Heavenly Switzerland. Review on Switzerland, General

If you could travel through only one European country, which might you choose? Italy? France? Germany? How about a taste of three in one? That can only mean Switzerland! You'll find Switzerland a chocolate box bursting with unexpected flavours. – Lonely Planet.

This review is in continuation of our Europe trip where we visited Paris (review link- https://mouthshut.com/review/Paris-review-osusurtnnn) and Switzerland.

Each landscape in Switzerland is so miraculously beautiful that one cannot afford to switch one’s camera off even for an instant. We felt we had stepped on paradise on the face of earth. Here’s an account of the places we saw there:

Base of stay: Lucerne city

1. Roaring Rhine falls:The northern tip of Switzerland near Schaffhausen welcomes all travel freaks with the wonderful Rhine falls- the largest waterfall in Europe. We took a boat ride from the bank till the foot of the falls and it was amazingly thrilling. The cold water lightly sprayed on us sending cold shivers down our spine. We had a closer look at the falls from one tall rock where the boat left us. This rock was surrounded by the milky white waters.

2. Lustrous Lake Lucerne: This is the most popular tourist attraction due to its sparkling clean blue waters and proximity to the breathtaking Mount Pilatus. The moment we stepped out of the Lucerne railway station, we had to walk 10 minutes to reach the apartment we had booked for our stay. I had to pull out my camera then and there! En-route, we were mesmerized by the prettily roofed homes that had colourful flowering plants over window sills. All of a sudden, we found ourselves walking on the banks of the very beautiful lake Lucerne. This is the 4th largest lake in Switzerland. Swans and ducks splashed merrily in the crystal clear water. Many huge boats ply on the lake.

3. Captivating Chapel Bridge: This wooden bridge is built upon the lake and is the prettiest bridge I have ever seen in my life. I was hypnotized by the stunning beauty of this bridge. It is full of flowers all along its length. It was built during 17th century and was badly burnt during a fire in 1993. It was rebuilt to get back its splendor. Some old paintings inside the bridge also were restored after the fire.

4. Perched on Mt. Pilatus: We visited nature’s wonder- Mount Pilatus near Lucerne. We used different modes of travel on that day. First was a boat ride of 2 hours to the foot hills of Pilatus. You could get on and off at the various stops to explore those mountains that may seem attractive! Then hop on to any boat that comes next to continue the journey. After reaching the foot hills, there was a 45 degree inclined cogwheel rail ride on the ‘Pilatus Bahn’ train to take us to the peak! This is the world’s steepest cog-wheel. On reaching the top (height- 2000 metres), we feasted our eyes on the verdant, mesmerizing and awe striking mountains. One of the interesting caves in the mountains was the ‘Dragon cave’ that not only gave glimpses of the fantastic scenery all around, but also had legends and stories on walls of a dragon believed to be residing there long back. After spending the day there, we chose a thrilling ride of cable cars back to the foot hills of Mt. Pilatus and boarded a bus to take us back home. This full route is available only during summer for tourists and is called "The Golden Round Trip".

5. Just fun at Jungfrau:The day we visited the top of Europe in the Swiss Alps at 4000m was the most eventful day for us.To reach the top, there are a series of cogwheel rail rides. Each train travels via tunnels cut through the Alps. Heavy winter clothing is a must for this place. The highlights at the top are the ‘Ice palace’ and the ‘Plateau region’.The Ice Palace is an exhibition of sculptures carved out of ice of birds, fish, bears, penguins etc. The temperature inside it has been maintained at -4 degree C. The Plateau is the snow covered peak of the Jungfrau that is open to the public. There’s where I saw snow for the first time in life. What an amazing experience it was to feel the cotton-like snow!

6. Majestic Monument of the Dying Lion: This was built in the memory of Swiss soldiers who were massacred in hundreds during the French revolution. The sculpted lion that has been carved on a cliff shows a dagger pierced on its back. There is something unexplainably touching about this mourning monument.

The Lion of Lucerne is the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world. - Mark Twain

Base of stay: Geneva

1. Flower Clock: This is a huge clock made up of 6500 colourful living flowers, is still working since 1955!

8. Grand Garden of Roses: This huge garden with attractive roses in numerous colours is at a walking distance from the Flower Clock.

9. Jet D’ Eau: This is Geneva's most prominent landmark and a huge fountain on Lake Geneva. Its height is around 135-140 metres! This tremendous water body is beautifully lit at night.

10. Broken chair: Not exactly a tourist attraction, but I found it worthy of a mention. This massive chair has a height of more than 10 feet and has just 3 legs. It stands in front of the UN building in memory of those soldiers who have lost their lives/limbs in land mines.

11. Glistening Geneva festival: We were lucky to be in this happening city on the day of this festival. We never knew the city had such hordes of people living in it. This was a huge ‘mela’ with food stalls, drink stalls, colourful people and rocking stage performances!

People:There’ll be prizes if you can find a localite around. Almost all are tourists! Switzerland gets loads of visitors from China, US, Korea, India and many more countries. No wonder it is the costliest place in the world. For enquiries on travel, tourist offices offer very helpful details. They distribute free maps, brochures, plans for trekking/cycling/boating, etc.

At one of the offices, a lady clutching a bunch of pamphlets asked, "These brochures are all fine if it’s a sunny day, but what if it rains?" to which the tourist executive smiled and pulled out another set of pamphlets titled, "The rainy day" which had the list of museums, galleries and other indoor activities!

Switzerland is spick and span, even a little lane would appear to be organized and systematic!

Snaps would speak more than the review (https://mouthshut.com/gallery/myphoto.php?user=deepa.s&catname=Switzerland)

Swiss Railway pass: This is a very tourist-friendly feature of Switzerland travel. The Swiss Pass is sold for 4, 8, 15 or 22 days or one month. In addition to free train, bus and certain boat and cable car rides, it also allows a free entrance to over 400 museums and exhibitions.

Useful links:

Tourist information: http://www.lonelyplanet.com, https://tripadvisor.com,

Booking for stay: http://www.airbnb.com

Railway passes: http://www.myswissalps.com

Cost Details (as booked in June 2011):

Swiss pass: Rs. 21000 for 4 days

Food: Anywhere between 8 to 20 CHF.
Stay: 70-80 CHF per day (booked online)

Fondeu(a cheese dish), the cuckoo clock are the most famous buys in Switzerland. But we did not get a chance to buy either. :P There were loads of other places too that we wanted to see, but skipped them due to lack of time. Anyways, there is always a next time!