Switzerland - November 20- November 29, 2003 (yeah, I know, no one visits Switzerland in November, but we prefer the off-season and we wanted to take advantage of a Middle Eastern holiday -we're Americans currently living in Kuwait).

Flights - Kuwait-Frankfurt-Zurich-Frankfurt-Kuwait (hubby)

Kuwait-Frankfurt-Zurich-Frankfurt- Munich-Frankfurt-Kuwait (me)

Day 1 -

We departed Kuwait on the 2:30 am Lufthansa flight (the only flight from Kuwait to Germany) bound for Frankfurt. This flight is always a killer, because by the time we get on the plane, we've already been awake for almost 24 hours.

As with most flights in and out of Kuwait these days, ours was full of military, returning home from Iraq.

Unfortunately, Lufthansa insisted on serving an unidentifiable hot breakfast 2.5 hours prior to landing in Frankfurt, so this drastically cut into our sleep time. After the inedible pre-dawn breakfast, they turned the lights off again, but we were unable to get back to sleep.

We arrived in Frankfurt (which is two hours behind Kuwait) at 6:30 am. We both got about two hours of sleep on the flight.

Once in Frankfurt, we hung out in the Lufthansa Senator Lounge during our three hour layover, awaiting our 9:20 am flight to Zurich.

Although it was only November 21, the Frankfurt Airport was all decked out for the holidays, which was a pleasant surprise.

We boarded our 30 minute Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Zurich, arriving at 10:30 am in cold, foggy weather. We barely recognized the Zurich airport due to the extensive construction and remodeling. They've opened a food court and a Migros grocery store since we were there last (about a year ago) and the ticket booths had moved, etc.

Once in Zurich, we validated our Swiss Rail Pass and picked up a train schedule to Zermatt. We'd purchased a 15 day Swiss Saver Pass ($460 for two, second class) online prior to our departure through Railpass Express (www.railpass.com). Our rail pass arrived via FedEx two days after we ordered it. Great service.

Before boarding our 11:40 am train to Zermatt, we picked up lunch provisions at the Migros grocery store in the airport. We arrived in Zermatt at 5:03 pm, having changed trains in Bern and Brig and having dozed off several times during the five hour + journey.

Once at the Zermatt train station, we caught an electric taxi to our apartment - Casa Vanessa. We knew it would be a long walk uphill with our bags and we weren't exactly sure where the apartment was located. The apartment offered taxi transfer for 10 CHF, but because we were unsure of our arrival time, we hadn't pre-arranged a pick-up.

The five minute electric taxi ride set us back 17 CHF, plus tip. We were dropped off at the entrance to a tunnel, which lead to several apartment complexes built on the hillside. We took the elevator up to Casa Vanessa II, our home for the next three nights.

Wow. I did good. Casa Vanessa was perfect. I'd booked #320, a one bedroom apartment with balcony and a view of the Matterhorn. Our unit had a TV with 62 channels (several in English), a kitchen area with coffee maker, kettle, convection oven (I think that's what it was anyway), small dishwasher, sink, fridge, dishes, utensils, etc. It also had a small lounge area with leather furniture, lots of windows facing the Matterhorn, a small dining area, a separate bedroom, bathroom with shower, a direct line telephone, safe, etc. Use of the sauna and whirlpool was an additional 8 CHF per person. The unit was 42 sq meters, and perfect for the two of us.

Our unit was clean and bright and very comfortable. I highly recommend this place. www.casavanessa.ch.

NOTE: We usually stay at the Hotel Biner (***) in Zermatt, but the sad state if the US dollar has run up the price of an already expensive Switzerland. So, I decided to try out an apartment this time. Normally apartments in Switzerland rent for a minimum of seven days, Saturday to Saturday. However, in the low season, apartments can be had for less than a week and at very attractive rates.

Our apartment was 90 CHF (about $72) per night, no breakfast, no maid service. Compared to the 220 CHF ($176) the Hotel Biner wanted for a double A+ category room with breakfast, the apartment was quite a deal. NOTE: We were there during the very lowest season.

After getting settled into our unit we went to the Postli Pub on the main street where we sent an urgent e-mail to our credit union in the US and obtained the international dialing codes for our MCI calling card so we could pursue an ATM card problem (long story) Internet access - 12 CHF per hour, 1 CHF for 5 minutes - coin operated.

We went to a grocery store to get some milk and breakfast provisions, then had dinner at the Broken Pizzeria in the Post Hotel, one of our favorite Zermatt eateries.

We each ordered a huge "individual" four cheese pizza with garlic (yummy). Dinner for two with beer and wine came to 44 CHF.

Exhausted from our very long day, we returned to our apartment and were in bed by 8 pm.

Day 2 -

We woke up at 6 am, had coffee and breakfast in our room and caught up with the US news compliments of Dan Rather. Afterwards, we walked to the village and checked our e-mail, hoping for a response from our CU. No such luck.

We poked around town for awhile, then returned to the apartment, where the manager helped us figure out how to dial the Swiss access toll free number to use our MCI card to call the US (not as easy as it sounds). Due to the eight hour time difference, we couldn't do much until that evening, so we put our ATM woes aside and began our vacation.

We walked to the Furi cable station and caught the gondola to Furi (6 CHF each after 25% Swiss Pass discount, one way).

From Furi, we walked to Z'Mutt, which was shut down for the season as expected, so we had lunch on a bench at a deserted restaurant and soaked up the scenery.

We then continued walking towards the reservoir, passing a glacial blue lake, and continuing on towards Kalbermatten.

The trail took us along the base of the Matterhorn, but the top of the mountain was shrouded in clouds, so we couldn't see much of it.

Ten minutes past the tiny, shuttered Kalbermatten restaurant we reached a fork in the road. It was getting late, and our map wasn't as detailed as we would have liked, so we decided to turn back towards Z'Mutt instead of choosing one of the roads at the fork. Once in Z'Mutt we walked back to Zermatt. The entire walk took 4 hours and 30 minutes.

On our return to Z'Mutt, it became quite cold and windy and we were glad we'd worn our Gortex jackets and had our hats and gloves.

It was about 40 degrees when we left Zermatt for Furi. The trail from Furi to Z'Mutt had some snow, ice and mud. It was a bit treacherous on the icy downhill sections, but overall it was a pleasant walk. We were surprised at how dry and brown the area was. We visited Zermatt in December last year, but didn't remember it being so brown. A result of the long, hot summer of 2003 perhaps?

The walk from Z'Mutt to Zermatt is downhill, but rather steep and hard on the old shins ("old" being the key term). This is a moderate walk, but can be made more difficult by walking uphill to Furi or Z'Mutt instead of taking the gondola.

That evening we had dinner at the Walliserkane Restaurant. Hubby had the Rosti with ham, cheese and egg and I had the barley soup with brot. Our dinner for two with beer and wine came to just under 40 CHF.

We spent that evening in our apartment watching the German version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire"? Although our German is virtually non-existent, we actually knew some of the answers. Go figure.

Tired from our hike and still a bit jet lagged, we were in bed by 9 pm.

Day 3 -

Old farts that we are, we woke up sore from our hike the previous day. The sky was overcast and the Matterhorn was nowhere to be found. After unsuccessfully trying to heat chocolate croissants in the mystery oven in our apartment, we checked the Swiss ski reports and watched the live cams, looking for snow. There was a lot of snow above Wengen, and First was open above Grindelwald, but only for the weekend.

We headed to the Gornergrat cable office, where we checked the map for open hiking trails.

Being gluttons for punishment, we decided to finish the trail we began yesterday, now that we had a better idea of where the trail went. We walked to the Furi station and bought return tickets on the gondola (10 CHF each after 25% Swiss Pass discount). Once in Furi, we walked to Mutt Reservoir, on the opposite side of the valley that we had walked the previous day. This side of the valley was protected from the sun, so the trail was snow and ice packed and difficult to walk even with our hiking sticks.

We passed Mutt Reservoir and the glacial blue lake, and continued towards Stafel Alp, passing an assortment of chalets and barns along the way. We passed a shuttered sennhutte with snow covered picnic tables on the patio. We had a picnic near the sennhutte before continuing on the road towards Stafel Alp.

Ten minutes from Stafel Alp, we took the road towards the power station, passing it and heading back towards Kalbermatten. We crossed a bridge over a gorge and creek. There was a lot of snow here and it was very pretty and serene. Soon after crossing the gorge we were back on the trail we had taken the day before, headed back in the direction of Kalbermatten and Z'Mutt. Instead of walking to Z'Mutt, we crossed the bridge at the reservoir and backtracked to Furi via the power station tunnel.

We reached Furi 3 hours and 30 minutes after we began and took the gondola back down to Zermatt.

The first 90 minutes of this walk was steady uphill on an icy road. We saw about six other people on the trail near Furi, but only two people past that point.

Pooped, we returned to our apartment for happy hour.

That evening we returned to the Broken Pizzeria for dinner. Dinner for two (salads and a shared pizza) with drinks came to 29.50 CHF.

Con't....

Day 4 -

We were up with the birds at 6 am, not as sore as the previous morning.

We checked out of our apartment around 8:30 am, unfortunately waking up the poor guy working the front desk, who'd been at a party until 5 am that morning. Yikes.

He was coherent enough to check us out, help me with the title of this trip report, and take us to the train station via his electric taxi.

We caught the 9:10 am train to Interlaken, via Brig and Spiez. We passed several vineyards on the mountainsides between Stalden Saas and Visp and I wondered if this was the source of the Fendant that I'd been drinking in Zermatt.

There was a man selling roasted chestnuts at the Brig train station, which gave the place a festive feel. We noticed that the landscape became progressively greener as we approached Spiez and there were a lot more trees.

We had four minutes to change trains in Spiez, but we had no trouble making the connection even with our luggage in tow. We were on a new BLS regional train from Spiez to Interlaken. The train had huge modern WCs with electronic doors and handicap access. Very nice.

We had seven minutes to change trains in Interlaken Ost, but this was not a problem either, even though we had to lug our bags up a flight of stairs. The platforms in Interlaken were deserted, so changing trains was a breeze. We arrived in Grindelwald at 1:09 pm, four hours after leaving Zermatt.

I'd booked a studio apartment at the Hotel Eiger, so we called them from the station and they collected us within a few minutes. Although we?d visited Grindelwald several times, this was the first time we?d stayed overnight.

We were given #616, an apartment in an annex behind the hotel. Our room was fairly quiet as it didn't directly face the street, and we had a nice view of the looming mountains from our balcony.

As with Casa Vanessa, the Hotel Eiger rents apartments on a weekly basis during the high season, but shorter stays are possible during the low season.

Our apartment wasn't as nice as the one at Casa Vanessa, but it suited us fine. There was a tiny kitchen area with stove, coffee maker, kettle, sink, fridge, dishes and utensils and a good sized bathroom. The unit also had a small desk, a table for two and a small TV (16 channels - some English).

Our unit was 105 CHF per night plus an obligatory cancellation insurance of 4% (12.60 CHF). Breakfast was available for an additional 18 CHF per person, per day and maid service was available for an additional 30 CHF per day. We chose neither.
www.eiger-grindelwald.ch

The hotel staff was very friendly and helpful. They informed us that just about all the mountain excursions were closed until ski season. We'd anticipated this, so it wasn't a surprise.

After getting settled, we went in search of an open restaurant for lunch. We ended up at the Restaurant Oberland, which was quite busy, as it was one of the few restaurants open for business. Hubby had the veal bratwurst with onion sauce, rosti and salad. I had cream of tomato soup with brot. Both were excellent. We rounded our meal off with a weiss beer each, and the total came to 42.50 CHF.

It was a Sunday afternoon, so not much was open in town. We checked out the Sports Center, which had a huge pool, an ice skating rink, a curling rink, a restaurant and an Internet station. It was a really nice facility (free admission with hotel guest card).

That evening we had dinner in the Hotel Eiger at the Memory Bistro. On Sunday nights they offer burgers for 6 CHF (normally 9.50), so hubby decided to try the Memory Burger, which he said was excellent. I had the garlic potato soup, which was also excellent (7 CHF) and of course we downed it all with a nice big weiss beer (dinner for two with drinks - 26 CHF).

We struck up a conversation with our waiter, who told us he was Portuguese. When my husband said thank you in Portuguese, the waiter's face lit up and he started speaking Portuguese. Turns out he was born in Angola, where my husband worked for three years, so they had a nice chat (in English I might add - hubby's Portuguese vocabulary is limited to about 10 words). We never did get the waiter's name, but he was very friendly and helpful. I asked how many languages he spoke and he modestly said "a few". Turns out he's fluent in German, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and he's working on his Japanese! He also told us he can usually determine a person's nationality the minute they walk in the door. Although we try to blend in, I'm sure we were pegged as Americans before we even opened our mouths.

Day 5 -

After coffee in our apartment, we watched the snow reports and listened to polka music until we couldn't take anymore. We checked our e-mail in the lobby of our hotel (4 CHF for 15 minutes) then went to the Migros grocery store a few doors down for breakfast and picnic supplies.

We'd hoped to do some hiking in the Grindelwald area, but all the trails were closed. Normally this wouldn't deter us, especially because there just wasn't any snow, so the trails were probably clear. However, the gondolas and cable cars that led to the hiking trails were also closed (off season maintenance) so we had to look elsewhere.

We caught the 9:50 am train to Interlaken, and the 10:35 train to Lauterbrunnen. Actually, we stayed on the same train. The train from Interlaken to Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen is actually the same train, it just separates at Zweilutschinen. One end of the train heads to Grindelwald and the other heads to Lauterbrunnen. Each section is well marked at the Interlaken station and on the train itself, so it's easy enough to figure out.

We could have gotten off the train when it separated at Zweilutschinen, then re-boarded it when it came back through, but we chose to just stay on the train instead. We just jumped off to make sure we were on the end headed to Lauterbrunnen once we arrived in Interlaken.

Once in Lauterbrunnen, we caught a train to Wengen. Upon our arrival in Wengen, we jumped off the train and purchased a ticket to Wengernalp, then re-boarded the same train, which left five minutes later. NOTE: The Swiss Pass does not cover trains past Wengen. This is part of the Jungfrau railway and requires a separate ticket. Our tickets to Wengernalp were 11.20 CHF each after 25% Swiss Pass discount. We got off the train at Wengernalp and were hit with a blast of icy wind. I immediately regretted our decision to hike from here back to Wengen, but once we got into the valley we were protected from the wind.

We walked from Wengernalp to Wengen via Wixi, Bigernalp, Mittlenalp and Allmend. We took the nature trail above Wengen and ended our walk at the Mannlichen Luftseilbahn (cable car to Mannlichen).

This is a nice walk with great views of the Eiger, Jungfrau and Monch. We took this hike in the spring of 2002, but instead of returning to Wengen we continued on to Upper Preech, Lower Preech and over the upper Trummelbach Falls, then back to Lauterbrunnen. That hike was a killer, and there was no way I was going to do that one again, especially in November, when the rocks near the falls might be icy.

There were some steep downhill portions near Wengen and some mud, rocks, ice and snow, but it was moderate for the most part. The walk took us a little over 3 hours including a lunch stop.

We poked around Wengen for awhile, then caught the 3:43 pm train to Lauterbrunnen, the connecting train to Interlaken, then headed back to Grindelwald. We were back in Grindelwald by 5 pm.

We returned to the Memory Bistro that evening for dinner. We both tried the rosti, which was very good and filling. Dinner and drinks came to 58 CHF.

Day 6 -

After coffee in our apartment, we caught the 9:50 am train to Interlaken, took the train to Lauterbrunnen, and then caught the funicular and connecting train to Murren. The village of Murren was completely deserted. We'd considered hiking the North Face Trail above Murren but after barley soup and a few beverages at the Schilthorn Taverne, we thought better of it.

The Alpenruh is the only hotel in Murren open year round. Even though the hotel was open, the hotel restaurant was not. A sign on the door of the Alpenruh indicated that guests of the hotel were to have their breakfast at the Schilthorn Taverne in the Schilthorn cable station. Nothing else in town was open.

After lunch we took the cable car to Stechelberg. Normally, you can take a cable car to Gimmelwald, and then take a separate cable car from Gimmelwald to Stechelberg. However, at the time of our visit, the passenger cable car was closed for maintenance, so the only way to get to Stechelberg was to take the freight cable car.

Once in Stechelberg, we walked to Lauterbrunen along the valley floor. The walk was marked at 1:15, but we managed to do it in 50 minutes (urged on by our full bladders no doubt). It was an easy, level walk. It was also incredibly pungent due to the very recent application of manure on the fields and the abundance of barns full of livestock.

We spent that evening doing laundry in our hotel, which had one washer and one dryer for the entire hotel. We'd never seen a washer quite like this one. Not only was it bright green, but it had about 20 cycles and ran for 55-70 minutes, depending on the cycle chosen. There was a separate spin ("swing&quot cycle that had to be manually started after the wash cycle was complete. It was reasonable enough at 2 CHF to wash, 2 CHF for detergent and no charge for the dryer, but it took most of the evening to wash two loads of clothes.

We were amused to find a vending machine near the laundry room that sold beer for less than the price of soda.

We stayed in our apartment that evening, skipping dinner, content to sip beer and wine and watch German television, trying to guess what was going on.

Day 7 -

We checked out of our apartment, and got a ride to the bahnhof, compliments of the Hotel Eiger. We caught the 9:50 train to Interlaken, where we had two minutes to catch our connecting train to Hergiswill. There was momentary confusion, as Hergiswill was not listed as a destination on any of the trains, but a quick word with the conductor verified that our train was directly across the platform from where we had arrived.

Shortly after leaving Meiringen, the track became a cog railway. The train we were on was part of the Golden Pass Route. Today's ride was quite scenic, passing a huge church in Lungern, and the Lungernsee, where we saw the reflections of the surrounding mountains and chalets in the incredibly clear water of the lake. The track once again became a cog railway after Kaiserstuhl and once again on the steep accent from Obermatt to Engelberg, our next destination.

We'd never been to Engelberg, and when I first suggested staying here, my husband had his doubts, concerned that we?d not be in the mountains. I assured him we would be, as Engleberg is a ski resort. As luck would have it, we both thoroughly enjoyed our stay here.

We arrived in Engelberg at 1:13 pm, 3.5 hours after leaving Grindelwald. We borrowed a luggage cart from the bahnhof, and headed to our accommodation, Hotel Sonnewendhof, which was located about five minutes from the station. We were given room #26, which was a bit small, but immaculate and very comfortable.

I'd tried to locate an apartment in Engelberg, but hadn't had much luck, so we decided to try out the Sonnewendhof, which turned out to be a good choice. I'd gladly stay here again - www.treff-hotels.ch

Our double room was 156 CHF per night, inclusive of breakfast, sauna and fitness room. The room was quiet and had a balcony with a great view of the surrounding mountains. As it was pre-ski season, the restaurant in our hotel was not open.

After getting settled in our room, we went searching for lunch. We stopped at Café Desire, where we had some good barley soup, weiss beer and a shared apple strudel with warm vanilla sauce for dessert ? 41 CHF total. After lunch we explored the town, purchased a detailed map and looked into walking possibilities. We stopped at the Visitor?s Center where we determined which mountain cableways were open, and utilized their free Internet.

It became apparent in a hurry that not much was open in Engelberg and that our sightseeing and dining options would be limited. No worries, we expected this.

Later that day we stopped for a drink at the Eden Bar. It was early, so there weren't many customers, but we felt positively ancient, as the Eden bar seems to cater to the young, hard rocking, snowboarding crowd.

That evening we had dinner at Gasthaus Engel near the monastery, which turned out to be a great choice. It was all-you-can-eat spaghetti night for 9.90 CHF, so we pigged out on pasta. We were given four choices of sauce - bolognaise, Neapolitan, pesto and carbonara.

The food was excellent and it was our best value so far at 30.30 CHF including drinks.

After dinner we walked through town, which was extremely quiet and deserted. It was about 40 degrees and the streets were all lit up for Christmas. It was very peaceful and serene.

Day 8 -

Thanksgiving Day! We slept great and woke to an overcast, cold morning. We had a good breakfast in our hotel: an assortment of bread, ham, cheese, jam, butter, juice, coffee, tea and hot chocolate. After breakfast we walked to the monastery to look into a tour. We?d been told at the Visitor?s Center that tours in English were conducted at 10 am Thursday through Saturday. However, we soon discovered that this was not the case during the off season; English tours were only given on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and only for groups of six or more. Oh well.

We were told that we could visit the monastery church at anytime, so we headed that way. Mass was in session and we felt we were intruding, so we didn?t stay long. We then climbed a bunch of steps alongside the cemetery above the monastery, with no particular destination in mind.

We took the path to the right towards Horbis and began a nice walk above Engelberg. Once in Horbis, we began an alpine wanderweg towards Oberziblen. We decided to turn back at this point because the trail was steep and rocky, the weather was a bit iffy, and we didn?t have our hiking sticks with us, which would have really come in handy on this particular trail.

We backtracked to Horbis, turning towards Neuschwandi and continued on the path towards the wasserfalle. The wasserfalle wasn't much of a waterfall at all, but more of a water trickle. We then worked our way back to Engleberg, finally ending up near the back walls of the monastery. This walk took a little over three hours and we had about five minutes of sunshine. By the time we headed back to Engelberg, it had grown considerably colder, and felt damp. A heavy fog had settled in and we could barely see.

We found out later that all the ski runs had been closed due to an impending storm.

We stopped for lunch at the Engel Gasthaus, where we had the most incredible buttery barley soup - it was wonderful! We also had the requisite weiss beer for a total of 28 CHF. We then returned to our room, where we took a nap and read.

Later that evening, we wandered out for dinner. The weather was still foggy and we were hoping for snow. We popped into Hotel Crystal, because it was nearby and open. We dined on bayernwurst with onion sauce and rosti accompanied by a salad, brot, beer and wine. The food was a bit of a disappointment and seemed rather overpriced. Our meal came to 64 CHF.

As we walked back to our hotel, the rain turned to snow.

Day 9 -

We woke to several inches of snow. Yippee!

After breakfast in our hotel, we checked the snow reports and learned that the Brunni cable car was closed for maintenance and several ski runs were closed for the day. It was -12 degrees on Mt. Titlis and visibility was poor.

We'd hoped to take the four stage cable car to Mt. Titlis, but didn't want to go in bad weather, so decided to play it by ear.

We walked to the Mt. Titlis cable station, where we found a crowd of anxious snowboarders waiting to board the cable car which was due to open at 10 am. We were told by the woman at the ticket counter that some hiking trails were open, but not yet groomed, so conditions were iffy. It didn?t matter to us, we just wanted to play in the snow!

We took the cable car up the first stage to Gerschnialp (4.50 CHF per person after 25% Swiss Pass discount). We then walked to the Ritz Restaurant, about 15 minutes from the cable station. Here the path completely disappeared, as it was covered in knee deep snow. Unwilling to go cross country in unfamiliar territory, we returned to the cable station and bought a return ticket to Trubsee, the second stage of the Mt. Titlis cableway (13.50 CHF each after 25% Swiss pass discount). As expected, nothing was open at Trubsee, and the snow was even deeper. Nonetheless, we walked to the sun terrace through tons of snow to the overlook, but visibility was poor so there wasn?t much to see. We returned to the Trubsee station and took the cable back down to Gerschnialp. We then walked along the road back down to Engelberg, which took about 45 minutes.

This was a nice walk overlooking a snow covered Engelberg.

We stopped at our hotel long enough to change our wet down coats (it had continued to snow all morning - heavy wet snow) for our fleece and gortex and headed back to the Engel Gasthaus Café for more of that wonderful barley soup. After lunch we walked to the monastery, where we watched cheese being made at the cheese factory. We made one last trip to the Migros and Coop grocery stores for chocolate to bring home, checked our e-mail at an electronics shop on the main street (8 CHF for one hour) then returned to our room.

We noticed a lot more activity than we had the previous two days. It was Friday, and no doubt the snow had brought a lot of people in for the weekend. Suddenly Engelberg was alive. More shops were open, there were horse drawn carriages rumbling about and it no longer felt like a ghost town. What a transformation.

That night we had dinner at Bierlialp Trattoria Pizzeria, which had just opened for the season that night. The restaurant was hopping. We each had an individual pizza and a pint of bier. The food was okay, nothing great.

Day 10 ?

We?d planned to catch the 9:45 am train to Luzern and then on to Zurich, but we were up early, so we checked out of our hotel and caught the 8:45 am train instead. Our hotel was suddenly busy. There were a lot of people checking in early for a weekend of skiing. Just as our train pulled out of the station, the low fog lifted and we were treated to a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains. Gorgeous!

When we left Engleberg there was snow everywhere, but 20 minutes from Engleberg, there was no snow to be found.

We changed trains in Luzern, having 25 minutes to make the change. We boarded our train for Zurich and arrived at the Flughafen at 11:13 am. We were really early, so we waited in the Star Alliance lounge for our 2:35 pm flight.

We arrived in Frankfurt, Germany at 3:45 pm on November 29, 2003, the day after CNN had announced that the dollar was at an all time low against the Euro. Figures.

We got some Euro, made a quick stop in duty free, and then collected our luggage. We then headed to the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel in the Frankfurt Airport, the rendezvous point for part two of this trip.

Part II is still being written "Girls Guzzlin' Gluhwein" (Germany)

Day 4 -

We were up with the birds at 6 am, not as sore as the previous morning.

We checked out of our apartment around 8:30 am, unfortunately waking up the poor guy working the front desk, who'd been at a party until 5 am that morning. Yikes.

He was coherent enough to check us out, help me with the title of this trip report, and take us to the train station via his electric taxi.

We caught the 9:10 am train to Interlaken, via Brig and Spiez. We passed several vineyards on the mountainsides between Stalden Saas and Visp and I wondered if this was the source of the Fendant that I'd been drinking in Zermatt.

There was a man selling roasted chestnuts at the Brig train station, which gave the place a festive feel. We noticed that the landscape became progressively greener as we approached Spiez and there were a lot more trees.

We had four minutes to change trains in Spiez, but we had no trouble making the connection even with our luggage in tow. We were on a new BLS regional train from Spiez to Interlaken. The train had huge modern WCs with electronic doors and handicap access. Very nice.

We had seven minutes to change trains in Interlaken Ost, but this was not a problem either, even though we had to lug our bags up a flight of stairs. The platforms in Interlaken were deserted, so changing trains was a breeze. We arrived in Grindelwald at 1:09 pm, four hours after leaving Zermatt.

I'd booked a studio apartment at the Hotel Eiger, so we called them from the station and they collected us within a few minutes. Although we'd visited Grindelwald several times, this was the first time we'd stayed overnight.

We were given #616, an apartment in an annex behind the hotel. Our room was fairly quiet as it didn't directly face the street, and we had a nice view of the looming mountains from our balcony.

As with Casa Vanessa, the Hotel Eiger rents apartments on a weekly basis during the high season, but shorter stays are possible during the low season.

Our apartment wasn't as nice as the one at Casa Vanessa, but it suited us fine. There was a tiny kitchen area with stove, coffee maker, kettle, sink, fridge, dishes and utensils and a good sized bathroom. The unit also had a small desk, a table for two and a small TV (16 channels - some English).

Our unit was 105 CHF per night plus an obligatory cancellation insurance of 4% (12.60 CHF). Breakfast was available for an additional 18 CHF per person, per day and maid service was available for an additional 30 CHF per day. We chose neither.
www.eiger-grindelwald.ch

The hotel staff was very friendly and helpful. They informed us that just about all the mountain excursions were closed until ski season. We'd anticipated this, so it wasn't a surprise.

After getting settled, we went in search of an open restaurant for lunch. We ended up at the Restaurant Oberland, which was quite busy, as it was one of the few restaurants open for business. Hubby had the veal bratwurst with onion sauce, rosti and salad. I had cream of tomato soup with brot. Both were excellent. We rounded our meal off with a weiss beer each, and the total came to 42.50 CHF.

It was a Sunday afternoon, so not much was open in town. We checked out the Sports Center, which had a huge pool, an ice skating rink, a curling rink, a restaurant and an Internet station. It was a really nice facility (free admission with hotel guest card).

That evening we had dinner in the Hotel Eiger at the Memory Bistro. On Sunday nights they offer burgers for 6 CHF (normally 9.50), so hubby decided to try the Memory Burger, which he said was excellent. I had the garlic potato soup, which was also excellent and of course we downed it all with a nice big weiss beer (dinner for two with drinks - 26 CHF).

We struck up a conversation with our waiter, who told us he was Portuguese. When my husband said thank you in Portuguese, the waiter's face lit up and he started speaking Portuguese. Turns out he was born in Angola, where my husband worked for three years, so they had a nice chat (in English I might add - hubby's Portuguese vocabulary is limited to about 10 words). We never did get the waiter's name, but he was very friendly and helpful. I asked how many languages he spoke and he modestly said "a few". Turns out he's fluent in German, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and he's working on his Japanese! He also told us he can usually determine a person?s nationality the minute they walk in the door. Although we try to blend in, I'm sure we were pegged as Americans before we even opened our mouths.

Day 5 -

After coffee in our apartment, we watched the snow reports and listened to polka music until we couldn't take anymore. We checked our e-mail in the lobby of our hotel (4 CHF for 15 minutes) then went to the Migros grocery store a few doors down for breakfast and picnic supplies.

We?d hoped to do some hiking in the Grindelwald area, but all the trails were closed. Normally this wouldn't deter us, especially because there just wasn't any snow, so the trails were probably clear. However, the gondolas and cable cars that led to the hiking trails were also closed (off season maintenance) so we had to look elsewhere.

We caught the 9:50 am train to Interlaken, and the 10:35 train to Lauterbrunnen. Actually, we stayed on the same train. The train from Interlaken to Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen is actually the same train, it just separates at Zweilutschinen. One end of the train heads to Grindelwald and the other heads to Lauterbrunnen. Each section is well marked at the Interlaken station and on the train itself, so it's easy enough to figure out.

We could have gotten off the train when it separated at Zweilutschinen, then re-boarded it when it came back through, but we chose to just stay on the train instead. We just jumped off to make sure we were on the end headed to Lauterbrunnen once we arrived in Interlaken.

Once in Lauterbrunnen, we caught a train to Wengen. Upon our arrival in Wengen, we jumped off the train and purchased a ticket to Wengernalp, then re-boarded the same train, which left five minutes later. NOTE: The Swiss Pass does not cover trains past Wengen. This is part of the Jungfrau railway and requires a separate ticket. Our tickets to Wengernalp were 11.20 CHF each after 25% Swiss Pass discount. We got off the train at Wengernalp and were hit with a blast of icy wind. I immediately regretted our decision to hike from here back to Wengen, but once we got into the valley we were protected from the wind.

We walked from Wengernalp to Wengen via Wixi, Bigernalp, Mittlenalp and Allmend. We took the nature trail above Wengen and ended our walk at the Mannlichen Luftseilbahn (cable car to Mannlichen).

This is a nice walk with great views of the Eiger, Jungfrau and Monch. We took this hike in the spring of 2002, but instead of returning to Wengen we continued on to Upper Preech, Lower Preech and over the upper Trummelbach Falls, then back to Lauterbrunnen. That hike was a killer, and there was no way I was going to do that one again, especially in November, when the rocks near the falls might be icy.

There were some steep downhill portions near Wengen and some mud, rocks, ice and snow, but it was moderate for the most part. The walk took us a little over 3 hours including a lunch stop.

We poked around Wengen for awhile, then caught the 3:43 pm train to Lauterbrunnen, the connecting train to Interlaken, then headed back to Grindelwald. We were back in Grindelwald by 5 pm.

We returned to the Memory Bistro that evening for dinner. We both tried the rosti, which was very good and filling. Dinner and drinks came to 58 CHF.

Day 6 -

After coffee in our apartment, we caught the 9:50 am train to Interlaken, took the train to Lauterbrunnen, and then caught the funicular and connecting train to Murren. The village of Murren was completely deserted. We'd considered hiking the North Face Trail above Murren but after barley soup and a few beverages at the Schilthorn Taverne, we thought better of it.

The Alpenruh is the only hotel in Murren open year round. Even though the hotel was open, the hotel restaurant was not. A sign on the door of the Alpenruh indicated that guests of the hotel were to have their breakfast at the Schilthorn Taverne in the Schilthorn cable station. Nothing else in town was open.

After lunch we took the cable car to Stechelberg. Normally, you can take a cable car to Gimmelwald, and then take a separate cable car from Gimmelwald to Stechelberg. However, at the time of our visit, the passenger cable car was closed for maintenance, so the only way to get to Stechelberg was to take the freight cable car.

Once in Stechelberg, we walked to Lauterbrunen along the valley floor. The walk was marked at 1:15, but we managed to do it in 50 minutes (urged on by our full bladders no doubt). It was an easy, level walk. It was also incredibly pungent due to the very recent application of manure on the fields and the abundance of barns full of livestock

We spent that evening doing laundry in our hotel, which had one washer and one dryer for the entire hotel. We?d never seen a washer quite like this one. Not only was it bright green, but it had about 20 cycles and ran for 55-70 minutes, depending on the cycle chosen. There was a separate spin ("swing&quot cycle that had to be manually started after the wash cycle was complete. It was reasonable enough at 2 CHF to wash, 2 CHF for detergent and no charge for the dryer, but it took most of the evening to wash two loads of clothes.

We were amused to find a vending machine near the laundry room that sold beer for less than the price of soda.

We stayed in our apartment that evening, skipping dinner, content to sip beer and wine and watch German television, trying to guess what was going on.

Apparently my computer is possessed - will have to try this again later...

Day 4 -

We were up with the birds at 6 am, not as sore as the previous morning.

We checked out of our apartment around 8:30 am, unfortunately waking up the poor guy working the front desk, who'd been at a party until 5 am that morning. Yikes.

He was coherent enough to check us out, help me with the title of this trip report, and take us to the train station via his electric taxi.

We caught the 9:10 am train to Interlaken, via Brig and Spiez. We passed several vineyards on the mountainsides between Stalden Saas and Visp and I wondered if this was the source of the Fendant that I?d been drinking in Zermatt.

There was a man selling roasted chestnuts at the Brig train station, which gave the place a festive feel. We noticed that the landscape became progressively greener as we approached Spiez and there were a lot more trees.

We had four minutes to change trains in Spiez, but we had no trouble making the connection even with our luggage in tow. We were on a new BLS regional train from Spiez to Interlaken. The train had huge modern WCs with electronic doors and handicap access. Very nice.

We had seven minutes to change trains in Interlaken Ost, but this was not a problem either, even though we had to lug our bags up a flight of stairs. The platforms in Interlaken were deserted, so changing trains was a breeze. We arrived in Grindelwald at 1:09 pm, four hours after leaving Zermatt.

I'd booked a studio apartment at the Hotel Eiger, so we called them from the station and they collected us within a few minutes. Although we'd visited Grindelwald several times, this was the first time we'd stayed overnight.

We were given #616, an apartment in an annex behind the hotel. Our room was fairly quiet as it didn't directly face the street, and we had a nice view of the looming mountains from our balcony.

As with Casa Vanessa, the Hotel Eiger rents apartments on a weekly basis during the high season, but shorter stays are possible during the low season.

Our apartment wasn't as nice as the one at Casa Vanessa, but it suited us fine. There was a tiny kitchen area with stove, coffee maker, kettle, sink, fridge, dishes and utensils and a good sized bathroom. The unit also had a small desk, a table for two and a small TV (16 channels - some English).

Our unit was 105 CHF per night plus an obligatory cancellation insurance of 4% (12.60 CHF). Breakfast was available for an additional 18 CHF per person, per day and maid service was available for an additional 30 CHF per day. We chose neither.
www.eiger-grindelwald.ch

The hotel staff was very friendly and helpful. They informed us that just about all the mountain excursions were closed until ski season. We?d anticipated this, so it wasn?t a surprise.

After getting settled, we went in search of an open restaurant for lunch. We ended up at the Restaurant Oberland, which was quite busy, as it was one of the few restaurants open for business. Hubby had the veal bratwurst with onion sauce, rosti and salad. I had cream of tomato soup with brot. Both were excellent. We rounded our meal off with a weiss beer each, and the total came to 42.50 CHF.

It was a Sunday afternoon, so not much was open in town. We checked out the Sports Center, which had a huge pool, an ice skating rink, a curling rink, a restaurant and an Internet station. It was a really nice facility (free admission with hotel guest card).

That evening we had dinner in the Hotel Eiger at the Memory Bistro. On Sunday nights they offer burgers for 6 CHF (normally 9.50), so hubby decided to try the Memory Burger, which he said was excellent. I had the garlic potato soup, which was also excellent (7 CHF) and of course we downed it all with a nice big weiss beer (dinner for two with drinks - 26 CHF).

We struck up a conversation with our waiter, who told us he was Portuguese. When my husband said thank you in Portuguese, the waiter's face lit up and he started speaking Portuguese. Turns out he was born in Angola, where my husband worked for three years, so they had a nice chat (in English I might add - hubby's Portuguese vocabulary is limited to about 10 words). We never did get the waiter?s name, but he was very friendly and helpful. I asked how many languages he spoke and he modestly said "a few". Turns out he's fluent in German, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and he's working on his Japanese! He also told us he can usually determine a person's nationality the minute they walk in the door. Although we try to blend in, I'm sure we were pegged as Americans before we even opened our mouths.

Day 5 -

After coffee in our apartment, we watched the snow reports and listened to polka music until we couldn't take anymore. We checked our e-mail in the lobby of our hotel (4 CHF for 15 minutes) then went to the Migros grocery store a few doors down for breakfast and picnic supplies.

We?d hoped to do some hiking in the Grindelwald area, but all the trails were closed. Normally this wouldn't deter us, especially because there just wasn't any snow, so the trails were probably clear. However, the gondolas and cable cars that led to the hiking trails were also closed (off season maintenance) so we had to look elsewhere.

We caught the 9:50 am train to Interlaken, and the 10:35 train to Lauterbrunnen. Actually, we stayed on the same train. The train from Interlaken to Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen is actually the same train, it just separates at Zweilutschinen. One end of the train heads to Grindelwald and the other heads to Lauterbrunnen. Each section is well marked at the Interlaken station and on the train itself, so it's easy enough to figure out.

We could have gotten off the train when it separated at Zweilutschinen, then re-boarded it when it came back through, but we chose to just stay on the train instead. We just jumped off to make sure we were on the end headed to Lauterbrunnen once we arrived in Interlaken.

Once in Lauterbrunnen, we caught a train to Wengen. Upon our arrival in Wengen, we jumped off the train and purchased a ticket to Wengernalp, then re-boarded the same train, which left five minutes later. NOTE: The Swiss Pass does not cover trains past Wengen. This is part of the Jungfrau railway and requires a separate ticket. Our tickets to Wengernalp were 11.20 CHF each after 25% Swiss Pass discount. We got off the train at Wengernalp and were hit with a blast of icy wind. I immediately regretted our decision to hike from here back to Wengen, but once we got into the valley we were protected from the wind.

We walked from Wengernalp to Wengen via Wixi, Bigernalp, Mittlenalp and Allmend. We took the nature trail above Wengen and ended our walk at the Mannlichen Luftseilbahn (cable car to Mannlichen).

This is a nice walk with great views of the Eiger, Jungfrau and Monch. We took this hike in the spring of 2002, but instead of returning to Wengen we continued on to Upper Preech, Lower Preech and over the upper Trummelbach Falls, then back to Lauterbrunnen. That hike was a killer, and there was no way I was going to do that one again, especially in November, when the rocks near the falls might be icy.

There were some steep downhill portions near Wengen and some mud, rocks, ice and snow, but it was moderate for the most part. The walk took us a little over 3 hours including a lunch stop.

We poked around Wengen for awhile, then caught the 3:43 pm train to Lauterbrunnen, the connecting train to Interlaken, then headed back to Grindelwald. We were back in Grindelwald by 5 pm.

We returned to the Memory Bistro that evening for dinner. We both tried the rosti, which was very good and filling. Dinner and drinks came to 58 CHF.

What's going on? This thread shows my responses under the title, but they're not really there....