[Removed user]

20 January 2012 at 3:11:24 #804850

Please help me plan our 20th Anniversary trip in July. We have bought plane tickets to arrive in Zurich and leave from Prague 2 weeks later. My husband (who lived in Switzerland 22 years ago) chose Zurich, Lucerne & Bernese Oberland/Swiss Alps area for the first half of first half of our trip. We’ll then visit Vienna & Prague.
I would appreciate input about our trip, especially in the Swiss Alps. My husband wants to see beautiful scenery.

1. Arrive Zurich in the evening

2. Zurich – visit places he remembers, explore Zurich

3. Zurich – same

4. Travel to Lucerne, Lake Lucerne? Bridge? walk around? can we do Mt. Pilatus? go back to Zurich or stay in Lucerne overnight would be better?

5. Finish Lucerne or travel straight to Murren (or maybe Grindelwald? or other charming town?) on the Golden Pass 2 hour train ride which I hear is beautiful.

6. Jungfraujoch? Short hikes around Murren. Cable cars or gondolas or cogwheel trains…..I’m getting confused there seem to be so many.

7. Another day trip in area, another mountain or another lake? Travel from Murren to Zurich by nightfall.

Either stay the night in Zurich and take a cheap plane to Vienna first thing in the morning or take Night Train to Vienna at 22:40. So hard to decide!!!

Any input is welcome! Thank you. I’m so excited.

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[Annika]

22 January 2012 at 4:58:44 #834669

Hi jks, and welcome! I think you’ve made a great itinerary for you and your husband. As for day 4: since you’ll be traveling to Mürren the day after, it may be more convenient to base in Lucerne this day. This will give you more time to explore the city as well. Yes, you could do Mt. Pilatus, a (short) boat ride over lake Lucerne and the bridge in one day. You can indeed take the Golden Pass train (or regular trains using the same route over the Brünig Pass) to Mürren. Mürren is very charming, but only to be reached by cable car. If you prefer a more central location you could also consider Lauterbrunnen down in the valley. The Jungfraujoch ride is quite spectacular, so if weather is nice that’s a good option. But you’re right, you can choose from lots of cable cars and mountain trains and they all offer wonderful views. The Bernese Oberland day trip overview lists most of them and that may help you decide what to do on day 6 and 7. Hikes are mentioned here.

Some last tips: you can plan all your trips (including the outbound one to Vienna) using the Swiss timetable. And you may want to consider a rail pass, such a the Swiss Half Fare Card, to save money.