Hey! Hey! People
How are you all.. Summer is here and I think all of you might be as excited as I am.
Summer brings with itself so much fun, barbecue, smiles, food and holidays.
I live in the UK and as you all must know, Summers are short lived here :P. We have to make the most of it and rest part of the year, we like to holiday at other summer place :) hehe
Moving on, I am an all time holidayer.. Summer, Winter, Spring, Autumn, I like to holiday in all seasons. The sheer idea of getting out my daily routine and doing something good fills me with so much energy that I love doing it over and over again. But You know what really helps when you go on a holiday? some pre-planning about the place you are going to, what are you going to do there, the place you would like to visit there and so on. I love to read about places and mark my favorites before I visit any place.
Well I think through this blog, I can make the same thing easy for you when you plan to visit Switzerland. Yes! today I am going to tell you about my amazing Swiss trip. Its one of the most beautiful countries in the world. I had heard that before but when I went there I realized that all those stories were not wrong. I was completely spell bound by the extreme beauty and simplicity of the country.
If your only inspiration to go to Switzerland are the Yash Chopra movies, then you are not alone. Every year hundreds of Indian couples and families pour into Switzerland to live the movies and I was one among them. Although each and every part of this country is full of beauty, we chose a few.
BASEL
A cute little city full of surprises. Located on the banks of river Rhine, this city is as peaceful and as modern as Switzerland is. The interesting fact about the city is it is surrounded by 3 different countries, France at one end, Germany at other and Switzerland at third. Hence you can either walk to France or take a train to the German Black forests or just stay in Switzerland. I decided to stay in Switzerland itself.
Going along the city , We were attracted by the magnificently flowing Rhine river and its banks.
Basel Munster is a nice place to look the the old architecture of the city and also enjoy the views of Rhine.
Rathaus is another such building which gives you the impression of the architecture. Located in the city center, it is one of the main tourists attraction.
Walk along the city, If you are not too much interested in museums etc , like me :P, you can simply walk along the city and enjoy yourself. The city has different contours, some steep road, hills etc but I am sure you'll love it. And as you walk, you will pass along some of the master pieces like the Tinguley fountain , Cathedrals, museums etc and also some amazing shops and Cafes.
Nightlife this is a disappointing aspect of visiting Switzerland, the nightlife is not that amazing as say London or Berlin. Shops close in the evening and only a few bars, restaurants are open. Hence if you are a nightlife animal, set your expectations right.
LUCERN
The next destination in our travel plan was Lucern. It was then when I first time saw the real Switzerland, the snow covered mountains, lush green grassland, just like in the movies.
As we had bought the Swiss 4 day travel card, the trains, bus, tram, ferries etc were free for us for whole 4 days. The views from the train were beyond words, I and my camera were busy capturing them all the time.
Boat Ride The first thing you should do when you land in Lucern is take a boat ride. The boat/ferry terminal is just opposite to the train station and the rides are very frequent. The ferry takes you across the lake Lucern with views that will make your jaws drop. I enjoyed every single moment of that ride, even though it was cold, I was on the deck all the time with my eyes full of surprise. I didn't want to blink them at all :)
Mt Rigi The boat ride stops at a point where you can take a train to Mt Rigi, which again has magnificent views of the city etc. We decided to skip it as Lucern was still to be discovered. Hence we headed back to Lucern.
Chapel Bridge The cutest and the most photogenic place in Lucern. It is an old wooden foot bridge constructed to cross over the channel and is now a favorite tourist spot. There are market, Cafes and eateries all along the channel for tourists like us.
Mt Titlis On of the most famous mountains in Switzerland where there is a Cable car to take you to the top and then you can play in the snow. We planned to go but our plans cancelled because the day was too windy. Booo0... :( but you can give it a try for sure.
Lion Mountain This is also one of the famous sculptures of Lucern and was built in the memory of the war soldiers. One of the must visits in Lucern.
Walking Along The thing which I like doing best, taking tour of the city. There are many beautiful cathedrals, souvenir shops , high class shops, restaurants. There were kids along the Lake coast playing with the birds and that's how my beautiful day came to end.
Train Rides No matter whichever part of Switzerland you are, you must have a train ride. Laden with scenic routes, lakes etc these rides will leave you wanting to travel all day. There are some designated routes called the Golden routes, but I must say the non designated ones are amazing as well. Almost all the major train stations are high class with shops, restaurants, lockers. Zurich train station is the biggest in the world with almost more than a big mall in it.
BERN
And we came to the Capital city, Yes! Bern is the capital city of Switzerland and not Zurich or Geneva. lol!
Bern itself Being the capital city and being near the river, the city has lots of walks to go through. We reserved a day to do that and thoroughly enjoyed it. Too many shops, Fountains and so much more.
Bear park Never knew this could be interesting to me but it really was the bears were so cutee.. coming out of their dens and enjoying the weather or sometimes cozing around in their houses.
Home of Einstein Yes if you are Einstein's fan, you can go to Einstein museum or Einstein house.
Federal Place Located in the heart of city this is the green tomb building a nice to watch.
A day for Jungfraujoch If you are in Bern, you must spare one day to go to Interlaken and Jungfraujoch. Jungfraujoch is the highest mountain peak in Europe and there is a train which runs from Interlaken and takes you to the top. With views like you have never seen before.
The train goes slowly between the valley, ridges and steep mountains. Stopping at points for photographs.
When you reach you cannot believe you could be that high, you can go out and take pictures and in the building there are other special tings like Lindt store, souvenir shop and also a Bollywood section.
ZURICH
If you miss the cosmopolitan and a big city feel, you can come here. The biggest city in Switzerland and the financial capital. Everything is so high class, right from the train station to the streets and buildings.
Rhinefalls Highest waterfall in Europe. Its located in the outskirts of Zurich, you'll need to catch a train until there. What a treat for the eyes and the soul. Large amount of water gushing through the steep fall. A must visit when you are in Zurich.
Lake Zurich Another beautiful lake in Switzerland. Ferries run all the time around the lake. As we had bought the travel card which gave us free access, we didn't mind going for an hour ride of the lake.
Bahnhofstrasse is the main shopping street of Zurich. With one of the most expensive showrooms in line, this street is a treat for the shoppers. Although I didn't buy anything, I just enjoyed window shopping.
Go walking again My favourite bit again, when you walk along the city you will automatically come across, the famous and known buildings like the Grossmunster, Fraumunster and Lindenhof etc.
The other city like Geneva is same as Zurich hence if you want you want , you can plan.. its not that necessary.
And my few days trip of Switzerland ended.
I had covered all the major points.
I hope this will help you in planning your trip along Switzerland.
See you guys again soon :)
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