PalenQ

Did you go to the Rhine Falls, not too far from Stein.

perhaps it's in your links but my old computer balks at a lot of sites, such as picture ones and by what folks say they're spectacular!

susan001

PalenQ,
No, I did not make it to the Rhine Falls, though I had thought about going. Stein itself (and surrounding area) is so beautiful, I managed to keep myself occupied with photo ideas.

There was a ferry taking people down to the falls area -- very nice -- with dinner served. I've also read that you can take the train to Schaufhaussen, then a bus to the falls. If I had stayed longer than the two nights I probably would have made the effort.

Since this was my first stop after a long flight, I just wanted things to remain low-key for a couple days.

Susan

PalenQ

well next time perhaps - you can actually take a train right to a station at the Rhine Falls - a secondary station - or i walked a lovely path along the rushing Rhein a few miles from Schlauffhausen, which i also found to be an interesting town where i stayed the night.

Stein is now on my list for my next Swiss sojourn. Again thanks for telling us about it. I also want to take the boats from Stein i believe that go to Konstanz via the Rhine. I think may be covered in part or full by Swiss Passes.

KarenKM

bookmark

deladeb

Your pictures brought back great memories of our trip there in 2005. For anyone who needed a digital camera rec ...I was very pleased with the results of my new Canon SD800IS during our 3 weeks in Norway and Sweden in June. 603 awsome pictures!

Heidi2

Susan, from your photos, are you sure you were in Switzerland and not in paradise? Wow. They're gorgeous.

By the way, I'm a woman traveling solo in late May and any tips would be very welcome. Is it ok to hike alone?

Maudie

Susan,
Thanks so much for sharing your trip and photo's - we were in Switzerland in June and so many of your photo's mirror mine, we must have walked the same streets!

We loved Zuoz as well, so pretty. We walked from Guarda to Ardez on a wonderful warm sunny day, you must try and get there, we can't wait to go back. We went to Rapperswil,which is also a lovely town, on the ferry from Zurich then onto Rhine Falls but missed the ferry to Stein Am Rhein by 10 minutes. We were leaving the next day so didn't get a chance to see it so it's great to "see it" through your eyes.
We stayed on Lake Brienz and yes it is the most amazing colour.
Well done, fantastic report and photo's.

Nonconformist

Lovely pictures - it's getting me very excited for my trip next year.

susan001

Heid2,
If you walk the "popular" trails, it is completely safe. I wondered the same thing, but there are plenty of people out walking. I really would recommend you stay in Murren. Feel free to write again if you have more questions.

Maudie, Sorry you missed Stein AR, as I am sorry I missed Guarda. A person just can't see everything in one trip.

Heidi2

Susan, thanks for the reply. I'm really glad that it's possible to do some hikes alone. I'm staying in Intelaken, though, because I've seen the trains to all destinations start earlier in the day, much as I would indeed have chosen Murren.

Maudie

Susan,
Yes you are so right, we had 3 weeks in Switzerland and there is so much more we want to see and we live so far away but you never know!
Best wishes.

LLindaC

We saw plenty of women hiking solo all over Switzerland, even on quite remote trails. The only thing that would concern me is if you ran into bad weather and slid off a trail, etc. However, it's easy enough to research the trails in advance. The Guarda to Ardez hike is lovely..lots of good options in the Engadine. The Val D'Annivers village walk that we did was also a good option for a solo hiker. You can always catch a bus to another place if you run into bad weather. Val D'Herens has a similar package.

susan001

My photo galleries for the entire trip are now complete. The latest one added is Lake Como, Innsbruck, Bavaria.

Here's the link:
http://susanbowen.smugmug.com/

brandywine

Susan,

Thanks for the wonderful trip report. We are planning a trip to Switzerland and the Lakes region, and your report is very helpful, and the photos beautiful!

A couple of questions: Hotel Des Balances in Lucerne is one of the hotels we are thinking of staying at for our two nights there. The view from your balcony looked lovely in your photos, can you tell me what floor of the hotel your room was located? Also, was your room pretty nice? Did you have a standard room or a Junior suite? Did you by chance eat lunch or dinner at the hotel?

Regarding your time outside of Switzerland: how many days were in the Lake Como area, and did you need more time there?
It looks like you had a beautiful day at Chamonix/Mont Blanc. Did you spend a night there, or just a day trip? If it was a day trip, about how long were you actually at Chamonix?

Please feel free to elaborate a bit about the Lake Como area or Mont Blanc if you have time.

Thank you so much.

susan001

Brandywine,
At Des Balances, I was on the second floor (which is actually the third), and had a "single" room. My room was smallish, but just for me, so fine. If you request a balcony over the River Reuss, at least second floor, you'll have tremendous views.

I was on my own, traveling solo, for 8 days in Switzerland, then joined a tour after that for the rest of it. We stayed in Annecy two nights, and then stopped for a few hours in Chamonix on the way to Lake Como. That was plenty. I actually liked Annecy much more than Chamonix (but the trip up to Mt. Blanc via gondola--cable car is worth doing.

In Lake Como, I've heard that Varenna is the best place to stay (on the east side, no traffic). You can get there by train or by ferry. I'm sorry to say I didn't make it there but longed to. The west side of the lake is lovely but has lots of traffic along the lakeside road. Wherever you stay in Lake Como, make sure your hotel has easy access to the ferries. Mennagio would be a good second choice; it's lovely (but on the busy west side - does have ferry access).

I hope this helps.

brandywine

Thanks Susan. We will be in Switzerland Lake Geneva area and thinking of driving up to Mont Blanc for a few hours on our way down to the Italian Lakes. So it seems your tour just stopped in Chamonix for part of the day, but looks like it was a good stop for a few hours and not necessary to spend the night.

We haven't quite decided on where to stay at the Italian Lakes, but most likely stopping at Stresa at Lake Maggiore at least for the first night. It will be a shorter drive from Montreux and I would like to see Isola Bella.

It appears that as long as we reserve a River view room at Des Balances in Lucerne, we would have a great view. I just wanted to make sure that it is not necessary to spend the extra money for a "suite" in order to have a balcony with a nice view.

Thanks for taking the time to write such a thorough trip report.

susan001

If you've been to the BO you can skip Chamonix altogether. I didn't care for it that much. As I said, Annecy IS worth seeing, and I would stay at least two nights there.

PalenqueBob

Consider driving to Martigny, in the Rhone Valley and then taking one of Europe's most dramatically scenic mountain railways - the MC Martigny-Chamonix Bahn to Chamonix - passing glaciers en route.

From Martigny the train makes a prodigous climb out of the Rhone Valley along what to some seems an all-too-narrow ledge.

Relax and see the scenes - impossible while driving on the sinous two-lane road.

Train is cheap - probably cheaper than fuel.

Chamonix is not too much as a town but is a great base for several scintillating excursions, such as the incredible gondola trip over the Mer de Glace to Pt Heilbronner and back - one of the most incredible journeys and rather frightening i've ever been on.

sebinah

ttt for Jane Smith