Switzerland - Geneva

Today we had two things planned - visit CERN, the site of the supercollider, and the International Red Cross Museum.  

You can get a Geneva pass which offers discounts or free admission to places and tram/bus fares.  

Nerd Alert

We bought a two day pass, and from the train station, there was a direct train to CERN which is just west of the city center.  CERN is a Nuclear Research facility and the home of the giant atom smasher (Large Hadron Collider), an underground circular tunnel 27km (16.8 miles) in diameter that cuts through Switzerland and France. CERN is also credited with starting the World Wide Web (sorry Al Gore fans).

There is a really cool bike tour that you can take to learn about the supercollider which involves riding your bike around the path of the collider tunnel which is 100m underground. There are small towns along the way in both Switzerland and France, but Shellie and I weren't up for biking 50 miles. Instead we visited the museum and learned about CERN's activities.  

From CERN we headed back to the station and caught a bus to the Red Cross Museum. This visit held special importance for me as my mom was in the Red Cross after she finished college in 1955 and 1956. It was a really cool museum with lots of memorabilia from Red Cross missions around the world, both in the past and today. We spent about an hour and a half looking at the exhibits and walking the grounds.

Instead of taking the bus back, I convinced Shellie to walk back to our hotel.  On paper it looked pretty close, but it was a pretty good hike.  On the way, though, we were able to see a few spots. The United Nations Building and grounds are directly across from the museum, but much of it is off limits to tourists. 

We headed down the Avenue de la Paix to see the Broken Chair sculpture and the Alley of Flags where the flags of all the member nations are flown. We also saw the home of the WTO World Trade Organization.

From there we continued toward the lake.  Between the lake and the UN grounds are the Botanical gardens. There are a lot of native and non-native plants there and it is a peaceful area within the busy city. 

Cactus in Switzerland?

Walking along Lake Geneva -
Jet d'Eau in the distance

Since our hotel was only a couple of blocks from the lake and so were the gardens, we decided to walk along the lake to get back.  We got lost a couple of times trying to find the main boardwalk, but eventually found it just when it started to rain.  We got pretty drenched by the time we got back to the hotel.  

For dinner we ate at a restaurant which looked interesting, directly across from the hotel. It was another French restaurant, Le Restaurant L'Entrecôte Couronnée. We tried the four course meal and had some nice wine and desserts. 

After dinner, Shellie wanted to go back to a Casino that was on the same tram route as CERN. We took the tram and walked a half mile to the Casino du Lac near the airport and the Mövenpick Hotel (which says it has a Casino, but you basically go through the hotel to the Casino du Lac). It's a two-story casino with mostly slot machines. We had a good time there but didn't win anything. We took a cab home. Since the casino was near the airport, we had a good idea what another one might cost in the morning.

In the morning we booked a very early cab (no one was even out on the streets yet). We got rid of our Euros and Francs - the driver took both as do many service providers in Geneva since it's on the border.  I found it humorous that Switzerland uses Francs, but France uses Euros.

We made our flight in plenty of time, but the connection in the US was diverted and we ended up going through New York instead of Washington DC.  We still got home at roughly the same time, weary but happy to have learned and seen all we did in two weeks.

I guess no one wants to leave Switzerland

Switzerland - Geneva

Today we sadly left Zermatt to go to Geneva, our endpoint for this vacation. I expect we will get a taste of French culture being so close to the border. We though about stopping at Gruyere to see how the famous cheese is made, but it was a little out of our schedule so we opted to take the train straight to Geneva.

Upon arriving at the station, it was an easy walk to our hotel, Hotel Eastwest, which was in a great location relative to the main sights on Lake Geneva.  Once we arrived and checked in, we headed out to the lake to see the sights and find some dinner. 

On the Pont
du Mont-Blanc Bridge

The first thing we wanted to see was the Jet d'Eau, a famous water fountain that shoots straight up 140m (460 feet). We crossed the Pont du Mont-Blanc bridge which spans the lower part of the lake and the Jet d'Eau was on our left.  We found a viewing spot a little closer and watched as it went off and some boats got wet from the spray.  

Flower Clock

Then we headed into the old town which is to the right and across the first main street, Quai du Général-Guisan, as you exit the bridge. You will see high-end shops on the periphery, but walking a few blocks in, there are cafes and older buildings to see. The properties started going up a large hill and we aborted and turned back to find a bite to eat, but nothing caught our eye.

We missed the famous Flower Clock somehow, so we went back to the lake's banks to find it. Finally, we found it not far from where we viewed the Jet d'Eau.  

Back at our hotel we asked where to eat and they made us a reservation at a Swiss place down the street, L'Auberge de Saviese, which turned out to be top 20 in Geneva which is pretty good with all the French cuisine in the area. It wasn't that expensive and we enjoyed it.  I had perch caught from Lake Geneva. We walked around a little in the neighborhood near our hotel and up toward the train station, looking for ice cream, but not finding it, settled for a nightcap at the hotel.

Switzerland - Zermatt / Gornergrat

Today our big event was to get to the top of Gornergrat with views of the Matterhorn and other 4,000m peaks.

Gornergrat is easily accessible from Zermatt station via the Gornergrat Bahn - a normal train that ascends to the summit and takes 33 minutes. There are plenty of photo ops along the way and you can get out at various stops to hike if you wish. 

We went up to the summit where the Kulm Hotel is the second highest hotel in Europe. We thought about staying there instead of in Zermatt, but we were glad we chose the more -in-town option based on our interests. The scenery from the hotel and grounds though is amazing and we arrived on a relatively clear day.

We got spectacular pictures of the Matterhorn and surrounding mountain ranges.  

  

When we got back to town, we ate at Pollux - which is a hotel with three restaurants.  We ended up eating at Restaurant Arvenstube. They have Raclette, but we opted for fish and lamb which were both delicious.

Then Shellie bought a Swiss watch as an upgrade for her 20 year old watch.

Switzerland - Interlaken and Zermatt

Today we planned to go see the Ballenberg Open Air Museum, which was having a festival. This "museum" is basically a large park with exhibits of Switzerland throughout the centuries. You can see how the people lived and worked through replica housing and on-site craftsmen showing the trades of the time. This week there was a huge festival and thinking we may be strapped for time, we forfeited our tickets and instead visited Harder Kulm right next to our station and a few minutes' walk from our hotel.

Harder Kulm is a high point (4337 ft / 1322 m) above Interlaken that you can reach via a VERY steep funicular - see video descending it.  

At the top is restaurant and some viewing areas. The previous days we could see people hang gliding off of the area around it.

There's not much to do up there, but the funicular ride is fun (Shellie may not agree) and the scenery at the top and the view is nice. It was an easy trip taking only about an hour to see everything. The funicular seating is limited, so if it is crowded, you may have to wait to ascend.

After returning to the station, we checked out of the hotel and got on the train bound for Zermatt. We had a couple train changes and the whole thing took about 2 and half hours.

Zermatt is a car-free town - cars can park outside the town limits, so taking a train worked out well. We also booked a hotel very close to the station - the long-winded "SchlossHotel Zermatt Active & CBD Spa Hotel."  Basically, the SchlossHotel.

The hotel room was very nice and our little suite had a view of the Matterhorn.

We set out to explore the town and ended up at the Matterhorn Museum which has small setups of rooms and equipment from the time the Matterhorn was first being expedition.

We ate Swiss food at Whymper-Stube, along the main road. It's a cute little place that serves traditional Swiss dishes, including Raclette, a very popular melted cheese dish. It has a strong smell when it's heated up - so beware.  I like the taste when I'm eating it, but if I'm not, the smell is distracting until you get olfactory fatigue.

After dinner we strolled along the main road, window shopping on our way back to the hotel.

Zermatt - Not sure why my picture shows a car -
there aren't any, 'cept those little jitney things on the right

 

Switzerland - Interlaken und Jungfraujoch

Today we are going to the top of Europe! Jungfraujoch just south of Interlaken is the location of the Sphynx Observatory and Top of Europe complex. It sits in a saddle between two 4,000m mountains the Jungfrau and the Mönch. 

View from the Eiger Express

To get there, we took the train from Interlaken Ost to Grindelwald.  Then we boarded the Eiger Express Gondola to get to the Eiger Glacier Station. From there you take the Jungfrau railway which terminates at the Top of Europe, the highest railway station in Europe.

The whole journey takes about an hour and a half, but it goes by quickly - the scenery is amazing.

Jungfrau Station (in the Mountain)

Once you are at the Top of Europe, there are things to see and do. The first thing we did was to go up to the viewing deck of the Sphynx Observatory. From here you can see 360 degrees at all the mountain ranges. On a clear day, you are supposed to be able to see France (which is not close).

Brrr

It was 23 Fahrenheit (-4.6C) and it was snowing, which really wasn't all that bad for being 11,000 feet up (3571m) in late September in Switzerland. We had fairly poor visibility, but we could definitely tell we were high up - with sheer dropoffs below us as seen through the snow grate.

After returning inside, we visited the ice palace, where even the floors were made of ice.  

As typical Bradley fashion we speed-runned the whole place and were back in Interlaken in plenty of time for our 4pm chocolate-making class.

We booked the chocolate-making class through Funky Chocolate Club. 

Swiss chocolate is favored worldwide for its smooth taste which comes from the milk of the free-range cows that feast on the native plants. We learned how to temper the chocolate, then made and decorated our own bars, available to pick up the following day after they had cooled.

Nailed It!

Switzerland - Arrival and Interlaken

Today we took an 8am train from Salzburg, Austria to Interlaken, Switzerland.  The whole trip took about eight hours and we had to switch trains twice.  Once was after a missed connection.  The initial train arrived in Salzburg too late for our tight connections.

Some thoughts on taking the train vs driving:

1) If you purchase tickets in advance it is affordable and convenient.  From Austria to Switzerland we rode first class which had a sparsely populated quiet car and was not much more than the general ticket.  Once in Switzerland we used the Swiss Pass which offers unlimited rides on trains, buses, and even boats, and discounted admission to museums and other attractions.  We got a four day pass.

2) The timetables are extremely tight, but you basically just have to get off the train and get to the platform for the new train.  We made several 6 minute connections. 15 minutes is a lot of time.

3) I would pack a little lighter - I was manhandling two 50lb bags and a laptop bag and sometimes there were stairs.  One time I was rushing to get to the second deck of the train with one of those bags and fell backwards - luckily there were a bunch of people behind me to catch me. There is plenty of space on trains for bags.

4) Have a picture of your ticket barcode on your phone.  Saves pulling up the app or keeping paper.

Lukas, the other hotel goat

Stefan, the hotel goat

Switzerland is not in the EU, so they primarily use Swiss Francs, except some border cities like Geneva which may take some Euros.  Once we arrived in Interlaken Ost (east), which as you might guess, is situated in-between two lakes (inter - laken), we were able to walk only about two blocks to our hotel -  the Carlton-Europe Vintage Adults hotel.  I'm not sure why they specified it was for adults, but I did see a lot of people over 18, and much more.  All the hotels are very nice around there, and we chose this because it was close to the train station.  It also has a three on-site restaurants.  

Shellie in her happy place

Casino Interlaken

After settling in, we took a walk toward the city center and tried to find the Casino.  It was in a very beautiful garden surrounded by like a million watch shops.  We played a bit there and then checked out the nearby chocolate shop where we are going to learn how to make Swiss chocolate tomorrow.  Then we headed home, but couldn't settle on a place to eat, so we ordered pizza delivery.  

When I took a shower (tub+curtain+showerhead) the shower head spray came out at 1000 degrees so I pointed it away quickly and jumped out of the boiling water in the tub and it blasted open the curtain and was flooding the whole bathroom before I could get near enough to shut it off.  I had to go get more towels from downstairs and the night manager reluctantly gave them to me - I think he thought I was stockpiling them to steal them.  I guess they found the huge wet pile the next day because then he was nicer.

Chocolate skull