Trip to Switzerland
Switzerland is undoubtedly the most beautiful place that I have ever visited. Here is a short diary of my trip and useful information for those who are waiting for a beautiful vacation to Swiss.
First thing we did was to take Swiss saver pass for all of us in the group. It is a Swiss travel pass which grants a 15% discount to every traveler if you are travelling in a group. The Swiss Pass affords you unlimited travel on Swiss Travel System’s public transport network on either 4, 8, 15 or 22 consecutive days or one entire month.
Day 1- Zurich & Rhine Falls
It was planned mainly for Zurich and Rhine falls. We reached Basel airport from London and from there took a train to Zurich. We roamed around the city of Zurich and did some sightseeing.
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and has large number of museums and art galleries. As we were already delayed behind schedule, we did not go to the museums and just took a stroll around.
From there we departed for Schaffhausen, the city where Rhine falls is located. Rhine River flows into the breathtaking structure of the Rhine falls, which is the largest waterfall in Europe. The serenity of the river comes to a sudden halt just outside the idyllic city Schaffhausen, as it plummets over the long wide rock that is almost 500 meters wide and plummets over the top into a cascading waterfall that is over 75 feet in height before it rolled over and ends in a sea of white froth. The water returns to its smooth glassy nature again as the river makes a U- turn. This natural turning provides a spectacular view of the falls.
You cannot resist taking pictures at such a beautiful place. We took lots of photos and then returned back to Zurich and from there to our final halt for the day, Interlaken.
Interlaken is the one of the most popular holiday destination at Switzerland. It lies in the Bernese Oberland between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. As a vacation destination and convention location of international importance, Interlaken is an ideal starting point for countless excursions like skiing, hiking, ice skating, biking, etc.
Day 2 – Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe
The best part of Switzerland visit is the journey to Jungfraujoch – top of Europe, at 3454 meters Europe’s highest altitude railway station.
We took a train from Interlaken OST station to Jungfraujoch. The train journey was awesome. It gave a scenic view of the Alps, snow and mountains.
A large complex of tunnels and buildings has been constructed at the Jungfraujoch, mostly into the south side of the Mönch. There is a hotel, two restaurants, an observatory, a research station, a small cinema, a ski school, and the "Ice Palace", a collection of elaborate ice sculptures. Another tunnel leads outside to a flat, snow-covered area, where one can walk around and look down to the Konkordiaplatz and the Aletsch Glacier, as well as the surrounding mountains.
We also did some skiing here and the experience was wonderful.
After seeing this, you realize why Switzerland is called Heaven.
From Jungfraujoch, we returned back to Grindelwald by train. Grindelwald is a beautiful village located in the Bernese Alps and taking a walk there relieves all the worries.
And finally we were back to Interlaken by train.
Day 3 – Mt. Titlis
Mt. Titlis is a mountain in the Urner Alps of Switzerland. We took a train from Interlaken to Hergiswil and then Hergiswil to Engelberg. Engelberg is the lower part of Mt.Titlis.
We had our tasty Breakfast at Engelberg, just below the Mt.Titlis. And then we headed for the Glacier cave. From there, one needs to take cable cars to reach to the top of Mt. Titlis into the Glacier cave. It is a journey of 3 cable cars out of which last one is a rotating car called rotair.
The ice was lit up in different colors, and they changed constantly in the Glacier Cave which was a very cool sight.
Then we headed for the Glacier Park. We took a ride of the ice flyer there which was an amazing experience. The Glacier Park was awesome. We all enjoyed our tube rides down the ice track. We also did some sleds and saddles down a ramp. We had a great time at the mountain.
Finally we went down to Engelberg and bought some souvenirs. And, then we went to the final destination of the day Lucerne, a city in north-central Switzerland. We packed our dinner from there and got some city views.
Day 3 was also over and we all headed for our hotel.
Day-4 – Glacier Express
We planned 4th day of our trip for a rest, but inside a train. We had got tickets for the Glacier Express. The Glacier Express is one of Switzerland's most famous train excursions. The Glacier Express is billed as "the world's slowest express train" on its most popular route, Zermatt to St. Moritz or vice versa.
First we went to Chur by train and then took a Glacier Express ride from Chur to Zermatt and vice versa. We roamed around the village of Zermatt and enjoyed the sightseeing.
Day-5 – River Cruise and Paragliding
The final day of our trip was reserved for Interlaken and its sports activities. We took a river cruise at Lake Thun and later in the day we all were set for Paragliding.
Paragliding Interlaken is a unique experience. It is a sort of a rollercoaster ride that is three dimensional. It takes over two alpine lakes. You will see the pine forests and the valley sail beneath you.
Finally we headed for our return trip to Basel and then to London.
