Switzerland Trip - 13 April 2008 to 19 April 2008

ITINERARY
The planning for the trip started almost a few months before in Jan. After enquiring with lots of tours & travel ofiices, we finalised Swiss Holidays a Switzerland based Destination Management Company. Vidya was the person I was interacting with for our tour planning. After discussing with her & surfing on net for various itineraries we finalised the following itinerary:
13Apr – Arrive Zurich. Overnight at Zurich hotel
14Apr – Transfer from Zurich – Interlaken, Sight-seeing at Bern. Overnight at Interlaken hotel.
15Apr – Excursion to Jungraujoch. Overnight at Interlaken hotel.
16Apr – Transfer form Interlaken - Luzern. Excursion to Pilatus. Overnight at Luzern hotel.
17Apr – Excursion to Titlis. Overnight at Luzern hotel.
18Apr – Transfer from Luzern – Zurich. Overnight at Zurich.
19Apr – Take your flight for your onward destination.
Confirmation :
01 Dbl room at Hotel Neufled, Zurich from 13-14Apr (01nt)
01 Dbl room at Hotel Park Mattenhof, Interlaken from 14-16Apr (02nts)
01 Dbl room at Hotel De La Paix, Luzern from 16-18Apr (02nts)
01 Dbl room at Hotel Neufled, Zurich from 18-19Apr (01nt)
Breakfast
08 days 2nd class Swiss Rail Pass
Excursion to Jungfraujoch
Excursion to Titlis
Excursion to Pilatus
Cost – USD 875 x 2pax = 1750 x 41.20 = 72100.00

ABOUT SWITZERLAND:
Switzerland is a landlocked country of roughly 7.5 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states. These states are called cantons. Berne is the seat of the federation and de facto capital, while the country's economic centres are its two global cities, Geneva and especially Zürich. Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world.
Switzerland comprises three basic topographical areas: the Swiss Alps, the Swiss plateau or "middleland", and the Jura mountains along the northwestern border with France. The Alps are a high mountain range running across the central-south of the country, comprising about 60 % of the country's total area. Among the high peaks of the Swiss Alps, the highest of which is the Dufourspitze at 4,634 metres (15,203 ft), countless valleys are found, many with waterfalls and glaciers.
The most famous mountain is the Matterhorn (4,478 m) in Valais and Pennine Alps bordering Italy. The highest mountain, the Dufourspitze (4,634 m) of Monte Rosa, is close to the Matterhorn. The section of the Bernese Alps above the deep glacial Lauterbrunnen Valley containing 72 waterfalls is also well known for the Jungfrau (4,158 m), Mönch, Eiger group of peaks, and the many picturesque valleys in the region. In the southeast the long Engadin Valley, encompassing the St Moritz area in canton Graubünden, is also well known; the highest peak in the neighbouring Bernina Alps is Piz Bernina (4,049 m).
Language Distribution:
Switzerland has four different languages, but they vary greatly in the number of speakers.
German - 64%
French - 20%
Italian - 7%
Rumantsch - 1%
Other - 8%
The Swiss economy:
Switzerland’s economy is based on a highly qualified labour force performing highly skilled work. The main areas include microtechnology, hitech, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, as well as banking and insurance know-how. The service sector now employs the greatest number of people.

Our Switzerland Experience : 13 April 2008 to 19 April 2008
13 April 2008:
I & Prashant boarded the Emirates flight 505 which left Mumbai at 9.45 am & reached Dubai at 11.15 am. Our connecting flight to Zurich was at 4.05 pm. So we had five hours to explore the Dubai International Airport. The duty free shopping is just amazing. We shopped for cookies & clothes. The electronics are costly then in US, so its not worth buying it from there. I purchased a Labello lipcare - milk & honey from one of the pharmacy & its just amazing. Then we had lunch at the Emirates lounge. This service of Emirates is the best. The food is complimentary if you have a connecting Emirates flight. Then we boarded the Emirates flight 85 which left DIA at 4.05 pm & reached Zurich at 8.45 pm. Emirates served excellent vegetarian meals. Too Good. At the Zurich Airport we took a bus from outside which dropped us in front of our hotel. He charged us $30 for it. Hotel Neufeld was very good. Its location was good.

14 April 2008:
We left our all luggage at Hotel Neufeld. Just carried 2 cabin baggage & 1 small back-pack with us. We left for Interlaken in the morning at 7.30 am. Our train was at 8.00 am from Zurich Station. We changed the train at Bern & took the train from Bern to Interlaken Ost. We reached Interlaken at 10.00 am. We took bus no.4 outside the station & headed to our Hotel Park Mattenhof. The best part about Switzerland is at every station there is an information centre where you can easily get all the information you need. This was the best hotel among all the stays we had in Switzerland. The receptionist was an amazing person. We took his opinion for what should we do the rest of the day & as per his suggestion headed to Bern.
We got all the information from the tourist centre & decided to do the sight-seeing on foot. First we had a pizza at some restaurant outside the station. Believe me it was the best pizza I ever had in my life. We ordered for more & then geared up to start our foot tour with the help of city map. The shopping experience is just amazing. I purchased a black jacket for myself. Thanks to Prashant it was his suggestion & his choice is just the best. Prashant has lots of energy & his excitement to see the city is what made me walk for hours in the city. Normally I like to trek but I don't like walking on the streets at all. Trekking in the nature is very different. But now I think Bern experience was the best. The city is just very different from other cities. Of all Swiss cities, Bern (Berne in French) is perhaps the most immediately charming. Crammed onto a steep-sided peninsula in a crook of the fast-flowing River Aare, its quiet, cobbled lanes, lined with sandstone arcaded buildings straddling the pavement, have changed barely at all in over five hundred years but for the adornment of modern shop signs and the odd car or tram rattling past. The hills all around, and the steep banks of the river, are still liberally wooded. Views, both of the Old Town’s clustered roofs and of the majestic Alps on the horizon, are breathtaking. Bern is the nation’s capital, home of the Swiss parliament and wielder of final federal authority.
In the evening we had dinner at Restaurant Tenne on the way from station to our hotel. It was a pizzeria. The food was good. Then we walked back to the hotel as the last bus is at 8.00 pm. The walk is very refreshing. The climate at Interlaken is good. It keeps on raining quite often & is very chilling.

15 April 2008:
In the morning we left for Jungfrau - Top of Europe, one of the most visited tourist destination in Switzerland. There are two ways to go to Jungfrau - change train at Lauterbrunnen or at Grindelwald. But when we reached the Interlaken Ost station we came to know that the Lauterbrunnen route is closed due to heavy snowfall. So we took the train to Grindelwald. The scenic beauty from the train was just amazing. It was like a ride to the heaven. I think a person should visit here atleast once in their lifetime. Then from Grindelwald we took a train to Kleine Scheidegg & from Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch.
Main Attractions on the Jungfraujoch:
· Ice Palace - You feel great here. We went 3 times in the palace.
· Ice Gateway - We could hardly stand for few seconds as the weather was very bad. It was snowing very heavily.
· Sphinx observation terrace - Little better then Ice Gateway. Atleast we could see something.
· "Top of Europe" Glacier Restaurant - We could not see where was it because of bad weather.
· High Alpine Research Exhibition - Not that great.
The summer time is between June - Septemeber. At that time you can enjoy ski & snowboard park, husky-drawn sledge rides, adventure attractions: e.g. Tyrolienne, snow disk etc. But we could not enjoy any of these as the weather was very windy & it was snowing a lot. It feels you are in a paradise. The beauty of Jungfrau is amazing. Again in the evening we had dinner at Restaurant Tenne..

16 April 2008:
We left for Lucerne in the morning at 7.30 am. Our train was from Interlaken Ost at 8.04 am. We reached Lucerne at 10.04 am. The complete train route was very scenic. Our stay was at Hotel De La Paix. It was a very good hotel with amazing location. We left for Pilatus.
We took a Trolley Bus 1 for Kriens Linde - Pilatus. Then walked for 11 mins to Kriens PB. Then took a Gondola lift from Kriens PB to Fräkmüntegg. The Gondola lift experience was the best of my life. It was snowing very heavily as we went up which added to all the beauty. It was like a dream come true. The natural beauty was astonishing. Then we took a cable way from Fräkmüntegg to Pilatus Kulm. Finally we reached Mount Pilatus - a mountain near Lucerne. Pilatus was named after a local legend which alleges that Pontius Pilate was buried there. We enjoyed a lot there playing with snow and enjoying beautiful views.
Then after coming back from Pilatus we went for a boat tour for 2 hours exploring the amazing structures in the city of Lucerne. Then we explored the Old Town - one of the main reasons that Lucerne attracts so many travelers is its small but remarkably preserved old town. You can get lost (for a few minutes anyhow) in its maze of streets, passages, and squares, admiring the many and varied murals painted on what seems like every other building. Then had a walk on the Chapel Bridge. It is in some kind the landmark of Lucerne and its said to be the oldest woodbridge of Europe. The Bridge is made with wood and was built in 14th century as a protection for the city. It's amusing walking over it as you can see about 100 pictures of 12th century city life and Swiss history. In the evening had dinner at Restaurant Kanchi which serves very good Indian food.

17 April 2008:
Today was our last excursion of this trip to Mt. Titlis. We took a 9.11 am train from Lucerne to Engelberg which reached at 10.12 am. Then walked to Engelberg BET which was a 7 mins walk. Then we took a Gondola lift from Engelberg BET to Trusbee.
We enjoyed a lot the beautiful snow clad mountains. Then we took a cableway from Trusbee to Station Stand. In Station Stand we were transfered to the Rotair (80-person Gondel), the first revolving gondola of the world. Enjoy a "round view panorama trip" to the top.
The world's first revolving gondola, Rotair, transports its passengers from the glacier station at Stand across the imposing Titlis glacier, reaching heights of more than 3,000 m. From the Titlis summit station, we enjoyed breathtaking views over the stunning mountain panorama. Additional attractions include a ride on the Ice Flyer glacier chairlift, the unique Alpine glacier park complete with its own snow tubing runs and the fascinating, magically lit glacier grotto.
Then we had lunch at Mamma Mia - Panorama Restaurant surrounded by snow clad mountains on all sides. It was the best lunch I ever had in my life. Then after relaxing for a while we headed back to Lucerne.
Kleintitlis (3028m), Stand (2450), Trübsee (1800), and Engelberg (1050m).
Then we continued our reamaining sight-seeing in Lucerne. The places we explored were:
The Lion Monument in Lucerne is a giant dying lion carved out of a wall of sandstone rock above a pond at the east end of the medieval town. It was designed as a memorial for the mercenary soldiers from central Switzerland who lost their lives while serving the French king Louis XVI during the French Revolution.
The Musegg Wall, built in 1386, is Lucerne's city wall and is still almost entirely pristine. There are three towers which are part of the rampart and also open to the public. These three towers are called Schirmerturm, Wachturm and Zytturm. The latter is a time tower and exceptionally it is allowed to chime 1 minute before all other clocks. On the top of these 3 towers there are sublime views over the Lucerne's rooftops to the lake and up to the various mountains of the region. I & Prashant enjoyed a lot climbing the stairs of these towers. It feels as if you have gone back in time. Its an amazing tour through all the towers.
Franciscan Church, built from 1270 to 1280 in simple gothic style is Lucerne's first parish church not depending on the Hof Church monastery. While the Benedictines of Hof Church were landowners and allied to the counts of Habsburg, the craftsmen made an alliance with the peasants around Lake Lucerne in 1351. They used to meet in the Franciscain monastery and were proud to display banners used in the battles against Habsburg in Franciscan church, where you can still see them.
The Swiss National Museum (Schweizerisches Landesmuseum) in Zürich is a massive and important museum that provides an epic survey of the culture and history of the Swiss people. An eye-catching sight meets visitors at the entrance to the museum: Gotthard mail coach no. 880. The wagon in question is a ten-seat coupé-berline built in 1850, used on the Flüelen-Camerlata route. Its best to ask the lady there for a device which gives you all the information you need about a specific thing in the museum.
Then after walking for hours we headed for dinner at Restaurant Kanchi. Amazing food !!!

18 April 2008:
We left from Lucerne to Zurich by 9.35 am train. Reached Zurich at 10.25 am & headed back towards Hotel Neufeld. Then we went for sight-seeing in Zurich & arranged our luggage for the next day.

19 April 2008:
Our flight was at 10.30 am, so we left for Zurich airport at 6.00 am. It was an American Airlines flight from Zurich to New York & New York to Dallas. Finally we reached Dallas at 8.30 pm. Prashant’s friend Apurva & his wife Pooja had come at the airport to pick us up.

A New Life has begun !!!!!