Switzerland?

todd flanders

todd flanders

todd flanders

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Has anyone been?

I watched a video clip yesterday of a train journey through the Alps and into Bern and was taken by the stunning scenery and would quite like to go and look myself.

An 8 day train (and bus) pass is quite reasonable, so are flights and I was wondering if anyone here has any experience of travelling around the country and could give some hints and tips :)
 
todd flanders said:
Has anyone been?

I watched a video clip yesterday of a train journey through the Alps and into Bern and was taken by the stunning scenery and would quite like to go and look myself.

An 8 day train (and bus) pass is quite reasonable, so are flights and I was wondering if anyone here has any experience of travelling around the country and could give some hints and tips :)
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This won't be much help but wouldn't being stuck on a train kind of take away from the awesomeness of it? No fresh air or anything. You might see somewhere you like and you won't be able to get off :(
 
todd flanders said:
Has anyone been?

I watched a video clip yesterday of a train journey through the Alps and into Bern and was taken by the stunning scenery and would quite like to go and look myself.

An 8 day train (and bus) pass is quite reasonable, so are flights and I was wondering if anyone here has any experience of travelling around the country and could give some hints and tips :)
Click to expand...

I did briefly and it IS absolutely scenic, the entire country is like toytown. Travel is equivalent to any wealthy European country, although there are plenty of cheap hotels as well. Speaking French a definite advantage
 
but the swiss people, generally are ****holes...

Total xenophobic up-their-on-bottomed twits.... other than that it's a lovely place and the Alps are amazing...
 
I had a connecting flight stop over in Zurich airport... I was in Switzerland for 2 hours and hated it, the people in the shops etc. just seemed really rude... tho that could be more of a statement of airport shop workers than the Swiss :p
 
We go on a family holiday to switzerland every 5 years so ive been there...3 or 4 times. In 2005 we got a plane to an airport on the border or france and switzerland (euro something?) and hired a car to drive down to interlaken where we stayed for 2 weeks. Was a fantastic holiday, deffinetly go somewhere like Interlaken, its not too far away from any of the big mountains you can go up (pilatus, eiger, matterhorn, jungfrau etc etc) but its also not too far from Bern and Lucerne, there are also some great things to do in Interlaken itself (paragliding, boat trips across the lakes Thun and Breinz which the town sits inbetween.

on a side note we've never experienced any problems with the Swiss and all the ones i've had personal encounters with have been decent, apart from one security guard guy in a supermarket :)

Hope this helps.
 
Yeah, I went there many years ago. All I can remember is how beautiful it was, don't remember much about the people.
 
I have stayed in Interlaken for a week and went walking in the surrounding area, very beautiful county and excellent mountains - shame that it is wasted on the Swiss, the ones I met were not very nice people.
 
I have had a small experience of Switzerland, in the Summer of 2006 me, parents and brother went to Chamonix and up Mont Blanc for a couple of hours. It was blazinging hot in Chamonix, around 35'C, but only 6'C at the top at 12,000ft mind, with some snow. Also if being driven around Siwtzerland is crazy, as we drove there from France. Driving through the alps is insane. At one corner someone had driven over the edge with police around the area. Also the locals cut the corners and drive like The Stig :P

So I really recommend switzerland for not only the scenery which is breathtaking, but also driving and the cheese :D Oh also I've been to Geneve and thats excellent too. Just go there if you want too, you won't regret it ;)

HyBrId
 
todd flanders said:
Has anyone been?

I watched a video clip yesterday of a train journey through the Alps and into Bern and was taken by the stunning scenery and would quite like to go and look myself.

An 8 day train (and bus) pass is quite reasonable, so are flights and I was wondering if anyone here has any experience of travelling around the country and could give some hints and tips :)
Click to expand...

I live in Switzerland now, at Lausanne on Lac Leman/Geneva.

Any specific questions I would be happy to answer.

In general, yes it is a fantastic country, hence I moved. Not the best place in the world but certainly one of the best in Europe. Fi you like mountains, the outdoors, etc. then come. Don't think twice.

I literally just got in a from a day skiing with amazing scenery and great snow. I could see the Matterhorn, Mont Blanc, Grand Combine, Grand Pardiso, Dent de Midi, Grand Mauvran, Dent de Morcle, Wesihorn, Grand Jorasse, Les Diablerets, Bisehorn, Dent Blanche,...., amoungst other mountains....
 
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ScarySquirrel said:
This won't be much help but wouldn't being stuck on a train kind of take away from the awesomeness of it? No fresh air or anything. You might see somewhere you like and you won't be able to get off :(
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Althoug Switzerland has the densent rail network in the world, depsite being the most mountainaous country in europe, there are many local mountain trains. these things go half way up a mountian and drop you off at a view point. From there you are free to walk around the summit and go for long hiking tours, and can descend back to the valley.

The Gonergrat railway in Zermatt is superb for this. Wild rugged glacial scenrry with Europes largets mountain, the Monte Rosa in the background and perhaps the world most photograph, famous and recognisable mountains - the Matterhorn, towerign over.

There are also numerous smaller less well known trains around.
 
Docaroo said:
but the swiss people, generally are ****holes...

Total xenophobic up-their-on-bottomed twits.... other than that it's a lovely place and the Alps are amazing...
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I have lived here for 18 months and can't disagree more. A very small minoritory are xenphobic (but not particualrly racist), more traditionnalist and very conservative. The swiss people are sound sensible pleasant people. Above all they are very friendly and very helpful. They are not rude and caught in a perpetual rat race, they wont swear and swagger around. They dont have bratty teens drinking in the streets. They don't have lager louats ruining the city centres at night.

A lot better than 99.9% of British people I meet.
 
todd flanders said:
Are they really?

I plan on travelling alone so wouldn't want to have it spoiled like that, or even end up getting beat up!
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You have nothing to fear. Crime including racial crime is around the lowest in Europe.

You'll only get problems if you get really drunk and cause problems. Then someoe may well call you a drunk Brit and not wanted in their civilised country. Thats the only racism I have every noticed.
 
tHe_HyBrId said:
I have had a small experience of Switzerland, in the Summer of 2006 me, parents and brother went to Chamonix and up Mont Blanc for a couple of hours. It was blazinging hot in Chamonix, around 35'C, but only 6'C at the top at 12,000ft mind, with some snow. Also if being driven around Siwtzerland is crazy, as we drove there from France. Driving through the alps is insane. At one corner someone had driven over the edge with police around the area. Also the locals cut the corners and drive like The Stig :P

So I really recommend switzerland for not only the scenery which is breathtaking, but also driving and the cheese :D Oh also I've been to Geneve and thats excellent too. Just go there if you want too, you won't regret it ;)

HyBrId
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Mont Blanc and Chamonix are in France.

I find the driving pretty relaxed. SOme people are fast, but they live in the mountains. Certainly lesss nerve wracking than the Italian alps. But then I've driven n mountains all my life, whats scares me are motorways and built up city driving.
 
Docaroo said:
but the swiss people, generally are ****holes...

Total xenophobic up-their-on-bottomed twits.... other than that it's a lovely place and the Alps are amazing...
Click to expand...
Couldn't disagree more, lovely people!

If you do go, make your you look around the small ski village of villars, its awesome.
 
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