and more elaborate meals that DH didn't really want, so we struggled a bit to find things that DH wanted to eat. This was to prove to be a continuing problem. One night we had a very good meal in the local indian/Sri Lankan restaurant, [well I did, DH had a chicken soup and a bit of my Thali] and on another, we had a pizza in an italian restaurant near our hotel. Most people in our hotel opted to eat there and many of them were on half board terms which in normal circumstances were good value [compared to full meals eaten in local restaurants] but was far more than DH wanted to eat. He was generally able to eat a good breakfast, and after that we played it by ear; quite often I had to insist that he eat something, if only some soup because he didn't really feel hungry but if he went for too long, he just ran out of energy AND got very grumpy. [not sure which was worse for him, but I know which was worse for me].
We liked our hotel, especially the room, and it looked as if it would have been nice to spend some time on their terrace and in their garden, had the weather permitted. They had a pleasant residents' lounge, and in the afternoon there was free tea, coffee or cold drinks from a dispenser, plus cake. [always lemon drizzle!] I took to going down there to read while DH was having his afternoon nap and had some interesting chats with other Brits in the hotel, who were mostly staying there for at least a week; one couple were there for 3! I also went off exploring Interlaken by myself and found the Altstadt quite interesting; there is a big pub in what seems to have been the Rathaus, and at the end of the week they were setting up an outdoor cinema in the square. We didn't get to see the other end of the town that much except one day when we were waiting to get the boat; there's a nice church [old outside, very modern inside] and i liked the look of the Hotel du Lac which was very close to the interlaken Ost station but also fronted onto the river.
http://www.dulac-interlaken.ch/en/menus_drinks.php
<<We did exactly the same a few years back, but we based ourselves in Interlaken and went from there every day with our train pass. Seemed a good location for a base.>>
In other circumstances we might have based ourselves there for the whole week, gertie, but I knew that DH would be very disappointed if he didn't get the chance to wake up in the mountains; OTOH I wasn't that keen on having to get the train from Wengen down to Interlaken every day if the weather was bad. So although they are very close to each other, we decided to split our time between Interlaken and Wengen and for us, that worked out very well, despite the fag of having to change hotels relatively frequently.
Next - Wengen and "probably" the best view in the world.
Aug 26th, 2017, 12:40 PM
#44
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 4,375
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Enjoying the read - so glad you were able to do a "slow" trip . I love squid ink and always have it when on menu even squid ink paella.
I'm never lonely to get to Switzerland so it's a joy to read.
I'm never lonely to get to Switzerland so it's a joy to read.
Aug 26th, 2017, 02:22 PM
#46
Ok, so I had to google translate your soup...and it said it was Sludge soup. That just does not sound right to me so hopefully someone will come up with the correct answer. It sounds like you two are having a lovely time and am happy you are posting a day to day report.
Aug 26th, 2017, 02:49 PM
#47
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 1,925
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Interlaken... Did I like it? Well, hardly saw it really as every day we were off somewhere else on the train. Stayed in what would now be an AirBNB near the Ost station. Only ate in Interlaken a couple of times, unmemorable. Walked around the town a bit but not much as we were exhausted at the end of the day after charging all over Switzerland. Weather was OK as I recall.
What I did like were the ferry rides. We too went to Thun on the ferry, also Lake Brienz. Bern by train. Places like Luzern by train and Wengen etc. Montreux. Zermatt. Brig. And finally I got the train all the way to Milano from Zurich, a fantastic trip. Getting a bit foggy by now, need to look up my pictures. But we really enjoyed our time in Switzerland even though it hadn't been my idea to go!
What I did like were the ferry rides. We too went to Thun on the ferry, also Lake Brienz. Bern by train. Places like Luzern by train and Wengen etc. Montreux. Zermatt. Brig. And finally I got the train all the way to Milano from Zurich, a fantastic trip. Getting a bit foggy by now, need to look up my pictures. But we really enjoyed our time in Switzerland even though it hadn't been my idea to go!
Aug 26th, 2017, 08:35 PM
#52
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,345
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
annhig, still loving your report & your strength.
Yes, Interlaken has changed a lot, as it gets so much tourism now, from places that previously were closed off. I'm glad that you were on the edge of town so you avoided most of the crowding, but also glad that you got to explore the town a bit. IMO, Interlaken is at its best in the tiny side streets. These days, I usually recommend it if someone *only* wants a convenient base for excursions out. For someone enjoying the mountains, I usually recommend elsewhere.
Thun -- well, you hit on it! It IS called "the un-touristed Luzern" because it is similar in so many ways. So many folks don't stop there, but it's as convenient as Interlaken for excursions out (not equally convenient for excursions up to the peaks, but nearly so), and I think it's a charming town. I'm glad you got to see it.
I also love riding the ferries, and because they are more expensive than the train, they are a great option when one has the Swiss Pass! I also love them in bad weather, for some reason. It's so pretty to see the mountains edged in fog or cloud.
Thanks so much for writing this for us!
s
Yes, Interlaken has changed a lot, as it gets so much tourism now, from places that previously were closed off. I'm glad that you were on the edge of town so you avoided most of the crowding, but also glad that you got to explore the town a bit. IMO, Interlaken is at its best in the tiny side streets. These days, I usually recommend it if someone *only* wants a convenient base for excursions out. For someone enjoying the mountains, I usually recommend elsewhere.
Thun -- well, you hit on it! It IS called "the un-touristed Luzern" because it is similar in so many ways. So many folks don't stop there, but it's as convenient as Interlaken for excursions out (not equally convenient for excursions up to the peaks, but nearly so), and I think it's a charming town. I'm glad you got to see it.
I also love riding the ferries, and because they are more expensive than the train, they are a great option when one has the Swiss Pass! I also love them in bad weather, for some reason. It's so pretty to see the mountains edged in fog or cloud.
Thanks so much for writing this for us!
s
Aug 27th, 2017, 12:09 AM
#53
I first visited your sites 20 years ago when BIL first moved to Switzerland, ever since I realised how hard it is to give advice on somewhere where you have been "taken" rather than done the planning yourself. You report is, however, bringing some of our first trip back to mind.
Aug 27th, 2017, 12:41 AM
#54
You report is, however, bringing some of our first trip back to mind.>>
in a good way I hope!
<<The heck with Eierschwämmlisuppe, I had to google floriferous!>>
sorry, Mel! My excuse is that lawyers used to be paid by the syllable - though that was a bit before my time.
<<Ok, so I had to google translate your soup...and it said it was Sludge soup.>>
Congrats, Paqngo on getting as far as soup - I confess that based on my knowledge of german, I thought that it might be egg flower soup [Eier meaning eggs] but once I'd taken a sip of it, I knew that there was some sort of fungus involved [in a nice way!] A vegetable stall in Thun confirmed my suspicions when I saw "Eierschwämmli" on sale next to the mushrooms.
Perhaps those clues will help???
in a good way I hope!
<<The heck with Eierschwämmlisuppe, I had to google floriferous!>>
sorry, Mel! My excuse is that lawyers used to be paid by the syllable - though that was a bit before my time.
<<Ok, so I had to google translate your soup...and it said it was Sludge soup.>>
Congrats, Paqngo on getting as far as soup - I confess that based on my knowledge of german, I thought that it might be egg flower soup [Eier meaning eggs] but once I'd taken a sip of it, I knew that there was some sort of fungus involved [in a nice way!] A vegetable stall in Thun confirmed my suspicions when I saw "Eierschwämmli" on sale next to the mushrooms.
Perhaps those clues will help???
Aug 27th, 2017, 02:02 AM
#55
I'm enjoying following your trip and am appreciating the way in which you adapted on-the-go to your husband's needs yet able to find a way to make it work for both of you. Wonderful to read this. I just hope that you had some beautiful weather as those rainy days can really put a damper (sorry, couldn't help myself here!) on one's mood!
Aug 27th, 2017, 02:10 AM
#56
thanks, progol. Never has the phrase "necessity is the mother of invention" been more apt - really, we had no choice.
And I'm pleased to say that on the day we moved onto the mountains, the skies cleared and [apart from a huge thunderstorm on the last night] we had no more rain. It has been somewhat galling to see that this last week the weather has been wonderful so had we gone a week later, we'd have enjoyed blue skies every day but that, of course, is life.
And I'm pleased to say that on the day we moved onto the mountains, the skies cleared and [apart from a huge thunderstorm on the last night] we had no more rain. It has been somewhat galling to see that this last week the weather has been wonderful so had we gone a week later, we'd have enjoyed blue skies every day but that, of course, is life.
Aug 27th, 2017, 04:16 AM
#57
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 5,142
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Annhig,
Thanks for the link on the other thread; I too am now onboard
<<<[did I say that I wasn't going to do a day by day account? oh well, never trust a lawyer]. >>>
This made me laugh but also gave me hope that the report would now be longer.
Great start, don't forget the photos.
I will also look up Nikki's report. I'm obviously not up to speed on Fodors and didn't even know you'd been on a trip
Thanks for the link on the other thread; I too am now onboard
<<<[did I say that I wasn't going to do a day by day account? oh well, never trust a lawyer]. >>>
This made me laugh but also gave me hope that the report would now be longer.
Great start, don't forget the photos.
I will also look up Nikki's report. I'm obviously not up to speed on Fodors and didn't even know you'd been on a trip
Aug 27th, 2017, 04:19 AM
#58
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,198
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi Annhig! I just saw this report and am now following along for the memories of Switzerland!
I too adjust traveling for a spouse with some health issues and am glad to see that you went out on your own during DH's naptime. It doesn't happen too often with us (because DH never wants to miss anything), but there are times when he just can't keep up the pace so we reached an agreement that if that happens, he can stay at the hotel and relax for a day and I will do the things at the bottom of his list. Sometimes I just go to a cafe alone. This has worked for us for our last 4 vacations.
We're pretty safe (knock on wood) from taking the wrong suitcases thanks to each of us receiving a big round leather Fodors luggage tag at a gtg some years ago. Just this last vacation, DH started grabbing the wrong (black) suitcase, but quickly put it back on the conveyor belt when there was no glaring orange tag!
I too adjust traveling for a spouse with some health issues and am glad to see that you went out on your own during DH's naptime. It doesn't happen too often with us (because DH never wants to miss anything), but there are times when he just can't keep up the pace so we reached an agreement that if that happens, he can stay at the hotel and relax for a day and I will do the things at the bottom of his list. Sometimes I just go to a cafe alone. This has worked for us for our last 4 vacations.
We're pretty safe (knock on wood) from taking the wrong suitcases thanks to each of us receiving a big round leather Fodors luggage tag at a gtg some years ago. Just this last vacation, DH started grabbing the wrong (black) suitcase, but quickly put it back on the conveyor belt when there was no glaring orange tag!
Aug 27th, 2017, 05:18 AM
#60
<<A vegetable stall in Thun confirmed my suspicions when I saw "Eierschwämmli" on sale next to the mushrooms.>> Thanks For the clue. I ended up finding a recipe for the soup. After looking at the ingredients I want to say a cream of mushroom soup with a bit of parsley? I will have to try the recipe this winter. Today it is supposed to be very warm here (35c) so not a good day to make Eierschwämmlisuppe.
