Hello, All! I am finally getting around to my Switzerland trip report. It won't be lengthy, but I simply wanted to say that we had a wonderful visit! Truly an astonishing country!
On June 25, we flew ATL to Zurich and took the train to Appenzell. We only stayed two nights. It was nice and I can see why people enjoy it but we don't feel the need to return now that we've seen more of the country. We stayed at the Adler Hotel and it was very nice. From Appenzell we trained to Luzern. Very easy and Luzern was beautiful! Our only hiccup was the heat wave that came through while staying in old town (Hotel des Alpes) with no a/c. That was rough, but it was rough on everyone! Per the hotel's suggestion we went to Mt. Rigi and it really was beautiful! From Luzern we went to Wengen and stayed 7 nights at Hotel Edelweiss. My husband and I would easily stay at Hotel Edelweiss again. What great owners and staff! We did 6 different, scenic hikes in the time that we were there and came 'home' to have dinner. A very nice set-up. From Wengen we went to Zermatt and, honestly, I may have had the least expectations here because the Matterhorn/Zermatt are so heavily promoted....but our stay in Zermatt was great thanks in large part to our lodging at Coeur des Alpes and beautiful weather. And our trip up to the Matterhorn on the Gornergrat Train and down by mostly hiking. We enjoyed our stay in Zermatt. Next up was Lausanne. We stayed there because Montreux and Vevey were booked for the annual jazz festival. Personally, I wouldn't stay in Lausanne BUT the Rick Steves recommended Hotel De La Paix overlooking Lake Geneva made our stay so very pleasant! We were tired at this point in our trip and very much enjoyed sitting on the balcony for a couple of hours or so. From Lausanne, we trained to the Hotel Bristol Zurich for our 1-night stay before flying back to the States. Zurich surprised me. I had read it was just big city and almost, if not, skippable. My husband and I thought it was beautiful We had a wonderful day strolling around and eating dinner out before we headed home. I would like to add that we visited the Engadine Valley for three days on a previous trip to the Dolomites and we thought that corner of Switzerland was quite beautiful! We want to return and drive some scenic mountain passes and take the Bernina Express train. It is quite simply a gorgeous country!