Switzerland trip report

Next day morning, on 21st July, we travelled to Interlaken Ost via Golden Pass train and then to Murren via Lauterbrunnen. Being a summer season, I had made reservations for Golden Pass express but the train was almost empty. (Interestingly I noted that the train website had showed me only 4 seats were available and everything else was booked. A nice marketing trick to encourage tourists to spend money.) Golden Pass is called a train with panoramic view, but the coaches did not have a dome (at least in 2nd class). Personally I liked Alaska train journey (Anchorage to Seward) much better, but Swiss trains are also equally good & they do a good job of marketing for the scenic train journey. I think the route from Zweisimmen to Montreaux is the best on this Golden Pass train. We reached Murren around 11 am. Murren is a very nice place, a small town, we felt very cozy there. In the afternoon we went for a trip to Schilthorn. Unfortunately, the cable car had mechanical failure and were told that it will take 3-4 days for repairs. So we missed trip to Schilthorn. Instead we did hiking nearby. It was fun and very relaxing. Weather at Murren was cool and very pleasant. As such we had missed trip to Schilthorn, so we decided to go to Jungfraujoch on 22nd July. However, the weather was cloudy, so we went to Bern for a day trip. I found Bern to be very beautiful, small city. I found it much better than big cities like Zurich or Geneva. From the railway station, we visited Paul Klee Center by taking a bus. We felt that we had wasted our time, although it was free with Swiss Pass. Then we did walking tour as suggested by Rick Steves' book. We saw Bear Park, Clock Tower, Münster (Cathedral), Einstein museam (free with Swiss Pass), enjoying lunch in the cafe sitting by the side of street & walk through old town. We thoroughly enjoyed our day in Bern & I would love to visit Bern again if I ever get a chance.

Next day, we went to Jungfraujoch. Luckily the weather was fantastic. The trip to the top is VERY EXPENSIVE. It cost us 2 adults USD $250 AFTER considering the Swiss Pass discount. (Kids were free due to an on-going promotion). We saw the Ice museum, Observation Tower, enjoyed hot chocolate in the Cafe. The view from top is very good, but definitely NOT WORTH $250. I believe, the tourists tend to pay such ridiculous amount "because we already paid so much money for this trip. Why not pay $250 more?" At least we get a bragging right to say that we have been to "Top of Europe". On our way down, we stopped at Kleine Scheidegg and did a hike down to Wengen. That was simply wonderful and we thouroughly enjoyed it. On 24th July, we travelled from Interlaken to Montreux by Golden Pass train. We saw Chateau de Chillon at Veytaux. This is very good (allow 2-3 hours at least) and covered by Swiss Pass. Later in the evening, we travelled from Montreux to Lausanne. How can a trip to Switzerland be complete without tasting Swiss cheese and chocolates? The Chocolate train is CHF 50 per person (even if you have Swiss Pass), so we just decided to take local trains and saved ourselves CHF 200 :) On 25th July, we visited Cheese factory at Gruyere & then Cailler Chocolate Factory at Broc. Yes, they do let you sample free chocolate at the end of the tour. The kids liked both places and had fun. It is worthwhile only if you have young children.

On 26th July, we did a day trip to Geneva. Luckily we had reservation for guided tour at CERN. We enjoyed the trip to CERN and the exhibits there. (allow 2-3 hours) Our guide was very enthusistic and she explained lot of questions rather well. Then we visited Patek Philipe watch musuem. (at least 1-2 hours) It has an excellent collection of watches and a must-see for watch aficionados. We also visited Reformation Wall in the park. Enjoyed cold coffee and ice cream in Place du Bourg-de-Four. We saw Flower Clock and Jet d'Eau alongwith a walk by the lake. We wanted to take the boat ride to Lausanne, but it was 3.5 hour long, so we returned by train. On 27th July, we left for Zermatt early morning. Zermatt is a touristy place with lots of hotels and much larger number of tourists. We took the Gornergrat train in the afternoon to see the Matterhorn. We had good view of the mountains, but there are hardly any glaciers. Again, I enjoyed the glaciers in Alaska more than I did here, but it was okay. It was getting cloudy, but at least I did manage to get a good photograph of Matterhorn after 40 minutes for my album. :) On 28th July, we travelled from Zermatt to Lucerne by regular train. The Glacier Express train needs CHF 33 per person mandatory reservation. Since we had done more than enough train journey, we skipped that scenic train journey of 6 hours and came to Lucerne via Bern in half the time. In the afternoon/evening, we did walking tour of Lucerne city. Enjoyed walking by various vendor booths along the lake. On 29th July we did a day trip to Zurich. We did walking tour as suggested by Rick Steves' book, saw Tower, churches etc. I found Zurich to be like any other big city, nothing special there. On 30th July, we flew back home.

A few tips: 1. Get a Swiss Pass if it is cost effective in your situation. It is very convenient. 2. Get picnic from Co-op or Manor department store. Otherwise, food in Switzerland is expensive. 3. Carry a water bottle with you. 4. Do not forget sunglasses and sunscreen lotion. 5. Rick Steves' book is very good reference. Suggest that you take it with you. 6. Decide the points of interest you want to see, plot them in Google maps & take a copy with you. It is a lot easy if you need to ask for directions. Now the other side of the coin: (An over-rated and very expensive tourist destination) Smokers in Switzerland: The biggest problem is that the country has lots and lots of smokers, who smoke in public places without regard to their surrounding or fellow travellers. The train stations, tunnels, walkways along the river, even the restrooms are full of smoke. This can be really uncomfortable for non-smokers. Graffiti in Switzerland:
Other issue is graffiti. Switzerland is a beautiful country, but it is being spoiled by graffiti which can be found almost everywhere; from cities like Zurich, Bern, Lausanne to smaller places like Kleine scheidegg, Bulle. In cities like NY, the graffiti artists have some sense where to show their art. However, in Switzerland almost any wall is good for graffiti. It is an ugly site to see this beautiful country being spoiled in such a callous manner.

VERY Expensive country:
Almost everything in Switzerland is expensive and tiny. Hotel rooms provide just beds & 4 walls, invariably painted in white color. There is no TV (which was okay for us), no phone in the room, no wake-up call, not even an alarm clock. EVERYTHING costs money and lots of it. Want to use toilet at Railway station? It will be 1.5 CHF. Restrooms in restaurants were typically reserved for customers only. The doors had security codes as well. Food is outragously expensive. A dinner for 1 person can be CHF 35 or more. Even a chicken sandwich in McDonalds is CHF 13. You won't find free water fountains anywhere, even at a tourist spot. Be ready with CHF. $$$. A paper bag to carry your stuff from the store will cost you 30 cents. The cheese and chocolate from Swiss is available in my local grocery store at a much cheaper rate than in Switzerland. I could go on and on, but I hope that you got the point.

The attitude of the people & Racism:
The resident people do not smile or talk much, may be they are a bit reserved by nature. You can safely assume that the smiling person is a tourist. Natives are not rude, they do help if asked for directions etc, but they are not friendly either, unlike in America. The locals are not very keen on helping any tourists and I had a vague impression that in fact they consider tourists as a nuisance. At a railway restaurant near Kleine Scheidegg, we ordered kid size Pasta for our daughter. The waiter (Name is Michal) presented the bill EVEN BEFORE the food arrived. When I pointed that he had charged for adult pasta plate, I was expecting at least a sorry face. Instead of that, the waiter was upset with me. He started saying that "Now He will have to pay for the mistake from his paycheck, What is such a big deal for CHF 8 etc. etc". I thought this might be an isolated case of an unhappy worker. But I had similar experience in several other places. Angel's bar opposite Montreaux railway station was the worst. In general, the people are happy to accept money, but the customer service is a lot to be desired (at least when compared to what we are used to in the USA). I experienced a blatant case of racism near Castle bridge in Lucerne. A one-eyed musician (or begger?) was playing some music there with his hat in front of him, asking for donations. He was playing good music and in order to appreciate it, I stepped ahead to put a few coins in his hat. As soon as he saw a brown-skinned person trying to give money (I am originally from India, so obvoiusly not a white person), he literally picked up his hat and waved at me asking me to GO AWAY. I was stunned for a minute as I have NEVER experienced such a thing anywhere in USA or Canada or South America where I have travelled extensively (but this is my first trip to Europe).

Again, somebody may argue that this is an isolated case, BUT all these "small incidences" in Switzerland have told me a story. No doubt, Switzerland is a beautiful country and definitely worth a visit if you are going there for business (= someone else paying for the trip), then it is good. Your experience may be different or may be I am overly sensitive or I am too much used-to american lifestyle, but I strongly feel that there are equally beautiful places elsewhere e.g. Banff & Jasper national park in Canada or Panoramic train in Alaska which you will enjoy equally well, but "at a much lesser cost". Travelling is fun, it gives you different perspective in life, but the more I see such places like Switzerland, the more I like USA.

"You won't find free water fountains anywhere, even at a tourist spot. Be ready with CHF. $$$. A paper bag to carry your stuff from the store will cost you 30 cents." That's not just Switzerland, you generally don't find water fountains anywhere in Europe. Same with grocery stores, you have either bring your own bag or pay for one from the store. But yes, the country is rather very expensive, even by northern European standards.

Sorry to hear that you had such an awful trip, Uday. And I'm particularly sorry to hear of your racist episode. Perhaps he thought you were coming forward to take his money? That's a shame. Believe it or not, the smoking situation is much better in much of Switzerland than it has been. It was much worse a few years ago, both in Switzerland and in Germany. Different Cantons view it slightly differently. Sorry you didn't like the Swiss train cars. We have always had wonderful views, but we have never spent money on the "named" trains, preferring instead to take the local ones which are just as fast, go the same places and have windows that open, all the better for photos. No dome cars in Europe. That's a North Americanism. Different hotels will have different levels of amenities, and that is true throughout Europe. We have stayed at one hotel in Muerren with no phone, TV, or wake-up call, and bathroom down the hall; and we have had one just down the road with all those facilities and more, including a balcony and large en-suite, for a little more money. In both cases the interweb showed us photos, the Rick Steves book described them (both in the book) and their websites said what amenity level they were. You are right about Bern. Same with Luzern, shame you weren't there longer. About those water fountains - Switzerland is absolutely crawling with them. Just don't look for metal Halsey-Taylor water fountains with the vibrating fan and push button water. All (or virtually all) those log looking things with water dribbling into them are potable water fountains with the absolutely best water. We always carry empty water bottles and fill up as we walk, never running out. They are absolutely everywhere. Sorry you missed them. Maybe you will give Europe another try another day.

Mürren has those "free" dribbling water fountains all over the place.

Uday I agree Switzerland is VERY expensive.. I remember visiting the McDonalds in Zermatt years ago and the prices were double what we would pay at home even with conversion taken into account. And I also agree the people are not very warm,on my first visit I was with my father who was raised in Paris, a place where people can seem formal and cool, but even he laughed at how stiff and cold the Swiss were..
I have also visited Switzerland on a RS tour. and of course the locals we interacted with then were nicer but that's frankly because we were staying at the hotel RS booked the tour in, and many of the activities were planned by tour.. on our own we felt the coolness again. Switzerland however is still a good memory for me as it is so truly beautiful. And I found I loved the hotels because they always used those nice down duvets instead of blankets and were so clean and airy. I agree there is good and bad in Switzerland , but I also think that is true of most places. I am sorry about the racism incident, it may not be all the people of course but racism is alive and well still in Europe just as it is at home too. Its easy for causcasions( myself) not to notice it, but my friend who is not white has pointed out some very forms she has encountered here and abroad.

I rem my husband getting basically a hot dog and french fries from a street vendor in Zurich - it was at least double + what we'd pay here. We couchsurfed with 3 super friendly people the 3 nights we stayed, so we didn't notice any unfriendliness. I am looking forward to the day when we can return (but we def know to keep in mind the expense!)

I like to say that I love the beauty of Switzerland, even if the interactions with the Swiss leave something to be desired. I am reserving lots of B&Bs, hostels, and hotels in our various base cities and I am trying very hard to be complimentary and kind to the proprietors. I hope to begin with a positive impression and build on it. It may very well not work, but it is a cold person indeed who cannot respond to kindness with kindness. We are purposefully staying in places with kitchens and I am, nerd that I am, earmarking good restaurants in each city for lunch or dinner so we can have a budget-friendly (though, not cheap I expect!) option if we don't want to cook for ourselves. Hoping that the grocery stores are good as we are counting on that! Threw some mac and cheese in the luggage, though, just in case, for the kids :). Travel is always an adventure. I think the smoking is the thing I like least about Europe. Can't figure out why so many people still smoke, knowing how bad it is for you. They don't like our noise level, we don't like the smoke. Seems fairly even to me. Thanks for sharing your experiences. We were wondering about the Paul Klee museum with our kids, but I think we will skip it based on your report. Very helpful!

Travel is always an adventure. I think the smoking is the thing I like least about Europe. Can't figure out why so many people still smoke, knowing how bad it is for you. They don't like our noise level, we don't like the smoke. Seems fairly even to me. While the level of smoking is higher in Switzerland than in the USA, it is about average for Europe - here are some stats. As with most European countries, smoking is banned in most enclosed public spaces and on public transport as well. Most, if not all restaurants have a none smoking area and will be happy to seat you there if you ask. As a non smoker myself, I can't recall having an issue with smoking in public for several years now.

How much spending money should I bring to switzerland per day?? My hotels, transportation, and some of my attractions are already paid for. I'll be spending one week there.

Jim - Yes, smoking is banned indoors but now the smokers congregate on the sidewalks, meaning more people on the sidewalks to navigate around and breathing not only vehicle exhaust but cigarette smoke. Of course not on every street but it was noticeable and unpleasant and harder to breathe on some streets. Also our rented apartment was over a restaurant/bar and the patrons hung out until the wee hours smoking, talking loudly, making noise. Couldn't sleep with the windows open, due to smoke and noise, and finally kept a fan on all night to drown out the noise.