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SWITZERLAND: Switzerland 2021

I want to post these trip reports before I forget the info I want to share that might help a fellow traveler. I also want say that there were Switzerland travelers that were on this site that helped me SO MUCH……Carrie, Pat, Laurel, Carol, Nigel…….THANK YOU! It’s been fun reading your posts and getting great tips from you!

Day 1: our travel to Zurich was uneventful…….flew from Nashville through Detroit and everyone was kind through all of the Covid

protocol……I think I did mention in an earlier post that it all seems to depend on the agent you come in contact with and what

they are willing to ask you for……masks on the flight over were not too bad though our flight from Amsterdam to Zurich

with KLM was WAY TOO CROWDED….….packed in like sardines! All we needed anywhere was our passport and our CDC vac

cards……we had taken a negative test 2 days before leaving but no one wanted to see it.
Day 2: trained with the Swiss Travel Pass from Zurich to Lauterbrunnen….a kind SBB employee helped us with his app at the Zurich
train station since our portable wifi we had rented for 2 weeks was waiting for us at our first hotel. Nice train ride, no
problem….tho I have mentioned earlier that bought back in July with a 25% off deal I would not again spend any $ on the first
class ticket……very few times could we even tell the difference. We checked in Hotel Silberhorn….a delight and great location
and a delicious breakfast each morning. They checked our CDC cards every morning before eating……could have just put a

sticker on our room key and made life easier as other hotels did but…..??? Hard to describe that feeling waking up every
morning to that view of the valley………GORGEOUS…….and a sweet little family of 5 goats ringing their bells every morning
when you wake up…..I loved the bells EVERYWHERE‼️We hiked the Mannlichen to Kleine Schdeigge route the first day and
the weather was wonderful. Pay extra and stand on the TOP of the gondola from Wengen to Mannlichen! Ran in to a young
woman restocking her family’s chees frig ON THE TRAIL….still trying to figure that one out and she was kind. The walk back
down to Wengen was steep and tricky…..my legs were not ready for that! Will try a flatter route next time.
Day 3: church in the sweet English-speaking chapel in Wengen in the pouring rain…….delightful….and then a good day to take the
Golden Pass train from Interlaken to Montreux and back. Got to the front of the train with the all-window bubble and though
it was cloudy and rainy we had a great afternoon ride. We figured we could not do anything else in the rain so we might as
well be on a train, enjoying the view…passed through Gstaad and it was fun to see these places through the train
windows…..got off in Montreux long enough to buy a snack and back home to Lauterbrunnen.
Day 4: the rain on Sunday produced snow on Monday….so our favorite Mannlichen/KS hike was covered in snow for the first
part….carefully dodging any ice and we took off…amazing that the same route 2 days before was completely clear!!! By
midday everything was melting and we decided to explore the other side of the valley……took the gondola and train to
Murren and enjoyed fondue that night….Murren looked a ghost town that afternoon on this overcast rainy day….where were
people???
Day 5: the weather report was great for the next 3 days…..took the day trip to Hotel Geissbach by boat from Interlaken……A MUST
DO. What a treat…..rode the funicular up to the hotel after a gorgeous boat ride and ate lunch on the terrace overlooking the
falls…had a reservation but don’t think its necessary. Walked that lovely trail back to Iselwaldt.

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Hi Jane, Reading your report, I realized we were in Wengen on the same days! It was very exciting to see snow on the hillsides where we had just hiked the previous days, both on the Wengen and Mürren sides. We left Wengen the Monday you bravely hiked the Männlichen/KS trail. If it had been a sunny day, we would have hiked that trail before we left.

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I miss Switzerland!! ☹ I have the boat ride to Hotel Geissbach on my list for my June trip. When you walked to Iselwaldt, did you take the boat back to Interlaken?

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No Carrie……we walked into the town square at Iselwaldt, took the bus to the train station and trained home to Lauterbrunnen……really easy….and the walk looked like something out of an Ewok movie……shady, moss-covered…..BEAUTIFUL.

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5604 posts

So nice to revisit this beautiful country. Thx for sharing!

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Day 6: We researched each day before we left home and set aside this one to hike the Northface trail on the Murren side…..before
we did we took advantage of the gorgeous clear day and went to the Shilthorn……a first for us…..so glad we did….clear as a
bell. We took the hike from Allepndull to the Schilthorn gondola. One very rude waitress in a stop for hot chocolate and
bathrooms because we had to use our credit cards….???!!!! Met several hang gliders on the way home and watched them take
off into the valley…..such fun.

Day 7: One more day in the Lauterbrunnen valley on a clear day so we took the Eiger Trail…..WHOA. The description of it being mild
and moderate were deceiving……69 years old and me and hubby walk 3 miles a day….but this hike was VERY STRENUOUS
for us……thankful we finally got to the train stop at Alpiglen and back home to our hotel…..BTw, the apple fritters at the

restaurant at the end of the trail were wonderful.

Day 8: Trained to Lucerne…..I know it was very crowded but I love that city. We stayed at Hotel de Balances and it was
perfect…..right on the river with a balcony on floor 5 that was a treat. We walked everywhere and loved seeing the lion
statue again……the Saturday markets were great….wish I could have brought plants home!

Day 9: Boat and train trip to Rigi……clear day views everywhere and a nice day. The boat was especially nice.

Day 10: Found a nice clean laundromat and enjoyed the bells on Sunday for church as well as the meals at Balances.

Day 11: Caught the train to Zurich….set appts for our negative Covid tests at a Zurich clinic…..a problem in that for some reason the
acct setup did not go through…so when we tested there they could not find our emails to send the results to us and we
panicked for a half day….until we returned to the clinic the next morning to find all of this out! Great nurses, very helpful
after we got to the bottom of it all. Zurich was crowded…but not unpleasant. We stayed at Hotel Adler, a great location and
good spot for walking through the old town. Enjoyed great carrot and pumpkin soup and shopping.

Day 12: Took advantage of our Swiss Pass so planned a day trip to Stein Am Rhein……DO THIS! It was so easy from Zurich and so
worth it. What a charming place….like a fake movie set because it is so beautiful. Had wonderful goulash soup at the Walz
Cafe….tried to make a stop at Rhine Falls but did not find any good directions on train to take, etc so we took the pics from
the train and headed back to Zurich.

Day 13: Readying to fly home……negative tests, CDC vac cards……and the flights were not as crowded as before.

FINAL THOIUGHTS…..the world seems ready for Covid to pass……crowds outside NEVER had masks on and there were crowds…..on planes and in restaurants everyone happily wears them and removes them to eat. Let’s move on……..and Switzerland was a great country to step out into on our first international post-Covid trip!

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5604 posts

Can't believe all of our trips are over, but I am enjoying the photos and memories.
Great report! What's next?

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Hopefully a Christmas market tour Pat…we have one planned that we hope will make…Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Regensberg, Strasbourg and then home…we decided this December might be a good less-crowded time.