Like our 3-week Denmark trip in 2023 and our 3-week Brittany trip last year, both by car, we opted to do the same again, this time to Switzerland! As long as we can, we'll keep doing it. Have car, will travel!
The map overview is always important to me to get the lay of the land.
Without any side trips, the direct roundtrip was 1,791km/1,113mi.
In actuality, after all was said and done, we drove 2,728km/1,695mi.
The trip was sorted by the 5 hotels where we stayed, as follows, with the photos both Astrid and I posted each day on Facebook:
1: BESANÇON, France (2 nights): Thurs., May 22-24:
That first day was the longest of the trip: 9.5 hours and 667km/414mi. Astrid was the sole driver
and was quite the trooper. We celebrated at the hotel with a beer, chips and a game of Five Crowns.
The following day in Besançon, France, was a good start to what we came to see:
First, the 11th-13th century Saint John Cathedral with its astronomical clock....
followed by the city's 17th century fort covering 27 acres on Mount Saint-Etienne.
It was listed as a UNESCO site in 2008.
Quick impressions of a city very much up our alley!
It wasn't yet Switzerland but it was a great start for our trip.
2: BERN, Switzerland (4 nights): Sat. May 24-28:
stopping first in Pontarlier, France, for lunch and a nice walk-around.
The Tour de France will be there their last full day on July 26, before Paris on the 27th!
On Sunday and Tuesday (May 25 and 27), while in Bern, we visited the city center, which was a short walk across the Aare river from our hotel:
The Zytglogge clock tower and the city’s cathedral were our main highlights on May 25.
It's the city of bears...can you tell! And of Einstein, who studied there in his day!
Our 2nd day in city center, May 27, we had fun people-watching
and eating our first DARK chocolate ice cream...the first of many to come.
We ended the day in the government section, enjoying the views.
Bern, after all, is the capital of Switzerland!
This is Astrid's collage of Bern on FB. As she says, we were both "short of eyes."
On the Monday (May 26) in between those 2 city-center days, we drove north of Bern to the Langatun whisky distillery, just to say we did it (long story related to Astrid's brother Sander).
I didn't put this on FB but am including it here for the record.
It was such a good experience, especially with the lady in charge, who educated us.
And then we drove the backroads, finding our first 2 covered bridges of the trip.
OMG. Who knew there were covered bridges in Switzerland!
And viaducts! Astrid found as many as she could find.
3: LUCERNE, Switzerland (8 nights): Wed., May 28-June 5:
On our way from Bern to Lucerne, we stopped in Thun, just 30km east of Bern,
and saw two more covered bridges.
This is what Astrid posted on FB.
And this is the video she took of one of the women surfing!
We had seen a YouTube before we went and were thrilled to see it in real life!
Then we climbed up to see the Thun Castle from 1191 and the town’s Reformed church next to it.
It was a good 2.5 hours in Thun on our way to Lucerne.
Lucerne's city center, of course, was one of the main highlights of our 8 days there, where we spent 2 of our days:
This was on Thurs., May 29, coming and going by the free train-transport from our hotel.
And guess what! Two more covered bridges!
Lucerne is best-known for its 14th c. Chapel Bridge (left), the world's oldest covered bridge.
The 2nd bridge (right) is the 15th c. Spreuer Bridge, both spanning the Reuss river.
Both are pedestrian covered bridges.
On Tues., June 2, we went back to city center to see the famous Lion Monument,
as well as to climb as much of the fortified walls as we could.
On our 2nd full day in Lucerne, Fri., May 30, we rode the cable car up and down Mt. Pilatus, a half-hour's walk from our hotel:
We could see it every day from our hotel, so you can imagine the thrill of visiting it.
And yes, even I climbed to that high point (bottom-right)!
The views were to die for and our iPhones were able to zoom in on Lucerne's city center!
Sat., May 31, was probably THE highlight of our Switzerland trip when Astrid treated me to an early 80th birthday gift: a 5-hr paddlewheel steamboat cruise all around Lake Lucerne!
OMG. Talk about an experience of a lifetime on a perfect day....
with a 6-course meal served at various points around the boat, ending up in the dining room:
(l to r) alpine lamb and salmon, Swiss turkey mini puff pastry, jacket potato and bread fondue,
alpine pike with ravioli, filet mignon, and coffee ice cream.
This was Astrid's collage on FB.
And believe it or not, we decided the next day, Sun., Jun 1, to drive around the lake (145 km/91mi) to see it from a different perspective, which we loved:
We stopped in Brunnen for a latte....
and in Engleberg for an ice cream (not as dark as all the other chocolate ice creams we had)!
We also checked out its 12th c. Benedictine Abbey.
Remember that on June 2 we went back to Lucerne's city center but on Tue., June 3, we drove the backroads again, to find something else to see:
First, we stopped in Sempach, the kind of small town we love walking around.
And then to Muri, to visit the Benedictine abbey from 1064.
We thought it looked more like a museum than a church, to be honest,
deciding we liked the countryside views much better.
On our last full day in Lucerne, we drove 109km/68mi roundtrip to Zürich, just to say we did it. I had been there in a past life but it was a first for Astrid:
To be honest, we hit the main landmarks and left almost as soon as we could.
Driving there was a nightmare for Astrid and the city felt way too big (and tram-soot dirty) for us.
I was mainly glad that Niki de St-Phalle’s “Guardian Angel” was still hanging in the train station!
She saved the day, I think, for us both.
4. BASEL, Switzerland, (4 nights): Thur., June 5-9:
Heading north 100km/62mi, on our way to Basel from Lucerne, we stopped in Aarau to walk its old city center:
OMG. Everything we had read/heard about it was true.
It's known for its painted gables and is therefore called the "City of Beautiful Gables."
The next day, Friday, June 6, was our first full day in Basel, considered to be the cultural capital of Switzerland, where we spent the day in city center:
We could have spent the entire time at Basel's colorful town hall, its famous landmark.
But we didn't, moving right along to the Műnster Cathedral, the Spalentor gate, and even Jean
Tinguely’s fountain (the husband of Niki de St-Phalle, of the Guardian Angel in Zürich, remember?).
The next day, Sat., May 7, rain was predicted for most of the day (the first and only day of the trip!), so we decided to drive the backroads again. We first stopped in Delemont (to purchase Swiss cookies for my upcoming 80th birthday celebration at home) before continuing on to Porrentruy:
In spite of the rain, we could easily see and feel the charm of the place.
But another big highlight of this Switzerland trip was where we ate lunch that day,
spoiled to bits by the Turkish owner, Kamil, who did everything he could to please us.
A rainy day was exactly what the doctor ordered!
On our last full day in Basel, Sun., June 8, we drove to Stein am Rhein, which popped up after Astrid Googled "what is the most beautiful city in Switzerland?"
On the way, we stopped at the Eglisau railway viaduct over the Rhine river.
Are you picking up a theme here?? Viaducts and covered bridges!
Once in Stein am Rhein, we understood why it popped up as Switzerland's most beautiful city.
Its city center is full of painted frescoes and half-timbered houses.Our kind of place, fitting for our last full day in Switzerland!
And our last DARK chocolate ice cream of the trip!
5. LUXEMBOURG CITY, Luxembourg (2 nights): Mon., June 9-11:
Our drive from Basel to Luxembourg was 347km/216mi, driving through France to get there,
and finally getting us back to the European euro currency from the Swiss franc!
(As an FYI, $1 right now is €.86 but CHF.81 makes Switzerland the most expensive!)
Notice that like our first night in France, at the beginning of our trip, here in Luxembourg, our
first night on our way home, we had a beer and played Five Crowns before ending the day!
That last full day, Tue., June 10, we spent the day in Luxembourg's city center,
visiting the Notre Dame Cathedral, just like we had in 2013....
as well as all the other tourist spots!
This time we used only our iPhone 15 Pro Max cameras and saw a huge difference!
On Wed., June 11, Astrid woke up with the beginning symptoms of her chronic sinus infection but after a good breakfast, decided she was up for our 4+-hr. drive back home. Talk about a trooper! 347km/216mi later we were at home by 2p.m. HOME SWEET HOME.
And that was 2 days before my 80th birthday, which I've already posted here.
After 3 years of 3-week driving vacations (Denmark, Brittany and Switzerland), we've learned a lot about ourselves, as you can imagine. Besides the fact that we're getting older (!) and that Astrid is the only one who drives now (my USA driver's license is now expired and I never had a Dutch license), we're ready to go back home shortly after 2 weeks. So, we'll pay attention going forward (as Astrid already researches another part of France for next year).
AND, in case I need to mention it again, we are no longer taking our big-girl cameras anywhere. The strength and clarity of our iPhones is more than enough for us!
You did and saw A LOT. Wow. So much beauty, interest, and charm. Wow. And good to adjust your expectations for next adventure!
ReplyDeleteEvery time I come to this post, Ruth, I can't believe how loooong it is, but, as you know, it's for OUR record, lest we forget. No wonder we need a vacation after we come home from...vacation! THANK YOU for your comment.
DeleteAn amazing vacation! I love how you make the most of a place, taking in so much. It always looks like fun. I understand how the big cameras have been replaced. I don’t put mine around my neck any more. You took great shots with the cells.
ReplyDeleteA great way to celebrate a momentous birthday!
When I see the post, I have to say that we did a lot and we saw some amazing things. We kind of always know how to make the most of it, also a reason "never" to go back to the same place. Thank you for making this memory to keep. It was yet another very successful trip. Now we slowly will plan for next year. IHVJ.
ReplyDelete