[Removed user]

15 February 2011 at 10:54:34 #804130

Hello fellow posters, as promised in an earlier post I would like to share our plans for summer 2011 with you all. For the last 9 or 10 years we have been staying for 2 weeks in an hotel on the side of Lake Thun between Thun and Interlaken. We loved this hotel for its beautiful views of the lake and mountains and friendly staff but the costs seem to have been rising steadily so I did some research using the Thun Tourismus website and others to look for an alternative plan for this year. Also as we were very impressed with the hotel in Biel we stayed in in December and would like to do the 3-lakes cruise from there (too far to get there early enough from Thun area though we have done the river cruise between Biel and Solothurn) I explored idea of a two-site stay. This is what I have come up with and comparing costs have been able to organise 3 weeks for price of last year’s 2. I have even saved more than enough on flights, by flying mid-week and booking early, to pay for the extra week on Swiss Saver Pass! We will travel from Zurich Flughafen to Biel on 20th July and stay in Best Western Continental Hotel (bed and breakfast) for first week. From there we plan to take the lake cruise, visit Kaiseraugst Roman site, Schaffhausen (new to us), possibly Lucerne with either Pilatus or Rigi trip and do a couple of walking days in the area. On the 27th we move on to Thun for 2 weeks where I have found a lovely holiday apartment only 10 mins walk from railway station. I have been corresponding with the owner by email and learnt a whole new lot of German vocabulary in the process as I was rash enough to claim ein bisschen Deutsch in my first email and have conducted all the formalities and pleasantries entirely in German! From this base we will be able to visit all our favourite destinations in the Bernese Oberland as well as look for a few more new delights. Swiss transport is so good that to spend just over 2 hours to get to places as far as Zermatt as we did last year is no chore. I always go prepared with a little book with pre-researched train times and connections so we can just set off on our trips according to both mood and weather.
We will be in Thun for August 1st – we have watched the parade of ships go past the hotel in previous years with the accompanying fireworks at the nearest landing stages. Does anyone know if the ships are pre-booked charters or are places available for the general public to book as well? It would be real thrill to be able to do the whole cruise rather than just watch it sail by!
Even though July is still a long way off I am already in holiday mood thanks to all the research and making the reservations – I can make our love affair with Switzerland last all year round thanks to the internet and especially this site – so thanks everybody for all the questions and answers – keep them coming!!!
Alles Gut :-):-) Maggie

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[Arno]

15 February 2011 at 14:42:35 #832208

Grüezi Maggie 😉 Thanks for sharing your plans. That really sounds like a great itinerary! For the other readers, here’s a couple of links to more information about the locations/accommodation you mentioned:

Best Western Continental Hotel in Biel (great location by the way: one minute from the lake and two minutes from the railway station!)
Kaiseraugst Roman site (Augusta Raurica)
Schaffhausen with its famous Rhine waterfall
Pilatus
Rigi

As for the ship parade on August 1: last year it was adviced to book in advance. That would be my advice for this year as well. But I don’t think the BLS has any details yet. I guess their event page will announce more information once it’s available.

Good to hear that you liked the preparation. It can be half the joy of the holidays!

[Removed user]

15 February 2011 at 17:30:22 #832209

Grüezi Arno, thank you for swift reply and the advice about the ship parade. I have looked on the BLS website and it said 2011 events would be posted in March so I will return to the site then – I just didn’t know if general public could actually get on board! We went to Kaiseraugst a couple of years ago and the site was so impressive and extensive we didn’t have time to do it justice so want to go back! We are both retired Latin teachers hence the interest but it is very accessible and well described for those without any classical knowledge too. We went to Avenches last year and also to Windisch (Brügg) but we made the mistake of going to the latter on a Monday and most of the exhibits were closed! So we must return on a different day of the week.
Schaffhausen will be a new venture for us as will be Pilatus or Rigi though we have visited Lucerne a few times. – I can recommend the Verkehrs Museum especially for young families (lots to do as wel as see)
As you say a lot of the fun of a holiday is in the planning when you know where to look for information and I can’t resist the temptation to check out Swiss websites at least once a week.
Thanks again. Maggie

[Olga]

16 February 2011 at 10:45:14 #832210

Hello Maggie,

You have quite some plans for your next trip! I really enjoyed reading your post and I wish you a lot of fun in advance!
Und weisst du, eigentlich ist Deutsch nicht so schwierig. Wenn man es kann… ;-). Good for you that you try to pick up German!

Es grüsst dich,

[Removed user]

20 February 2011 at 12:04:39 #832211

re visit to interlaken again in june this year, anyone know if we can get any further discount off train prices between goppenstien and zermatt and return..i know we get a 50% reduction, but as we already have half fare card do we get any more discount,??

[Arno]

20 February 2011 at 12:37:43 #832212

Hi Rob,

50% is the maximum discount. Unless of course you have a pass for unlimited traveling such as the Swiss Pass or Swiss Flexi Pass. Then it’s free.