It’s crazy to think that we almost excluded Switzerland from our itinerary. The country is absolutely breathtaking…it’s a if it were pulled directly from a storybook. From its large cities like Zurich, to smaller towns like Murren which can only be accessed by cable car, we were stunned by Switzerland’s beauty. We even got to meet up with some family which was an added bonus!
Highlights:
Luzern – Our first couple of days in Switzerland started off in the charming city of Luzern (or Lucerne). We took a cruise around Lake Luzern, had some nice meals along the water, and went on a hike at Kaltbad (the midway point of Mt. Riggi). The weather unfortunately wasn’t in our favor the day of our hike so we couldn’t reach the highest point, but we were happy to have the clouds clear up a bit and eventually get some great views of Lake Luzern from the mountain.
Grindelwald – Our second stop in Switzerland was the quaint and adorable town of Grindelwald. The town is located in the Jungfrau region with great views of Mount Eiger. We definitely made use of our time there as we only stayed one night. Upon arrival, we took a cable car to Grindelwald “First” (name of summit) and hiked to Bachalpsee. The hike started off incredibly windy and cloudy, but cleared up by the time we got to our end point and the views turned out BEAUTIFUL. We were lucky to have perfect weather the remainder of the day which allowed us to enjoy drinks outdoors with a picturesque view of Mt. Eiger, followed by a legit Swiss Fondue Dinner.
Interlaken & Murren/Schilthorn – As recommended by friends (and other travel blogs), we spent our second to last night in Interlaken, but were unfortunately stuck with rainy weather most of the day. The weather eventually cleared up in the evening, so we took a funicular to Harder Kulm (the top of Interlaken) where we were able to get panoramic views of the two lakes surrounding the town. One of the major highlights of this trip however, came the next day when we visited Murren and Schilthorn. Murren is a small town that is accessible only by cable car. We started off driving to Steckelberg where we could catch a cable car to Murren, and then took a few additional cable cars to reach the amazing Schilthorn Summit. The views here were INCREDIBLE. 360 degree views of the Swiss Alps (and was also a filming location of an old Bond film).
Last but certainly not least, Zurich. After just one night, we were pretty bummed we couldn’t spend more time in the city, but the trip must go on (and it was probably best for our wallets too – we knew Switzerland was expensive, but didn’t realize HOW expensive until we got there). On the plus side, we got to catch up and have dinner with some of Anne-Marie’s family which was awesome!
Dinner in Zurich with Anne-Marie’s cousin, Ruben, and his son, Layne 🙂
Rather than writing up a closing statement, we’re just going to leave you with a video of the incredible Schilthorn Views (click the link below to load):
Now we’re off to grab some delicious Parisian food! Until next time…
– AM & Matt
For more pictures from our trip to Switzerland, check out the image gallery page or click on the links below:
Interlaken/Murren, Switzerland