Smitten by Switzerland

Day 1 ( 1 July 2011 ) - London - Zurich

Took the train from Forest Hill to London Bridge station.From there took another train to Luton Parkway.A shuttle bus took us to  Luton Airport.We departed at 2.35pm by Easy Jet and one and a half hours later arrived at Zurich at 5.15pm local time.Took a taxi to our hotel, Novotel Zurich City-West. The taxi fare cost us 60 franc.Luckily the hotel was not far from the airport.We decided to have a quiet day. So we just went for a walk near the hotel.The hotel is situated in a quiet and newly developed area. It looked like the area was probably once dominated by warehouses. These have now been developed and turned into cafes and restaurants.

We had dinner at a mediterranean restaurant and after which had an early night.

Day 2 ( 2 July 2011 ) - Zurich

After breakfast and a short walk away we board  tram number 13 and in less than 10 minutes we were in Bahnhofstrasse , the main street in the city of Zurich  and the main shopping area with fashion shops and boutiques selling watches at every corner.Zurich is not a big city with a population of 360,000 people. Most of the main attractions were within walking distance.We took  a walk in the old city with it's cobblestones streets and explored areas on both sides of the Limmat River. The attractions include St Peter's church ,the oldest church in Zurich and with the  biggest clock face in Europe with a circumference of 28 feet.As our tram ticket included a boat ride we took the boat for a round trip from the Limmat River to Lake Zurich.We were amazed to see how  clear the water was,with swans happily swimming in the river.

The day would not be complete without us having coffee at one of the cafes while watching the world passed by.

Met our Tour Director,Marco and other people who were joining the Cosmos tour at the hotel lobby at 6 pm. We were given a short briefing on the itinerary for the next day.Dinner which was part of the tour was at the hotel.

Day 3 ( 3 July 2011 ) - Zurich - Appenzell - Liechtenstein - St Moritz

Our coach left the hotel at 8.45am and made our journey east, and in fifteen minutes we were out of Zurich. Soon we were in the countryside with rolling hills and farms of maize , wheat and grazing cattles. We past quaint villages with houses perched on hillslopes.The houses looked pretty with wooden windows and balconies with window flower boxes of petunias.Reached Appenzell with a crystal clear river gushing through it. The temperature was a cool 14 degrees Celcius.Stopped at Appenzell for 45 minutes and went for a walk through the town with shops of multiple- hued facade.

We resumed our journey downhill to the Rhine valley with the glorious mountains in the background,past cows grazing on grass slopes. We soon arrived at the principality of Liechtenstein which is one of the smallest country in the world with only a length of 20 km and a population of 34000. Perched high on top of the hill is the Schloss Vaduz,the  castle of the Prince of Liechtenstein who is reputed to be one of the richest man in Europe. The flag was up signifying that he was in and we were tempted to invite ourselves for lunch ! The city of Vaduz has nothing really  exciting other than a small cathedral and museum .We were more interested in a row of vintage sports cars parked along the main road.

We  continued our journey through what is fondly refered to as Heidiland  after the famed story Heidi. I remember reading the book Heidi when I was small and was captivated by the description of the hills and meadows. It was exactly as I pictured it to be -grassy slopes with pink,white and yellow wild flowers swaying to the mountain breeze with the mountains looming on both sides and the clear milky green Rhine River gushing on our right.

We then made the slow climb passed Murmarera Lake which is a manmade lake up to Julier Pass at 2274 metres above sea level. There we stopped to have a better view of the majestics peaks surrounding us. There were cattles grazing and we could here the chimes of their bells like a beautifully orchestrated symphony floating in the air.

The trip thereafter was downhill to St Moritz which is 1800 metres above sea level and decorated by the pristine Lake Silvaplana and Lake St Moritz. This is the winter playground for the rich and famous and we were told that the place would be buzzing with holiday makers in the winter. Since we are neither rich nor famous and I am basically a sun worshiper, summer in St Moritz is perfectly fine by me. We checked into Hotel Baeren at 4.30pm and went for a walk along the Lake admiring the picturesque scenery.

Day 4 ( 4 July 2011 ) - St Moritz - Tirano - Lake Como - Lugano

Woke up at 6am to a bright sunny morning. Looked out of my balcony window to a beautiful view of the snowcapped Alps mountain basking in the morning sun.The air was chilly and crisp.

We left St Moritz train station at 8.45am on the Bernina Express, said to be the slowest train service in the world.Shortly we were surrounded by snowcapped mountains that took my breath away. Although it was summer there was still snow above the snow line.There were exclamations of wonder among the passengers and everyone was jostling towards the windows to get a better view of the spectacular surroundings and to ensure they get the priceless snapshots of the mountains.The train reached the highest point at 2253 metres above sea level along two manmade lakes called Lej Nair and Lago Bianco and started it's descent.

Shortly we reached Alp Grum a snow covered mountain cap that redefine my idea of beauty. Downhill the train meandered like a giant serpent along pine forest. We caught glimpses of a river rushing down to the valley below.The view was interspersed by quaint villages on slopes with church spires looming tall above the rooftops.At Le Prese  we were greeted by a view of the beautiful Lago di Poschiavo with it's beautiful calm green water and houses scattered around it. As we descended further, the landscape and vegetation changed.

We arrived at  Tirano, Italy at 11.12am and breezed through the Italian border checkpoint, which was nothing more than someone at the train station standing there and saying welcome! The weather was bright and sunny and we had lunch at an Italian Restaurant (of course !). Tirano is a small town with not many people in sight except the tourists.Since it was a Monday the shops were opened only at 3pm. I suspected the locals were out in the park basking in the sun while sipping red wine.These people really know how to enjoy life!

We  left Tirano at 12.35pm for Lake Como. Lake Como is the third largest lake in Italy and popular as a summer destination for aristocrats and celebrities. We  stopped at Lago on Lake Como. It's a beautiful lake surrounded by villas mostly used as holiday homes. We had Italian ice cream recommended by our guide and said to be one of the best around. It was quite good really especially when it's eaten while taking in the beautiful sights of Lake Como.Unfortunately our stay there was only for 45 minutes. I told my husband we must come again and stay here for a week and do nothing ,which I am quite good at!

One hour fifteen minutes  later we arrived at Lugano in Switzerland on the shores of Lake Lugano and checked into our hotel called Acquarello.After a short rest we went for a cruise on the Lake which is only three kilometers in width and thirty kilometers at it's longest point. We stopped on the other side of the lake at a restaurant for a seafood dinner. After dinner we sat outside by the lake watching the sun set.We continued with the cruise passing the Italian enclave with a huge Casino dominating the landscape,which I felt was out of place amongst the beautiful houses. We then made way back to Lugano which by now was colourfully lighted and looked  like a beautiful arrangement of jewels on the clear night.

Day 5 ( July 5 2011 ) - Lugano - Lake Maggiore - Tasch

Our day began with a walk in the park in Lugano, admiring the pretty flowers in all it's glorious colors - white periwinkle,yellow daisies,marigolds and hydrangeas in lilac,pink and shocking pink, colors I have not seen before.

An hour later we board the coach for a chocolate factory called Alprose just a short distance from Lugano. We were greeted by two ladies offering a taste of a biscuit stick dipped in a chocolate fountain.We watched a short video on chocolate making, walk through the factory to see for ourselves the process and at the end of it we were led to a small shop selling chocolates which we of course couldn't resist buying.

Next we were on the coach for our next destination and five minutes later we were again crossing the border into Italy.Reached Baveno on the shore of Lake Maggiore at 12.20pm.Lake Maggiore is the second  largest lake in Italy with a medditeranean climate.When we arrived the temperature was a heaty 32 degrees Celsius . Despite my love for the sun I was thankful for the breeze.A 10- minute boat ride took us to the island of Isolabella,meaning beautiful island.A palace was  built by the king for his wife Isabel ( I am still waiting for my husband to dedicate an island to me! ).After a quick lunch at a cafe by the lake,we  were given a tour of the interiors of the palace by a local guide who was a very funny man and was quick with a one-liner punchlines.

We then were given time on our own to explore the gardens of the palace.There were four levels of terraced gardens with a large variety of plants and flowers of myriad hues.There was also a greenhouse containing tropical plants.Beautiful flowers were seen creeping on walls, growing in flower beds and borders. Numerous statues and  sculptures adorn the top level of the garden.Visitors were seen snapping pictures of every spot of the garden, including myself. Soon it was time to leave the island. At 3.20 pm we said goodbye to Baveno for our next destination.

At 4.20pm we crossed the border back into Switzerland and were soon greeted by vertical rock - surfaced mountains that loomed high above on both sides as our coach maneuvered sharp corners uphill.Conifers formed the main vegetation interspersed by waterfalls,rapids and streams.A few kilometers apart we saw farm houses.We stopped at Simplon Pass which is the highest point of the road at 2005 metres above sea level for a cup of coffee. While we sipped coffee we sat here admiring God's painting of beautiful snowcapped peaks against the clear blue sky.

From there we started to make our descend down to the valley below past the city of Brig with the River Rhone flowing through.Then our journey took us uphill again to the picturesque village of Tasch.We checked into a Swiss chalet called Matterhorn Walliserhof Resort.As we stepped out from our room to the balcony there were " oohs" and "aahs" as we took in the sight of the snowcapped peaks in the distance.After dinner we went for a walk enjoying the fresh alpine air and the serenity of the village.

Day 6 ( 6 July 2011 ) - Tasch - Zermatt - Gornergrat - Lausanne

At 8.20 am  left our hotel and walked to the train station which was two minutes away. Took a 10 minutes train ride to Zermatt at the foot of the Alps. From here we board another train. The train slithered it's way precariously along the mountain slopes.Soon the chalets in Zermatt appeared as just specks on the ground. Our guide Marco had advised us to sit on the right side of the train and we soon knew why.Looming up in the sky was the Matterhorn which looked like a dagger pointing towards the sky.

Our train continued it's journey until it reached the highest station,Gornergrat which stood at 3089 metres above sea level.We spent one short hour admiring the work of the greatest Painter.I had the feeling of being on top of the world, figuratively and literally. This must be how climbers of Mount Everest feel when they reach the top. As I stared at the majestic peaks 360 degrees around me with the Matterhorn taking centre stage, I feel so small and insignificant against such magnificent creations of God.I could have stayed there forever and not felt that I had enough of the scenery.If heaven is on earth this must be the place!

Unfortunately we had to make our way down on the 11.07 am train down to Zermatt where we had a quick lunch before catching the 1.07 pm train back to Tasch where our coach was waiting to take us to Lausanne.

Less than two hours later we reached Lake Geneva and passed through Montreax where we had a glimpse of Sion Castle.

We checked into Novotel in Lausanne and spent the rest of the day at the hotel.Our stay at the Alps had taken a toll on us,maybe it was the excitement or maybe it was be the thin air at that altitude.

Day 7 ( 7 July 2011 ) - Lausanne - Gruyere - Berne - Interlaken - Lucern

Left our hotel in Lausanne at 8am and an hour later we were in Gruyere. Our first stop was a cheese factory where we spent about 45 minutes on a tour of how cheese is made and some time to purchase cheese. Since we are not really cheese eaters we didn't buy any.

We then visited Gruyere village where I had the impression that time stood still.It has a main street with cobbled road,typical Swiss chalets with flower boxes in windows.The village's centre of  attraction is the Castle of Gruyere, perched on the highest point of the village.

We left Gruyere at 10.45am and travelled to Berne, the capital of Switzerland. Berne's main attraction is the clock tower and cathedral. Unfortunately the cathedral was under refurbishment.Berne was quiet and  had a  laid-back atmosphere about it.We had lunch there and spent some time in the main avenue.

We left Berne at 1.45pm for Interlaken which is a town between two lakes and spent 45 minutes walking along the main street. Far in the horizon we could see the peak of the Jangfrau mountain.

We left Interlaken for our next destination,Lucern. Along the way we passed the pictureques village of Lungern on the shores of Lake Lungern with it's calm green waters and wooden houses on slopes surrounding the village.It's such an idyllic place to stay.

We arrived at Lucern at 4.45pm and checked into Hotel Astoria which is situated in the centre of the city. Later we went for a walk along  Lake Lucern and admired the older parts of the city and the city's old Chapel bridge which is made of wood ,has a roof along the span of the bridge and flowers running on both sides of it.Unfortunately it rained quite heavily and we were stranded under a bus stop before we decided to made a dash for the Hotel.

Day 8 ( 8 July 2011 ) - Lucern - Stanserhorn - Zurich

Woke up to a beautiful sunny day with a temperature of 22 degrees Celcius. At 8am left the hotel for a visit to the Lion Monument which is a lion sculpture carved into the stone cliff of a hillock , screened from the city by lush green trees and plants.In front of it was a pool and it was said that throwing coins into the pool will fulfill one's wishes. One wish that I had was to be able to come again to Switzerland !

Next we went for an hour-long cruise on Lake Lucern and we enjoyed the panorama as our guide gave a commentary of some of the interesting buildings around the lake.After disembarking from the cruise boat we took a walk in the city admiring the Chapel Bridge with it's beautiful flowers adorning both sides and looking at the swans and various birds swimming in the Lake.We visited the Bucherer shop which sold various Swiss watches and seemed to be very popular with Asian tourists especially tourists from China, who seemed to be buying watches by the dozens.

Then our coach took us to the foot of Mount Stanserhorn which is just half an hour way.Our  journey up the Stanserhorn Mountain was by way of a vintage funicular train and then a cable car ride which took about 20 minutes in total.When we reached the top mist covered the peak blocking our view.Fortunately the mist lifted shortly afterwards and  we spent about an hour enjoying the vista around us while having lunch in the crisp mountain air.

Soon it was time to go down and from there we proceeded with our journey to Zurich.We reached our hotel in Zurich,Novotel an hour later.After checking in we decided to go for a walk in the city along the Limmat River and through the streets of the old part of the city,ending our day with dinner.

Day 9 ( 9 July 2011 ) - Zurich - London

Had a good nite's sleep last night. Got up late at 8.30am and had a leisurely breakfast.Left the hotel at 12.30pm for the airport which is only 10 minutes away.It was time to say goodbye to spectacular Switzerland. I hope I am able to come again for another visit very soon.