DISCOVERING SWITZERLAND
My husband and I spent some of our honeymoon in Switzerland and vowed to go back and really explore this gem of a country. Finally, to celebrate our 20th anniversary, I surprised him with a return trip – with our three children ages 13, 12 and 5. Switzerland is a beautiful country and the Swiss people are lovely. On this trip, in July/August, we combined touring, hiking, genealogy of sorts and, of course, relaxing. We did drive a bit – but loved the scenery and made sure to stop frequently to experience towns along the way.
Day 1
- Arrive in Zurich early morning.
- Rent a car (and a GPS if it’s not included.) It will save you lots of time navigating.
- Try something a little different and stay at a B&B on a farm in Appenzell. The children will love it.
- Drop bags at the B&B and head to town for breakfast while waiting for the rooms to be ready.
- Back at the farm, relax and take a nap to refresh.
- Help the farmer feed the pigs; watch the cows being milked; explore the farm.
- Drive to Rapperswil and have dinner. (We found my husband’s grandfather’s farm and met some Swiss cousins!)
- Drive back to the farm for a solid night’s sleep.
Day 2
- After a breakfast of breads, jams, cheese and sausage at the farm, drive to Ebenalp.
- Ride the cable car up to the mountain top and hike along the trail. Look for a starting point for hang gliders, a cave chapel – even some Swiss brown cows made it up.
- Take a hot chocolate break at Berggasthaus Aescher, a small inn built into the cliff. It’s an amazing hike getting there – and an amazing engineering feat in itself!
- After riding the cable car back down, slip your shoes off and put your feet in the little stream near the visitor center. C-c-cold alpine water – in late July!
- Drive to Jakobsbad and enjoy a real Alpine Slide!
- Find a fun place in town to have dinner.
- Back to the B&B to enjoy a quiet evening outside.
Day 3
- After breakfast at the farm, pack up and head south toward Lugano.
- Take a quick side trip and cross the bridge and visit Lichtenstein. Walk around and have your passport stamped – one more country!
- Have lunch in Chur, one of Switzerland’s oldest cities. Park the car and walk into the historic area with its historic churches and center fountain. Charming.
- For the continuing drive, keep children occupied by holding a scavenger hunt for cows, castles and more.
- Opt for the scenic mountain route when driving south – – choose the mountain drive, not the tunnel. It adds some time, but is well worth the views.
- Stop along the way and climb off the road to get the best possible view.
- Arrive in Morcote, south of Lugano, late afternoon.
- Check into the Hotel Carina. Unpack in the lovely family room – and head straight to the pool.
- Refreshed, have dinner on one of the restaurants on the water. Just a few steps from the hotel’s front door.
Day 4
- Before breakfast, have an early morning swim. Wonderful.
- Enjoy a lovely breakfast on the front patio.
- Explore the tiny town. Work off the croissants by walking up the steps to Santa Maria del Sasso Church and its ancient cemetary.
- Wind your way back down through tiny streets behind beautiful homes.
- Take the boat to Lugano for the afternoon. Beautiful views of the town and city.
- Lugano has a real Italian ambience. Enjoy! Great shopping, delicious food.
- Return to Morcote via boat and go for another afternoon swim. It’s the perfect way to cool off!
- Pick a restaurant and enjoy dinner lakeside.
- Shop after dinner in the small arcade of shops along the main street.
Day 5
- Before breakfast, have another early morning swim. Wonderful.
- Breakfast on the patio and then pack to drive to Grindelwald.
- Prepare for even more gorgeous scenery. If traffic is heavy at the Gotthard Tunnel, take the mountain route. Views are spectacular and you’ll drive through some cute Alpine towns.
- Take the time to stop and snap some pictures. Have lunch at one of the small roadside inns along the way.
- Arrive in Grindelwald late afternoon and check into a small hotel. Try the family room again – lots of space, beautiful views and a balcony!
- Hike behind the hotel to see some of the private homes and get a look at Grindelwald from a higher elevation.
- Enjoy dinner in town at one of the many restaurants. Stop at the market for drinks and snacks.
- Check the weather. If the following morning looks clear, buy tickets for the trip to Jungfraujoch – the “top of Europe”.
Day 6
- Early breakfast and catch the first train to Jungfraujoch. Later trains tend to be crowded.
- Plan to spend a minimum of two hours. Enjoy the scenery!! And snow! In the summer!
- So many activities at the top. Choose one like sledding or skiing or snowboarding.
- On the way back down, stop in Kleine Scheidegg and have lunch. If it’s a beautiful day, you can dine outside. Feed the goats at the train station! They’ll eat anything – but love ice cream cones ☺
- Upon arrival back in Grindelwald, walk around town. Maybe you’ll see someone playing the alphorn. Beautiful sound.
- If it’s Swiss Day (August 1) which is like 4th of July, plan to participate in the parade down the main street.
- Once it’s dark, children gather at the top end of the main road where the parade participants meet. Listen for locals with huge cow bells! Children are handed long tapers which are lighted and follow the men down the street. Loud and beautiful!
- Find an outside restaurant for hot chocolate and watch the fireworks over the town.
Day 7
- Breakfast and then catch a chair lift up the mountain in Grindelwald. At the Bort station, rent trottibikes – a combination of a bike and scooter. No pedals – just brakes!
- Scoot down the mountain on the roads. Go slowly until all the children get the hang of it!
- Return trottibikes and walk around town and shop for small souvenirs.
- Drive to Thun – only 30 minutes away – and visit the medieval castle.
- Walk around the town, eat lunch and feed the pigeons, swans and ducks.
- Drive back to Grindelwald. Relax and read in the hotel.
- Last night, so pick your final Grindelwald restaurant for dinner. Time for fondue?
Day 8
- Breakfast on the last day in Grindelwald. Before leaving the beautiful area, take a short drive to the village of Lauterbrunnen.
- Walk to the top of the Staubbach Falls.
- On the way to Montreaux, drive through Gstaad. Charming town. Have lunch. Next trip spend a few days here!
- Visit Chateau de Chillon on the edge of Lake Geneva. Magnificent! Children love it. Easy to manage and fine to let the children climb from turret to turret.
- Spend the night in Perroy – tiny little wine village on the north side of Lake Geneva. Adorable.
Day 9
- After breakfast, leave Perroy and head toward Brienz by way of Gruyere. Cheese addicts will love Switzerland!
- Walk around this picturesque walled town. Tour the castle for the gorgeous gardens alone! Quite beautiful.
- The Giger Museum is unique. Since it’s described as better for older children, opt for a cold drink in the Giger Bar. It’s fantastic, too, and will give all ages a sense of the Alien ambience.
- Drive through Bern on the way on the way to Brienz. It’s worth a quick stop if the giant town bear clock is working.
- While waiting for the top of the hour, find Albert Einstein’s house and enjoy this university city, so very walkable!
- Arrive in Brienz later in the afternoon. Check into a hotel, relax, have a swim and an early dinner.
Day 10
- After breakfast, drive down to the town of Brienz and rent a small motor boat for an hour and tour the lake. Fabulous!
- Stop at a market and pick up bread, cheese, ham, drinks – take the car up into the hills. Sit on a hillside way up over the lake and have a picnic.
- After lunch, hike to the top of the Geissbach Falls near Breinz. A great workout! At the small metal bridge, cross to go under the falls. Will take about 1.5 hours up and back.
- Relax at the hotel pool.
- Have dinner in the town of Brienz. If it’s a nice evening, find an outdoor covered patio restaurant.
Day 11
- After breakfast, pack and start the drive to Zurich for the return trip home.
- On the way, stop for a couple of hours at Ballenberg, an open air museum of Swiss historic homes that have been organized by region.
- Enjoy and learn during candle and cheese making demonstrations, beautiful gardens, restaurants and farm animals. Children will love it and it’s a great way to summarize the recent country tour. Allow a few hours for this activity.
- Drive to Lucerne and stop at a market for picnic foods and eat lakeside in a little park.
- Continue on to Zurich. If it’s the last day in Switzerland, opt to take the secondary roads and enjoy the small towns along the way.
- Arrive in Zurich late afternoon.
- Have dinner in Zurich and make it an early evening!
Day 12
- Return flight home.
- Sign your children up for frequent flier programs…even if they don’t fly enough to earn a ticket, you can use their balances to add to yours. It can really help if you’re shy a few miles.
- Send yourselves a daily postcard. Your hotel will likely sell stamps and mail them for you! When you arrive home, enjoy reliving the experiences all over again.
- Be flexible. If your daily itinerary is weather-dependent, don’t hesitate to switch activities and make the most of a sunny day.
- If you’re traveling over a weekend in Europe, do a little research and make sure activities/places on your itinerary are open on Sundays.
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