Anyone been to Switzerland? | Syracusefan.com

Anyone been to Switzerland?

Guinness

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Wife and I are in the middle of planning a trip for late summer and would love to hear an tips or "must sees" that you guys might have.
 
Wife and I are in the middle of planning a trip for late summer and would love to hear an tips or "must sees" that you guys might have.
I have been to Interlaken a couple of times and went skiing at the Jungfrau. Interlaken is a nice town with some great hiking nearby. I went paragliding there, which was incredible. You're too old to go to Balmers which is the most hostel-y hostel in the history of hostels. The Jungfrau was a fun place to ski and I bet it would be well worth the trip in the summer.
 
Go to northern Italy and Baveria, I took a train from Regensburg to Zurich to Lake Como. Thetrain ride through the Alps is great but Switzerland is ridiculously expensive and not near the sites of the of the other two
 
i watched the sound of music.
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I have been to Interlaken a couple of times and went skiing at the Jungfrau. Interlaken is a nice town with some great hiking nearby. I went paragliding there, which was incredible. You're too old to go to Balmers which is the most hostel-y hostel in the history of hostels. The Jungfrau was a fun place to ski and I bet it would be well worth the trip in the summer.
Been to Interlaken, Balmers was great. Long time ago and you're right, that ship has sailed! But great for young people, backpackers. Went "canyoning". Still have a picture of me repelling into the river.
 
I was in Lucerne about 3.5 years ago. Don't honestly remember anything specific we did as far as eating, etc. but walking around Lucerne there is a lot to do depending on what you're interested in. Very beautiful area in general, driving through the mountains is one of the more surreal things I've done and I've been to more European countries than U.S. states.

I know this isn't overly informative but if you're thinking of including Lucerne, I definitely would. I don't think you'd need to spend more than 2 days in that specific area though. If you're looking at all the attractions and there's not a lot that interests you both in Lucerne and on the outskirts, you could probably do all of the walking around right in Lucerne in one day. We stayed a good hour or so outside of the city on top of one of the mountain ranges in a tiny village. The views were amazing but staying in Lucerne, if you were in one of the more historic areas, would be very nice too.
 
Lived in Switzerland for a bit. I mostly know Bern. I’ll just write what comes out off the top of my head.

Try to go to the Lauterbrunnen Valley. I still laugh to myself how my tour guides were like “We're going to take you somewhere kinda cool. No big deal.” Blew me away.

I thought the glacier garden in Lucerne was kinda cool, but I’m a nerd. Zürich is the real highlight, if you prefer city life though.

Depending on where you go, and your taste, the food is excellent. Being between France and Italy means you can find French and Italian just as good as those countries. They even do calzones the real way (with the big air bubble). Obviously the German type foods are great, too.

Please try to eat zupfe (like a unsweet challah) and cremeschnitte (like mille feuille) for me. I remember one time we went to the supermarket to get my usual weekly zupfe, and they only had the ginormous Xmas sized ones left. We got it, and I ate the whole thing. Hehehe. And yes, the SUPERMARKET. Their supermarket bread is just as good as the best bread you can find in the states. Seek out the bakeries and pastry shops.

There is an old restaurant that reminded me of The Krebs, but Ill follow up when I remember it.

The first time I went to Switzerland, I only went to Geneva. And I almost got mugged for the first time in my life. Hated the country after that. And Geneva was just kinda lame anyway. But after going back a few years later (not Geneva), I can’t think of a place I’d more want to retire to. Gets me a little teary eyed thinking about it!
 
I've been to Switzerland a bunch of times including a three month stay at one point. When I go to Switzerland, I'm all about walking, landscapes, architecture, and food/drink. Here are some suggestions:
  • Lauterbrunnen Valley - Jeepers is spot on. Absolutely amazing. Contrasts of green, lush valley and snow white peaks and glaciers. Try staying in the town of Murren (which is up on the side of the valley). Fantastic views of Jungrau/Monch/Eiger. Wengen is also a nice town on the other side of the valley and has some excellent hikes.
  • Lucerne is a great little city. Highly recommend.
  • If you want a taste of the Italian Lake District while still in Switzerland, head to Lugano. There are some fantastic hotels on Lake Lugano in the town of Gandria. Morcote (outside of Lugano) is beautiful.
  • Appenzell/St. Gallen (Northeast Switzerland) - Appenzell is one of the most traditional towns in the country. Landscapes are gorgeous (lots of rolling hills). Swiss-German food (which is fantastic). I quite like Appenzeller beer and their cheese. The Santis Mountain has great views over northern Switzerland (as it's the highest peak in the Appenzell-northern Alps.
  • Zurich is a great cosmopolitan city. I also like Bern.
  • Geneva is not one of the cities I would visit.
 
We were there last June. It was awesome. We flew into Zurich and took the train to Wengen (via Interlaken). It was spectacular. Exactly what you think it would look and be like (in a good way). Incredible scenery. The Jungfrau/Lauterbrunnen Valley is what you are thinking of what you think of Switzerland. Great place to spend a few days.
 
I have been to Zurich for work 4 times over the years (Company headquarters). Beautiful city first class city. I didn't get around too much but definitely enjoyed the FIFA Soccer Museum/Lake Zurich/a fine arts museum which I can't remember the naem. Old Town is a must see if you are in Zurich with incredible history and scenery. Everything is very walkable and they also have a tram/train system.
 
I tried their cheese once but returned it because it was full of holes.
 
I try as best I can to not spend vacation dollars on foreign countries with authoritarian leadership or which specialize in illegally shielding people from paying their taxes / money laundering. Sorry to be a downer.
 
I try as best I can to not spend vacation dollars on foreign countries with authoritarian leadership or which specialize in illegally shielding people from paying their taxes / money laundering. Sorry to be a downer.

Sounds a lot like the US.
 
I'm planning a trip to Switzerland-Northern Italy for a couple weeks this fall and was curious to know if anyone who has done that type of trip and perhaps has some suggestions for a good itinerary of not to miss things (especially the switzerland area).

I am not well versed in travel times within the various countries , etc. (although i'm sure I can research that later) - so with that in mind, In Switzerland, I'd like to see the scenery, a hike or two (not of the too strenuous variety), get a taste of a quaint village or two, see some architecture/culture/food and the like.

Italy, the plan is to see cinque terra, Florence, Milan/Lake Como, Siena, Venice... and depending on the time/route Torino.

A) is that tentative itinerary doable in the time-frame? What if anything should not be missed on the Swiss side of things. After reading the thread, I am thinking fly into Zurich, spend an overnight and train to lucern (another overnight) then train to interlaken area (spend a couple days there), and perhaps go to lugano and cross into Italy there? It's all a bit overwhelming, so any helpful hints are very much appreciated!

Thanks!
 

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