Final Trip Counts #14

Countries visited: 2

Cities visited: 11



Personal tour guides: 2


Flights flown: 2

Babies crying on flights flown: 5

Trains traveled: 24



Buses: 17



Gondolas: 9


Trams: 3

Taxis: 1

Cars: 3 (2 in Philadelphia!)



Clock towers: approximately 54



T bar lift rides with Nestor: 9


Falls off T bar lifts: 1

Hot springs: 2



Thermal rooftop hot springs with views of Zurich: 1

Geysers: 0

Pounds of cheese consumed: unable to quantify



Tattoos: 0

Eggs consumed by all: 32

Beds slept in: 3

Waterbeds slept in: 1



Ikea showrooms lived in: 1



Schnapps shots: 16 (not including Patrick's)

Days on the slopes: 2



Passport stamps acquired: 2

Piercings: 0 (even though all the cool boys have their ears pierced)

Grazing bears: 3



Postcards sent: 13

Postcards unsent: 1 (post was closed on Sunday!)

Chocolates tasted: 17


Croissants eaten: 24

Nespresso cups drank: 44


Steeple steps climbed: 312





Marriage proposals.....................................1 ;)






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Location:Ranstead St,Philadelphia,United States

Sunday in Zürich: last but not least #13

Sunday morning was sunny and clear in Berne and we decided to have brunch at Yetta's so Brian and I could have more time to pack. Let's face it: I was really the one who needed the extra time :) thanks guys! They outdid themselves with eggs, cheese (of course), speck (bacon) and fresh croissants including what Brian and I dubbed pretzel croissants which were a taste of Philly in Switzerland.






Then they were kind enough to see us off to the train station where it was hard to say goodbye...we had such a great time! We all decided Patrick looked good with my pink suitcase and my "I love not camping" luggage tag:


The ride to Zürich was uneventful and thankfully without any stops. I was coming to the end of my rope with the train station and trains in general. I warned Brian that this may be the last day I take a train for a really long time!

We arrived to our hotel about 2 hours later and it was really nice and modern...it even had an iPhone docking station conveniently built into the nightstand:


The hotel was close to the airport (Brian requested a room with airport view, lol) which would be good for tomorrow morning but meant that another train was involved before we could see the city. Ugh. We walked the 7 minutes along a busy stretch of highway in the pedestrian lane as the day turned overcast and threatened rain. We had to cross a foot bridge to wait at the #4 platform for the train to the city...

It was a short ride to Zürich city center and as the usual routine goes here, a million people lit up cigarettes immediately after getting off the train. Just when you think you will get a breath of fresh air, you realize it is just filled of smoke. The train station was bustling with people in a rush to go somewhere. We took the escalators up and emerged to an Old Town with a river and several footbridges that flowed down into Lake Zürich. We were close to the museum and had some time before we needed to meet Brian's distant cousin Katka so thought we would check it out...no sooner did we arrive that we decided to simply walk around the town instead. We saw several clock towers and churches along the way but unfortunately the blank sky was not a great backdrop for taking pictures:



We strolled up and down cobblestone streets and did some window shopping...everything seems to close down in Switzerland on Sundays. We passed Lucy's bar:



We headed back to the train station to meet Katka by 4pm and found her at the gigantic clock. She was thrilled to see us! I was disappointed that I messed up the European 3 kisses thing (even though I made Brian practice with me earlier...how quickly I forget!) but she laughed it off. Katka only had 2 hours to spend with us so we buzzed about Zürich at a brisk pace. I asked Katka about the furs and blankets that are draped over every chair in the outdoor restaurant seating areas...Katka told us that they used to have the metal heat lamps but then Switzerland forbade them because they were a waste of resources. I suppose the outdoor seating sections are necessary for smokers...not quite sure why anyone would choose to sit outside on a day like today...

We strolled along the bahnhof strasse (Train street) which was a shopping district she compared to NY's Fifth Avenue and although she didn't think it was quite as nice, she said that the prices for anything here far exceed that of prices in NY or Tokyo. Lucky for Brian, everything was closed ;) We ended up at Lipp Restaurant...a famous French place in a building with a bar on the top floor with Panoramic views of the city...what a great note to end our trip on! We each had a drink as she explained city landmarks and pointed them out to us through the window...I was very happy to explore Zürich in this fashion and be able to sit and relax a bit on our last day. She shared a story of a friend of hers who lives in a gothic house which was probably built in the 10th century...that still has Gothic style wallpaper on the walls...incredible!

We decided we were all ready for a bite to eat so she took us to Tidbits...a great buffet style restaurant and modern bar with a great vegetarian and Indian selection. You help yourself to the buffet and then they weigh your plate at the end...if Brian's mom lived here, this would definitely be her favorite place! The food was delicious and exactly what we were craving. We had pakoras, yellow vegetable curry with rice, okra in a spicy sauce and chana masala...afterwards, Katka was sorry to have to leave us but we walked together a little bit farther and she pointed us in the direction of the Thermal Baths...and I had the opportunity to redeem myself and correct my 3 kisses when we parted ways :)

We walked up a hill and found the building on the right side...we rented towels, went through the respective Daman and Herren dressing rooms and climbed a story of slick stone stairs to get to the first indoor hall of pools...we wanted to get to the roof so we continued on to a heated elevator and up another stairwell to a steamy pool that simply seemed to spill right off the roof! It was just starting to get dark and the city was just starting to light up. Bubbling seats lined the perimeter of the pool and we found ourselves a prime spot on the edge. Too bad it was so cloudy...I can only imagine how impressive the views would have been on a clear night with the city followed by the lake and then topped with snowcapped mountains. We took a few pictures with the water camera that I am sure will not do it justice...it was a great experience and very cool way to see the city and to end our trip...

It was a bit crowded (I can only guess because it is probably the only place open on a Sunday night!) and we checked out the indoor pools on the lower level...the water wasn't quite hot enough for me and we were just considering leaving when we were whistled and yelled at by an employee to get out of the pools! We couldn't imagine what we had done wrong and we made our way out to be reprimanded for using the camera...apparently cameras are banned at pools all over Switzerland according to this woman! We weren't sure it was true but were not in the mood to argue and were ready to leave anyhow...we took quick showers, then found the #13 bus to take to the train station where we needed to take a different train to the airport because I really wanted to get dropped off directly at the hotel and not have a 7 minute walk in the dark along a highway...it was a little extra time but it was worth it!

We slept well our last night in Switzerland and enjoyed this night light of Zürich splayed out on the ceiling:



and for an extra charge enjoyed a nice hot breakfast of you guessed it...eggs, cheese, speck, croissants. It was nothing compared to Yetta's spread yesterday but was better than expensive airport food. We had 8 minutes to grab our bags and get to the 8:00 shuttle...we arrived in the nick of time at 7:59 and I checked out while Brian took care of the luggage...check out delayed me getting in the shuttle at approximately 8:02 and I climbed aboard to a van of angry men. The Swiss do not like to be late especially on the account of an American! Oh well, at least the driver didn't seem bothered anymore when I gave him a nice tip. Worn and weary, we arrived to gate 56 in plenty of time for out flight but not before we had to take yet another mode of transport...the airport tram. I absolutely cannot wait to get in a car!

Looking forward to getting home and seeing all our family and friends...thanks for following along :)

PS: stay tuned for our Final Trip Counts blog!


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Location:Zürich, Switzerland

S is for Switzerland! #12

S is for Switzerland...

Switzerland is Smart
From smart phones and wifi everywhere (without which this blog may not have been possible) to precise buses and trains (for the most part) to timed light switches, green/yellow/red lights for pedestrian crossing, bike lanes and parking everywhere, using electricity monitors to charge tenants for exactly what electricity they use, making the same key open the front door to the apartment building and also the door to your apartment and no one else's (?! How ingenious is that??)...but the best is...charging for trash bags. Switzerland is smart enough to know that people suck at separating recyclable plastics...so they charge for trash bags and the trash men separate ALL the trash...this in turn 1) makes people think more about how much trash they create (cause they will have to pay to throw it away) and 2) encourages companies to create biodegradable and/or smarter packaging which in turn is better for the environment...now, how smart is that? And only the Swiss can make a clock out of flowers.




Switzerland is Savory but with Slow Service
From the cheese to fondue to the speck (bacon) atop almost everything...Switzerland is full of savory tastes that yes, you are supposed to savor as Yetta explained last night. When you have dinner at a restaurant, they expect you to be that table's only occupants for the evening and they treat you as such (as opposed to the revolving door in the US). Not once did we receive a check without asking...not even when we simply ordered coffees. We never felt rushed out the restaurant doors. Food here is meant to be eaten slowly and savored over hours not minutes. Perhaps this is how a country so full of cheese and milk chocolate manages to maintain healthier weights than its American counterparts ;)



Switzerland is Sweet
Almost as sweet as it is supa...from the vistas from 7000 feet up, the snow capped mountains all around...the chocolates, croissants, crepes, steamy hot chocolate and of course the schnapps...move over Hershey: Switzerland is by far one of the sweetest places on earth.



Switzerland is Simple
Patrick was right when he said the dress code in Switzerland is functional. No where did I see girls wearing tank tops in winter or stilettos on cobblestone (unless they were obvious tourists). People dress for the weather not necessarily to impress. Case in point...summer uni-suits to go with their winter skiing uni-suits:




Switzerland is Steep
From the mountains (upwards of 7000 feet) to the subway platform in Lausanne...to the prices: the cost of living in Switzerland is super steep (and I don't mean supa!). A cup of coffee was 5 Francs ($5.50 USD) and a Big Mac was 12 Francs (not that I would eat one of those anyway but still). To ride the bus one way, 3 stops for a 'short trip' was 2 Francs. A one hour massage was 160 Francs! This place is steep. Thankfully having great friends and hosts such as Yetta and Patrick helped lessen the blow to our wallets...and of course the Swiss pass helped as well...



Switzerland is Snowy
Which makes it a great destination for skiing, snowboarding and soaking in the hot springs/spa-ing (is that a word?). The snow capped mountains were beautiful and while the winter low-lying clouds obscured some of our views, the snow to us in an otherwise snowless winter was welcome :)



Switzerland is Safe
I will knock on wood as we still have one more city to explore but for the most part Switzerland seems a fairly safe destination. Poverty doesn't even seem to exist here and if it does, it is very insidious. Switzerland enjoys the highest income earnings per capita in the world (according to Fodor's) and the only homeless and/or people asking for money seemed to be stranded backpackers and certainly were not Swiss.



Switzerland is Systematic
You saw the tangled web of trolley electric lines and complexity of the train tracks...but yet this country of watch makers somehow manage to keep everything moving and perfectly coordinated and precise. Buses with ticket machines at every stop as well as digital displays to tell you when the next one is arriving...and always, always on time. Maybe it's because the Swiss are proud, painfully neat and rigorously prompt...as Fodor's describes them. No offense, but these qualities do not necessarily hold true for Philadelphians: Switzerland certainly puts Septa to shame.



Switzerland is Subdued
"They don't stick their nose out in the cold wind but would rather wait and see" as Yetta explained. Switzerland is a country of neutrality and peace keeping. Below is the president's house in Berne (?) with an open door policy. Switzerland is fairly self contained with only 60% of the population being true Swiss...they protect their heritage and birthright and grant citizenship not to everyone born here, but only to those who earn their keep and put in their time...




Switzerland is Supa!
From our Supa personal tour guides and hosts to the Swiss Alps to the hot springs to the milk chocolate, raclette, rosti and fondue...All around Switzerland is Supa! Thank you Yetta and Patrick for such a wonderful and memorable trip!


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Location:Flughofstrasse,Rümlang,Switzerland

Saturday: cheese, chocolate and castles, oh my! #11

Surprisingly, after our ordeal at the train station and getting in so late last night...we were up by 7:30 am! Yetta and Patrick soon followed and we realized we had to get on the road or else we would miss the last processing of cheese for the day! We opted to grab breakfast of croissants and kaffe at the train station to save time. On the way we saw this:



I would have missed the irony if Patrick hadn't translated: "bikes parked here will be removed at owner's expense". You can see that this sign is clearly being disregarded and as far as the eye can see there were bikes parked along that railing...We climbed aboard the first of only three modes of transport today...train, bus, train to get to Gruyères...the cheese making town. Just look at this webbed mass of train tracks...I am surprised they don't have problems more often!



The first train was a double decker and we secured our favorite upper level seating arrangement:



Guess what? With our Swiss pass yet another free admission! Brian is going to have to tally up all the $ we've saved with the pass because it has been a lot! A woman dressed in a milk maid outfit explained the system of the self-guided tour. We each got one of these things that looked like a huge remote control. You could program it in different languages to hear Cherry the cow explain her story of making milk...we walked along as we viewed pictures of cows, pastures, different flowers, etc. Then there was a part where you could smell each of the different types of flowers and herbs that the cows eat in the local pastures including herbs such as cumin, jasmine and vanilla orchids (something tells me this was not entirely true...if an orchid cannot survive my apartment it certainly cannot survive the hills of Switzerland!). All in all Cherry claimed that milk and the cheese that is ultimately produced can have as many as 76 different flavors depending on what the cow ate while grazing (my sense of taste is certainly not as astute) for an average of 100 kilos of grass (what?!) and 85 liters of water (omg) every single day to make 25 liters of milk. They gave us some cheese samples to taste at various stages of aging...6 months, 8 months, 10 months...I could only detect the flavor of cheese, haha! I also did not know that cows have 4 stomachs?! Learn something new every day...

So then the cows are milked by a machine and 400 liters of milk are pooled together to make just one batch of cheese or a 35 kilo round. No wonder cheese is so damn expensive! The milk is collected over a 24 hour period and is then pooled all together (I am assuming the nutritional composition is more balanced this way)...the cheesemaker was actively making one batch as we walked through in a giant cooper vat...



Then they add enzymes to the milk to make it form into curds...I will not tell you where the enzymes come from mostly because I hope to forget. Once the cheese has curded they form it into a spring form like pan and then place it in a salt bath to suck out some of the moisture before storage on spruce shelves in a temperature and humidity (95%) room where it is flipped and brushed with salt once a day and matured over a certain period of time...6 months would be mild cheese that's softer in texture.



We left the cheese factory after acing Cherry's final exam:



And headed up to the castle...this was quite a steep journey and I myself would have preferred a gondola. But the hills all around were beautiful and alive with the sound of music so Yetta and I tortured the boys with our singing en route while they reminded us, once again, that the movie took place in Austria. Meh. Tell me these hills are not alive:



We finally got to the top and there was this really cute cobblestone street of shops, restaurants and a fountain leading the way to the castle. We stopped for a bite and of course all our meals included local cheese. Jul- if waitressing is not for you then this place certainly isn't! Almost every dish comes with this Swiss contraption with a flame underneath to keep your food steamy...


We also got free admission to the castle but I passed mine on to Yetta who was really excited to check it out. Patrick and I stayed outside and enjoyed the scenery and once they were out we had 18 minutes to make it all the way back down to the train. The task seemed impossible but we accomplished it.

We got a quick coffee in Bulle while we waited for our next connecting train (and Patrick headed back to Berne to finish his lecture)...and we took our last train to Broc where a massive white building forms the Swiss chocolate company Cailler...we arrived just in time to get into the final English tour...which was a series of rooms (first down a Wonkavator) pumped with a chocolate aroma in each taking us through chocolate's tumultuous past and origins in South America.

Chocolate cannot be grown in Switzerland as the climate is not tropical to support to cocoa plant, but it was the Swiss who first added lait or milch (milk) to the chocolate and thus created their own booming chocolate industry. They buy their cocoa beans from all around the world:


Brian was very excited about the chocolate factory:




And the songs of the sound of music were replaced with songs of Willy Wonka.

We continued on and got to see how they make their signature candy (which comes in all different color packages and yet is all the same)...and got to taste it at the very end. Who knew chocolate tasting could be so complicated?




Just when we thought the tour was over, we ended up in the tasting room...a series of tables with samples of pretty much every kind of chocolate they make...



Soon back on the train where Brian Totally disregarded all of the Swiss transportation warning signs:




Not sure how we could even think about dinner after all that chocolate but we started making plans for just one more authentic Swiss meal...Yetta took us to downtown Berne for a special treat of Swiss rosti- shredded potatoes topped with whatever you like...in my case cheese and vegetables...I could hardly make a dent in this!




Our last night in Berne was a good one...we thanked Yetta for being such a great host all week and hopped on our final mode of transport to get back to her place...the number 12 bus. We just about collapsed into bed at the end of this cheese and chocolate filled day...only one more day in Switzerland :(

Location:Rue Jules Bellet,Broc,Switzerland

Friday: trains, buses, cable cars, boats, and more trains...#10

I was just about to comment on just how precise everything is in Switzerland when we got stranded at the train station for 1.5 hours with no trains in or out and no announcements in English! Well Switzerland, so much for that compliment: I take it back. This train station was particularly loud, smokey and filled with rowdy teenagers drinking beer. We were pretty close to taking off and booking a hotel here instead and then the boards magically came to life and a train back to Berne was scheduled to depart in 30 minutes so we opted to wait it out and settled in on the train on track 4. Although we continue to sit here at 2308, 8 minutes past our scheduled departure time and still we sit. At least it's warm, smoke free and with electrical outlets...

We spent the day today in Luzern (or Lucerne to us Westerners). We arrived at about 12 pm and went straight to the tourism office to buy tickets for Mount Pilatus- Luzern's biggest attraction. Since we purchased the Swiss Pass we got 50% off but it still cost us $74 USD. The woman in the info booth gave us a map and a brief intro to the bus system and we set off...grabbing a freshly baked vegetable quiche on the way. We shared the pastry while we waited at the bus stop 3 minutes for the #1 bus...a short walk up a hill, past a farm that reeked of manure, and around the bend and there it was: the gondola to Pilatus.

We took a series of 3 scenic gondola rides up, up, up and farther up to get to the top. The sights started out green...sunny...cottages...windy roads and progressed to a light dusting of snow then deeper, deeper and finally to the point that houses were buried in snow! Bird and animal tracks dotted the blanket of fresh snow and evergreens sunk under the snow's weight. The private gondola was like being in a soundproof box...it was so quiet that Brian and I found ourselves whispering instead of talking, lol...You are not allowed to stand up and throw large rectangular things out the window:




We had to switch to a big gondola for the final stretch and got to share the ride with a group of Japanese tourists...a shattering break to the quiet and calmness of the route thus far. We looked like we would hit a huge rock wall and just then the cables pulled us up and over...




You can also reach the summit by cogwheel train, but It was unclear from our travel guide if it was functional in winter...this train was opened in 1889 and was the result of innovative construction of two horizontally revolving cogwheels. The train rides over 4618 meters of railway and remains the steepest cogwheel train in the world at 48% grade (Manayunk wall is 17% for comparison)...when we eventually arrived at the 'kulm' (summit), we knew why it wad not functional in winter: it was buried under snow (you can see a tiny portion of the track on the left side of this picture)




The views were breathtaking and ever changing. I told Brian a story of how when I was little I couldn't wait to fly on a plane because I was going to sneak on a plastic ziploc bag and secretly open the window to catch a piece of a cloud. As we stepped out onto the snow covered panorama level, Brian simply asked "did you bring a ziploc?"...

We were literally inside the clouds. But they were not the fluffy kind that you could catch in a ziploc ;)

There was a church and a cross perched up on one of the hilltops and between clouds I caught this:




There is a hotel at the top as well so we decided to sit inside and have lunch which was delicious (and as you can imagine, expensive). We also broke Patrick's rule which was that today was supposed to be a cheese free day...oops:




The hotel was built in 1890. My God how did they do this?! I looked around at the heavy granite walls, the enormous tables, the ancient wood burning fireplace. The train was barely operational and they must have already been hauling construction materials up!

We spent about 3 hours at the top and even that didn't seem enough. You turn around and the view is completely different than it was just a second ago! We were literally on top of the world (7000 feet) and damn is it bright up here!




Brian was in photographer's heaven:




We reluctantly headed back to the gondolas and the ride back was the exact opposite of quiet. I subjected poor Brian to a solo round of acapella karaoke mostly to the tune of the Sound of Music despite his reminding me that took place in Austria, not Switzerland. To which I just had to say: same same. He couldn't beat me so he had no choice but to join me :)

We jumped off the gondola and hopped on the 1 bus to visit the Old Town.
Yes, this city has it's own Old Town too. And guess what else- it has a clock in the center, expensive shopping and old churches. Are you picking up on the theme here??




We strolled through the old town, saw a famous wooden bridge (Chapel Bridge) that is supposedly the oldest bridge in Europe (Fodor's reference) but Yetta says that it keeps burning down and it's not the original but it is the oldest "place" in Europe where a wooden bridge has been. Details.




We circled down to the lake and to the docks to inquire about a boat ride. It was just about 4:15pm and we had almost made it to the boat's entrance on the pier when they blew the whistle and started off without us :( We went to the information desk and were in luck: there was one more boat today at 5:18 AND it was free with our Swiss pass. We stopped in "World Cafe" next to the train station for an incredible cup of coffee to warm up a little and kill some time. I reflected on how similar this city was to Philadelphia: world cafe by train station, concert facility on the water. I guess the similarities end there. Check out how clear the lake is and this cool white-beaked bird:




Philadelphia definitely doesn't have stuff like this.

We finally got to climb aboard the boat and of course I was drawn to first class seating (but Swiss pass doesn't cover that). So we mostly walked around the docks and took in the sights (while the other commuters simply read as they passed the time traveling from point A to point B)...it was dusk so it was that time of day when the water looks like glass melting into the sky...or billowing satin...it's hard to capture in photos (Brian complained you couldn't see anything) but I still tried:








We arrived at the other side of the lake, with cottages built up on the hills gently reflecting the setting sun...We had to switch boats but had 10 minutes to spare and jumped on the merry-go-round at the sea-side playground. It was a lot of fun but Brian was spinning me too fast!




Before we traveled back to the other side we saw this warning sign which clearly means you can swim if you want but should swim away from the propellers...?




The sun was setting and Brian was busy taking photos...I simply sat and enjoyed the scenery, indoors. I could not believe how high Mt. Pilatus was...nor could I believe that we had spent the better half of our day there...it just seemed worlds away:




Night was falling by the time we docked on the other side. Or Brian's favorite "blue hour" as he calls it so he was still in photography mode. We walked around a bit as he shot some really cool night pictures...

More later...

We consulted Fodor's for dinner options and chose a French Swiss restaurant in a 17th century tavern that boasted local fare and Croissants sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar for dessert. It didn't seem too far and I had the route all planned out but Brian insisted we turn off the main road earlier than I wanted to...and of course, we then couldn't find the street...we realized we had gone too far, turned back, walked down another street and finally Brian asked "what is the restaurant's name again?"...I had to dig out the book but literally as I read the name and we crossed the street it was directly in front of us:




We went in and got a table near the front. The tavern did appear old but we were too hungry to take much notice! And then we quickly got distracted with their free wi-fi. We ordered dinner...Brian chose meatloaf with a red wine reduction sauce and I got the local white fish with almond butter and vegetables...it was so delicious we cleaned our plates.



Afterwards, we learned that they did not have the croissants Fodor's promised and the waiter looked at us as if we were crazy for asking. We got chocolate mousse instead which was a close runner up. There was a couple from Seattle sitting next to us...they have been staying in Luzern all week and we talked to them for a few minutes. They were amazed with all the cities we had been and likewise, we couldn't really comprehend staying in the same place for a whole week!

We headed back to the train station and if you've already forgotten about that ordeal then I suggest you go back and re-read paragraph one because I don't want to think about it again! ;) Yetta and Patrick absolutely could not believe the delays we've experienced with the Swiss trains...according to them, this kind of stuff just "doesn't happen in Switzerland".


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Location:Schweizerhofquai,Lucerne,Switzerland