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19 September 2018 at 18:40:43 #818442

Day 5 (Sept 8) – Caught the 7:49 train from Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg and then up to the Jungfrauoch. The sky is blue with not a cloud in site. We arrived at the top before 9 am. We had planned on going outside to the observation deck first. However, since it wasn’t very crowded, we decided to follow the self tour routes instead. The outdoor parts (both the observation deck at the Sphynx and where you can walk in the snow are the highlights. The train to get up there as well as the tunnel and the station at the top are pretty impressive too. By 10am, it had gotten very crowded and we decided to make our way back down to KS. The one thing we didn’t do was the outside trek to remote hut (this was mainly due to the amount of time needed to do it). When we arrived back in Kleine Scheidegg, the runners in theJungfrau marathon were finishing. There was a band (more like an orchestra) tents , food venues, etc. It was very festive and not overly crowded. We had lunch outside at the train station (really good chicken caesar salad) oh yes, and a beer at 7000 ft. When we got back to Grindelwald, we stopped at our hotel to change into shorts (we dressed warmer for the Jungfrau) and then headed up to First. The SWP provides a discount and you can save by purchasing multiple activities. We decided on the zip line and the scooters. The zip line was ok (great views) but the ride is short and the line is long. I definitely recommend the scooters (not the carts). These are stand up scooters with good brakes (whew) that you pick up at the top of the first gondola station “Bort” (from the bottom). You can then ride them all the way to the bottom (in Grindelwald, you return them to the bottom gondola station. The path is paved and well marked but you share it with pedestrians. You can build up a decent speed if you have the nerve. The bottom section of the route takes you on public roads (there are wide sidewalks). At the very end, it goes up hill a little so extra speed at the end (if you dare) minimizes the amount of walking to return the scooter.

Day 6 (9/9) Checked out of the Hotel Eiger and took the train to Interlaken then Zweisimmen to catch the Golden Pass panoramic. While we did find seats together (we did not make seat reservations), this train was crowded and people left their luggage in the aisles making it difficult to move around. I don’t know if taking a non panoramic train on the same route would have been less crowded.We arrived in Montreux, caught a connecting train to Lausanne, took the M2 metro up one stop and made our way to our hotel, Des Vouyageurs Boutique (very nice hotel near the old town and the cathedral). After checking in we went back to the train station and took a train to Chexbres. From there, we walked through the vineyards down to St-Saphorin. In this village, we found a cafe and requested 2 glasses of any locally produced white wine. From there, we walked along Lake Geneva towards Rivaz (the next town) and ended up at a wine cellar called Vinorama. We did a tasting package of 5 local wines (along with bread an cheese) and purchased a bottle of our favorite white and favorite red from the varieties we tasted. We headed back to Lausanne and had dinner at a pub in Ouchy by the name of White Horse. Ouchy is a busy place, even on a Sunday evening.

Day 7 (9/10) Took the train to Montreux, visited the Freddie Mercury statue and walked along the lake to the Chillon castle. Admission to the castle was free with our STP and we spent several hours climbing through the castle, it’s rooms, and towers. After that, we walked back to Montreux, visited the Queen Experience (it’s a few rooms inside of a casino in Montreux). This is worth visiting if you’re a Queen or rock-n-roll fan. From Montreux, we took the train around the lake to Geneva. We walked from the Geneva train station and made our way to the old town. Since we were using our phone’s map app, it is worth mentioning that in Geneva, either due to the buildings or the tram and electric bus wires overhead, our phones were have trouble telling us which way to go, after a few circles, we turned the phones off and just walked in 1 direction. In the old town, we found a french cafe in a piazza on a quiet street and shared a really good bottle of wine. At the Geneva train station, we experienced our only delay of the Swiss train network. It turned out that all trains between Geneva and Lausanne were on hold due to an issue somewhere on the line. Service was started again about 45 min later but that train ride was standing room only due to the delay and the crowds. Interestingly, unlike what I would expect at home, no one was rude, no one was pushing, and people seemed to calmly deal with the delay… impressive.

Tomorrow, it’s off to Zermatt. More to follow.
http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/an-awesome-trip-to-switzerland-part-4