Switzerland Travel, Rare Beauty

An In Depth Trek in Switzerland

My journey of travel to Switzerland began on the train from Zurich to Pontresina. When I arrived, a hike to stretch my legs took me toward Roseg Glacier.

Alpine Resort Town of St. Moritz

Wow! The luxury Grand Hotel Kronenhof was REALLY nice! They even had a to-die-for spa with luxurious treatments and huge picture windows.

Our lunch at the Waldhaus Hotel in nearby Sils tasted as good as it looked. They had a neat player piano that their mechanic has just gotten back into working condition. A gondola ride to the Diavolezza gave us a thrilling view of a glacier. Up there, the new ski season will start in just a few weeks time.

Switzerland has the most incredible transportation system. They have a law that every city with 300 or more inhabitants must be accessible by public transportation, so you can travel in Switzerland just about anywhere without a car.

Ticino – The Italian Speaking Region of Switzerland

Ascona in the south on Lake Maggiore is one of the best loved and most exclusive tourist destinations in Switzerland. We visited during the Chestnut Festival.

Stands and tents, music and little markets animate the main streets and squares of Lugano for the Fall Festival. The event combines folklore, wine and gastronomy, street artists and musicians, and particularly the celebration of grape and wine. A feast for everyone, both locals and visitors, offering a real taste of fall in Ticino.

Our little group passed the time in the morning waiting for the train by walking up to the Castelgrande. The Castelgrande sits atop a rocky peak overlooking the beautiful valley, with a series of fortressed walls that safeguard the old city.

Travel on the William Tell Express

Fast is certainly what the “Express” is not. But it makes up for it by being first class, through and through. In Ticino, we boarded a panorama coach of the Gotthard Railway to our destination of Fluelen. There, we were welcomed aboard the first-class upper deck of an historic paddlewheel steamer, complete with an elegant saloon. Two and three-quarter cruising hours later, and after a lunch in the onboard restaurant, we arrived in Lucerne.

We saw some incredible scenery from the trains. I was especially pleased with this photo on the lake. I love the way the trees and the man fishing from the boat are reflected in the water.

Lucerne in the German Speaking Region of Switzerland

The language spoken here is Swiss German, which is quite different from the German spoken in Germany. The longest word in Swiss German means kitchen cupboard. It sounds like kookie-cash-t-lee.

Jungfraujoch, a Saddle in the Bernese Alps

One of the highlights of my travel to Switzerland was the journey to the Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe. At 11,332 ft. it’s Europe’s highest altitude railway station. It is the saddle between two peaks that are over 13,000 ft.; Jungfrau and Monch.

From the top we saw Aletsch Glacier, which is a candidate for the seven natural wonders of Europe and is the world’s largest glacier. Those lines going down the center are not a road, but huge crevasses where the three glaciers meet that are coming down each of the valleys.

Grindelwald, Interlaken – Great Base for Hiking and Adventure

The Hotel Belvedere in the mountain hamlet of Grindelwald is a wonderful, family owned hotel with beautiful views. I got really lucky and had a corner room with a view up to the glacier and down to the valley. The cow bells tinkling across the valley were music to my ears.

Bern, the Capital of Switzerland

The capital of Switzerland is Bern. It doesn’t have a big city feel, but is surprisingly quaint with the Aare river looping through it. We ate at the Rose Garden and had a wonderful view (and wonderful food).

Bern is famous for the Bear Pits and the bears looked very happy in their nice, big pool. The Bear Pits have recently been upgraded to a more modern zoo type environment, with more privacy for the bears, now called BearPark.

There are fountains all over Bern and many of the statues depict their fairy tales. Almost every day, you can find a street market of some kind.

We were fortunate to visit a master Chocolatier at Confiserie Beeler, where we decorated our own souvenirs and sampled the silky smooth chocolate. Yum!

The food in Switzerland is really amazing. And, there are many great restaurants and bars below the streets in cellars in Bern. They each have so much character, beautiful furnishings and architecture.

Zurich, the Largest City in Switzerland

Our last couple of days were spent of Zurich. A highlight of our trip for me was a cooking class at Hiltl, the best vegetarian restaurant in town. We got to meet the owner who shared his family history of running the place and his innovative and fresh ideas to keep his business vibrant.

We had a cooking class and the chefs even made the food we prepared look as appetizing as it tasted.

The Hotel Schweizerhof in Zurich was a great place to end our trip. It was very luxurious, but the service is really what set it apart. I even got an escort to the train station across the street, who helped me with my bags and made sure I was on the correct platform to meet my train to the airport.

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