Where to go from Switzerland??

With just four to six days, I might recommend staying in Switzerland and visiting Bern and the Berner Oberland (high Alps). Perhaps on one of the subsequent trips you mentioned, you can venture out to the other Swiss cities, such as Lausanne, Luzern, or visit the canton of Appenzell. With more time, Bavaria is an option. Rick’s guidebook on Switzerland should help you plan some things to do during the day while your husband is working. Happy travels.

I would look into the Berner Oberland area-just beautiful and lots of fun with kids. However, it can be pricey- Switzerland is expensive and the lifts and trains in the Lauterbrunnen valley add up. I would also look into the Fussen/ Garmisch area (the German/Austria border not far from Munch). Castles, beautiful mountains, luge rides...it could be a lot of fun. Try to see if you library has a copy of the Germany/Austria book that you could check out and read up on these areas. The Back Door is a great book, but it does not have much information on destinations. You need the individual country books for that. I always start at the library and don't purchase a book until I know for sure where I am going. However, I realize you time is limited. You can't go wrong just staying in Switzerland and enjoying the sights...just pack money. Have a great time.

For a few days, and assuming you want a somewhat slower pace with the child, I think the Black Forest and/or Lake Constance (Bodensee) areas just to the north of Zurich could be ideal. There are plenty of outdoor activities and wonderful scenery. Rick Steves' southern Germany recommendations tend to skip over this region in favor of hypertouristed destinations like Neuschwanstein and Rothenburg, but it's a lovely place to visit. German families tend to vacation here and there's a good supply of vacation rentals that can often be rented for a few days at a time.

You might look into locating yourselves in attractive Rottweil, or maybe the smaller village of Loeffingen, west of Villingen. From there, daytrips by train or car to towns deeper in the Black Forest (Titisee, Triberg, Schiltach) or to Lake Constance (Radolfzell and beyond) or to gorgeous Tübingen are easily accomplished. There are a few beaches and several towns of interest along the north side of Bodensee (Überlingen, Meersburg, Lindau) that are worth visiting.

Here's one example of the kind of rental you might find in Rottweil; the local tourist offices in Rottweil and the other towns mentioned have more complete information on the rentals available and usually have websites (though often in German only.)

http://www.accommodation.de/82378.htm

On Loeffingen:

www.loeffingen.de/2912_DEU_WWW.php

Search "Holiday residence" here for Loeffingen rentals:

www2.toubiz.de/loeffingen/en/search.php

Just a note to let you know that your 5-year old can ride free in Switzerland with a Swiss Family card that you can get in advance. I'm linking the RS page on this subject but you don't need a Swiss pass or card for this to work. Your 5-year old with this card can travel free in the company of a parent with any kind of vaild ticket. CLICK HERE to see the info.

I think "with a 5 year old" is the big consideration here.

Easy, Lauterbrunnen - I recommend Hotel Staubbauch - seems to be a very family friendly place. If I recall correctly, they have both and indoor and outdoor play area for kids.

Spend 2 or 3 days doing the cable cars/trams on both side of the valley. Also, in Lauterbrunnen and Gimmelwald you're bound to run into goats and cows in the fields (don't worry they're behind fences); I got a kick out of the goats/cows with their bells on - don't see why a five year old wouldn't get a kick out of that too.

If you have a bad day of weather in Lauterbrunnen, then go to Bern (1 hour train ride) for the day. Also, save 1 day for the Golden Pass train to Montreaux.

Maybe your 5 y/o would love to spend a day at europapark.de? You could base yourself at Freiburg and daytrip into the black forrest, Alsace (France) and Europapark.

If you choose to visit the Berner Oberland, you five year old will love the official Swiss Rail museum in Interlaken. It's three floors of working model trains.

Michael S, "three floors of working model trains"in Interlaken. That's a brilliant suggestion, for all ages. I can't believe I missed this when I was there.

However, I can't seem to find any mention of a rail museum in Interlaken in RS Switzerland 2009. Can you please provide a more specific for this attraction or maybe even a website reference?

Thanks for all of your feedback. I think we will head to the Interlaken area and spend a few days exploring. I am undecided as to whether or not we could also take a trip up to the black forest at the end of our trip. I am excited to get my tour books and start planning! One more question...we were planning on renting a car in Zurich- husband will need it for work and driving to Interlaken area hotel, and then leaving the car there and taking trains/trams around the area. Does that sound reasonable? Again, thanks for your thoughtful and informative feedback.

I would recommend Lauterbrunnen Valley. It is awesome. You could take day trips to Wengen,Murren and Gimmblewald (sp?).

I would also recommend the Valley Hostel. Very clean and comes with a share kitchen. We stayed upstairs with a view of the Eiger,Monch and the JungFrau.

Upstairs is more private. The young set seemed to stay downstairs.

http://www.valleyhostel.ch/pages/en/home.php?lang=EN