Category Archives: Travel: Within Switzerland

Vibrant Verbier

by

Post by Lauren

For Gabe’s birthday, he had an easy wish: skiing in Verbier. We planned the trip about 3 weeks ago and the last hotel room left in the entire valley was a hostel at the base of the hill in Le Châble. We were excited to get it. Also, we have friends with a chalet there and could rely on their expertise for what to do in the chic mountain town at night. Plus, I was actually excited to ski after my lessons the week prior.

We met A & A in the parking lot Saturday morning, along with their friend J. We climbed about a half hour in the telecabin and were greeted with snowy skies. I immediately noticed the complete lack of green runs. Literally, no greens. Apparently they don’t exist in Switzerland like they do in France, where we’d been skiing prior.

Also, let me disclose that in a normal world, the easy skiing would be at the bottom of the mountain. Not here. They put it in the middle, so that you have to do a red to get to the blue, etc. etc. Not cool.

Planning out our routes

 

On the first run, we all went as a group of five. We did some blue then a red before lunch. It was way over my level. Gabe commented the blues at Verbier were like blacks in Virginia & West Virginia.

 

Snapshots from skiing Verbier

 

After lunch, we split off from the guys so that they could enjoy skiing sans babysitting. They assured us we’d taken a wrong turn before and it was possible to do the blue the whole way down to Verbier village.

 

At least we knew there were trained dogs to save us in case of emergency

 

And, we set off. We found that blue they mentioned and followed it…and…it led back to a black. Way worse than the red from before. We could see where the blue was supposed to go but it was chained off because of a recent avalanche.

There was literally no way to go but down.

Me, attempting to side step the entire black. This was moments before the ski patrol came over and told me it wasn't wise for me to be on a black. No S&**, lady.

 

A and I survived to tell the tale. However, after that second run, we decided that spending the afternoon in L’s chalet would be a safer adventure for us.

The guys rejoined a few hours later, loving life after their mountain exploits. We all got ready and went over to the chalet for an awesome dinner before going out.

Afterwards, we headed to T-bar with the group. There were some amazing live musicians and it was a great evening. We really enjoyed the stark contrast to Gstaad nightlife.

 

Nightlife in Verbier

We had so much fun that we missed the last bus back to Le Châble and our hostel. It was a 75 franc ride back down the mountain ($85). Whoops! But well worth it as we really loved the night time atmosphere in Verbier.

*I was also severely scolded by my french tutor for skiing Verbier. She informed me its one of the hardest places to ski in Switzerland. I now learned not to assume that all slopes have pistes for beginners. But in turn, she gave me a great list of places in France that are “my speed”.

Gstaad: Home of the Rich and Famous…and Dreadfully Boring

by

Post by Lauren

Our hotel on Friday night after the Balloon Festival in Château D’Oex was in Sâänen, which was only a ten minute drive from Gstaad.

Although we were planning to ski in Verbier the next day, we were very excited that we were staying near Gstaad as we have heard the skiing was amazing…so naturally, we thought the nightlife would be as well.

We did not do any research on this subject prior to coming. First mistake.

Gabe attempted to look for “Best Bar in Gstaad” on our walk into the charming town. Funny that only one bar entitled “Richi’s Pub” came up. Silly iPhone, not working properly. So we thought.

And these were the views on the streets at 10pm in Gstaad on a Friday night:

 

The only action we saw were some local guys practicing on the hockey rink:

 

 

We did end up finding Richi’s….the only bar in town, and stayed for one drink because we had made the effort. Such an adorable town, but so boring at night! There was not a soul to be found out in the night air.

We were later told that Gstaad is the playground of the rich and famous and that they don’t go out.

In writing this post, I Googled “Gstaad nightlife” to see if we were missing out on anything, and the top mention was this site. I noted it gets updated once a year.

So, if you are looking to get away to a quiet destination without any disturbances or things to do at night, we wholeheartedly recommend this town. For a glimpse of a pulse, we would recommend Zermatt or Verbier (check out tomorrow’s post!).

Night Glow at Château d’Oex

by

Post by Lauren

I had read on another blog that the International Balloon Festival was a Swiss event not to be missed. When I found out when we were available for it this year, I was pumped. When Gabe requested that we ski for his birthday (coming up in a few days) in a ski town, Verbier, not far from the balloon festival, I was super excited. I found out that there was even a Night Glow Balloon event that evening prior to our ski day. Now, how could I convince him to go spend the night and to see this?

 

Night Glow photo from festival website, (c) Fabrice Wagner


Luckily he is a great hubby and agreed. We booked a hotel in nearby Gstaad in anticipation. We left Geneva on time so that we could see the balloon kick off. We drove an hour on the windiest road you will ever imagine…covered in snow!

After parking, with hot chocolate and vin chaud in hand, we climbed a big hill up to the church along with the entire town. The announcements in French commenced and the lights on the hillside started…

 

Wait….does that spell ABBA? Why, yes, it does. The next hour was filled with a light, fire, fireworks, and paraglider show to ABBA music. I made a little video to share:

Then came out the ski team with torches in coordination to the music.

Ski team

However, I could hardly watch, in hurried anticipation of the night balloons. I couldn’t wait for the bit to end.

However, after the finale, the crowd started to leave.

But wait, where are the balloons? !! ??? !!!

As it turns out, the weather was too bad – we didn’t catch that on the French announcements. I was so bummed and pouted on the way to the car. Gabe joked with me and reminded me how awesome the cliff side light show was. “There were even torched skiers, babe!” he added.

But I was sad. We went to Zermatt last week and didn’t see the Matterhorn and now this week, we went to the balloon festival and no balloons.

We happened to get photos in the cute little town of Château d’Oex as we were leaving. Glad I got to see some chocolate balloons in the window of the patisserie!

 

Oh well, there’s always next year……or can I convince Gabe to come back after skiing Sunday? You’ll just have to wait and see……

 

Castles of Sion

by

Post by Lauren

We had heard from S that Sion was a neat place to stop on the way back from Zermatt. So, since she is always full of great advice, we stopped. We were not disappointed. We ended up climbing to the Chateau Valère. The landscapes with the Alps and the Sion hillsides adorned with castles were quite beautiful.

 

Next time, we’ll climb up to the other castle.

 

Getting Around in Zermatt

by

Post by Lauren

Even though we have lived in Europe 8 months now, I still love being exposed to new things. One is the difference in transportation. This was really prevalent during our trip to Zermatt so wanted to share the many ways to “get around”.

In Zermatt, you can get around by sleigh…..

 

If that’s not your cup of tea, a bus is another way.

If you want, you can go on the roads with your bike…..

Or riding a toboggan is an option if you are a little tyke.

You can do some nordic walking with some sticks and your feet.

Or you could just be pushed in your stroller down the middle of the street.

You can ascent to the top of the mountain in a little telecabin

But if you brought a rollerboard in the snow, an easy time is something you ain’t havin’

You can get a cart to push your luggage in the snow,

Or simply use your spare sled when you have lots of stuff on the go.

 

When in doubt, feel free to ski down the avenue.

These guys will fill you up with whiskey if you happen to get askew.

If you want, you can take Grampi’s electric taxi to get to your place.

And you know that the train will always have plenty of space!

Helicopters* will take you far.

But whatever you do, you can’t take a car!


*Helicopter photo courtesy of Freshly squeezed events. You know I didn’t take it because we never saw the Matterhorn

Adventures in Zermatt

by

Post by Lauren

We just got back from a fabulous trip to Zermatt. Do you know what Zermatt is famous for? It is renowned for the views of Matterhorn….a pointy mountain carved by the movement of the Ice Ages. For a detailed look of what Matterhorn looks like, see S’s blog here or our friend D’s husbands photography from his adventure there here.

You might now ask….Lauren, why do you not have any photos of the Matterhorn if you spent all weekend in Zermatt? Well, they got so much snow there, that it blocked the visibility. What a bummer for all of us to miss the mountain! Nonetheless, Zermatt was adorable. We had a great time enjoying the snow fall and exploring.

Zermatt does not have any cars. You can only access the town by a little train. We arrived around 7pm and decided to find our hotel Blauherd on foot. It felt like we were walking inside of a snow globe.

After checking in our adorable chalet, we set out for some Zermatt nightlife. We dined at Restaurant Du Pont which is known for their traditional raclette, fondue and rosti dishes. It was quite an experience, made more special by an older gentleman in the restaurant.

At first, we weren’t sure if he’d wondered in off the streets but then he came and presented Gisele and I with a postcard of the restaurant….it was the oldest restaurant in Zermatt and ventured back in the kitchen. We then realized he was the owner!

As an appetizer, a broth came out with a piece of cheese on the plate and a basket of bread. We didn’t quite know what to do until the old dude came over and started making hand movements of how to cut the cheese into the soup and then crumble the bread into it. So, it made a french onion soup. He then came over with a bottle of red wine and proceeded to pour a very large splash into each of our bowls. Simply delicious!

It was followed by a salad and then the main course of sausage and rosti. Rosti is a potato dish that it prevalent in the German part of Switzerland, in the mountains. Halfway when we were taking a break he shook his head, grabbed Gabe’s fork and force fed him more of the meal. We unfortunately didn’t get a photo of that!

 

We had heard from S that there was a cool bar near the beaver statue in the town centre. We looked high and low and finally saw the little critter buried in the snow. Elsie Bar was a treat and we were entertained by a group of Swiss Germans having a fabulous time and joking with the guys that they would like to trade wives for the evening. Some francs may or may not have been offered. Don’t worry, we didn’t swap.

 

Finally, we ended up at Brown Cow Pub, a vibrant apres-ski bar that had a continual loop of extreme sports playing. We hung out there and then walked home around midnight as it continued to snow.

Overnight, we received about a foot of the white stuff. The proprietor at our hotel was continually scraping all night long outside on the front terrace.

We had a nice breakfast at the chalet and then set off to explore Zermatt while hoping for the skies to clear up.

 

No such luck seeing the famous peak in person, but it was still a really enjoyable trip to spend some time in this Swiss alpine town.

 

 

Montreux Christmas Market

by

Post by Lauren

Yesterday, we had a girls outing to one of the many Christmas markets in the region. We’d picked Montreux because it was supposed to be either sunny or snowy. Well, weather.com was wrong and we had chilly rain, but the company and hot beverages kept our spirits warm. Here are a few photos:

The market was broken up into little stalls selling things. Their little chalets were festive in themselves.Goods ranged from handcrafted items, to teas, and food. Also there were some Christmas items like nativity scenes – creches.

Vin chaud, hot cider, and Christmas tea were sold in various forms of cauldrons.
It kept us warm and toasty as we navigated the market.

This little fire chalet was also a hit.

Not to mention the French Onion soup. Even little HB, our newest Girls Club member, wanted a piece of the action.

Joyeux Noël, everyone!

 

Gratitude Friday: Autumn in Switzerland

by

Post by Lauren

This Friday, I just wanted to express my gratitude for Autumn in Switzerland. Since our house hunting fell in Winter and our move in Spring, Fall is the last season that I have yet to see. It was worth the wait…..

 

Bon weekend, everyone!

 

Annecy, France

by

Post by Lauren

We had to do some shopping for our upcoming Halloween festivities this weekend. Since groceries can be 1/2 to 1/3 the cost in nearby France, we decided to make a trip there to pick up the goods for the soiree.

Instead of picking a close border town, we chose to drive to Annecy, which is about 30 minutes from Geneva. Gabe had been to Lake Annecy before for work, but neither of us had been to the Annecy Old Town.

It was very charming. I loved the reflective colors in the canals that wove in and out of the charming French streets. I know my Mom will love this place when she comes to visit.

 

Our verdict on shopping in France is that it is really only worth it for large parties or stocking up on pantry goods. The Swiss are so strict on what goods you import, it took a lot of brain power when shopping to add up the weights to make sure we were under. In fact, I picked up a small frozen bag of veal meatballs and had to put them back because they were twice our limit.

We know not to push the limits. One of Gabe’s co-workers went to France to prepare for a big American style BBQ at her house. She bought 80 euros worth of meat there…a steal for a party….but ended up with 400 francs of importation fines. Ouch.

Check out Lady J’s blog more on shopping in France, including the limits.

The language divide

by

Post by Lauren

Switzerland has four official languages. This map below from about.ch depicts the portion of Switzerland in which each language is spoken.

A few things to notice:
-The spoken language typically matches what the closest proximate country is. Ex: Geneva is closest to France, so we speak Swiss-French here (blue). This also plays out in the local cuisine of the areas as well.
-Most of Switzerland speaks Swiss-German (yellow) – 64%
-Some portions of Switzerland are bi-lingual…such as the part near Bern where you can tell its shaded in blue and yellow.

It’s really interesting to see the road signs change as you drive into different parts of Switzerland, see below for “exit”. Also, the radio stations change back and forth into different languages as you drive along.

This week, Lady J, S, and I took a little road trip up to Murten, which is just west of Bern, and one of the bilingual areas where 25% speak French and 75% speak Swiss-German. We visited the Old Town and had a nice drink in the main square. When the Swiss-German waitress came for our order, we attempted a little German before she effortlessly slipped into English to take our drink requests. There’s nothing like trilingual waitstaff to make you feel insufficient in life. This happens very commonly in Geneva to Gabe and I, since most Swiss residence know upwards of three languages.

Rooftops of Murten, Switzerland

As if this isn’t enough to keep track of, the languages that Switzerland speaks have deviations to the original versions. Swiss-French is slightly different than French. French people typically think that Swiss French is more sing-songy and its interpreted as being slower or more “country”. Thank goodness I am in the slow part. I can barely understand it as is.

Swiss-German is very different than High German. I have heard that people who know excellent High German have a hard time with Swiss-German.

And still, there’s more! Esther taught us in French this week that every one of Switzerland’s 26 cantons speak a different dialect. There are different words and expressions used in different cantons even though the overall “language” is the same. For example, in typical French, petit déjeuner is breakfast, déjeuner is at noon and dîner is in the evening. But, in Geneva, déjeuner is breakfast, le dîner is served at noon and le souper in the evening. There are also different words for post office box and they use different variations of #s (see my prior post on numbers). And this continues throughout Switzerland.

While we all speak English, I suppose dialect thing is very common in the US, where people speak differently in Boston vs. Chicago vs. Texas. What words have you found different depending what part of the US you are in?