14 day trip to Switzerland September 2017 – Part 4

  • Pickergal
    Participant
    88 posts
    16 January 2018 at 1:36:32 #814054

    We awoke the next morning to the wonderful sound of cow bells. I could get used to that real quick! We took a taxi back into Grindelwald and went to the Hotel Wolter. We had made our reservation the previous night on the internet so they were expecting us. They did not have a room ready yet so they let us put our bags in a locked room for the day.

    We took the train from Grindelwald to Grindelwald Grun then walked to the cableway station. We took the cableway to Mannlichen. WOW! The views from Mannlichen were spectacular! There were also a lot of outdoor activities for children to do there. We proceeded on our hike to Kleine Scheidegg. It took us about an hour and a half. It was a nice easy hike with sensational views! It was awe-inspiring. Being so close to those mountains really gives perspective on how small you are in the grand scheme of life. It is almost a spiritual experience! At least it was for us.

    We ate at a restaurant right before you arrive at the Kleine Scheidegg station. The food was exceptional and reasonably priced. My husband had the rosti and I tried the schnitzel. Both were wonderful and we had a great conversation with one of the locals over our meal! Meeting people was such an important component of our trip! We purchased our tickets for Jungfraujoch and for our return to Grindelwald. I learned that if you sit on the left side you get a closer view of the Eiger north face; if you sit on the right, you get a wider view of the mountains.

    We took the cogwheel train up to Jungfraujoch and once again, loved the journey up. The top of the Junfraujoch was beautiful every direction you turned! We enjoyed the other activities on top of the mountain as well. We really loved the ice sculptures. We headed back down on the train and enjoyed the free chocolate they handed out to us. That was a nice touch! We got down to Kleine Scheidegg and immediately jumped on the train to Grindelwald. Everything is so efficient. They have people there telling you which train to get on.

    Upon returning to Grindelwald, we did a little shopping and had a wonderful dinner at the Eiger Selfness restaurant. I had the barley soup; a regional specialty. It was wonderful! We went back to our hotel and sat on our balcony and enjoyed the two little bottles of wine we purchased at Chateau Chillon. My husband enjoyed a cigar that he bought and we reveled in our second to last evening in Switzerland!

    Our intention Friday morning was to go to the Schilthorn and Trummelbach Falls but my husband woke up feeling a little under the weather. Those two places are definitely on the bucket list for the next trip as well as the hike from Grindelwald First to the Bachalpsee. There just wasn’t enough time to take in all in! My husband took a morning nap and I finished up our souvenir shopping. We decided to go directly to Zurich and not pack too much activity in for our last day. We went to our hotel and they told us how to get to Old Town Zurich. I was under the impression that there wasn’t much to see in Zurich. I was wrong. Zurich is a beautiful city. We ate outside by the Limmat River and had a wonderful last meal and enjoyed exploring Zurich by foot.

    Thank you so much to all the contributors on myswissalps. Your input and advice was invaluable in putting this trip together. We cannot wait to come back and somehow I am trying to figure out how we can afford to bring the whole family! Maybe winning the lottery will do the trick!

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    Pickergal
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    Removed user
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    16 January 2018 at 10:17:52 #874449

    I enjoyed reading your four trips reports. You’ve been visiting wonderful places and you have given us great insights into Swiss hospitality. Thank you.

    Pickergal
    Participant
    88 posts
    16 January 2018 at 14:29:02 #874450

    You are welcome, Chantal. I could never have put together such an awesome itinerary without Myswissalps.com and all the contributors!

    shuchirumit
    Participant
    25 posts
    17 January 2018 at 5:36:09 #874451

    Loved reading your posts. It will help us a lot to plan our upcoming trip to switzerland

    Pickergal
    Participant
    88 posts
    17 January 2018 at 14:13:07 #874452

    Thank you, shuchirumit. We visited a lot of cities but we did not find it rushed at all. There are some cities like Lucerne where you just have to stay for a few nights because there is so much to do in the area.

    Hope you enjoy your trip as much as we did!

    Removed user
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    17 January 2018 at 23:16:58 #874453

    Hi Pickergal

    I have really enjoyed reading all your reports and seeing your photographs.

    It was a very emotional trip for you indeed and so glad you enjoyed your family time! We have no family ties at all with Switzerland but after our first trip we just felt we had to keep going back again and now after so many holidays there it feels like “home from home” to us. I loved your idea of taking photos of Max for your grandchildren – very clever!

    Doing your research before your trip certainly paid dividends for you – even though we know the country so well now, I still do research to find out whether there is anything special or unusual happening during our time there (that’s how I found out about a vintage car rally being held in Adelboden last year.

    It is a good point you make about checking before you leave a train or restaurant – we have on more than one occasion left behind a hat/ spectacles/ backpack and had to retrieve them. The Swiss must be used to us careless tourists as they are so good at helping to reunite us with our belongings! We have also found that they are incredibly kind and helpful. We were invited by our apartment hosts in Thun to share a meal with them on several occasions and the lady who owns the apartment we rented in Uetendorf last year came to collect us from the station in Thun to drive us to the apartment and later took us back to Thun to drop off our heavy luggage before we left for home. She also brought us home-made fruit tarts and told us to help ourselves to fruit and salad vegetables from her garden.

    You seem to have done quite a few things that are still on our wish list! Witnessing an alpine descent is one of them. We have enjoyed August 1st parades in Interlaken a few times but this year our holiday will be in September so I am going to look for an alpine descent in our vicinity. Also on my wish list is the Stanserhorn Calibrio. And Vevey and the vineyards – perhaps they were just closed because it was a Monday – we have found a few castles and museums close or have half-days on Mondays.

    We are heading to Lugano for a week in June as well. We cope pretty well with German and French but Italian could be a bit of a problem for us too! All the more reason to research that visit comprehensively before we go!

    Glad you enjoyed your panoramic train trips – you did well to fit them all into your itinerary. Also pleased you managed to see a bit of the Matterhorn at least! We have seen it almost covered in cloud but luckily also on a sunny day! We had a standing joke that when I looked up weather forecast for Zermatt I frequently had to say “guess what – it’s raining in Zermatt!”

    Thank you for all the helpful tips and comments in your reports – they will surely help others in the same way the forum helped you. Hope you do manage a return trip.

    Maggie

    PS Barley soup is one of my favourite Swiss dishes!

    Pickergal
    Participant
    88 posts
    18 January 2018 at 2:53:54 #874454

    Hi maggiehorswell,

    Thank you so much for all of your wonderful comments. It sounds to me like we really like the same things. I can relate to your comments about the bucket list. There is just too much to do to accomplish it all and the one thing we weren’t going to do was try to fit it all in and then not enjoy the activities we were doing because we were rushing through them. We will definitely make it back to Switzerland. Probably sooner, rather than later. I would like to hear about your next trip and whether you fit your bucket list items into the itinerary.

    Pleasant travels!

    Michelle

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    19 January 2018 at 20:00:39 #874455

    Hi Michelle,

    Just finished reading your great set of reports. They brought back wonderful memories as we did a similar trip (in reverse) last June.

    I wish we had the foresight to book the front row seats on the Bernina bus.

    Thanks so much for sharing your experiences. I’ve noted a few hotels and eateries for our next trip. Barley Soup is right up there. And Kirsch! 😎

    Pickergal
    Participant
    88 posts
    19 January 2018 at 20:15:15 #874456

    rockoyster,

    You can’t go wrong with either one!!!!!

    Michelle

    Removed user
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    72625 posts
    20 January 2018 at 8:21:24 #874457

    I’ve become addicted to all forms of schnapps/obstler after a heavy meal of Swiss fondue or pasta now! I don’t know how I lived without it.

    Pickergal
    Participant
    88 posts
    21 January 2018 at 1:43:18 #874458

    Leave it to the Swiss to show us everything we’ve missed out on in life!

    Adelaidean
    Participant
    121 posts
    27 January 2018 at 0:51:49 #874459

    Hi Pickergal, just finished reading your posts, what a wonderful holiday you had 😀

    I know how you feel, I was planning a ‘next trip’ on our flight home…

    Pickergal
    Participant
    88 posts
    27 January 2018 at 1:48:12 #874460

    Adelaidean,

    Somehow this board makes me feel like we are all family since we have all had the pleasure of experiencing Switzerland!

    Adelaidean
    Participant
    121 posts
    27 January 2018 at 8:44:35 #874461

    “Somehow this board makes me feel like we are all family” ….

    That’s such a nice way to put it, pickergal, how lovely it is that strangers help each other and get satisfaction out of each other’s joy.

    And Switzerland is so wonderful, it is addictive. I like reading other people’s reports and their reactions to their experiences.

    Removed user
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    31 January 2018 at 0:10:12 #874462

    What a great way to wrap up your trip! (Shame about your husband being a little unwell though.)

    I do hope you have the chance to bring the whole family with you on another trip!

    Alpenrose

    Pickergal
    Participant
    88 posts
    31 January 2018 at 3:53:05 #874463

    Thank you Alpenrose666 for your nice comments. We will definitely go back soon and only time will tell if the whole family is with us!

    Removed user
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    1 May 2018 at 15:13:13 #874464

    Hello Pickergal (Michelle),

    Thank you very much for sharing your post trip part 1 to 4. I read all 🙂

    I’d be staying 3 nights near Grindelwald Grund station this September and would like to include the easy hike from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg, as mentioned by you.

    May I ask, did you purchase your tickets for Jungfraujoch + return tickets when at Kleine Scheidegg station counter? or via http://www.jungfrau.ch? How many hours at Jungfraujoch would you recommend before taking the return train down to Kleine Scheidegg?

    Thank you.

    Pickergal
    Participant
    88 posts
    1 May 2018 at 15:44:49 #874465

    May,

    We purchased them at the Kleine Scheidegg station counter. We walked right up; there was no wait. I thought this was easier because they knew exactly what ticket we needed. Plus, when you buy them online in advance, the weather may not cooperate. We spent quite a bit of time on top of Jungfraujoch; at least three hours. There are many attractions to look at and the view is worth the time!

    Also, when you arrive back down in Kleine Scheidegg, there are many workers there pointing you to the proper train to get back to your destination. No worries there.

    Enjoy your trip! We cannot wait to go back!

    Removed user
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    72625 posts
    2 May 2018 at 2:05:11 #874466

    Thanks Michelle. I shall estimate enough 3-4 hours at Jungfraujoch, and rest of the half day stopping at few stations along my return train to Lauterbrunnen (have checked with myswitzerland.com that I may do so for a single return ticket)…then back hostel at Grindelwald Grund. Just hope the weather would be favourable. If not my luck of dry weather during my 4 days in Jungfrau region, I shall return from Bern (my next base of 5 nights) 😀

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