Traversing Swiss Mountains

May 30, 2012 by lauren

After our trip to Lake Como, I am a lot more educated on how to get through, around, and over a mountain.

I remember when we first moved here, when we looked at a map, we were stupefied why there wasn’t a direct route. It didn’t take long to find out that the reason the roads can’t go straight here is because of the big freakin’ mountains, otherwise known as “the Alps”.

Within our year, we learned about the wonderful Mt. Blanc Tunnel, which can save you a lot of time getting to Italy (and also adding a big dent to your wallet, around $60 USD). We had used this tunnel to get back from the South of France, and also planned to use it to get to Lake Como.

However, I wanted to stop in Lugano and Bellinzona on our way home, putting us in the South of Switzerland, far from the Mt. Blanc tunnel. I saw on Google Maps that there appeared to be two ways though. They took longer but it was worth seeing a few cities in the Ticino canton. No biggie.

The little yellow circle is where we came into Italy via Mt. Blanc. The other two were the ways we considered coming back into Swizterland.

The week before we left, I mentioned to my PT that we were going to holiday in Lake Como and return through Ticino.

“Are you sure the passes are open yet”? he inquired.

No I wasn’t sure. Anytime we’d gone that direction before, we were in a train. This was to be our first time taking the car and it never occurred to me that in mid May some roads wouldn’t be open.

So, that week, I tried to research this. Key word – “tried”. Google Maps would still let me do directions home through the alternative ways. It hinted that “some roads would be seasonally closed”. No problem…i’ll just Google it. Surely they’ll be a key like there is during ski season showing whats open and not.

I found a few message boards but nothing definitive that suggested if passes were open or not. I did find a map showing that going up from Domodolossa there was a station in Iselle that you could put your car on a train to go through the Simplon Tunnel if the Simplon Pass wasn’t open.

See the little happy car on the dotted line? That means underground car on rail transportation.

I noted this would be a plan that could work. Although, no information about the cost, schedule, etc. Do these car trains go every hour? Only once a day? Once a weekend?

More research also found that the Gottard Pass was likely closed since it usually is open until June, but the Gottard Tunnel was open year round. A few message boards added that the wait could be up to 2 hours on a holiday weekend, creating a queue of traffic on the freeway for 10-15 km back. Curses!!!

I’ll stop and interject with some basic vocabulary. I actually didn’t really know this until our adventure this weekend.

Pass = a road that goes over an Alp. It is likely curvy, amazingly beautiful, and will make you marvel at the wonder of Swiss civil engineering. It can only be passable when the snow is gone or can be scraped. During winter, its simply not possible based on snowfall. Some passes, like Gottard, are only open 2-3 months a year.

Tunnel = a road that goes through a mountain, usually in a direct way, and will make you marvel at the wonder of Swiss civil engineering. The benefit is that they can stay open regardless of snowfall. If it is not in Switzerland, its costly. If you live in Switzerland, you have a 40 CHF highway pass that allows you to do it for free. If you don’t live in Switzerland and want to use said tunnel, guess what? 40 CHF.

The evening before we left Como, we tried to inquire about the best way home. Our sweet apartment proprietor even knocked on the door of her neighbor to inquire since he knew more about Switzerland. They said they’d think we’d be okay on the passes around Lugano and Locarno. Okay, then…didn’t even know those were in contention to worry about either. She gave us an internet password and we continued to look into it the evening before dinner. Nothing else was definitive. Thus, we decided to get to Bellinzona and see how the GPS acted.

During our awesome lunch in a UNESCO castle, we inquired at the desk about how to get back to Geneva. We mentioned what we knew. When we said Gottard Tunnel and the phrase, “but we weren’t sure because it is a holiday weekend”, she immediately blurted, “that’s a terrible idea!!”.

So, we were off to the Simplon Pass or Simplon Tunnel We entered “Iselle, Italy” into the GPS so that we could decide and evaluate the pass.

Gabe hadn’t had Ticino, Lugano or Bellinzona on his list. He found Lugano average, Bellinzona cool because of the architecture and castles, but driving through the Ticino a 10. We found ourselves curving around lush tropical mountains, feeling like we were in the Amazon. Were we really still in Switzerland? It was exhilarating for me to be in the car. Luckily, Gabe is an excellent driver, but it was still a bit scary.

I made a little movie to show you what driving on these roads was like. Mom, please don’t watch this.

We crossed back into Italy. And, two hours later, we reached Iselle. We weren’t really sure what was happening as it wasn’t evident where to put your car on a train, but there were three cars with Canton of Geneva plates and we decided to follow them. Crossing back into Switzerland, we saw this sign.

All green. Thanks, Switzerland. Would have been really nice to have this information online somewhere instead of having to drive here to verify it.

And again, we were in wonder.

Misty Alps

Lush fields with stone fence property lines

There’s still snow up here. The temperature had dropped from 20 C in Bellinzona to 2 C at the top of the Simplon Pass.

The hubby is a good driver. Thank goodness.

Driving over the Simplon Pass

: Descending into the valley on the other side of the Alps

A view of Brig coming down from the Simplon Pass.

We had talked with some friends on the way home who warned us about the Gottard traffic. We didn’t know they were returning to Geneva back through Ticino or we should have shared our information or lack thereof about the roads.

So, this post was to inform any folks trying to drive from Italy back to Switzerland. It’s not so easy!!

Bellinzona, Switzerland

May 29, 2012 by lauren

Bellinzona, located in the Ticino part of Switzerland, is an quaint medieval town. It is best known for the three castles that dominate the landscape. The castles were awarded the UNESCO world heritage designation, based on their key role in protection of an Alpine pass in medieval times.

In my recent Castles in the Sky post, I explained that castles were built at elevations for defense.

In Bellinzona, there are three: Castelgrande, Montebello, and Sasso Corbaro.

We were limited on time so just explored Castelgrande. Luckily for me, there is an elevator that shoots you straight up through the castle to the inner courtyard. This is a godsend since my feet aren’t in hiking condition yet. Visiting the other two is a much more significant effort in walking / climbing.

The town of Bellinzona was quiet on the rainy Sunday we stopped in

View from below at Castelgrande

A first look on the upper courtyard of the castle

Yup, its pretty securely built on this rock.

We admired the view to the other castles.

We were hungry and it was starting to drizzle. We decided to dine inside the castle where we had read that there was a great restaurant offering Ticino style meals.

Since it was Italian style, we decided to continue the trend of ordering two courses, a primi pasta course and a secondi meat course. This was a mistake, at least for me. The first courses came out huge. Oops. However, it was so delicious, I finished every bit of my taglietelle with Ticino ragu. And Gabe finished his gorgonzola gnocchi. Sorry that I didn’t get a picture before we ate it.

Eating inside of a UNESCO castle. The sauce that once contained gnocchi.

The meat courses were equally as good. Gabe almost finished his veal piccata. I didn’t come close on my beef. I vowed that I wasn’t going to order Italian style anymore. I would have been just as content with only a pasta course. The ride home we were stuffed.

However, all in all, we were impressed with the Italian Switzerland cooking. It was just as good as Italy.

It was already 2pm, so we decided we better head home. Especially since we weren’t 100% sure how to get there.

Lugano, Switzerland

May 28, 2012 by lauren

Did you know there are palm trees in Switzerland??

As we have mentioned before in the blog, there are four different lingual / geographical groups in Switzerland – French Switzerland, German Switzerland, Romansch Switzerland, and Italian Switzerland.

I had wanted to check out Italian Switzerland since we’d moved to Geneva. Gabe was a bit more skeptical. He would ask, “Don’t you just want to go to real Italy…it’s just as close?”

So, when we were only an hour from the Italian part (called Ticino – in green, below) when we were in the Italian lake district, I jumped at the chance to swing through two of the towns on the way home to Geneva. I legitimized we’d need to stop for a coffee and for lunch, of course. Little did I know the travel drama that this would cause (post to come).

Image courtesy of about.com

Lake Lugano rests in both Switzerland and Italy. Lugano is at the northernmost part. This entire area is known for its mild Mediterranean climate, complete with palm trees and tropical plants. Yes, in Switzerland.

Image courtesy of escapeartists.com

As we drove into town, we were impressed by the scenery, most notably, the large hill to the left of the town.

Lugano, Switzerland

We parked and strolled through a nearby city park, sitting for a cappuccino and a espresso. Just coming from Italy, we noted we were back to Switzerland prices. And service.

Gabe commented on the little baby Jet d’eau that they had (as can be seen in the photo above).

All in all, it was a nice city. Not sure if we’ll travel back, but I am glad we got to see it.

You might want to check on Schwingen in Switzerland’s adventures there (link below). They had a sunny day and a bit more time for exploration.

Don’t go chasing waterfalls….

May 23, 2012 by lauren

And I continue with my cheesy song title post names.

We mentioned that it was pretty neat to see the castles while driving on our road trip to Lake Como. Now that is is Spring, the glacial runoff has started and there is a surplus of waterfalls to be found while driving on France, Italy and Switzerland’s Alpine highways.

Here are just a few of the ones we spotted in our short car ride:

And my personal favorite, driving in Valais, there is waterfall spewing out of the base of a house.

Castles in the Sky

May 21, 2012 by lauren

We took a road trip this past weekend to Lake Como. When we used to live in the US, you could count Waffle Houses on any given drive on I-95 or similar Southern highway. Here in the heart of Europe, we can count castles.

Castles are typically on hills. This is for two main reasons: 1 – so that they could watch over the valleys and know about any incoming intruders and 2 – it is harder to overtake a castle while having to climb a big mountain to do so.

I find it incredible to drive through these valleys and see the castles still towering above. It is eery to think about what must have happened over the course of the hundreds of years of each castles’ lifetime….the battles, the deaths, the prisoners, the changes in lives that happened.

I thought I’d share a cross section of castles we saw. Mind you that this is in just one weekend trip!

And of course, had to include our favorite, in Sion:

Swiss San Francisco

May 12, 2012 by lauren

When we were out on Neuchâtel Fun Day, we made a stop in La Chaux des Fonds as S was hosting two architecture students for the week, just prior to them returning from their studies abroad. She wanted to show them another side of Switzerland and figured they’d like to see a few of Le Corbusier’s early designs. Le Corbusier is a famous Swiss architect (I didn’t know either). He happened to grow up in this city which is also a UNESCO world heritage city, for mechanical watch-making.

We visited both houses and drove around the city.

What was far more interesting to me in this Swiss city was the grid system. S had noted that in addition to Le Corbusier and watch-making, that it was notorious for its checkerboard grid plan.

This is very uncommon in Switzerland. Usually the roads cling to the shape of mountains, creating lots of curvy roads. This makes it hard to drive in Swiss cities, with crazy intersections. Especially when you add trams. And bikes. At angles. Not that I know (since I can’t drive a stick), I just observe Gabe and my friends struggle with the traffic pattern. If you haven’t read A’s Driving Handbook, you should.

Typical Swiss cities, like Neuchâtel, which we saw earlier in the day have more windy roads

However, La Chaux de Fonds is perfectly gridded and linear. And, it is not flat all all.

Look at how the streets resemble San Francisco*! As I mentioned, you don’t get these views in other Swiss cities because of the curve factor.

The hills

The next week, I told my physio that we went to La Chaux des Fonds with a group of friends. He understood better when I mentioned the architecture thing. He chuckled when I said I now called it “Swiss San Francisco”.

*In no way did the city & people resemble San Francisco except for the streets. No bohemian vibe. No bowls of chowder. No adorable noisy seals. And probably no nightlife. Although I bet La Chaux des Fonds might rival Ghiradelli on chocolate….

Sunshine in Neuchâtel

May 9, 2012 by lauren

I had been feeling a little glum lately – I think a combination of missing the U.S., friends, Gabe, and a little cabin fever from the rain and surgery recovery. So, S invited me to join her, T and her two guests on an outing to Neuchâtel last Friday.

I’d heard it was a neat Swiss town so was excited for a chance to see it. Traveling with S is like having a personal tour guide. She has an amazing knack for history and even better, the retention and relation of this knowledge. I love the history, just can’t remember it and relate it all. So, as we walked the colorful streets, she pointed out a neat things to take note of (you can learn more about these on her blog).

As we walked, I just enjoyed the sunshine. It hasn’t been too frequent lately so it was glorious to soak in the rays and even remove my jacket partway through the day. Don’t you just love the puffy white clouds in the blue Swiss sky?

We concluded our walking tour of Neuchâtel with a picnic on the lake, all sharing things we brought along, before heading to 3 more interesting stops on the eastern side of Switzerland.

Thanks to S and Neuchâtel for the beautiful day.

Alpine views in Zweisimmen and Château D’Oex

May 2, 2012 by lauren

As mentioned in the previous post about our trip on The Golden Pass, we stopped in two towns on the journey back.

The first of the towns was Zweisimmen. I’ll be honest that I had no idea what to expect (not listed in my tour books) but I suggested to E-dawg that we hop off the train and spend an hour there until the next train would pass.

We found an adorable German speaking village, full of cows. We wandered around its quiet streets enjoying the fresh air.

This is Zweisimmen!

We caught the train an hour later and hopped off again at Château D’Oex. Readers might find this town familiar as we stopped there twice for the Hot Air Balloon Festival. After the Friday night “Night Glow” show failed to produce any balloon pictures, I begged Gabe to go back the following Sunday for more. And that is when I fell in love with this little village known to be the Swiss capital of ballooning.

Welcome to Château D'Oex (pronounced Shat-oh Day)

It was really neat for me to see the difference in winter vs. spring. The town is totally different. Originally, I was going to sit at a café and rest my feet while E-dawg explored. But I couldn’t help myself wanting to climb up to the top of the chapel with her for the views!

Streets of Château D'Oex

Climbing up the steps of the chapel, greeted by amazing spring flowers

After reaching the top, E-dawg relaxed near the chapel walls.

On the way back down, we decided it was an opportune time to open the mini bottle of Swiss wine we had brought to picnic on the train. We popped our shoes off, sat in the grass, and enjoyed the magnificent panorama in front of us.

After experiencing it in multiple seasons, this little village quickly lept up to one of my top Swiss places to visit.

Back on the train. Goodbye Chateau D'Oex...until next time!

The Golden Pass

May 1, 2012 by lauren

On E-dawg’s last day, we took a panoramic train. I am a big fan of these trains – you get to see a lot of the beautiful Swiss landscape. It also provides a nice relaxing day if you have been busy.

As you may have read on the blog, there are are four scenic trains: The Golden Pass, The Bernina Express, The William Tell Express, and The Glacier Express. Gabe and I have taken the Glacier Express twice, with The Captain and Swiss Miss, as well as with The Fam.

This time, we took The Golden Pass. We chose it because of its proximity to Geneva, as we wanted to do the entire thing in a day. We bought tickets to ride just until Zweisimmen in the German speaking part.

Cool map courtesy of goldenpass.ch

So, we took an hour train from Geneva to Montreux in order to catch the Golden Pass. One interesting thing about Swiss trains is that they are beautifully timed. For instance, as our train from Geneva rolled into Montreux, the Golden Pass sat awaiting any passengers. Moments later, it departed. This isn’t by coincidence. The entire system is designed for efficiency and there are rarely wait times or “layovers”.

After boarding, The Golden Pass ascended above Montreux. I had not been this way yet so thoroughly enjoyed being a tourist as it winded around, giving glimpses of the lake below.

Leaving Montreux on The Golden Pass

E-dawg enjoying the ride

Passing gorgeous pastures and rolling green fields

Passing Château D'Oex, home of the hot air balloon festival.

Fields of dandelions

Typical Swiss backyard.

Keep that delicious milk, cheese, and yogurt coming, cows!

Passing Gstaad and The Palace.

An enticing road

Descending into Zweisimann

This view never gets old to me.

Back to Lake Geneva....

God shining light through the clouds onto Lake Geneva

This entire route took six hours of travel time from Geneva. We did stop twice on the way home to explore Zweisimmen and Château D’Oex so it took us a bit longer – about nine hours. I’d recommend doing that to break up the trip. If you don’t have reservations*, you can hop on and off wherever you like.

*For our trip, we did buy reservations from Montreux to Zweisimmen not knowing if they were required. We were the only ones with reservations and could’ve saved the $$ by not doing it since it was a low tourist season. It also made it handy not to have them on the way back as it encouraged us to live in the moment and hop off at whatever towns looked neat. However, on the way home, we didn’t get to sit in choice seats when hopping back on.

Thus, if you are in a big group or sitting together is important, its a nice benefit to purchase the reservation.

Gratitude Friday: Spring has Sprung!

April 27, 2012 by lauren

A little delayed in my posting….but Spring has sprung in Geneva. I admit I am late in this post. But mainly since I have had mobility, all it has done here is rain, rain, rain so I wasn’t in the spring spirit yet.

However, we had our first day of non-rain yesterday and I am hoping that more sunshine and spring weather is on the horizon (fingers crossed). Although they do say that “April showers bring May flowers”, so I suppose there should be gratitude in the rain as well.

Speaking of flowers, E-dawg and I got to take advantage of Spring’s beauty yesterday on the AIWC photo group outing to Morges, Switzerland. There we enjoyed lunch alfresco and explored the annual Fêtes de la Tulipe.

So, this Friday, I am grateful for the flowers and beauty of spring. Finally!!! But, better late than never!

Bon weekend, everyone!