Sept. 23, 2008 - Travel to Switzerland

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Travel to Switzerland. We had to catch a 7:31am train from Vernazza to ensure we were able to catch all the fast trains to Switzerland. We knew it was going to be a long travel day. If we missed any of our planned connections, it was going to be much longer. Here is how we got to Murren, Switzerland.

First leg – Vernazza to Stresi Lavante (30 minutes). Although we could have stayed on the train all the way to Genova Piazza Principe, it would have been a few minutes late for our connection to Milano. So we hopped off at Stresi Lavante to catch an express train to Genova. The train from Vernazza was running late and made us sweat a little.

Second leg - Stresi Lavante to Genova Piazza Principe (35 minutes). We caught the Express train to Genova and did not have to rush. In Genova we caught the Milano train for which we had reservations.

Third leg - Genova Piazza Principe to Milano Centrale (2 hours). This train was packed, but we had our seat reservations so not to worry. The Milano Centrale station is a large station. Upon arrival in Milano we had to find the right train, there were more than one Cisalpino and they changed the track for our train! We found the train 2 minutes before departure time. But we were in car number 9, we had to run all the way down the track to car number 9. We jumped on and no sooner had we sat down and the train was off.

Fourth leg – Milano Centrale to Spiez (2.5 hours). This is the speedy Cisalpino train. A very scenic ride through the Alps, where halfway through they switch to Swiss train operators. Armed Customs/Immigration officers came through and randomly check passports. We arrived in Spiez, the station was spotless. Just as you would expect in Switzerland. There were not many people at the station and it was cold. We got some Swiss Francs from the ATM and bought our tickets to Interlaken.

Fifth leg – Spiez to Interlaken Ost (20 minutes). In Interlaken we had lunch nearby, everything was in German, it was a bit of a shock not to know any of the language or custom. We should had studied some German prior to the trip, Oh well. We left our lunch trays on the table expecting the attendant to bus the table, not quite right. We were then scolded by the attendant to put them away ourselves. Funny thing was that we had seen others leave their trays on the table and it was not obvious where the trays should be placed. Welcome to Switzerland. I guess that is why Switzerland is so clean. Next we got our ticket to Murren which is run by a private rail company. Still 3 more legs to Murren.

Sixth leg – Interlaken Ost to Lauterbrunnen (20 minutes). Nice train and a sparse crowd.

Seventh leg – Lauterbrunnen to Grutschalp (10 minutes). This was a cable car (the car was hung from overhead cables) ride up the side of the steep mountain. On the car we met a couple from North Carolina who befriended us and helped us find our room and a place for dinner.

Eighth leg – Grutschalp to Murren (20 minutes). Wow! We finally made it just as it was planned. The mountains there are just magnificent. It was cold upon our arrival, in the 40’s I think. The morning would be interesting.

We got to our place for the night. Denise the owner, gave us the apartment instead of a room. Bonus! This gave us our own bathroom, we had been expecting to use a shared bathroom. TripAdvisor said the apartment is creaky so I was little concerned. Turned out it was creaky, but the noise never bothered us. We slept fine. We did laundry at the Hotel Bellevue. We went for dinner and they charged me in dollars. Bob (1/2 of the North Carolina couple) told me that he usually only tips 3-5 Euro since the meal price already includes it. But since they tried to pull the currency conversion trick on me, I stiffed them. I really don’t like that practice.

I finally caught up on journaling and went to bed.

Impressions

It was actually refreshing to be in Switzerland. Something new and so clean, we didn’t realize that Italy was dirty, some places at home are as dirty as Italy so I guess we are used to it. First impression of Switzerland was that it is advanced and rich. Everything seems well-built, efficient, and of course clean. We now realize the downside to using Rick Steves. Too many Americans. At dinner the non-smoking room seemed to create a divide between the non-smoking Americans and other nationalities with a propensity to smoke. I think there were only Americans in our dining area, nice people and fun to talk with, but do I need to go to Switzerland to have dinner with a bunch of Americans? It seems insular and not congruent with the Rick Steves' philosophy.

Train Station at Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland One of the bedrooms at Chalet Fontana