3 Slow weeks in Switzerland in October

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    Peterli
    Participant
    1206 posts
    2 May 2018 at 1:18:01 #883741

    Hello Slowpoke,

    I have re-read the first post of this thread and I now think that neither of them lives in Germany. He (or she stated) << We would like to fly into a city in Germany to begin our trip. The last leg of our journey will end in Basel. >> So it’s very likely they are flying in from North America. My guess would be Canada because Americans are not known for being very polyglot. I have no idea why they want to fly into Germany (perhaps to see some family ?) or leave from Basel but I’m not going to question their decisions.

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    2 May 2018 at 1:21:45 #883742

    I’m going out on a limb here but I reckon anyone who skis Whistler daily would need to live in Canada. At least for the winter. 😉

    Peterli
    Participant
    1206 posts
    2 May 2018 at 1:23:53 #883743

    Hello Slowpoke and Gunzel.

    This discussion about railroad fans is interesting. In French, one would say that I am a “ferrovipathe”, fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Ferrovipathe or an “amateur de chemins de fer”. If you read the article, you will see that “foamer” is really not a complimentary word.

    Peterli
    Participant
    1206 posts
    2 May 2018 at 1:54:47 #883744

    Hi Rockoyster,

    Exactly. That’s why I was suggesting Canada. I think you can go out as far as you want on that limb.

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    2 May 2018 at 10:06:10 #883745

    Hi Falltravel-

    To bring the thread back to your main topic-

    You wrote:

    <<“Yes, walking will be a big part of this trip. Distances is not an issue…….

    Scenery, food, exploring small old towns, museums , art and music.”>>

    We normally put Luzern high on our recommendations list. It is a “general purpose” destination, but a quite nice one:

    http://www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne

    In addition to the variety of local mountains, the lake, there is at least one terrific museum:

    http://www.rosengart.ch/de/wi llkommen

    which is known for its Picassos, and also a room full of Klee’s.

    The old town is full of tourists, less so in October, and quite nice.

    In contrast to Germany, where many of die alten Städte were rebuilt after WWII, the old cities are really old.

    Many of the restaurants will have Swiss specialties including local variations, on their menus.

    Two that I like by the riverside are das Restaurant Schiff

    schiffluzern.ch/

    and

    http://www.rathausbrauerei.ch /

    The latter has a wide range of prices and choices.

    Das Verkehrshaus:

    http://www.myswitzerland.com/ en-us/swiss-museum-of-transport-and-communication-lucerne.html

    has a collection of old Swiss locomotives, including some monsters for the Alpine transits from the days of a world-wide horse power race . Electrified. They now have Old #7, from the Rigibahn, which I showed in an earlier post. It was damaged some time after I rode behind it and now is on static display.

    Somewhat less full of tourists-

    The Bourbaki Panorama-

    Never fails to impress:

    http://www.myswitzerland.com/ en-us/bourbaki-panorama-luzern-luzern.html

    http://www.bourbakipanorama.c h/

    And-

    for hiking, this thread has some links to der Weg der Schweiz ( the Swiss Path) and a fair number of pictures from around the southern part of the lake:

    http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/the-swiss-path-and-southern-lake-lucerne

    Hammetschwand-

    In good weather, Hammetschwand is a nice excursion for lunch. Should still be open in early October. A couple of pictures are attached.

    Now that the funicular from the lake near Kehrsiten is running up to the Bürgenstock resorts again, it makes a nice trip by boat , funicular and walking. Or, you can get up there to near the start of the trail ( der Felsenweg) by a bus.

    So, I’d definitely put Luzern on the list. I’d tend to stay in the city, but it does have high prices…a major tourist destination.

    You could stay around the lake, and on the rail lines not far from town, too.

    More later.

    Slowpoke

    Gunzel
    Participant
    241 posts
    2 May 2018 at 10:46:49 #883746

    Gunzel is a well known term in Australia that more or less equates with “anorak” in the UK or “foamer” in the USA but I reiterate that although originally more of a put down it’s certainly become a term of endearment in more recent times.

    Switzerland is certainly a place where one within the (railway enthusiast) fraternity can go “gunzelling” with a more general tourist and both have an incredibly enjoyable time.

    But we digress…

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    2 May 2018 at 16:42:11 #883747

    Hi Falltravel,

    I have recently completed my 3-week plan to Switzerland of which cities to stay/as base and am now starting to input attractions to visit, outdoor activities to do, & “how to get there” to complete my 3-week itinerary from mid Sep to early Oct.

    For yours, you mentioned flying into Germany first, not earlier than 1st October, travel slow and Basel as the last stop….. Maybe you would like to consider dividing Switzerland map into 2 parts with a vertical line at Luzern. If you reach Luzern (1st base, can do day trips to Zurich, Rhine Falls etc), say eg on 2nd October, you would still be in time to take Gotthard Panorama Express* to Lugano (2nd base) >> Bernina Express to St Moritz or Chur (3rd base) >> Glacier Express* to Zermatt, ie before these trains* stop servicing from 14th October onwards.

    After Zermatt, work on other cities on the left side of the vertical line… till your preferred final city, Basel.

    Just my humble suggestion… hope can give you some ideas in your planning 😀

    Best regards,

    May

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    4 May 2018 at 4:52:02 #883748

    >> Switzerland is certainly a place where one within the (railway enthusiast) fraternity can go “gunzelling” with a more general tourist and both have an incredibly enjoyable time.

    Any railway enthusiasts in Switzerland in early June might be interested in the Rhätische Bahn Railway Festival:

    http://www.rhb.ch/en/unesco-world-heritage/10-years-anniversary-of-the-world-heritage-rhb/railway-festival/exhibition-and-parade-of-historic-rolling-stock

    Alpenrose

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    4 May 2018 at 16:39:55 #883749

    Hello Everyone 😀,

    Having lots of fun reading the flurry of the debate and suggestions.

    We are in Canada, my friend is from the Black Forest area of Germany and I am from Quebec.

    My travel planning has taken a bit of a back seat this past week as I have been cleaning the gardens, adding soil etc. (things are still rather wet but at least the temperatures are finally more agreeable).

    Thank you to all! I will come back to the conversation as soon as I have a proposed itinerary for the group to peruse.

    Peterli
    Participant
    1206 posts
    5 May 2018 at 0:44:04 #883750

    Hello Slowpoke,

    << I’m guessing that our German posters have an energetic visitor from the ‘States or Canada.

    ?

    I still think that he should fly into Zürich. 😉

    Maye Genf, but that is a bit far from Germany.>>

    Well, now we know a bit more about our traveler; where he is from (Canada) and why he is arriving in Germany rather than Zurich or Genf. Genf….. such a lovely word, so much nicer than Genève.

    We also know why languages will not be a problem as they move around Switzerland !

    Peterli
    Participant
    1206 posts
    5 May 2018 at 0:56:07 #883751

    Bonsoir FallTravel,

    I hope that you will give serious consideration to my suggestion of splitting your visit into three main linguistic regions (13, 5, and 2 days: germanophone, francophone, and italophone). Whatever you decide, be sure to include Lucerne, and I remain à votre disposition for suggestions for Romandie and the Ticino. You still have a good amount of time to finalize your plans, so “bon jardinage” !

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    5 May 2018 at 3:13:54 #883752

    Hi Slowpoke,

    Here’s a thread crying out for your St. Gallen knowledge – http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/activities-in-st-gallen

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    5 May 2018 at 14:31:15 #883753

    Hi Falltravel –

    You could have fun comparing your Canadian French with Swiss French.

    Peterli in the past has explained to me how some of the towns in the French-speaking region are famous for the purity and quality of their French.

    In order to provide some modest support for his proposal for representation of the Romandie in your tour, I suggest Montreux as a good location. There are bases nearby, in towns of varying size, in the mountains or along the lake, so I perhaps should suggest the region. Montreux is a nice town, and the lakeside promenade is popular, for good reason.

    The town is a bit vertical, so walking can involve climbing.

    http://www.myswissalps.com/mo ntreux

    There are some railroads that run up into the lakeside mountains. Town to town hiking in these hills is an option. Above Vevey is the Blonay-Chambly antique rail line:

    http://www.blonay-chamby.ch/index-en.php

    http://www.myswitzerland.com/ en-us/blonay-chamby-railway-and-museum.html

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Blonay%E2%80%93Chamby_ museum_railway

    The mountain line up to Rocher de Naye is spectacular.. I recall that Arno posted a trip report on that. Can’t find it quickly.

    I have stayed in Glion a couple of times. Nice location for some walks and views.

    There are nice walks in the vineyards of the Cote Lavaux, not far away.

    Here is one:

    http://www.myswissalps.com/hi king/lutry-epesses

    Montreux is the terminal station for the Golden Pass route, which comprises a few trains. The trains on the section above Montreux offer special cars including panoramic cars of different types:

    http://www.myswissalps.com/go ldenpass

    Slowpoke

    PS – Airports –

    Zürich is almost in the Black Forest, sort of. 😉

    In addition to Frankfurt, with rail access along the Rhine and into Switzerland at Basel, you might consider Stuttgart. There is a fairly new high speed rail to Zürich from there.

    And, if you want to come into Eastern Switzerland, for reasons which can be discussed later, you could consider München. Those reasons could include the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen, Skt. Gallen, and the south-eastern corner, the Engadine. That would put you on the routes of the Glacier Express and the Bernina Express.

    Slowpoke

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    13 May 2018 at 18:09:59 #883754

    Some more information on the Blonay -hambly railroad, near Momtreux:

    http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/blonay-chamby-railroad-museum

    Slowpoke

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