Bringing a good friend on her first trip to Europe. While I have been to Switzerland several times, she is looking forward tospending a couple of days visit. Know its a short visit, but it's all the time we have. We are flying in to Zurich on a Friday morning early Sept. and then had planned to take the train to Lucerne for a couple of hours (lunch and some walking around) and then move on to our base in Thun. This might make a long day, but we will be dependent on trains. On Sat. morning,know it's backtracking, but we thought about taking the train to Grindlewald, or somewhere in that region. Not looking to hike as much as just sightsee and shop a bit. Sunday morning we were leaving Switzerland and heading out to Colmar/Strausbourg, so thought Thun was a good base. Kind of having second thoughts now. Interlaken is nice, but I feel very touristy and really just tourist shops. Should we spend one or both nights in Grindlewald, or sigh, even Interlaken, or should we stick to the original plan of Thun? I know we really can't plan a lot until we get there being that a lot is weather dependent. I just want to be able to show my friend lovely Switzerland, and second guessing my plan now.
Posted by
Green Bay
20287 posts
Bite the bullet and stay in Grindelwald, right below the Eiger. That'll impress her.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
It's only 2.5 hours from Lucerne to Grindelwald - no big deal. Stay in Grindelwald (or Wengen or Murren or Lauterbrunnen) right in the alps. Nothing more spectacular than that!
Posted by
Alabama, USA
271 posts
Stay in Luzern and Grindelwald. Shopping in both, but more in Luzern.
Get a room with a view of the mountains and you are set to go.
Posted by
Grand Rapids, MI
768 posts
Yup! I agree with above advice. Thun and Interlaken can't compare to Grindelwald or the others mentioned.
If you stay in Grindelwald (and it's a decent day), take the cable car up to First, walk 45 min to Bachalpsee (Google image it!)
Likewise, take the other cable car route from Grindelwald to Mannlichen (Google image it!). Take the trail straight towards the Jungfrau/Eiger mountains for a 1.5 hr easy walk on the most panoramic trail in all of Switz. At Kleine Scheidegg take the train back to Grindelwald.
If your friend isn't impressed with these, she needs an optometrist.
Posted by
OP
Gulf Coast, usa
1161 posts
All great feedback. Don't know why this is really so hard to decide. Guess deep inside Thun wasn't doing it for me, and didn't know where to take her. Not really wanting to repeat past trips I have taken, and looking for new experiences as well. Lauterbrunnen has been suggested and one PM suggested taking train to Lucerne on Friday from Zurich, spend a few hours, then train it to Bern and base out of there due to really not knowing what the weather in the mountains will be until last minute and that we could still train to Grindelwald from there. It doesn't have to be Grindelwald.
Might add rooms in Interlaken, Bern and Grindelwald are getting very expensive for a night! Exhausted thinking about this!
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32952 posts
Meiringen. That's different, very beautiful, historic, and close to Brienz, Gießbach Falls and right on the train to Interlaken Ost (and Luzern) for the run up the hill, or the other direction to the Brunig Pass and Luzern and all the beauty there.