we are planning a trip for 2017 end of June to start in the Murren Valley area of Switzerland, then obtain a rental car and drive up through Germany to Berlin,return the rental car and eventually make our way to Amsterdam. Our 22 year old son will be travelling with us and may or may not have a buddy come with us. We are thinking of possibly having a college student age German resident possibly travel with us, where we would pay for their nightly accomodations (shared room with our son) and some meals in return for them to guide us on the 3 to 4 day trip up through Germany. Any insight anyone may have on linking up with a college student who may be interested would be great
Posted by
Grand Rapids, MI
768 posts
You won't be able to rent a car in Murren--it's a traffic free village on a cliff. The valley below is called the Lauterbrunnen Valley.
From Murren, you take the train, then lift down to Lauterbrunnen, then the train down to Interlaken, THEN you can rent a car.
Posted by
Long Beach, California, USA
3391 posts
The biggest problem with your plan is that there are HUGE fees for picking up a rental car in one country and returning it in another. I would suggest taking a train from Switzerland to Germany and then renting a car for your 3-4 days within Germany. Return the car in Germany and then take a train to Amsterdam where you will have zero need of a car.
I'm not aware of any program that exists that will connect you to a college student to have them tour you around. I am also not confident that a college student would be the most informed person to give you a tour. I would suggest that you find professional tour guides in the cities you wish to visit in Germany. They will be much more well-versed in the history of each place.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
"Murren Valley" - as the others have said, Mürren (note spelling) is not in a valley, it is on top of a big cliff overlooking a valley. The only way to get a car up there is to sling it under a helicopter.
What you don't say is how you are planning to get to Mürren and from where.
Big question, are you planing to stop of anywhere between Mürren and Berlin, and for how long?
Where and for how long you stop will influence if it is better to travel by car or train. small towns are good for car touring, cars are a liability in big cities.
According to http://www.viamichelin.com/ driving from Lauterbrunnen to Berlin is 974 km, takes 10h52 (without any stops, which will be necessary!) and costs €82 for fuel.
By train it takes 9h55 (no stops necessary, you can doze and eat on a train) and prices start at CHF 59 (€54) per person.
If you do rent a car it will save money to take a train to your first stop in Germany to avoid international one-way hire charges.
I don't know of any scheme where you can get an (English speaking) college student to act as guide and interpreter. If you do I would expect it to cost more than just bed and board. He or she has to get back home at the end, and might not want to share with a stranger.