The Playground of Europe, Switzerland

We met some friends last night and we were revisiting our Switzerland memories. My husband said something and I feel like that it properly is one of the most accurate way to describe our time in Switzerland, he said “There is nature and then there is Swiss nature’.

We were in Switzerland for a very short time to be honest but it gave us a clear idea on what all would we cover next time we were there. We made Zurich our base and covered the following in 4 days:

1. Zurich Local
2. Lucerne and Mount Pilatus
3. Jungfrauch

and then we took the train from Zurich to Milan for our Italy trip, more on Italy in next chapter.

A few things to note:

1. Switzerland has its own current, Swiss Francs or CHF. You don’t necessarily need cash and major credit cards are accepted but I always like to keep some local cash just in case. So if you are planning to exchange some currency, take francs.
2. Zurich trains were very convenient. You can buy the tickets at the train station. But if you are strapped on time and visiting in peak season, you may want to plan your train rides a bit more. There are portals like SBB App that allows for online booking.
3. Uber - Ok, very very important. Uber availability in Zurich is somewhat limited. Some of our friends stayed in a different area and often had to wait around 30 minutes for an Uber to reach the train station so they could meet us for our travel.
4. In the area where we stayed, we couldn’t find any local coffee shops/restaurants that opened before 7:00 a.m.; most didn’t open until after 8:00 a.m. However, grocery stores such as Coop open at 7:00 a.m., so you can pick up fresh bread, groceries, and other essentials if needed. They do have Coffee stations but none were open at 7am either so please plan if you are staying in an Airbnb.
5. Mount Pilatus - Very important to note, because nobody talked about it and this information was nowhere available on any blogs research we did. If you want to take the Cogwheel train up to the mountain, you need to be in Alpnachstad area and if you want to take it down from the mountain, you need to be in Kriens.
6. Zurich Train Station has large, small lockers for visitors to store their luggage for a small fee. We were able to store our large 2 Check in luggage in 2 Large storage cases. Just follow the signs of Suitcase at the station and it will lead you to the storage. Just enter your locker number, make a payment and it will lock the door for you.
7. Zurich is slightly expensive so don’t be alarmed if you see a $20 Negroni on a menu, and yes I had it and no there was nothing special about it. Just a regular Negroni :).
8. Fun & Important to note - Switzerland has the Grand Train Tour. It combines Switzerland’s premium panoramic rail lines into one breathtaking route. Each train station in Switzerland around the route, has booklets and you can pick up your booklet for free and stamp it. We did it at Lucerne and Jungfrauch both.

Zurich Local

Instead of staying in a hotel, we found ourselves serviced apartments which was only 12mins walking distance to Zurich HB Train station and about 30mins walking distance to old town. We took a studio apartment which was perfect for the 2 of us.

We stayed at Vision Stay Apartments, Militärstrasse. They have quite a few more apartment buildings around Zurich but we found this location to be the best. If you prefer mostly walking, then I would suggest this location. It is also very close to many cafe, restaurants and Europaallee, a cool mall to walk around.

We landed in evening, our check-in process was smooth. Instead of sleeping in at 7pm, we headed out for some much needed stretching our legs and getting our tummies full. We walked to Europaallee, and picked up some light groceries, and other essentials like Wine :). They also have quite a few restaurants and we enjoyed some delicious prawns, flatbreads and downed it with some wine and called it a night.

We were so jet-lagged on day 1, my Husband and I woke up way too early but ended up walking around the old town. It was extremely serene, the views of Limmat river was gorgeous. However, very soon we realize that there was not a single cafe or coffee shop open before 7am so while our walk was amazing but no Coffee. We went back to our Apartment, and were glad that we had picked up some light grocery to make breakfast. With that and a hot shower, we got ready for our day 1.

We strolled back to the old town and our goal was to cover, Grossmünster Church, Fraumünster Church, Bahnhofstrasse and Lindt Home of Chocolate.

Grossmünster & Fraumünster Church

Grossmünster - It is one of the 4 major churches in the city, a Romanesque-style Swiss reformed church. The legend says that Charlemagne founded it in 9th century after his horse stumbled upon the graves of Zurich’s patron saints. The twin towers—known as Zurich’s signature landmark—were capped with neo-Gothic wooden domes in 1782 following a fire. Inside, the building features a Romanesque crypt holding a statue of Charlemagne

Fraumünster - It was founded in 853 by King Louis the German for his daughter Hildegard. Its abbesses held immense political power, controlling trade, minting coins, and appointing the city’s mayor until their secular authority waned in the 14th century. March Chagall has designed some of the stained glass here. We could not go inside the church as there was a Wedding reception being held and unfortunately that was the only day we had to visit.

Bahnhofstrasse & Lindenhof

It is a 1.4-kilometer premium boulevard running from the main Zurich HB station to the . It started in 1867 and was built by demolishing the city’s medieval fortifications and filling in the Fröschegraben—a frog-filled defensive moat, yep you read that right.

From a defensive moat to a bustling marketplace, then a financial hub, and today one of the world’s most exclusive and expensive shopping avenues. It is a shopper’s paradise. From shopping to food, you can find everything here.

Lindenhof - Beautiful public square and hill in the heart of Zurich. It is gorgeous place to see some Sunset views and get delicious drinks. I would recommend it even for one evening.

Lindt Home of Chocolate

So a little fun fact, I actually don’t like Chocolate :). I don’t hate it, I just don’t go for it. But given we were in Switzerland, well, we decided to go for it. and I swear, I don’t want to see or smell Chocolate for a while.

Important to note, If you want to see the museum, you need to book for tickets but visiting is free. You can just walk around, see the large Chocolate fountain and enjoy buying your Chocolates. We did buy some flavors that are not easily available in California like Pistachio, Matcha etc.

You can also enjoy Sprugli truffles which are equally delicious.

Lucerne and Mount Pilatus

Next day, we had all trip was planned to visit Lucerne and Mount Pilatus. You can do both together in one day and you actually don’t need to book any tours for it in advance. If you are comfortable with trains and a bit of walking around, you can do it yourself.

Lucerne is a stunning Swiss city where medieval history meets the Alps. It has the 14th century Chapel Bridge and the tragic Lion monument. Leo Tolstoy famously immortalized his own philosophical reflections on human suffering and art in his short story Lucerne. Though the story fell on deaf ears back then, Lucerne has always remained a beacon for storytellers and wanderers.

We took the morning train from Lucerne HB station to Lucerne, it’s a short ride of 50mins and drops you at a very short walking distance from Chapel Bridge. The Chapel bridge and the scenery around is it very serene. We walked through the wooden bridge and relived the history for a bit. Our next step was Museggmauer. Warning, it has steep stairs so if you have health or knee issues, keep this in mind. It is Lucerne’s 870-meter-long medieval defensive wall, has 9 historic watchtowers. Many of us decided not to climb up to see the main two towers and took lots of pictures at the beginning of the wall :).

Last stop in Lucerne for us was the Lion Monument. The Lion of Lucerne—or Löwendenkmal—is a colossal 10-meter rock relief in Lucerne, Switzerland. Carved in 1821, it depicts a dying, spear-pierced lion protecting the French monarchy’s shield. It commemorates the hundreds of Swiss Guards massacred defending Paris’s Tuileries Palace during the 1792 French Revolution. The cliff face is carved with the Latin inscription HELVETIORUM FIDEI AC VIRTUTI—“To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss.”

It is an extremely tragic spot but also a must if you are visiting Lucerne.

Mount Pilatus

We officially had a bit of hiccup here. The day we reached Lucerne, we visited the Tourist center to understand the best way to visit and we were informed that it’s too foggy to travel, we could but we probably won’t see much. Same outcome for Mount Titlis. We revisited in the afternoon and decided to visit Pilatus anyway and we were so glad we did.

Our main attraction apart from Pilatus was to take the Cogwheel Train and the cable car both. The train runs from Alpnachstad to Pilatus Kulm. It operates seasonally from May to November, the 4.6-kilometer route takes just 30 minutes, climbing a breathtaking 48% maximum gradient through lush meadows and dramatic rock faces.

Our main learning here was, there are 2 ways to take the train and cable car combination. If you want the train and then Cable car, you should be at Alpnachstad Valley station area but if you want the cable car first and then train (going down the mountain), you should be in Kriens. Important - We had a bit of mix up in our communication, we initially wanted to take the train up to the mountain but we ended up being in Kriens first. This information was nowhere available.

We ended up starting on the Kriens side, and we didn’t regret it at all. However, if you have a specific route or experience in mind, it’s worth looking into the different options beforehand. We took the cable car up, and the ride was absolutely breathtaking. Hearing the cowbells echoing through the mountains as we ascended made the experience even more magical. The cable car took us all the way to the summit, where the landscape looked like something straight out of a Hollywood sci-fi movie. Everything was covered in brilliant white, and by the time we reached the top, the cable car windows were completely blanketed in fog, adding to the surreal atmosphere.

We then took the train down from the mountain and it was just majestic.

and Finally, Jungfraujoch

This was a long trip from Zurich so we ended up booking a full day tour via GetyourGuide. They picked us up from a Bus Station, we took the bus ride to Interlaken. Interlaken is gorgeous, the teal blue water captures you from the first view. We rode through waterfalls, Zug countryside and a gorgeous village called Wengen. Tolkien wrote some or all part of Lord of the Rings in that village. It looked quaint, a small village at the foot of a few hills. That is our next destination, we will definitely stay there next time.

We took a little break at Interlaken and enjoyed the best Cherry Liquor cake which was recommended by our Tour guide at a cafe called, Schuh. Very liquory and very delicious.

For Jungfraujoch

It is a saddle connecting two major 4000ers of the Bernese Alps: the Jungfrau and the Mönch. It lies at an elevation of 3,463 metres above sea level and is directly overlooked by the rocky prominence of the Sphinx. Our tour covered Jungfrauch, the observatory and elevator access to the top of mountain. We really enjoyed our trip here.

But in all honesty, I enjoyed Mount Pilatus much more than Jungfrauch. Jungfrauch is actually quite expensive so I would not recommend it as a must. I would recommend the Mount Pilatus instead, much better and nicer experience.

It was a long trip, we enjoyed our time in Switzerland. Our next visit area is - Zug and Wengen, we loved passing by those areas and looking forward to visiting.