|
|
Post by Owen on Sept 6, 2014 18:07:25 GMT
0 ~ Best of Switzerland ~ 29Sept-08Oct 2011 ~ Boop ~~~ 1046
This travel tale was written by Boop and relates to a Trafalgar Tour.
It was originally posted on the Trafalgar forum.
29 Sept - travelling day - Sorry you'll all have to suffer through this day with me....
Groan and moan....up at 05:00 to catch my short hop flight from Nanaimo departing at 07:45 for Vancouver, travelling time 22 minutes. I said goodbye to my luggage and hoped that I would see it again in Zurich! I went through security with an open bottle of water in an outside pocket of my backpack, so I guess I wasn’t the only tired one around!! Onto the next leg, Vancouver departing at 09:00 for Toronto, travelling time 4 hours 16 minutes, with a very nice meal, champagne and a lovely lie flat bed. I was picked up on arrival by one of those wonderful golf carts and transported to the departure area for my final leg of travel where I had a 4-1/2 hours wait before my plane departed for Zurich at 21:05. So, it was off to the executive lounge for me for some computer time, a bite to eat, a bit to drink and a nice refreshing shower. Time seemed to pass quickly and it was boarding time. Departure was delayed by about half an hour and again, more champagne was passed around. Another great meal was served with some very nice wines, but how much food can one consume?? A bite or two was all I could eat and it was then time for some movie viewing. I turned the seat massage on, stretched out and enjoyed a couple of movies before drifting off under a very comfy blanket. The Air Canada cabin crew were fantastic!
When I said you’d have to suffer through my travelling day……I meant it!! LOL Embarassed |
|
|
|
Post by Owen on Sept 6, 2014 18:15:12 GMT
1 ~ Re: Best of Switzerland ~ 29Sept-08Oct 2011
30 Sept - Shopping/free day- I know you want to hear all about my shopping adventures..
Arriving in Zurich
I arrived in Zurich around 11:00 and my sciatic nerve decided it wasn’t getting better, ouch! plus I was feeling quite ill. I made my way over to the luggage pickup, all fingers crossed, willing my luggage to be there and………it was! Big sigh of relief. I loved the tram ride to the main terminal, going through the tunnel you can hear cows mooing and cowbells ringing and you couldn’t help but smile. And I thought, wow, I’m really in Switzerland!! At this point I must say that the Zurich airport is nicely laid out and very “user” friendly. After a quick stop at the arrivals duty free I made my way to the front of the terminal where I caught the “All Ways” shuttle bus to the Renaissance Hotel at a cost of 16CHF. It was well worth the cost particularly after such a long day’s travel. To me, it was not worth saving a few francs to catch the #10 tram, with your luggage, from the airport to the hotel. This shuttle was very nice and had complimentary bottles of water, of which I grabbed a couple. I drink a lot of water and I wasn’t sure where my next bottle would be coming from! Hotel check-in went smoothly, with very nice staff and I went up, changed into pj’s and had a nice sleep from about 13:00 to 17:00. So much for my free shopping day!! What’s that saying……….”the best laid plans of mice and men” I did manage to dress myself and hobble my way over to a gas station/market for more water and a few snacks, then it was back to my room to enjoy some German television!!Night all……………that’s it for me and my “shopping” day!!
Money mouth <---- more money to spend tomorrow!
Renaissance Hotel observations: In room ammenities included a coffee/tea maker, mini bar, robe and slippers, safe, air conditioning, bathroom ammenities and a nice hair dryer. The hotel had a very chic bar, a couple of restaurants and on the 4th floor (where my room was) there was a little seating area with a computer (you have to pay) and free snacks (fruit, nuts, cookies, pop) and a coffee/espresso machine. My room charge for my additional night was 156CHF which translated into $190 Canadian and I felt well worth it. As well, the staff let me keep the same room for the 1st day/night of the tour starting October 1st which I thought was quite accommodating!!
|
|
|
|
Post by Owen on Sept 6, 2014 18:24:34 GMT
2 ~ ( 1/2/2012) Re: Best of Switzerland 29Sept-08Oct
02 Oct - Day 2
Up early to a very nice buffet breakfast with many, many choices available and I can’t see how anyone would not be pleased with the selections offered. Most of the morning schedules were approximate wake up at 06:15, breakfast and luggage pickup at 07:15 and depart at around 08:00. This day’s drive started with slight fog and turned into a sunny day. We really had perfect sunny weather all week. I will speak for myself and Helen when I say we were hoping for some snow along the way but as the TD pointed out, if there was snow, there wouldn’t be “us” as Trafalgar buses don’t go if there’s snow. Our first compass point was Liechtenstein via Klosters, up Fluella Pass a wonderful scenic drive with some hair-raising turns, in fact a lot of “close your eyes” turns. Our driver Michael, from Austria, was absolutely amazing and a real pro behind the wheel. He did things with that bus….I’ll say no more!! We arrived to a sleepy little Liechtenstein, all shops closed as it was Sunday but the tourist office was open and those of us that wished got our passports stamped at a cost of 2CHF, worth the cost just to have that very special stamp!! We couldn’t see the “Adams Family” castle, there was too much fog and only showed itself a little as we left.
Sleepy Liechtenstein...
Our next stop was the Bernina Express on a beautiful, clear, sunny afternoon. What a glorious trip on a wonderful train and I can’t imagine any more breathtaking scenery anywhere. I forget how long the trip was, maybe an hour or more, but truly unforgettable. After getting off, we were then treated to an afternoon wine and hors d’oeuvres soiree at a local café and then it was off to our final destination of St. Moritz and an excellent hotel buffet dinner. Some of the buffet items were beef au jus, chicken dishes, pasta, carved baby pork, many vegetables, desserts and breads…a truly amazing buffet!!
View from the Bernina Express...
An exciting first day of travel………..but, early to bed!! Hide All Signatures |
|
|
|
Post by Owen on Sept 6, 2014 18:28:47 GMT
3 ~ Re: Best of Switzerland 29Sept-08Oct
Oct 3 - Day 3
Woke up to another glorious sunshiny day! And today we are leaving St. Moritz and heading to Lake Maggiore, 1200 feet deep, and a little shopping trip to Stresa, also switching to the euro. Once again, hold your breath scenery as we ascend the Julier Pass and then along the route to Bellinzona in the Italian speaking canton of Ticino. Ticino is also one of the premier wine making regions of Switzerland due to its Mediterranean climate, perfect for grape production. I actually had some Ticino wine while there and I can tell you, it was yummy! The lake drive through to Stresa very much reminded me of the “Italian Riviera”, this drive was a highlight for me, extremely beautiful. I was sitting at the front of the bus and took many, many photos, in fact, I couldn’t stop clicking. And really, how many “good” photos can you take from a moving bus but it must be done!!
View of Lago Maggiore from my balcony...
The bus dropped some of us off for shopping in Stresa while the others went on the optional Isola Bella Palace tour in the Borromean Islands. From what I gathered there were only certain gardens and rooms that were accessible and it sounded very nice but I really didn’t hear anyone rant on about how extraordinary this optional was. Painful as it was, I limped my way around Stresa (I had been there on the Best of Italy tour) and once again, managed to part with quite a few euros!! Stresa is a lovely little corner of the world and I had my first gelato of the trip!! Can anyone say enough about how wonderful the taste of gelato is?? We were to stay at the Simplon Hotel in Baveno, but we upgraded to another Zacchera hotel, the Grand Hotel Bristol and it was a grand hotel, very luxurious and it had one of those huge rotating doors that can take your leg off if you’re not careful!
A very quaint street in Stresa....
This evening was we were treated to a “Be My Guest” dinner on Iso Madre, one of the Borromean Islands, and this dinner was the spectacular. Because I’m not a fan of seafood or veal, I had the most delicious asparagus pasta ever made. The whole meal from starter to finish, with wine, was truly a treat. This was another highlight for me!
Boat launch back to the hotel and time to check out the day’s purchases before bed………. |
|
|
|
Post by Owen on Sept 6, 2014 18:29:17 GMT
4 ~ Re: Best of Switzerland 29Sept-08Oct
4 Oct - Day 4
The Swiss try to build their roads as straight as possible with no centre dividers so that in times of war their planes can use the roads as runways...every man starting at age 18 is considered to be part of the Swiss Army and the Swiss are so efficient in all things they do they can completely seal their borders within a 48 hour time frame closing down complete access into the country. The Swiss Army guard are expert crossbowmen (?) which is why they are selected to guard the Pope and that is all the "army" stuff I learned.
stay tuned for more tour tale.............this is hard work!!
On with day 4.... Another early start today after a very nice breakfast!! There was excitement on the bus because today’s goal was…………Zermatt and the Matterhorn!!
We had another very beautiful, sunny day for traveling towards the Simplon Pass, 6,600 feet high. Once again, our driver was magic, there are some very scary turns to manoeuver what must at times seem like a bus as big as a mountain! On arrival in Tasch, we were transported to Zermatt in electric mini-buses as only essential service vehicles are allowed in Zermatt. Our luggage and carryons were transported to the Albana Real hotel and we were transported straight to the gondolas for the trip up to Klein Matterhorn, 14,400 breathtaking feet! The Klein Matterhorn and the Matterhorn stand almost side by side. What a majestic mountain!! The gondola’s are very modern and safe with the view down to Zermatt doing its best to take your breath away.
While here, for an additional amount of 8CHF you can descent to an ice glacier which a few did. A special surprise was arranged by the tour director and I’ll get to that later….. I cut my visit a little short and decided to go back down to Zermatt as the elevation can make you feel very light headed and I didn’t want to pass out in someone’s arms……
After descending, I strolled back to the hotel, which had a very Swiss flavour, very quaint and very welcoming. After checking out the room I strolled into main town Zermatt to check out the shopping. Zermatt is divided down the middle by a small, fast moving river. Our hotel was on one side and by crossing a bridge you arrive at the start of the “downtown” area. Both sides of the street have shops, lots of shops which extend about 4 blocks. For such a small town I was amazed at the number and variety of shops.This evening we have a fondue dinner at the hotel. I was anticipating a cheese fondue but it was much more sophisticated in that each table had a tray with thinly sliced pork, beef and chicken. We were also serviced saffron rice, vegetables, fruit and a big bowl of French fries (?) and they were pretty good! I think we also had a salad and of course, buns. One word – delicious!!
Another early evening, to my room, enjoy a glass of wine………….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
OH.....and this was the special surprise arranged by the tour director.....for everyone....
A photo for everyone with Biscuit, the Saint Bernard!!
This was also the day of the group photo in Zermatt and all received a copy!!
|
|
|
|
Post by Owen on Sept 6, 2014 18:29:30 GMT
5 ~ Re: Best of Switzerland 29Sept-08Oct
5 Oct - Day 5
After breakfast, we were back on the electric cars back to Tasch and our bus. I’ll just add here that I was surprised by the length of the drive from Tasch to Zermatt. I thought it would be about 5-10 minutes but in actuality it was closer to 20 minutes (and if you get the driver we did, it can seem like forever, he drove FAST!!) Today’s final destination is Evian (les-bains or “water of life”) and we drove through the Rhone valley towards Lake Geneva and stopped briefly to take photos of the Castle of Chillon built in the 9th century.
The drive along Lake Geneva is spectacular and our next stop was Geneva, a very beautiful and rich city. I’m sure that everyone living here has a Rolex watch!! Geneva is also one of the most fertile areas of Switzerland. We drove past the “broken chair”. It is constructed of 5.5 tons of wood and is 12 metres (39 feet) high. It depicts a giant chair with a broken leg and stands across the street from the Palace of Nations. It symbolizes opposition to land mines and cluster bombs and is a truly amazing monument to see.
In Geneva, we were let off in the park area beside the Jet d’Eau fountain, a truly awesome sight! This fountain shoots water 145 metres into the air, approximately 500 litres of water per second, mind boggling!
While others strolled and ate, I made a quick pit stop at the Bucherer shop across the street for some mini-shopping (you have to take advantage of these opportunities when you can!) and my free souvenir spoon. After lunch most of the bus departed for the optional Cruise and Visit to Yvoire. I had to cancel because I was in too much pain and took the bus along with one other couple to our hotel in Evian. This was a Hilton hotel and one of the best of the tour……….very posh……….except, no one had hot water for showers in the morning!! But, you have to roll with the punches, as they say!! This was the only night dinner was not included and while some went to the optional Savoyard dinner at a French restaurant on Lake Geneva others strolled the area and found dinner in one or two of the small restaurants close to the hotel. It was finally nice to get a reasonably priced bottle of water, the hotel had big bottles of Evian water for 3.50CHF, what a deal! Besides the Renaissance hotel in Zurich, this was the only other hotel that had coffee/tea making facilities in the rooms.
A hot bath did nothing for my nerve spasms so the next best thing was in order…..a few glasses of wine in the beautiful hotel bar and then up to my room to watch more German television….after all these television evenings, I think I came home almost knowing the language!!
|
|
|
|
Post by Owen on Sept 6, 2014 18:42:36 GMT
6 ~ Re: Best of Switzerland 29Sept-08Oct
Best of Switzerland - Day 6 ~ Oct 6
Today, we are starting the journey with at least 1/3 of the bus ill and I’m starting to worry about how safe I am from the “bus disease”, since I happen to be sitting in front of the two who started the chain of events. Time to cross my fingers!!
This morning after leaving Evian we are heading towards the beautiful Berne, Interlaken which is situated between Thun and Brienz lakes and overlooked by Jungfrau Mountain with our final destination being Lucerne for a two night stay. Berne has always been one of my favourite cities. I have fond memories of hitching around there and raiding neighbourhood fruit trees for sustenance! Our only stop in Berne was about ¾ of an hour at the beat pits. I must say that the city of Berne takes care of their bears. They have a beautiful natural habitat by the river with an amazing amount of space in which to roam. Currently they have a mommy, daddy and two cubs and a few other bears as well. Leaving Berne, we head to Interlaken, the only lunch stop of the trip where we could actually have a nice sit down lunch in a restaurant, if we chose. After all our dry “bunwich” lunches every day, with mystery meat and cheese slice and a wisp of lettuce and picked up at what can only be referred to as bad truck stops, this seemed like a bit of heaven. However, I chose to forgo lunch and again try for some power shopping, pinching yet more nerves. No one can say I’m not a die-hard shopper!! I managed to find a Swarovski outlet and purchased one of those Swiss Army credit card tool devices and, uh-huh….chocolate! After the allotted one hour break for lunch, a pit stop at McDonalds for some fries we were off again.
Our next stop was Brienz for the included wood carving demonstration, which took far too long, as I just wanted to cruise through the shop to see if anything was affordable. I bought a little carved wood Swiss cow (with bell) and a hand-made/carved wooden corkscrew. Both were under 20CHF each, so I thought they were worth it (until I saw the exact same wooden cow in Lucerne for 5CHF cheaper)!!
Leaving Brienz we continued to a pickup point for those doing the optional Swiss Heritage which I had planned on doing, but we all know by now why I didn’t! Our travellers were picked up by two horse driven wagons and off they went. The rest of us continued on to our hotel in Lucerne, the Grand Europe, about a 20 minute walk (in my case a 10 minute ride on the bus) from the main shopping area known as Schnannenplatz. We arrived in the late afternoon, approximately 15:30 and with stores closing at 17:00 I decided to rest my “nerve” and spend the next day shopping.
Dinner at the hotel was fairly bland and the least exciting of all our included meals but you take what you need from it and move forward. The choice was chicken or no name fish, salad, green beans and those “boiled” potatoes that could use just 5 more minutes of boiling time. The Grand Europe hotels is famous for their Toberlone white/chocolate mousse and believe me, this one item alone made the meal fantastic!!
After this, I indulged in my “optional” glass of wine in the lounge and off to my room to plan the next day’s shopping adventure!!
|
|
|
|
Post by Owen on Sept 6, 2014 18:42:46 GMT
7 ~ Re: Best of Switzerland 29Sept-08Oct
7 Oct - Day 7
With sadness I open my eyes to my final day in Lucerne. This is our first day that has been overcast and gloomy and there is fresh snow on the surrounding mountain tops.
I am also disappointed in the way in which the tour day has unfolded. Those that chose to do the Mt. Rigi optional tour where up at 07:45 and were the ones to receive the orientation tour around Lucerne plus the visit to the Lion Monument and the Chapel Bridge before leaving for Mt. Rigi. The rest of us did not get to see the Lion Monument unless we took ourselves there and, as usual, my pain level wouldn’t allow me to walk up the hill to see it, this was disappointing as this was to be an included tour feature.This was my long anticipated shopping day and I spent the better part of the day doing just that. I hadn’t realized that Victorinox is the original Swiss Army knife and that this Company was named for the founders’ mother Victoria. Victorinox took Wenger knives under their umbrella and the “red” Swiss Army knives were created under this umbrella as well. The red, blue and black clear plastic knives and the white Victorinox knife can only be purchased in Switzerland. I bought one of each and had them engraved on the back, a nice touch. I purchased some Swarovski pieces for my collection and lots and lots of chocolate made it back to my hotel room!! I truly can say the shopaholic in me was satisfied!
The streets of old town Lucerne are very quaint and possess a lot of charm and I went a little photo-crazy!
Lucerne has to be one of my favourite cities of this trip, if not my favourite!! It is so efficiently laid out. This evening it’s time for the “farewell” dinner which was in a lovely restaurant in old town Lucerne. It was a lovely salad buffet, followed by my choice of chicken, while the others had the mouth-watering veal in pastry dish. Apple strudel plated with flourishing touches of crème freche (sp) and raspberry coulis topped the meal off as did our included two drinks of whatever we wanted. At meal end, the tour director asked those of us that had been on previous Trafalgar tours to stand up. We were each presented with a thank you card and a box of Swiss chocolates from Gavin Tollman, CEO. Trafalgar. What a lovely and thoughtful gesture on the part of Trafalgar!!
After lingering over coffee, reminiscing and promises of staying in touch…….back to the hotel we went as 05:45 was to come very quickly for our transfer to the Zurich airport…..and I still had shopping to do there!!
8 Oct - Day 8 -
You're all travelling home with me....and sharing jet lag!!
Up early 05:45............yawn, time for a last look at Lucerne in the early morning hours...
Goodbye Switzerland.....'til we meet again.....
|
|
|
|
Post by Owen on Sept 6, 2014 18:42:59 GMT
8 ~ Re: Best of Switzerland 29Sept-08Oct
Best of Switzerland - 01Oct-08Oct, 2011
Hotels: I couldn’t find fault with any of the hotels on this tour. The rooms were of an adequate size, some had views and some didn’t but that didn’t matter much. Some rooms had one towel, others had two or more and all but one hotel had washcloths. Fifty percent of the rooms had an assortment of amenities, but all of them had at least a personal bar of soap or bottled showering soap. All the hotels, but one, had very good hair dryers, only one having a “vacuum cleaner” hose style hair dryer. Two hotels offered coffee/tea making facilities. All the hotels had nice linens and adequate mattresses ranging from firm to soft. All hotels had bar and restaurant facilities and a safe in the room. Only one wake-up call didn’t come through, so it’s important to have a backup.
Bus travel: I think it’s important to realize that there are approximately 45 personality types travelling on a bus. And yes, it is unlikely that you will be able to avoid various scents, including cigarette smoke smells. In most cases, you are not spending the whole day on the bus, so my motto is “just deal with it”, particularly if it is a case of simply not liking a certain smell unless you have a specific allergy. Smells weren’t an issue on our bus. By tour end at least 60% +- of travellers were sick or getting sick. I only have one thing to say towards this and that is….PLEASE cover your nose and mouth when coughing. This would have gone a long way towards illness prevention on our bus. Take sanitary wipes to wipe down hand grips and other common areas.
The food: Although this has been the subject of a lot of controversy on the MB, I’m sorry but I have nothing negative to add. Every included breakfast was terrific and with the choices that were available I don’t see any room for complaint. The included dinners were more than adequate, the choices and portions were good. If anyone wasn’t happy with a fish or meat choice we had the option of choosing chicken or pasta. We weren’t there for a gourmet dining experience and you take what you can from the included dinners and move on. There were no complaints about the breakfasts or the dinners on this tour!!
The optionals: Unfortunately, I can’t provide too much information about the optional tours as I had to cancel out on most of them. I did do the St. Moritz Bernina Express optional and thoroughly enjoyed it. The scenery was spectacular!! The Italian Lakes Isola Bella Place Tour on the Borromean Islands wasn’t one that seemed to stand out, the general comment was that it was nice, but there were quite a few areas that weren’t accessible to tourists. The Zermatt Klein Matterhorn excursion was spectacular. I had no idea a gondola could travel that high up any mountain. Beautiful vistas all around and fresh, fresh air, a very exciting optional for me as I like to have my feet planted firmly on the ground! The Geneva Cruise & Visit to Yvoire, from what I heard was beautiful, with a quaint little village to walk around but I was told I didn’t miss much by not doing it. The Evian Savoyard dinner seemed to be a touch overpriced by many. The feeling was that a meal as good as the Savoyard could be found around Evian for far less than 90CHF. The Lucerne Swiss Heritage optional wasn’t one that I heard too much about and seemed to be the least exciting or interesting optional and the least talked about. The Lucerne Mt. Rigi optional was a highlight for many that went because that was the morning that snow fell on all the mountain tops. It was very, very cold up there and I think more than one person went under dressed for this mountain excursion. The afternoon Lucerne Swiss Heritage optional was without a doubt everyone’s favourite and a real hit! There was lots of talk and laughter about this optional at the farewell dinner and included, from what I heard a lot of beer consumption, singing, cow mooing and horn blowing and was well received by all!! The Lucerne happy hour cruise optional was cancelled as there just wouldn’t have been time.
I hope I haven’t left any key points out. This is only my perception of the tour and others may disagree, but one thing I do know……is that I would do the Best of Switzerland tour again….only the next trip, I’d stay longer and shop more!!!
|
|
|
|
Post by Owen on Jan 25, 2019 9:50:57 GMT
Refresh
|
|
I did manage to dress myself and hobble my way over to a gas station/market for more water and a few snacks, then it was back to my room to enjoy some German television!!Night all……………that’s it for me and my “shopping” day!!