Part 2 - Switzerland - April 2019

We took an early morning train to the cutest, quaintest, smallest car-free town of Zermatt. Our best meal through the trip was lunch at an organic restaurant here, where we had the tastiest healthy sandwiches made from bread that was freshly baked by a family run bakery in town.

We spent 5 hours outdoors walking around, getting drenched in the rain, and riding the underground funicular up the canton of Valais, to see the beautiful Sunnegga lookout. It was snowing hard up there and was freezing cold – it was like silent rain and felt so serene. We spent a night in Zermatt so we could take the early morning Glacier Express to St. Moritz – most expensive tourist spot in Switzerland.

Glacier Express - The 9 hour ride through the Alps gave us the most spectacular views – of lakes, meadows, quaint villages, snow capped mountains, valleys, and several tunnels and bridges. Parts of the tracks in some valleys were cleared off snow just a few minutes before the train passed, giving us a beautiful snow path view.

St. Moritz welcomed us with a strong drizzle and light snow. But, this didn’t deter us, we checked in and immediately went on a long walk on the banks of the River Staz. The river was frozen solid, but not safe enough for ice skaters, so it was empty but for the runners and dog walkers around its bank. We then found our way to Devil’s Place, a bar that houses 2,500 different kinds of whiskies. We needed the stiff drink, and the boys enjoyed a yummy mugs of hot chocolate after the cold tiring walk.

It snowed all night, and the morning view from the hotel room was a heavily snow covered city. Since our plans to do another funicular ride up the Alps could not happen, we did the next best thing on a mini-blizzard day. We went for a 2.5 hour tennis session to an indoor academy and enjoyed ourselves.

                                     

We waited at the lobby of the hotel the next morning, before the high-ways were cleared off the avalanches. We then picked up our car from the beautiful village of Samedhan. We drove through mountains covered with snow into green green Austria. We checked into an Airbnb place in the cute little town of Igls in Innsbruck.

Part 1 - Switzerland - April 2019

This was a holiday that needed to be put together in a hurry. With the Botswana plan turning out to be beyond budget, Zimbabwe losing connectivity, Zambia being off season, and Namibia not having an embassy outside Delhi for Indian passport holders, we were left with Europe to plan. In a span of two weeks, we completed the research online, and made flight, train, car and accommodation bookings.

We took off on a Friday and landed in Zurich around mid-day. With nothing much for us to see in Zurich, we took in the green meadows and the snow-capped mountains in the distance as we drove west towards Lucerne. After an evening of walking around the little town, and seeing the beautiful Lion monument, we spent a tired yet cozy night here.

The next morning, we drove towards Lake Geneva and spent a night at Lausanne. A walk around the busy town to see the animated clock tower that strikes every hour. This is accompanied by an automated puppet show with a history based audio. We then drove to the cathedral to see the newly planted tulip buds for the Tulip Festival and the first view of Lake Geneva. We then headed to Montreaux for a really good slow walk on the promenade. Taking in the Lake, the Alps, some quirky statues, Freddy Mercury’s famous statue, the view of the Chillon cathedral and returned to Lausanne for the night. 

The next day marked the beginning of our snow adventures. We drove to Interlaken, checked into a cute apartment, and drove up to Grindelwald to see skiers enjoying the day on the mountains, and a lot of snow around town, including roof and treetops. The kids had a lovely first time with snow.

We returned the car the next morning and walked to the train station and went up to Jungfraujoch. This is the most popular tourist spot in Switzerland and is the highest railway in Europe, that gets you to experience the glaciers of the Bernese Alps. After a cold and freezing day up there, we took the train back to Interlaken, and retired for the night.