Trip Itinerary--Switzerland & Alsace
 

Last year, I went to Switzerland, and was so amazed by the beauty of the country and the efficiency of the trains, I have decided to return. Here's the plan:

Arrive Zurich -- train to Colmar, France
3 nights Colmar -- visit other villages by train, like Ribeauville (any others?).

2 nights Stein-am-Rhein -- I loved it last year. This is the only village I'm planning to visit a 2nd time.

3 nights Guarda -- Hotel Meisser. I plan to visit Scuol, and Tarasp castle by train while there. Maybe a hike to Ardez? How far is it?

2 nights Soglio -- Hotel Palazzo Salis

1 night Zurich (airport hotel) before my flight out the next morning.

Once again, I will be traveling with a Swiss Rail Pass (I will buy a point-to-point tickets for France)

Any thoughts?

Hi, Susan. Haven't heard from you in awhile. Glad to see you are going back to Stein am Rhein. I think you are in danger of becoming a SAR addict (altho I must bear some responsibility I fear)!!

Can't offer any help on the rest of your trip, unfortunately, but I'm sure you'll get some wonderful input from others. Sounds like a great trip.

Betty,
I made the mistake of putting a photo of Stein am Rhein on my desktop at work. I look longingly at that photo of the river with village houses. A feeling of tranquility comes over me just thinking of that place! And I thank you again and again for recommending I stay there last summer!

Nice hearing from you.

Susan

Hi susan001,

You've chosen two **great** spots for your Engadin vacation, and I think your amazement about Switzerland is only going to grow! I spent a week in Zuoz and found the Engadin Valley to be gorgeous and relatively un-touristed (I mean, by English-speaking tourists; there were a lot of German-speaking hikers everywhere).

The one person who was invaluable in helping me plan my trip was the poster German Eagle, who goes to the Engadin every year if he can. Here is a link to his pages on the Lower Engadin (Scuol & around):

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/4166c/a8885/

I know he doesn't recommend the Meisser, and in fact I've recently read some bad comments about them. He does recommend a hotel in Guarda, so do take a look at his page.

He has also done the walk to Ardez, though I don't have his notes on it. You may want to contact him through VT and see if you can pick his brain (or see if he pops up here).

And finally, to whet your appetite some more, here is an article about the Valley with some nice photos:

http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/...rticleId=10670

I had a wonderful time when I was there. I particularly enjoyed renting bicycles from the St. Moritz train station and taking two rides, one around the lakes of the Upper Engadin and one down the Valley floor. Just incredible.

Have fun!

s

Hi Susan,

What a great itinerary. Have yet to go to Soglio and I've been in CH for over 20 years!

If you're looking for a budget hotel in Unterengadin, we stayed at Hotel Plaz in Sent last year for SFr. 100/double room. The hotel is a traditional house with basic but modern rooms and a nice bath. If you're noise sensitive and don't mind not having a view, they have the perfect room for you. Breakfast is basic but includes cheese, meat and yoghurt.

Good morning, schuler, swandav, and susan. Schuler, it sounds like my kind of place, except for the no view part, alas. May I ask what you mean by 'noise sensitive'? What is Sent like? Thanks, jw

Hi JW:

Just took a look at the hotel from the outside and it's not one of those really old houses but it's located right in the town square. There's cobblestones all around and a bit of drive through traffic, which you might hear if you're window's right next to the road.

Looking at the picture of the pension from the outside, it doesn't look all that tidy but the rooms were impeccible and modern too. This is one of those hotels where looks are deceiving.

The price for a single is Sfr. 60.--

http://www.pensiun-plaz.ch/

Thanks so much, Swandav and Schuler. I will take a look at your recommendations. I've already booked the Meisser in Guarda, since Karen Brown and a few others on this board have recommended it. I did not book half board. Swandav, I visited Zuoz on my last trip, and was so enchanted with the village, and the Engadine sgraffito, I decided to explore more of the region.

I feel a little bad that I'm not planning to go to the BO this time (stayed in Murren last year). It's difficult to squeeze in everything I want to do. I also haven't been to Castle Chillon yet.

Susan

Karen Brown: her recommendations are unique but sometimes out of date.

I stayed at two of her recommended hotels in Switzerland last year and would only return to one.

I think Meisser is in a wonderful location and you'll enjoy it for a few days. I heard lots of English speaking tourists while sipping on my coffee outside in their garden. Incredible views.

Schuler, Thanks for the insight on Karen Brown. I'm hoping the hotels will all be suitable. I did use her guidebook for all. I also have a lonely planet guidebook.

Hi Susan, spent part of a day in Soglio a couple of years ago. It's a captivating area. We'll be staying at the Palazzo Salis this summer as well. If you like to hike, like we do, or if you just like to be surrounded by gorgeous mountains, you'll be in heaven.

Oooh my gosh! And here I thought you were a relative new-comer to Switzerland! So happy to hear this is going to be another return.

Yup, Zuoz is a lovely place. I did get out to see both Guarda and Soglio on day-trip excursions, and both were great. I think you won't run out of things to do!

Oh well, Chillon will be there when you do get around to seeing it, hee hee! To tell you the truth, I didn't get to Luzern until my eithth visit, and not to the Engadin until my eleventh. So -- I like your approach: see a few lovely spots, but see them well!

Hi jw! SO great to hear from you!

s

Thank you, schuler, and thank you, susan, for allowing me to piggy-back here. It does look like a lovely accommodation. I notice that there's the necessity of a bus connection from scuol-tarasp, but I'm becoming accustomed to that as the best connections with Gerra-Gambarogno are also via local bus.

I have to admit, though, that giving up a view is going to be something I'll have to come to terms with. Much of the value of my rare trips comes from the view from hotel windows. Affectionately to all lovers of Swiss travel, jw.

susan, bettyk, et al:

Spotting this thread about two of my favorite spots, I noticed your reference to Stein-am-Rhein and it easily trigered my memory of a very odd incident the first time we visited SAR in 1983.

We were driving from Konstanz and upon arriving, we saw an opening to the town, big enough for our small VW, so through it we drove, parked the car and were about to stroll the town...absolutely NO ONE in sight, and it was about 10 am. All shops were closed as we sauntered onto a square.

At that moment a shrill whistle sounded and there was a soldier in camouflage fatiques motioning us to go back to where we had parked the car...he followed us to make sure we heeded....and then there appeard from all sides about 50 uniformed soldiers carrying rifles, darting in and out of doorways. We asked the escort soldier what was happening, he actually smiled and in English informed us that the Swiss Army was having a "door-to-door exercise" that morning!

It was over in about 15 minutes, and from our vantage point we began to see shopkeepers, and other citizens, and a few tourists who were probably waiting out of sight outside the main entrance, slowly fill up the empty town, as the army trooped out.

Our fortune.... first visit to this picturesque river town and we run smack into Swiss army maneuvers (I managed to quickly snap one pic of a soldier emerging from one of the doorways).

Yes, although a bit awe-struck, we throughly enjoyed that visit and two subsequent times to SAR.

Have a fun trip, Susan!

Stu T.

Stu T.

Hi, S!!!! Isn't it great to know that one's list of places to visit in Switzerland is NEVER concluded? For some reason, it gets longer, and the logistical problem is that you also never want to give up the favorites you've visited time and again. Ahhh well. Check you later at yahoo.

Susan, glad to learn that Stein-am-Rhein has not been spoiled by its popularity. Ever since I returned to Brienz on a very crowded Sunday and wondered where the quiet little lakeside village had gone, I've been afraid to re-visit favorites from many years ago. You give me hope.

jw

jw, do not despair. When we arrived in SAR, it was on Mother's Day! The little town was so crowded, we wondered if we'd made a mistake in going there. However, by dinnertime, most had left and for the next 2 days, we had the town to ourselves except for the locals! The weather was amazing and we so enjoyed just wandering the streets and sitting by the Rhein watching children fish and ducks eating the bread I'd bought for them!

Hello susan001 :)

I believe it is you (or bettyk?) I can thank for your beautiful photos last year of Stein-am-Rhein. We were so taken with its charm just from the photos that we have decided to included it on our summer itinerary! We have reservations at the Hotel Rheinfels.

As swandav says, &quot;<i>I think your amazement about Switzerland is only going to grow!&quot;</i> ((L))

Have a great trip!

We stayed at Hotel Meisser last fall (late September) for 4 days, it was very nice. The town was enchanting, although very quiet ( which we like) When we arrived it was snowing and we woke up to a few inches of snow. We did do half board as some of the other places in the village were closing down or limited. Our only complaint with half board was that the menu wasn't huge so by the 3rd night we wanted a change. We did eat in the smaller restaurant room the &quot;Stuvetta&quot; one night, it was also very good. They had a charming man who played the Zither in the restaurant.

From Guarda we did drive to Soglio and I want to return and stay there. Driving up through the Chestnut trees was amazing, the town is just perched on top. Unfortunately it was raining so we didn't get to see the views. I had the best polenta with wild mushrooms at Palazzo Salis!

From Guarda we also did the Bernina Express as far as Tirano.

We only had a half day in Stein ~ again~ it is a magical place, a place I would like to stay for a day or two.

We had the most amazing trip (based in Appenzell, BO, Guarda, Weggis) and couldn't have done it without the people on this board! I do use Karen Brown, but the recommendations and opinions here and on TripAdvisor have more weight!

Thanks for all your responses! Wrenwood, thank you for assurances about Hotel Meisser. I wonder about the Bernina Express, which I hadn't considered until now.

Cimbrone, maybe I'll see you at the Palazzo Salis (yes, I do plan to hike there), and SwissHiker, I'm also staying at the Rheinfels in SAR. Tower, cute story about the Swiss army in SAR.

Anyone out there familiar with Colmar and the Alsace region? Remember, I'll be using the train system, not a car.

I shall try to contribute something because I've taken so much advantage of your thread, susan. I stayed in Dambach-la-Ville many years ago for several nights, and I daytripped to Obernai, Riquerville(excuse the spelling, I know it doesn't look right), and Colmar, by train and bus. Do you have a good rail map? It's been so long since I could tear myself away from Switzerland that I can't remember much. Except that I loved the tiny, then undiscovered, town of Dambach-la-Ville, the vineyards, and the onion pie! Yum.

jw