I have purposely given this title. Swiss is purported to be the Most Beautiful Place in the world, Heaven on Earth etc. Agreed that its a must visit tourist spot outside India, but its certainly not THE ULTIMATE PLACE. **No, I haven't traveled the length and breadth of the whole world, nor have I gone around all places in India. If I had, I would only reiterate the aforesaid statements with more emphasis. This is not just my personal opinion, but it is a fact acknowledged by many avid travelers as well!
PLACES OF ATTRACTION:-
RHINE FALLS:The falls at Schaffhausen, are breath-taking. They are huge, but not with respect to the height from which they flow . A boat ride, takes you very near the Falls, and you get the feeling of getting engulfed by the force of the falls.
LUZERN:There a beautiful lake here, and there are river boat cruises taking people around. This is for people who enjoy river cruises. There are many huge buildings at Luzern and its a good location for photos as well. Mt. Pilatus can be reached from this station. Visiting any one of the mountains would suffice, as all look similar in a way.
INTERLAKEN:The place surrounding 2 lakes is called thus. This is the major connecting point to many places especially Jungfraujoch. The roads are with curves and bends as this is at the mountain side.
Mt.TITLIS: If your planning to visit Mt.Pilaus, this can be given a miss. There are 2 cable cars(winches) which takes you to the top of the snow-capped mountain. There are ice-skating, ice-flying, skiing, gliding, all for the adventure loving people. While in the cable car, the view outside would be awesome and you can enviously glance at the energetic trekkers. For people with mediocre enterprising skills, a small snow skating would do at the snow. There is an ICE CAVE here, which leads you to a closer view of the mountains outside.
JUNGFRAUJOCH:This is also called TOP of EUROPE. The reason is as the name indicates, its the heighest point in Europe. And if the sun is not kind enough, all that you can see is a white sheet of mist blocking the sight. It is the place where you would require your winter-jackets, gloves etc. The place has an ICE PALACE, with small staues made of ice. Walking here maybe quite tricky, as the surface would be slippery.
*MOST SUITABLE FOR:-
*It is a well acclaimed place to be the most romantic destination for honeymooners. But any groups such as friends or families are sure to have a whale of a time at Swiss. However, the altitude of the mountains and the bitterly cold weather may affect aged people, and also people who suffer from wheezing, asthma etc. I did see few elderly people who found it difficult and couldn't enjoy to the maximum.
WEATHER AND TIME OF TRAVEL:-*
Like most European countries, weather at Swiss is shivering cold no doubt about that. The best time to travel would be July or August, during which time the country is bestowed with glorious sunshine. The temperature would be on an average 15-20 deg C in July and 25 deg C in August. We can't take the 25 deg C sunshine for granted, as the UV rays are extremely severe here. You get sunburnt if you don't apply sunscreen protection creams for sure. Also, skin cancer is as common as any viral fever in our country. A cap would also help as an added protection.
FOOD**:-
There are Indian restaurants in every major tourist attraction here. At Jungfraujoch, there is a restaurant named BOLLYWOOD, which serves authentic Indian food. Only Buffet is available here, and its priced at CHF28. Non-veg items are included and a heavy lunch there would be divine after the long train journey. The place is well decked with posters of all hit movies of AB, The Khans, Rajinikant, Chiranjeevi and many others. The place is no doubt flocked by Indians during peak lunch times.Just outside the rail station at Interlaken also, there is an Asian restaurant.
COST OF LIVING:-
This is one of the few places, which is suitable for travel and enjoyment alone. Living there is no cake walk. This is undoubtedetly, the costliest place in the world. Watches, perfumes, chocolates are all tempting, but the prices aren't enabling any purchase. This is certainly not a shoppers paradise. But as a momento we can buy the DDLJ famous cowbells. Schools make German a compulsory language to be learnt, and I have heard of many families packing back to India for this reaon.There is no English taught in primary schools, which provide free education. There are INternational schools, but education there would cost the whole Earth.
There is a seperate counter at the Airport for'CHAUFFEUR-DRIVEN LIMO'.The attendant there was happily reading a book, undisturbed and uninterrupted; as that counter apparently does not attract even a single customer. Such is the cost. Even cabs and taxis would cost a fortune. One actually doesn't need them, except if their dream is to show off and become bankrupt in the bargain.
CLEANLINESS AND SAFETY:-
This is one area where most of the countries score way past India. All places are spick and span, and Swiss is said to be the safest place in Europe. Ofcourse extra care would help at any tourist destination, but you need not always cling to your belongings, thereby compromising on some enjoyment. When it comes to Dispoal of Waste, The government, it is said, is very finicky and also charges for some of the plastic wastes that we quietly dispense with at the roadside bin in India. Swiss religiously recycles and segregates the bin wastes.
ACCOMODATION:-
The earlier you plan and book your reservations, the cheaper. Whichever hotel you stay, it would take a long journey to reach the top of the mountains. It would be wise to book different hotels each day, for overnight stay, nearer to the sights. Price per day, for a decent room would be around CHF100. If you dare to touch the fridge racks in the room, your bill would become fatter.
While booking, it would be better to book a room from where a good view of the mountains can be had. It is a wonderful sight to see the place lit-up at night. There may be extra charges for mountain-view rooms.
TRANSPORTATION:-
This is another area where all the countries' tourism department'thrives upon. The rail and bus network is extremely reliable and this makes life million times easier. We had planned our journey months earlier, and there was no sudden or surprising changes that we had to inevitably make.
A'RAIL CARD'(about CHf450 for 2 persons/4days)can be bought in the airport, for the number of days your planning to stay, and trains can be boarded from the airport premises.
contd. in COMMENTS SECTION
