Our European Adventure 2024: Switzerland

 When COVID hit and we were banned to our homes, I spent some of my time researching other countries and cultures.  This research gave me the bug to want to travel to these countries, so basically, since 2020, I’ve been planning a grand trip to Europe.  The trip has changed quite a bit over the past four years of planning, but it has been my project and I have spent many hours researching and planning my perfect trip. We decided to wait until Stan retired before we went on our adventure, so 2024 was the summer we set aside, and it finally arrived!  We were off to explore different countries and cultures.  

Day 1 and 2:  ARRIVING IN SWITZERLAND and ZURICH

Stan and I left Phoenix on  the evening of June 17 (Stan’s 66th birthday).  We had a direct flight to London, which was about 10 hours long.  We left a little late, but made up time and landed at our scheduled time.  Heathrow Airport is an absolute zoo.  It’s all about walking (I mean I’m sure each section was close to a mile) and then waiting in line for a bus to transfer terminals.  Once you finally get on a bus, they take the passengers transferring to another terminal.  Then MORE walking, maybe not quite a mile this time, but close, and then waiting for security.  London’s big thing is liquids for some reason.  We didn’t even have to take out our liquids in Phoenix, but in London you get a specific bag to put them in.  So, we did that, which I knew not to bring any so, it was just some makeup and stuff like that.  Well, when my backpack went through the screening, it was flagged as having a liquid in it.  They had to empty my bag, and it turns out hand sanitizer wipes count as a liquid.  Anyway, after being delayed at security, we finally got to head to our gate to catch our flight to Zurich.  Both Stan and I had to use the restroom but we thought we would find the gate first.  It was a good thing we did because they were doing final call for our Zurich flight.  So we hopped on the plane and headed to Zurich.

We arrived in Zurich a little over an hour later.  Zurich airport is quite the contrast to Heathrow.  It was quiet, calm, and clean.  It also had beautiful views of the alps just outside the window. 

A view from the window at Zurich airport

In Zurich, we had to go through passport control, so we headed there, along with everyone else from our flight, and waited in line.  It was pretty simple and easy.  They just asked questions such as, “Why are you here” and “Where are you staying” and “How long will you be here”.  Once we got our passport stamped (a first for both of us) we went to baggage claim, got our bags, and headed for the train.  I have researched so much for our trip, down to how to get tickets for a Swiss train, and which train to get on, it was quick and easy, and we made it to our hotel in no time. 

We had reservations at Hotel Adler in Old Town Zurich.  It is a beautiful hotel in a great location and I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting there.  We were tired and very hot and sweaty (it was 85 there that day and humid), but we did not want to rest or go to bed just yet because we knew we had to fight off jet lag.  We decided to go walk around Old Town and find some dinner. 

Old Town Zurich at sunset

Views from our hotel room at Hotel Adler

Heidi the cow at the hotel

We ate dinner at a little Italian restaurant.  Something we have discovered about Switzerland (and I think Europe in general) is that portion sizes are smaller.  I didn’t mind because it was just perfect for me.  Another thing is water.  It doesn’t come with the dinner.  You have to order it and it’s not cheap.  I think it’s been about 5 CHF (about $5.60) each time.  You can buy a glass of wine cheaper! The food was very good and the service was great.  I have to say that Stan and I must look American because we noticed the waitress (not just her, but just about every place we’ve been) will be speaking German to someone and walk right up to us and speak English.  It works for me, although I’ve been practicing “Sprechen Sie English” but haven’t used it yet.  Just about everyone here speaks English and apparently they can tell we only speak it before we open our mouths. 

The water we had to pay for.

My Pizetta Fritta 

Stan’s Tagliara di Manzo

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel and went to bed.  I woke up at about 2 am and convinced myself to go back to sleep, then Stan woke up at about 3:30 and he eventually went back to sleep, so it wasn’t a horrible night.  Our hotel had a very good breakfast for us in the morning, so we ate, packed up, checked out of the hotel, and went to explore Old Town before moving on to our residence for the remainder of our Switzerland trip.

Breakfast from the hotel buffet

I wish I had taken photos of the train station in Zurich.  It’s a nice, clean place, but it’s also a shopping center!  There are shops, restaurants, and everything else you might find in a mall.  And since EuroCup was going on and Switzerland was still in it, they were having a big celebration.  There was some famous European pop singer doing a sound check when we were there and everyone stopped to take photos and video.  I had no idea who he was.  Coke sponsored the celebration, so they were handing out Coca Cola everywhere.  It kind of reminded me of when Phoenix hosted the Super Bowl with all of the activities, but this was all inside Zurich train station.  

Day 3:  GOLDIWIL 

We found our platform, got on the train, and headed to Thun, Switzerland.  From Thun train station, we had to get on a bus and take it to a village called Goldiwil, where our Airbnb was.  All I can say is, Switzerland has THE BEST public transportation system I have ever seen.  It’s super easy to navigate, and if you have a pass, you can hop on and off just about every kind of public transportation without paying. 

Once in Goldiwil, we walked up a steep hill to our BEAUTIFUL Swiss Chalet that we were calling home for the next 5 days and four nights.  The chalet is great, a small two bedroom home.  The village is super cute, but the view from the chalet is AMAZING.  You can see the Alps off in the distance, covered in snow.  There are green, rolling hills everywhere.  It is quiet and the air is fresh.  You can hear cowbells off in the distance, along with mooing cows and bleating of goats.  

One of the things Stan was looking forward to…the train rides.  Here he is on the train from Zurich to Thun.

The view from our patio

Day 4:  Interlaken and Brienz

I have been researching every little detail of our trip and one of the “must do” things was to visit Harder Kulm.  It was recommended that we get there when it opens, so Stan and I set our alarm, got up early and took the bus, then train to Interlaken.  Harder Kulm is very close to the train station, so we walked up and ended up being first in line when it opened.  I was so glad we did because there were only about 10-15 other people so we basically had the area to ourselves and met some nice people.  

Harder Kulm is a mountain near Interlaken and to get to the top, you take a funicular railway 1322 m above sea level.  The funicular goes up at a 65 degree incline and takes about 10 minutes to reach the top.  There are hiking trails, a gift shop and restaurant, but we just went up for the views.  

You can see the tracks go up the mountain from across the river

We were able to sit in the first row, so we had the best view looking down.  It pulled us up backwards

Interlaken from about half way up on the funicular

Inside the tunnel

Just about at the top

The views were amazing.  Either, Monch, and Jungfrau Mountains in the distance

These wood carvings were all around. They were super cute.

Looking down to Lake Thun

After Harder Kulm, we got on a steam boat to cruise Lake Brienz.  

A couple of views from the cruise.

The cruise ended in the town of Brienz, so we got off in search of some lunch.  We came across a cute little restaurant on the water.  We are really trying to try new things on this trip, so we both ordered some Swiss favorites.  The food was very good

The view from my seat

Stan ordered a Swiss specialty called Pastetli nach Art Des Hauses.  Basically it’s a puff pastry filled with meat and vegetables with a light gravy.  

I had schnitzel.  It as good but a little dry and plain for me. 

There wasn’t a lot to do in Brienz, so we decided to take the train back to Interlaken.  Interlaken is a town between Lake Brienz and Lake Thun.  It’s very touristy, but nice. Reminded me of Waikiki in the sense that it wasn’t really authentic, but it was fun to visit.  We shopped and enjoyed people watching.

I ordered an Iced Tea.  This is what I got. It was good, but definitely not tea.  It was kind of like a tart fruit punch with a hint of mint.  It was good.  Here in Switzerland, it’s rare to get food or beverages in “to-go” containers.  

Down the Main Street in Interlaken

It was getting late, so we headed back to the Bnb.  We decided that instead of the train, we would take the boat across the lake.  Here are some photos of the scenery:

Day 5:  Lauterbrunnen and Murren

Our fifth day was a wet one.  It was pouring rain all day long, but we were determined to make the most of our time here.  We slept in a little bit, then took the bus, then train to a village up in the mountains called Lauterbrunnen.  It is a valley up in the mountains and is known for its 72 waterfalls that cascade off of the mountainside.  Because of all of the rain, we strolled through the valley a little bit, but didn’t go too far into the valley.  I was a bit disappointed because today was the day I had planned to go on an easy hike into the valley.  

After we were wet and cold, we decided to go have a nice warm lunch.  We stopped at the Oberland Hotel and tried some Rosti, a traditional Swiss dish which was shredded potatoes, fried, then covered with cheese.  There are different varieties of Rosti, so Stan tried the one with meat sauce and I had one with pesto and tomatoes.  They were both very good, but very rich and filling and I couldn’t come close to finishing mine.  Come to think of it, I don’t think Stan was even able to finish his.  I was still on the search for some iced tea.  I saw it on the menu so I ordered it.  It was basically lemon Nestea.  Two thumbs down for the drink. It also seems like the Swiss serve pickles with everything.  I love pickles, but not the Swiss pickles.  They are very vinegary with no seasoning. 

My Rosti with pesto and tomato slices. (And my iced tea…no ice in drinks there)

Stan’s Rosti, with meat sauce and bacon. 

After lunch and walking around the gift shops, we took the gondola and then a cogwheel train up to the town of Murren, a car-less town. It was still pouring out, so we walked a little, stopped for some hot chocolate, and then headed back down to Lauterbrunnen to head back to our bnb. Although we didn’t do anything really exciting because of the rain, we tried to soak in every beautiful waterfall and mountain.  

Some views from up in Murren.

Day 6:  Lucerne and Bern

We woke up to more rain and chilly weather.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, as I heard it was 116 in Phoenix, but it’s more like winter here than summer.  Stan and I are getting good at navigating the trains and buses here in Switzerland, so we just go where we want.  It’s awesome.

We did have reservations to take the Golden Pass Line from Interlaken to Lucerne.  The Golden Pass Line is a scenic train ride.  I’m so glad I had made those reservations because it was packed and those that didn’t have reservations were standing. I didn’t take many photos during the train ride because I was enjoying just looking at the view, but I did take a few:

These photos are pretty much Switzerland.  There are so many villages all around.  There are some cities, but mostly villages and they all look similar. 

The train ride ended in Lucerne, and yes, it was raining. We walked around a bit, but like yesterday, it was hard to venture out to explore many things.

This was as you left the train station.

The city of Lucerne and Kapellbruke (Chapel Bridge). It was erected around 1300.  Around 1600, the town chronicler, Renward Cysat, painted pictures on the bridge that told the history of ancient Switzerland and Christendom.  In 1993, the bridge caught fire and most of the pictures were damaged or destroyed

The pictures tell the history of Switzerland and are numbered in chronological order.

A charred picture

It was starting to rain again, so we decided it would be a good time to grab some lunch.  We’ve been good about trying authentic food, but we came across this pub and a hamburger sounded really good, so we had lunch there.  I called it a confused English Pub…it was in fact a traditional pub, but it had signs up cheering on Holland in the Euro Cup, as well as for the Swiss team.

We walked around the Old Town after lunch before heading to Bern. That’s when it began to POUR.

This is how you fill up your water bottle in Switzerland

The architecture is so amazing and beautiful.  So many of the ancient buildings had murals painted on them.

While walking around, we came across this beautiful Jesuit church.  They were getting ready for a wedding, so we didn’t stay long.

We were wet and cold, so we grabbed a coffee and hopped on the train and headed to the town of Bern.  Bern is a small city.  Like Lucerne, the architecture is beautiful. We just walked around some shops and stopped to admire the view. It would be nice to come back sometime to both Lucerne and Bern to spend more time at each.

Day 7 - Leaving Switzerland

Today was the day to move on to the next place on our month-long adventure, so we packed up, and took the train all the way to Strasbourg, France.  We really loved Switzerland and all of its beauty, in spite of cold and rainy weather.  

Here are some of my thoughts on Switzerland:

-  It is as beautiful as you hear and the pictures I posted do not do it justice.  I would come back again in a heartbeat and spend more time exploring.

-Their transportation system is probably the best in the world and it is super easy to figure out and to get around.  You can literally access the whole country by train, tram, or bus and you really don’t need a car.  

-I had heard that the Swiss are stand-off ish and not very friendly.  I did not find this to be true.  They are genuinely nice people and will greet you with a “Guten Morgen” and a smile.  They don’t do small talk, but they are friendly and welcoming.

-Switzerland is my kind of place (if you don’t count the cold weather).  It is clean, organized, and efficient.  I did not see one bus or train late.  Everything was clean.  And everything ran like clockwork.

-If you ever stay in Switzerland, I would highly recommend staying in a small village like we did.  Like I said, we had no problem getting to and from places.  If the weather had cooperated,  we would have explored the village more.  The bigger, more popular places, like Interlaken were nice and fun to visit, but they weren’t authentic, as they catered to tourists.  In fact in Interlaken there were way more tourists from all over the world there and the only Swiss people were the ones working in the shops.  If you want more information about where we stayed, look up im_bergli on Instagram or www.imbergli.ch

-The food in Switzerland is good.  You don’t find many “crazy-different” things than in the states, but I don’t think it was the best food I’ve ever had.  Most of it was rich and heavy.  

Here are a few final photos from our Switzerland adventure:

Finally, the sun came out on our last evening

Where we stayed.  Im Bergli.

Another train photo

Stan enjoying his train ride as we leave Switzerland