Switzerland- A dream came true
Everyone has a reason to pick a place to travel. For me, picking Switzerland had two reasons. One, being Bollywood buff is kind of obvious. Yes, Yash Raj Films😃 but the other reason, was the calendar which one of our relative gifted to us. The desire of seeing this place in real, grew with me since my childhood.
Well, I am sure my husband picked Switzerland because of the epic “DDLJ”.
In 2017, My husband was travelling to USA for work related thing. He upon knowing, asked me, if your office and our savings allows, can we plan vacations for 10 days in Europe?
and That’s how Switzerland, a dream came true😍.
Every trip depending on budget, days in hand and places to cover, needs planning. Thats the part, I have heard people say is difficult and boring but on the contrary I love doing it. For Switzerland, if I remember correctly I slogged for nearly 7 days to come up with final plan. During those 7 days, I spent many hours on internet, spoke to multiple friends and filled nearly half notebook with random plans. I still have that notebook☺.
PreTrip Planning….
Shopping: There is no bad weather only bad clothes! Honestly I wholeheartedly agree to this. Invest in winter clothing, good hiking shoes. Temperature in few places will drop below Zero degrees, so buy before your trip starts. It will help you save special Swiss time and expensive Swiss currency.
Booking:- Suggest to do all the bookings in advance for hotels through Booking.com, flights through Swissair.com, can also check at Skyscanner.com simultaneously. Buy train passes & excursions for your entire duration through Swisstours.com well in advance. Just like me you may also get promotional discount of 25% on the website. Plus point of buying train passes from Swisstours.com is that you get free excess to most of the buses and boats. You can opt for rental cars, if driving is your thing and if you like to travel lite and are looking for super-economical trip, please opt to stay in hostels.
Lets dive in….
Flights:- We departed at 12:55 AM from Mumbai and arrived Zurich at 6:15 AM.
Day 1, from Zurich we took a train to Lucerne, we chose hotel Ibis Kriens as our first base because of its proximity to Mount Pilatus. It’s an economical hotel on a very calm and peaceful location. To reach our hotel, we had to take train first and then bus which was little hectic but worth it because of it’s location. It is situated little far from city centre. For nature lovers, it’s a delight. I had beautiful scenic view from my window. If Mount Pilatus is in your list, you may opt to stay here.
Luzern is an old picturesque town known for its preserved medieval architecture, famous for it’s Chapel Bridge — the oldest wooden bridge, historic Museggmauer Wall and don’t forget to see the iconic view of the city from the top of Castle Gutsch.
Day 2, we decided to trek Mount Pilatus. Being “pahadi” my husband is quite an enthusiast about trekking but for me it was a challenge and I was really up to it. Six hours trek wasn't something I had ever done before but I guess I had the right company to keep me going.
The calmness, Silence and Serenity of that mountain trek is unforgettable and is still fresh in my memories.
While getting down we discovered an amazing ride. I have shared video in the end of the blog to explain better😉. Cable cars are also available if you do not wish to trek.
Day 3, we moved our base from Lucerne to Lauterbrunnen, hotel Schutzwn Lauterbrunnen. We chose Lauterbrunnen as our base because next day we had plan to explore Jungfrau but when I took my first step to this village, I was speechless, I haven’t seen anything that beautiful.
Suggestion:- If you ever plan Switzerland, please do not forget to visit this magnificent place.
Coincidentally Staubbach falls was right next to our hotel. You can hike to Staubbach falls, or another beautiful Trümmelbach falls, if you like. The small village with very less population is tucked away in a lush green valley and wildflowers. The thing that struck me most about this place, was that that almost all hotels and houses here have Swiss chalet style architecture which looks extremely beautiful.
It is said that Lord of the Rings, writer got his inspiration from Lauterbrunnen valley.
Wish had more days to spend at Murren, a car-free village (Fun Fact: James Bond movie shot here) or Grindelwald both places are easily accessible from Lauterbrunnen.
Day 4, Wakey Wakey…… Jungfrau, the top of Europe. If you need to pick only 1 excursion in Switzerland, this is the “one”. Short of words about this place, hence a video. Please check it out.
The excursion fee is a bit pricey (140 CHF). You will receive Jungfrau passport/ticket, can keep it as a souvenir. Considering this as the top of Europe experience, I say it’s worth. Plan to make most out of the pricey ticket, reach early and be part of the first batch reaching this place.
This place has a bit of everything to offer to everyone, be it nature lovers, be it hikers or be it skier.
The leading train journey is absolute spectacular and full of great views of valleys and majestic mountains.
Advise:- Unlike us, invest in good camera. Still regret 😞
Day 5 Interlaken is quite popular among tourist as it is centrally located to cover most of the places. You can easily make 2–3 days plan keeping this as a base.
Interlaken supposedly gets its name as it is in between lakes. We kept this day little easy and just wanted to explore the town and get the local feel. Harder Klum in actual came as a surprise.
Harder Klum is considered as top of Interlaken. The cable car to reach this place is very steep and passes over few houses and provides a thrilling experience.
Once you reach, The hanging glass floor, Zwei-Seen-Steg (Two Lakes Bridge) & Harder Kulm — Panorama Restaurant provides panoramic views of Interlaken. The majestic peaks of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau were so alluring that we can not overlook them.
Day 6, we moved to Lausanne, city on Lake Geneva. Before I say anything about this place, check out, how perfectly this place is located.
The people staying here speaks 5–6 languages(French, Italian,Spanish,Dutch,German & Swiss). They do country hopping over weekends. Cool Isn't It:)
To get the local feel, we opted to stay at Bed & Breakfast, Le Chalet. We felt like extended family to them. Early morning breakfast and evening chats with them were truly amazing.
They even helped us to refine our Itinerary (Chocolate Factory, Cheese factory , best place to buy Swiss Souvenirs).
We enjoyed our time here doing boating, exploring town and buying souvenirs.
We even bought the Cow bell from this place.
Day 7, we took a half-day trip to Vevey. This small town built around the shore of Lake Geneva. Famously know as the Charlie Chaplin Town. A monument dedicated to him stands on the lake-shore.
Vevey is famous for it’s vineyards and breathtaking views and has much to offer to people who have there own vehicle. Since we were completely relying on public transport, our options were limited.
So we decided to spend half of our day at Montreux. We took Montreux private cog railway to reach the Rochers-de-Naye (2'042 m. altitude) and this trip was worth for the train journey alone. Exceptional view of the Alps and Lake Geneva upon reaching the top made it unforgettable.
The weather was completely contrast from the warm and sunny weather down in Vevey. We were shivering when we reached.
Our Tickets included dinner and a glass of wine. I still remember the waitress named INDIA. She was just so happy to see Indians out there. She even got us few extra exclusive wine collection at no cost.
Fun Fact:
Freddie Mercury, the singer of the rock band Queen, settled in Montreux because of its serenity.
Incidentally he used to say: “If you want peace of mind, come to Montreux”. He composed and recorded his last album with Queen there: “Made in Heaven”, whose cover shows Lake Geneva.
Day 8, This was the day to explore Matterhorn glacier, popularly known as Zermatt Excursion. It’s a car-free village and the train station lets you reach the base of the mountain.
It’s probably best known as a platform for skiing and mountaineering on the Matterhorn mountain. We had the excursion ticket which could have let us go beyond trek-able area and have a close view of the glacier. It was unfortunate that we lost the ticket. Still blame my husband.
Swisstours.com refunded us with a minimum deduction.
There is nothing like the hike on this Mountain. Provides stunning views, takes you to beautiful places and leaves you mesmerised on the entire experience. The sky is so blue and the air is so crisp and cold. It just so magical.
Day 9, “Filler day “- A day we leave open for new plans.
Yes!!! You guessed it right: we picked up the plan suggested by family we stayed with.
Chocolate and Cheese factory.
Maison Cailler chocolate factory at Broc Fabrique Station. Look how cool the train station is in itself.
Cailler apparently is Nestle Brand. Believe it or not, this is the very first industrial chocolate production site in the world and is still operational.
This Place remains crowded and favourite among kids for reasons unknown 😜. The wait time is more and trains are limited so keep sufficient time for chocolate factory.
Cailler provide very well organised factory tours and if you like chocolate, you will get a chance to gorge yourself on chocolate at the end of the tour. VERY COOL! I LOVED IT…
Cheese Factory — ‘La Maison Du Gruyere’ in Gruyere.
Very popular attraction. You will learn, all there, is to know about happy Swiss cows, their milk, and the production of the famous Gruyeres cheese — which can partly seen in action.
A nice touch is that with every entry ticket the visitor gets a small package with yummy cheese samples.
Switzerland people love Cheese and chocolates and you will be amazed to see the varieties they have to offer in both. I guess I acquired my taste towards dark chocolate from this place. Try local dishes in restaurants i.e Swiss Fondue, Raclette, Saffron Risotto and Fruits.
Please remember, sharing a meal is not really appreciated in most places.
Important Tip:- Buy food, fruits and beverages from Co-op store and save money. It is easily available mostly at all stations. Don’t buy mineral water, just fill your bottle straight from tap or direct from source.
And please always carry your train passes and passports. You will get ticket checker at least once in any train Journey.
I still remember, how I got chills when I took my first step in Switzerland. Imagine what it feels like when you happen to be at place, you grew up dreaming to reach.
If you still feel disappointed after reading this blog, blame it on my writing and my husband’s photography skills, because this place is just magical.
