Switzerland (Sarah)

[justginger]

Sorry for the delay in responding to you, Sarah - had a madhouse weekend. Now it's a relaxing Sunday afternoon, so all the time in the world to write.

DH and I spent 5 days in the Bernese-Oberland area this last summer, wedged between time in France and Turkey. I have been once before, in 2004, but can't for the life of me remember exactly where I stayed. I was in Interlaken though, which was a beautiful city. The color of the lakes is startling blue, just stunning. If you're interested in staying in a place with your own rented car, with access to real shopping, and gourmet meals, Interlaken would be your best bet. This was not what DH and I wanted though - we were just coming off of 5 hectic days in Paris, and were looking for some serious scenery and relaxation. We opted to move up the mountain, so to speak.

There are COUNTLESS travel forum threads on which sleepy hamlet is the best to stay in Switzerland. It seems the main contenders are always Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Murren, with Gimmelwald perhaps becoming more popular now. Each is reportedly lovely, but for our trip we chose Murren. I wanted peacefulness, and more than anything, stunning views.

You can see from this map (sorry, PS won't let me upload it directly at the moment, so have to just provide the link):

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jHxU7y7L5K0/TiSGe-RKpCI/AAAAAAAAAgo/6Ete2z2ynro/s1600/jungfrau+map.jpg

the positioning of these little places. Murren is to the right of the map, about halfway up. With the lie of the land, and position of the valleys/peaks, it is the only area that offers an unimpeded view of all three peaks (Monch, Eiger, and Jungfrau). Plus we knew we wanted to visit Schilthorn as well, which would have been a rather long journey from Grindelwald, all the way over on the left side of the map.

Summer in this area is off peak time, and places are very quiet -- these mountains are known for skiing, but they are also spectacular for hiking. There are TONS of trails around, of all different fitness levels, that show you such incredible countryside you think you're in a movie! One of our hikes even took us behind a waterfall, it was so cool.

Because we were coming off the back of paying for some other expenses (including Poppy!), our time in Switzerland was not a luxurious one. Though to be honest, I am more of a traveller than a tourist - I look for value for money, and it doesn't take much to make me happy. I hesitate to recommend the place we stayed because I KNOW it's not for everyone. It was minimal - think wooden ski lodge, some rooms were shared accommodation, there were shared bathrooms. I know not everyone can deal with it, and I generally prefer my own bathroom -- but the location of this place was absolutely jaw-dropping. And since summer is low season, our "shared" bathrooms turned out to be just for us anyway! Perhaps you can have a look and see what you think? http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g188084-d1003502-Reviews-Pension_Sonnenberg-Murren_Jungfrau_Region_Bernese_Oberland.html

One thing I would definitely recommend is getting one of the Swiss Half Passes for transportation. There are an awful lot of cable car and train rides up and down and back and forth - they add up very quickly. Our Half Passes paid for themselves almost twice over in the course of five days.

Let me know if you want to know anything else, and I'll do my best to remember. Thankfully I blogged about this trip, so I have a point of reference to go back and look at, lol.

 

[Smith1942]

I'm not sure what the question was, but I just wanted to say that my parents were really into Switzerland when I was growing up so we went there, camping, for a month each summer. We always visited the Bernese Oberland and I can absolutely vouch for it. It is beautiful, so beautiful. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

In terms of where to stay, we stayed on the floor of the Lauterbrunnen Valley and then got the train or cable car up to places like Wengen, Murren and Grindelwald. Also to Interlaken and Lake Thun.

The advantage of staying in the valley is that everywhere is easily accessible. If you base yourselves in Murren, for example, which is very high up and kind of on a shelf, you have to walk and then get the cable car right down to the valley and then up the other side to get to Wengen etc, whereas if you stay in Lauterbrunnen it's a central spot to access the transport to everywhere else.

I'd highly recommend a visit to Lake Thun. There's some mineral in the water, I forget what, which turns it a milky opaque blue. It's quite an amazing natural phenomenon. Something to buy in that part of Switzerland is music boxes. The mechanisms are really good. I bought a wooden grand piano music box and still cherish it today.

If you're in Lauterbrunnen, you should also visit the Trummelbach Falls, which are fierce, huge, fast gushing waterfalls inside the mountain.

From Lauterbrunnen you can also visit the Schilthorn with the revolving restaurant where the Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service was partially filmed, and you can go to the Eiger and get the train to the inside of the North Face, with windows you can look out of. And there's the glacier, with the Ice Palace, which is a "building" inside the glacier carved out of ice.

We only stayed in the Bernese Oberland for a week each holiday - the rest of the time we were in the Swiss Lakes, very close to Italy. They are subtropical, with orange and lemon trees, and the sides of the Lakes are dotted with Italianate-style villas. It really is so gorgeous. We always stayed at Lake Maggiore in Locarno, which is a nice upscale town but which has some great campsites with lake beaches. And it's only a few minutes' drive of an evening into Italy for a coffee! Lakeside towns which we thought were beautiful round there were Ascona - VERY upscale - and Cannobio, which is just over the Italian border.

From Locarno you can also drive up the mountains and visit ancient villages like Sonogno, where bread is still baked in outside stone ovens and you can buy lovely wooden carved toys and whistles - so different from the toys the kids have today. I sound about a hundred! In the mountains above Locarno is also the Valley Verzasca, with the dam that Pierce Brosnan (or his double) jumps off at the beginning of GoldenEye. Last time I was there in 1999 there were bungee jumps off the dam in honour of the film, if you were feeling brave enough! The Valley Verzasca is full of rocky pools, streams and rivers which are freezing cold and so clear. When the Verzasca dam was built, the valley was flooded (on purpose) and if the water is low you can still see the ruins of houses on the hillside.

If you go to this area, be prepared for some very sharp mountain bends and hairpin turns! (You'd need to drive around.)

Not sure what your plans are, but just thought I'd throw the Italian Lakes into the mix! They're only a few hours' drive from the Bernese Oberland.

 

[justginger]

SB mentioned in the "beautiful photos" page that she wanted recommendations for this area, but wasn't very specific so I though I'd start vague and give specific info when she saw this and responded. You've covered all of my favourite parts now though (the falls, Schilthorn, Jungfraujoch).

I still MUCH prefer our spot in Murren to Lauterbrunnen - the views are incomparable, which was our main priority. Staying in the valley means the view out your window is likely to be a sheer cliff UP instead of an overlook OVER. Plus all of our mountain hiking was out our door instead of up a cable car/train combo every day (or multiple times each day, as we spent most of our time walking). Everywhere you want to go is accessible from ALL of these little towns, it's just a matter of which cable car/train you're going to take - other than just wanting to duck out for a short hike, it's hardly torture to sit through a glass gondola ride through the mountains!

**edited by moderator. please do not post personal blogs on PS for safety**

I hope SB sees this thread, she'll have great recommendations to go on now.

 

[SB621]

Thank you JG and Smith!!!!!!

I didn't have time to read thorugh everything written but I will tomorrow once the kids are in school. It has been a rather crazy weekend. I was asking specifically because we will either be in the area next spring visiting friends or we might (very small possability) be moving close to there. About 3 hrs away if I looked at the map right and the region has been high on our priority list for a while. Once I read through your response I have a feeling I will have a list of questions, but for now I just wanted to pop in and say thank you so much for responding!

 

[SB621]

JustGinger I wanted to let you know I'm packing my suitecase. We leave Saturday for our trip! We are going to Bavaria first and then taking the train to Switzerland with the kids. Thank you again for your post! It was so helpful!

 

[rosetta]

JustGinger I wanted to let you know I'm packing my suitecase. We leave Saturday for our trip! We are going to Bavaria first and then taking the train to Switzerland with the kids. Thank you again for your post! It was so helpful!

SB, please do report back. We are thinking of visiting Switzerland in June, I've never been and husband has only been to Zurich. I would greatly appreciate an account of your travels!

 

[SB621]

JustGinger I wanted to let you know I'm packing my suitecase. We leave Saturday for our trip! We are going to Bavaria first and then taking the train to Switzerland with the kids. Thank you again for your post! It was so helpful!

SB, please do report back. We are thinking of visiting Switzerland in June, I've never been and husband has only been to Zurich. I would greatly appreciate an account of your travels!

Will do Rosetta! We sort of planned this spur of the moment beause vacation days just lined up, I'm actaully slightly paniced as this is really the first vacation we are winging. But then again we are traveling with toddlers so winging it usually works for us. I'm jealous you are going in June as I think the weather will be nicer! I will post a full report when we get back!

 

[Harpertoo]

JustGinger I wanted to let you know I'm packing my suitecase. We leave Saturday for our trip! We are going to Bavaria first and then taking the train to Switzerland with the kids. Thank you again for your post! It was so helpful!

SB, please do report back. We are thinking of visiting Switzerland in June, I've never been and husband has only been to Zurich. I would greatly appreciate an account of your travels!

Will do Rosetta! We sort of planned this spur of the moment beause vacation days just lined up, I'm actaully slightly paniced as this is really the first vacation we are winging. But then again we are traveling with toddlers so winging it usually works for us. I'm jealous you are going in June as I think the weather will be nicer! I will post a full report when we get back!

SB - have fun - you'll love it!
we lived there for ~2 years when my daughter was 3-5yrs and it was an incredible experience.
(we did usually try to get to Ticino in Spring, but so does everyone else - so Grindelwald, Murren, et al are a great choice!)

 

[justginger]

Excellent! I'm excited for you, such a beautiful corner of the world. My non-travelling DH (travel is my passion, sailing is his) has asked a couple of times since 2012 when we plan on going back. Usually he can take-or-leave just about everywhere on Earth (being raised in Perth does spoil you a bit, I think) - but not Murren. He's ready to go back any minute!

Let us know how you like it. I hope I haven't lead you astray with my gushing, but I genuinely loved it all.

 

[SB621]

Excellent! I'm excited for you, such a beautiful corner of the world. My non-travelling DH (travel is my passion, sailing is his) has asked a couple of times since 2012 when we plan on going back. Usually he can take-or-leave just about everywhere on Earth (being raised in Perth does spoil you a bit, I think) - but not Murren. He's ready to go back any minute!

Let us know how you like it. I hope I haven't lead you astray with my gushing, but I genuinely loved it all.

Ginger I feel your pain! My DH is a home body and I'm constantly planning vacations, trips, excursions etc. If you ever come to Europe in the next 4 years let me know! I would totally do a fun girls trip!

 

[SB621]

Excellent! I'm excited for you, such a beautiful corner of the world. My non-travelling DH (travel is my passion, sailing is his) has asked a couple of times since 2012 when we plan on going back. Usually he can take-or-leave just about everywhere on Earth (being raised in Perth does spoil you a bit, I think) - but not Murren. He's ready to go back any minute!

Let us know how you like it. I hope I haven't lead you astray with my gushing, but I genuinely loved it all.

Ginger I feel your pain! My DH is a home body and I'm constantly planning vacations, trips, excursions etc. If you ever come to Europe in the next 4 years let me know! I would totally do a fun girls trip!

 

[justginger]

Excellent! I'm excited for you, such a beautiful corner of the world. My non-travelling DH (travel is my passion, sailing is his) has asked a couple of times since 2012 when we plan on going back. Usually he can take-or-leave just about everywhere on Earth (being raised in Perth does spoil you a bit, I think) - but not Murren. He's ready to go back any minute!

Let us know how you like it. I hope I haven't lead you astray with my gushing, but I genuinely loved it all.

Ginger I feel your pain! My DH is a home body and I'm constantly planning vacations, trips, excursions etc. If you ever come to Europe in the next 4 years let me know! I would totally do a fun girls trip!

I might have to take you up on that - DH is desperate to go to Scotland next year for the world piping championship. He's of Scottish descent, and helps with his dad's pipe band by playing the snare. Anyway, he wants to be a part of the mass band march they have there, in Edinburgh.

Now, I've been to Scotland. The people are LOVELY (well, I assume the Glaswegians were lovely, I couldn't understand a word they said, lol) - but the country itself was really depressing to me. I was there in August, and again in October, and I felt like I had cabin fever. Everything was the same shade of gray - sky, water, buildings, people, animals. I really have no interest in returning -- with the whole world to explore, why hang out in a place you've been and didn't love, you know?

So I may dump him in Scotland and take off with you!!

 

[justginger]

JustGinger I wanted to let you know I'm packing my suitecase. We leave Saturday for our trip! We are going to Bavaria first and then taking the train to Switzerland with the kids. Thank you again for your post! It was so helpful!

SB, please do report back. We are thinking of visiting Switzerland in June, I've never been and husband has only been to Zurich. I would greatly appreciate an account of your travels!

Rosetta, we were there in June and it was so perfect - the peak of wildflower season, so there was a blanket of yellow, white, purple covering the mountains. I tried to take a million pictures of them all, but views like that never translate on film.

 

[Nyc2chigal]

You can't go wrong with Switzerland!!
I visited Locarno (a long time ago), and it was beautiful!! Visited family, so can't recommend accomodations

 

[GK2]

I was in Basel on business last week and the weather was perfect. I was in southern Bavaria (right on the Swiss border) in February and had the chance to explore some of Switzerland in between meetings - I was there for two weeks on that occasion. Swiss rail is extremely efficient

Wonderful area, I'm hoping to go with DH for the weekend during late spring!

 

[Haven]

We loved our time in Switzerland so much that we named our son after a lake and small town that we visited while there!

We stayed a week in Murren, a few days in Interlaken (because we couldn't get lodging in Murren for those days), and a few days in Lucerne. We had been in Belgium first, and had a wonderful time in Bruges, as well. But the Berner Oberland? Amazing. We were there in June, too, and it was wonderful. I can't wait to go back.