I have my itenerary planned where I will leave Munich on a Monday late afternoon, but don't plan to be in Lauterbrunnen until Tuesday evening. I had planned to train to Zurich Mon evening, do a quick city walk Tuesday morning, head on to Bern, do a quick city walk there, and then be in Lauternrunnen by 6 or so. After 3 nights in Lauterbrunnen, I move on south to Italy. As it gets closer (less than 6 weeks now! yay!), I wonder if the quick Zurich/Bern stops are worth it. I don't have my heart set on that plan, so if anyone has a better suggestion for something to see quickly between Munich and Lauternrunnen, maybe one "must see" in Switzerland since I'm not there long, I'd love ideas. Lucerne, perhaps? My interests are mainly old buildings, nature, and (of course) chocolate!
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
I'm not sure how this would work out via rail, but at least via car travel, the Bodensee is a good half-way point between Munich and the Berner Oberland. Google some images of Lindau, Friedrichshafen or Romanshorn or Kontanz.
Posted by
OP
Texas
49 posts
What about the abbey in St. Gallen? Worthwhile as part of a short trip, or save it for a longer trip in the future? There's an easy direct train from Munich to Lindau that would allow a few extra hours in Munich, then I could head across (ferry?) to St. Gallen in the a.m. and train to Lauterbrunnen in the pm. I'll have to look a bit more at maps to see if it all fits together as my mind imagines!
Alternatively, I've been thinking about maybe the Lindt factory near Zurich, but don't know if that would be silly or fun.
Posted by
Lake Forest, CA, USA
1633 posts
Depends on what you like--large city or small town. Bern, the capital, and Zurich are large cities. Personally, I would not stop in Bern. I've been to Zurich the night before we flew back to U.S. It's o.k. I would prefer to stop in Appenzell. I enjoyed the quaintness of this small town in amongst the green, rolling hills. Lots of nature and, of course, cheese. Don't forget to tour the Appenzeller cheese factory. You can tour it at your leisure. From what I could see on the train schedules, it looks like an easy layover. Have fun making memories!
Posted by
Scottsdale, Arizona, United States
124 posts
Personally I prefer Bern over Zurich but my time in both places was very short. You'd probably be better off spending the time in either Zurich or Bern but not both. A bit too hectic although I'm not one to talk having done a 8 city/12 day trip late last year.
The Munster Church in Bern was nice, especially the long walk up to the top and the view of the city was great.
Another option, kind of on your way, is to stop in Thun. They have a Castle (twelfth century) with a history museum and is very close to Bern.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
695 posts
Bethany, last year we did both Lucerne and Bern, and i have to say i prefered Lucerne, they are both interestings, and you can easily do a quick stop. We did the city walk in both and it was worth it too!
Posted by
OP
Texas
49 posts
Well, I got to looking around the Bodensee area and decided I'd really like to see a bit of St. Gallen. Looks like it's city enough to be interesting, but not city enough to be monotonous! Photos of the Abbey Library made my jaw drop, and chocolate next door! I think it will work well- an easy direct train from Munich takes 3 hrs Monday evening and then a 3 hour train on to Interlaken Tuesday afternoon. Of course, I've changed my "perfect itenerary" about 40 times, so who knows... I'll look into Thun too!
Posted by
Vidalia
113 posts
Zurich is a city - very interesting, but I would skip it in favor of a little extra time in Bern. With its unusual arcaded walks, Bern is different and fun to explore. Its rushing river adds to the place too, not to mention the bear pits!