USVI-On-Line

Greetings all
We rarely go back to the same place twice (too many places to see/experience), but our last 2 big trips were to STT, STJ, and Virgin Gorda. Add the fact that I am still a regular here even though we are not currently planning another Caribbean vacation, tells you how much we loved it and says something about you folks too.

But we were ready for "something completely different" and are just back from 9 days in the land of "anti-island Time" - - Switzerland.

Did not find another similar forum half as helpful as this one for Switzerland, so consider yourselves lucky with what you get here. The tripadvisor and other similar forums were somewhat helpful, but the difference is that when you ask a question there, you get like 2-4 answers, and here you get what, like 12-15 or more, not to mention a level of detail unmatched elsewhere. Anthony and Rick G from this forum did provide some European advice, so thanks to them.

Anyways, we had a great trip that, and like STJ, it even managed to give us a pretty high level of post-vacation buzz that includes talk of a return trip that would include Northern Italy and the lake country that borders Switzerland (Como, Lugano, Ticino, etc.)

Regarding the "anti-island time" characterization, we (2 adults, one 14 yr old) took all manner of trains with an unlimited "Swiss Pass" (for about the same cost as renting a jeep in STJ) - panoramic, intercity, double decker inter-regional, steep cogwheel, gondolas up into the clouds, etc. and ALL run PRECISELY on time.

All were a pleasure to use, clean as can be, and people routinely bring bagged lunch, coffee, beer, bicycles, and regular dogs on board no problem. The Swiss Pass was even good on the lake boats and for museum entry.

Now you might say, wow, I don't want timetables running my vacation, but it was freeing in an unexpected way:

Cloudy day in the Alps - no problem - jump on the train to Bern = medieval architecture capital city with arcaded shopping, great street food, etc.



Mountains on the other side of the valley or other side of the lake look clear - no problem - jump on the lake boat, or take the cogwheel down to the valley and gondola up the other side.







Also no need to stage yourself near the airport when departing. Wanted max time in Lucerne, which is about 50 mi from Zurich airport. We took the 7:10 train from Lucerne to catch a 10:35 flight from Zurich. Train schedule says trip takes 1:03. Sure enough, the train pulled into the airport station ("Zurich Flughaven") at 8:13. Then found out that Continental was delayed 2+ hrs! Welcome back to the US transportation system!
(lesson learned = shoulda called before we left the hotel to check status of the flight, then took a later train, coulda enjoyed a leisurely breakfast).

How was it LIKE the islands?

Well, you have rooms with fantastic views:
In Montreux, over Lake Geneva.


In Alpine village of Wengen


In Lucern




You can have drinks with a view (had 6+ inches of snow (!) on Memorial Day above 4000 ft.)


Instead of Vies Snack Shack, you have an Alpine Cheese Hut


Instead of donkeys blocking your path, you have cows


Thanks for the off topic indulgence - thought it would be fun to share these thoughts and pics with you fellow travelers.
JMQ

Wow love the report. Beautiful pictures. I esp. like the Cheese hut!

Very nice. It brings back memories as I spend a lot of time with family travelling Germany/Austria in my teens and early 20s.

I was your daughters age when I awoke in the morning to see the alps for the first time. (We had driven down from Germany in the dark.) That travel memory very much rivals my first memory of STJ.

Awesome looking place great pics nice report. May have to go there someday.

FF - the cheese hut was really neat - wheels of cheese curing inside, owner shaves off samples, tells you that was from last summer when the cows were up in that meadow over there and it has this kind of flavor because of the kind of wild flowers they ate.

jmq - Thanks for sharing. It looks beautiful there, so clean and tidy. Nothing like the old world charm of Europe.

I've had good luck with slowtrav.com http://www.slowtrav.com/ when planning European trips, especially Italy. You may want to consider posting about your trip for benefit of others.

INfamily wrote:I've had good luck with slowtrav.com http://www.slowtrav.com/ when planning European trips, especially Italy. You may want to consider posting about your trip for benefit of others.

Thanks for that site, I bookmarked it as we're planning on going back to Italy next year.

Wow, how beautiful! It really is fun to see other places, too. And a cheese hut sounds fantastic! (I heart cheese.):)

We did a company freebee trip about 7 yrs. ago and stayed at an incredible resort on Lake Geneva. I remember boating over to France. I can't remember the name of the town. I think bottled water is named after it, like maybe Evian. We also did the Orient Express and had dinner in a fabulous castle. Switzerland is absolutely beautiful, but the food sucked. But like I said, it was free. That makes it even better. I wish I could remember the name of the resort. Oh well, senior moment.

Thanks JMQ - great report and stunning pictures. It reminds me of a time long ago when I was an exchange student in France and we took a trip to Switzerland. Stayed in Lucerne. I loved it so much, I took my husband back there to show him. Thanks for the off-topic report!

Tracy

Great story and thanks for the fun pictures. Of course, my favorite was the Rugen Brau.

We're planning our January 2008 visit to the Czech Republic right now. Applying our contrarian approach of going to Europe in the coldest possible months its looking pretty cheap. Ahh, beers for $1.05 per half liter in 500 year old pubs.

Cheers, RickG

Cypress - We actually had a lot of trepidation about the food pre-trip as we (especially my wife and daughter) are NOT big meat eaters.

But the food everywhere was a pleasant surprise with wonderful fondues, great local beers, salads with super fresh local greens, “rosti” = potatoes with onions and cheese, tasty bratwurst, great bacon in the morning, and truly awesome bakery stuff - fresh baked pretzels, rolls, bread, pastries, strudels, etc. that was great everywhere (even in grab n go coffee stands in rail stations).



And of course wonderful chocolate and cheese, butter, fruit with fresh cream = YUM, as cows dot the countryside wherever you go with their distinctive cowbells ringing.



Everything was way fresh tasting and nothing was too sweet, even an iced tea out of vending machine. I think they use real sugar (and less of it) even in processed foods and drinks instead of that God-awful high fructose corn syrup that is making everyone fat and pre-diabetic here.



One of the best things I had on the trip was a fresh made waffle from a street vendor in Bern. Off the griddle, she poked a couple of holes in the side of the waffle and slipped the thinnest bars of chocolate into it, so it sort of melted inside the waffle. Heavenly.

PS. RickG another one for you…why order water at 3.50cf when you can get the freshest tasting Feldschlosschen for 3.80cf ???

I'm dreaming of an Italy/Switzerland trip in the not-too-distant future, and your pictures show why Switzerland has to be included. I've already discovered the Slow Travel forum, and it's going to be a big help...though I've never found one for any destination that compares to this one. Thanks for the great report -- and the added incentive!

Robin

Loved your off topic report. Some of the places that you mentioned are my favorites. I agree with you about the sugar level in the bakery items. Every time I looked around for my husband he was exiting a bake shop (we seldom eat sweets at home) saying "there's so little sugar!" Even in the railroad stations the food is good. I have similar pictures of the cows. every day at the same time morning and afternoon the cows would come down the street when we were in Garmish. If you like to ski there's no place like the Alps. So glad that you shared your pictures and experiences with us.