Switzerland

Switzerland is quite an interesting place to travel. Unrivalled scenic views, crisp clean air, adventure options galore. Switzerland is a lovely part of the world to visit but be prepared to pay for that beauty.  Unfortunately this place takes a bit more work for the budget traveller so some careful thought on where to go is needed. For Bob and I, we hoped for the chance to see some amazing mountain landscapes and also to do some hiking where possible.

We decided to base the majority of our visit in the central mountain region but coming up from France we entered via Geneva and so stopped there for the day. Geneva is a centre for business and governance and is home to the European headquarters of the UNO and around twenty international companies.

While we only spent a day in Geneva we came across quite a few interesting areas including a science museum that was within a historical building on the Lake Geneva.  I’ve included a couple of photos below that also show the detail on the building itself.

As I said earlier our main aim was to head to the mountains which actually took us a couple of days to reach. One of the bigger places we visited on route to Gimmelwald was Luzern.

Luzern is situated in the centre of Switzerland and is extremely popular with tourists. In fact the city very much caters to tourists. We strolled around the tightly mazed streets that open up to lovely squares and also walked along the old town walls and enjoyed the view. We didn’t stay for much else however as we have seen quite a number of churches and museum.  One of the main things we have come to realise is that all cities are very similar with the main differences being architecture, food and unique cultural practices.  All other services are generally similar across most cities and countries.  Once we had seen the buildings, trying some local food is the way to go but in Switzerland we found this very difficult purely because the cost was exorbitant.  We did eventually have one meal out in Grindlewald, but for a serve of fondue and a rosti we spent the better part of 90 Australian dollars, which is fine once in a while but not sustainable as a regular feature of our budget camper trip.

So back to Luzern, here are a few photos of this photogenic city:

Luzern is a beautiful place and having nothing in particular we needed to see we were able to really enjoy the grand and ornate architecture and detail that some of the old town buildings displayed. It was also really relaxing to have a coffee sitting next to the river, with beautiful mountains the backdrop to the city.

 While Switzerland is small, driving through mountains and villages rather than using toll roads requires a bit more time but is well worth it for the spectacular views.  The weather in these mountainous areas is also a little more unpredictable.   So still on route to Gimmelwald, we ended up staying a few days in Interlaken to wait out some bad weather that was passing through.  

Interlaken is a centre for adventure sports of all kinds. Many companies offer packages for activities on the mountain or in the valley where Interlaken is located. One of the main sports we witnessed was the paragliding. Paragliders took to the sky in droves here and tandem jumps were offered for tourists. While sitting in Interlaken having some tea we watched over ten jumpers floating around on the draughts before spiralling down toward the open grass field in the city.

Interlaken is also a gateway city to the towns situated higher up the mountain. To get to Gimmelwald requires leaving your car in the valley and taking a cable car up into the mountain. Gimmelwald, like Murren is car free, although there are some small work trucks on the mountain for farmers.  We drove to Stechelberg, the highest point where you can take a car, and from there took a cable car to Gimmelwald, which is situated 1367m above sea level and is within the Bernese Oberland.

Gimmelwald is really what many of us imagine Switzerland to be. Cute log cabins, lush green grasses, cows with bells and towering mountains covered in snow year round.

This last photo is taken looking down on Gimmelwald. It really shows how high this little town is and why it’s a pretty amazing thing that the town is now so prosperous.

Just above Gimmelwald is Murren another ski resort town that benefited immensely from the building of the Schilthorn located above the town. Murren is only a half hour walk up the mountain so an afternoon stroll was a great way to visit this little town.  We ended up sitting in a lovely little café chatting to two old retired British men that come once a year for some hiking and relaxing. Seemed like an ideal way to spend your retirement. 

The first adventurous activity that we embarked on was a hike down to Gimmelwald from the Schilthorn, a 2970m high summit of the Bernese Alps. While not the most difficult of walks within the area, it still involved descending down from the top along a snow covered ridgeline before passing to rocky and grassy terrains, and finally into a forested area alongside a river that eventually leads you into the scattered cabins surrounding Gimmelwald.

At the very top of the Schilthorn you can enter one of the most amusing museums I’ve visited. In 1969 a Bond film, “On her majesty’s secret service”, was filmed at the summit. In fact the building at the top that you can enjoy this view from was funded by the movies producers and was the location of the villain Blofeld's lair.  While not a massive Bond fan, the museum was really well set up with lots of interactive activities to really get you excited about one of the worst Bond films ever made.

After enjoying a coffee in the revolving restaurant we started off on our hike down the mountain. It took us overall about four hours to hike back and we even stopped in a lovely meadow on the way down for lunch.  The hike down was simply amazing and I encourage you to do some hiking when you visit Switzerland.

Surprisingly there is quite a lot to do in the mountains that don’t involve a great deal of money. Hiking trails are scattered all over the mountain and hiking maps are available when you arrive. Another great activity that only cost 20 francs each for the loan of some climbing gear is the Via Feratta, which is a climb/ scramble/ hike down from Murren to Gimmelwald. I was really excited to give this a go but I admit I was quite scared by the prospect of falling off the mountain too.  The climb is cabled the entire way, and using two clips you attach yourself to the steel cable.  When you reach a point where you need to change to the next line you unclip only one carabineer at a time so you are always attached to the wall. This sounds really good in theory until you have to do it perched tightly on a sheer wall above a very high drop! Not one for heights I still absolutely loved the challenge but I was very happy when we finished.

 

After our adventures in Gimmelwald it was time to say goodbye to Switzerland and head north into Germany.  I guess the biggest thing I noticed about Switzerland is its attitude to travellers compared to France where we had just come from and Germany, which we visited next.  So while there are many beautiful things to see, the country wasn’t really set up well for campervans compared to France and Germany.  

I loved many things about Switzerland and definitely recommend visiting the Swiss Alps and a few cities if you have time, and even try out one of their adventure sports if you can afford the cost. I personally found it a very difficult place to travel while maintaining a tight budget, but if you are keen, there are lots of other options like hiking and climbing.