Sharing Some Science in Switzerland :)

[jsoprano]

Looking forward to this TR to get some handy hints! We'll be going to Switzerland as well in late September, for 4 days as part of our European trip. Will also stay in Bern for 1 night and then in a small village on Lake Zug with friends for 2 more nights. Am aiming to cover this in a TR as well.

 

[anat0l]

Enjoy your time in Switzerland! Zurich is on the other side of the country compared to me; Chateau de Chillon is as close as you will get.

If you are thinking of travelling quite a bit around Switzerland, especially in a block of days, you may want to consider a Swiss Travel Pass or Half-Fare Card. No need to purchase them in Australia - you can buy them in most large railway stations in Switzerland.

How are you approaching up the Matterhorn? Directly, or viewing it, e.g. from Zermatt?

If you have time, you may like to consider going to Aletsch to see the glacier. Hiking from Bettmeralp down to one of the lower towns is a nice experience, too.

Given your proposed travel, everywhere will be German speaking except for Chillon / Montreux, which will be French.

P.S. Bring money. :mrgreen:

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

Enjoy your time in Switzerland! Zurich is on the other side of the country compared to me; Chateau de Chillon is as close as you will get.

If you are thinking of travelling quite a bit around Switzerland, especially in a block of days, you may want to consider a Swiss Travel Pass or Half-Fare Card. No need to purchase them in Australia - you can buy them in most large railway stations in Switzerland.

How are you approaching up the Matterhorn? Directly, or viewing it, e.g. from Zermatt?

If you have time, you may like to consider going to Aletsch to see the glacier. Hiking from Bettmeralp down to one of the lower towns is a nice experience, too.

Given your proposed travel, everywhere will be German speaking except for Chillon / Montreux, which will be French.

P.S. Bring money. :mrgreen:

Thank you for the tips! Not to worry.. My French is as good as my German lol

No idea about the Matterhorn.. I'm thinking seeing but that bit is ages away

Bit concerned about the money comment.. Do most places not take credit cards?

 

[RooFlyer]

<snip>

Bit concerned about the money comment.. Do most places not take credit cards?

in my experience they take credit cards, cash, Treasury Notes, in kind, a lien on your first born ...

 

[anat0l]

Thank you for the tips! Not to worry.. My French is as good as my German lol

No idea about the Matterhorn.. I'm thinking seeing but that bit is ages away

Bit concerned about the money comment.. Do most places not take credit cards?

Most places will take credit cards, even in small towns, although the casual cafe where you'll grab a coffee and a cake in a small town may not, so a few notes handy is a good idea. It's worth noting that plenty of small towns, glacier lookouts or the like and so on have become very popular with non-European tourists, especially the Chinese and Japanese, so that also helps out with multiple acceptance of credit cards.

I'm not entirely certain about international credit cards for sure (of course major city merchants will have no problem), though in any case make sure to tell your bank first to avoid blocking. Some retailers may have what looks like a credit card machine but only accepts Postcard (viz. debit card of Swiss Post's banking arm), or only on certain transactions.

As usual, Amex is not guaranteed everywhere.

You'll be glad to know that credit cards, if accepted, are normally done so without a transaction fee.

I guess the "bring money" line was more a tongue-in-cheek (or sober reality) that Switzerland will not be cheap. Just look at the AUD/CHF exchange rate, and pretend that almost anything you would buy in AUD, drop the AUD and affix CHF, and that is the price. (Of course, that doesn't apply to everything, but so there - it's a rough rule of thumb).

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

I guess the "bring money" line was more a tongue-in-cheek (or sober reality) that Switzerland will not be cheap. Just look at the AUD/CHF exchange rate, and pretend that almost anything you would buy in AUD, drop the AUD and affix CHF, and that is the price. (Of course, that doesn't apply to everything, but so there - it's a rough rule of thumb).

Thanks for the clarification anat0l.. trust me I am not cheap at the best of times (just ask Mr Up) and I don't expect this trip to be any different
I have grabbed some CHF just to be on the safe side as I agree a bit of cash is always safer.
You should pop across the glacier/ river/ lake/ mountain/ train line/ moat (delete where applicable) and we can grab an AFF toasting bevvie

 

[JessicaTam]

I'm hoping to go to Switzerland next northern summer, so will be interested in all tips Especially if they involve chocolate

Hang on just a dang minute! You tell me off if I post too many chocolate/cake/ice cream photos!

---

Looking forward to the TR UpInTheAir)

 

[moa999]

Great area having been there in June.

Around Lake Geneva.
Geneva itself and the UN.
Lausanne and the Olympic museum
Montruex and Chateux Chillon are all worth visiting.

Even Vevey and the funicular up to Mont Pelerin

Easy to spend a day or more at each location.

Interlaken in the mountains of a great spot in itself and the perfect spot for a Jungfraujoch day ticket.

I highly recommend the 1-month half fare card - almost pays for itself on Jungfraujoch line. Also Swiss railway SBB app has discounted gates in the last two weeks of willing to lock yourself into a particular train

Stunningly beautiful region but definitely not cheap, albeit similar to Aus capitals

 

[anat0l]

Thanks for the clarification anat0l.. trust me I am not cheap at the best of times (just ask Mr Up) and I don't expect this trip to be any different
I have grabbed some CHF just to be on the safe side as I agree a bit of cash is always safer.

Cash is still fairly much the king in Switzerland; Postcard a close second. Maybe not as far extent as, say, Japan, but then again it's not unusual in some places to pay for the morning 10 o'clock pastry and coffee with a CHF 50 note, or maybe your groceries with a CHF 500 or CHF 1000 note! As an Australian not used to handing that over and preferring to use card instead, I haven't been 'Switzerlanded' in the same way, but that said carrying large amounts of cash in Switzerland is generally safe.

Word to the wise - if you're looking for fancy Swiss watches, yes there are plenty here, yes they are excellent quality and yes they are the real deal... but they are not any cheaper at all than buying them in any other country!

Chocolate in Switzerland is interesting. There's supermarket chocolate, which is generally of good enough quality to snack on at any time, then you have the fancy, higher end and more "exquisite" stuff which is also very good, viz. the likes of Sprüngli, Läderach, Lindt, as well as many non-chain, artisanal chocolatiers who make some fantastic truffles of their own. It's like the difference between selecting a clean skin, a younger wine, or a vintage wine - you can drink all of them, it just depends on your taste, and what you want to enjoy.

You should pop across the glacier/ river/ lake/ mountain/ train line/ moat (delete where applicable) and we can grab an AFF toasting bevvie

Unless you start in Geneva, most tourists rarely cross into la Romande Suisse, where we like to call the lingual border the colloquial röstigraben. :mrgreen:

Send us a PM with your dates and locations - I'll see what I can do.

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

Cash is still fairly much the king in Switzerland; Postcard a close second. Maybe not as far extent as, say, Japan, but then again it's not unusual in some places to pay for the morning 10 o'clock pastry and coffee with a CHF 50 note, or maybe your groceries with a CHF 500 or CHF 1000 note! As an Australian not used to handing that over and preferring to use card instead, I haven't been 'Switzerlanded' in the same way, but that said carrying large amounts of cash in Switzerland is generally safe.

Thanks anat0l.. I'll stick with drinking champagne and stay away from the coffee and pastries

 

[TomVexille]

Thanks anat0l.. I'll stick with drinking champagne and stay away from the coffee and pastries

I hope you're drinking some now as it's Champagne Friday

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

I hope you're drinking some now as it's Champagne Friday

I was tempted but stuck with the tea and fruit for now.. a bit early (even) for me

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

I've arrived in Dubai refreshed and happy
The second leg will be the challenge.. might even have to resort to working :shock:
I was very happy to see the EK J class was a 1 2 1 configuration from MEL to DXB.. last time I did a long haul in J with QF it was a 2-something-2 and I had fears of waking up in the middle of someone trying to clamour over me.. *awkward* But my fears were allayed and I enjoyed my happy little space with small mini-bar and generous amenity kit. I would have liked pajamas though and I guess took it forgranted that EK would have them... Not to worry... took most of my clothes off (settle down) and slept well for most of the flight.
Food was good, champagne was NV Moet.
Staff are young and don't have the same ease.. is that the right word?? But they are enthusiastic and very eager to please.
One odd thing... it seems on EK noone takes notice of the seat belt sign.. seems to be an optional extra even 10 minutes before landing!
Also I wasn't asked to do the toiletries in the plastic bag through MEL or DXB security... has this changed or have I just been lucky??
View from DXB First Lounge (opposite C22) (for those that didn't see it on view from my office).
Comfy lounge and food was good. Free internet is fast, staff very attentive. Champagne is NV Moet. Fruit was only the best ones
On my way again..

 

[anat0l]

Thanks anat0l.. I'll stick with drinking champagne and stay away from the coffee and pastries

Should have likely re-qualified this - stuff isn't that expensive here! A cafe and pain au chocolat - classic Swiss breakfast - would probably cost you about CHF 4-5.

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

Well the trip from DXB to ZRH was also in an A380 with the same seat configuration so I was a happy little traveller. Plane was a little older than the one from MEL and starting to show its age a little. Staff were more relaxed and smooth on this flight.. maybe feeling less pressure as the cabin was only about 60% full (unlike from MEL when it was full). Champagne was NV Veuve. I don’t normally do the plane menu shots but since Boomy does it I thought I would pop it in in case anyone was interested.

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

Blah... I obviously failed JohnM's class in uploading nice neat small photos.. I did try snipping and pasting in Word and copying into AFF with no luck
Oh well... I will persist...
Zurich airport was a smooth, fast, efficient process.. hardly anyone there.
Weather is gorgeous after some cold days in Melbourne... warm, sunny and very pleasant. Staying at the Novotel Airport Messe which is very Novotelish.. View from my room...

Not exactly singing the hills are alive at the moment but don't worry... it'll come

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

Day 1 - Zurich/ Uetliberg

Well today I decided to stretch out those plane legs and to head up to the Planetary Walk in the Uetliberg area. I started the opposite way to what Bindibuys (and Lonely Planet) recommended and took the S4 train straight to the cable car. This turned out to be a good thing as I was on the first cable car for the day and had it all to myself J (Photos (L to R and top to bottom) - Main train station in Zurich was deserted!; Mural of a cable car at the train station (Felsenegg); My own private cable car; View from the top)


I then started on my walk (in the wrong direction but I didn’t know that at the time). Lucky I did though otherwise I wouldn’t have seen/ heard the musical cows J And I didn’t think that was real.. I will try and up load video now that I have conquered pictures J The walk was well graded and shaded for most of the way. Along the way there are stones with each planet on them and information about them. They give people a good excuse to stop on the walk.. particularly on the steep bits towards the end! I am glad that I started early though as I did get really warm especially towards the end.


Map of where I went.. From the cable car I headed down rather than up.. but once I realised I turned around and headed back.. added about an hour to the trip.


At the top of the walk there is a big viewing platform (not sure what the giraffes have to do with it but they were interesting on the walk up the hill..).. unfortunately I didn’t have 2 CHFs to get to the very top but I think the view from where I was was pretty spectacular J Not sure if you can see but there are mountains in the background of the last photo.

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

Day 1 - Zurich

After the walking adventure I headed back to Zurich and took advantage of my ZurichCARD and visited the Landesmuseum Zurich. It was interesting to see a lot of the history of Switzerland, through religion, war, furniture, clothing, etc but one of the highlights for me was the building itself. The place is currently being rebuilt but most of the exhibits were open. (A through the window photo for Amaroo )


Zurich is certainly an enthusiastic swimming city when summer comes and I can understand why. The water is warm and crystal clear. There is a place for people to buy (?) these floating turtles and they just cruise along on the current. There are also “baths” a bit further around on the lake where there are bars. As much as my feet were screaming to me to go in I did resist.. There are also a lot of free places along the lake to go for a paddle and the parks are full of people sunbathing.


And to finish Day 1 some pictures of Zurich for you and my hotel room picnic along with the medicinal champagne to soothe my falling off legs

 

[Anna]

Wow, Zurich looks much prettier than I expected. I was thinking of landing there and getting out ASAP but maybe not!

Jess I didn't say I wanted pix of chocolate Just tips on where to find the best

Enjoying the TR so far - thanks!

 

[legroom]

..... Wow, Zurich looks much prettier than I expected. I was thinking of landing there and getting out ASAP but maybe not!.....

Unlike the OP who has to stay for the conference, we plan to step off the SQ Suites and .... spend time in Lucern instead (around Easter 2016).

From what I read, Lucern is also a good base to start - less 'metropolitan' than Zurich.

Our plan is 2 nights in Lucern followed by 2 nights in Zermatt and then Provence in France (4 nights) with Lyon in between before departing from Paris (on CX F).

anat0l

Swiss travel pass for those 4 nights ?

What's the 'best scenic route' from Lucern to Zermatt ?

I may do my first-ever TR then with my iPhone.