Switzerland Part 2

Wednesday early afternoon we arrived to Montreux and checked into our hip and modern hotel- The Hotel Tralala. We had no time to waste, we got on a regional train to Lausanne and walked down to the beautiful Lake Geneva Promenade called D'Ouchy (Ry thought that was hilarious). Here, we visited the famous Lausanne Olympic Museum- a museum that houses every single Olympic torch carried during the Olympics. It was by far the most interesting museum we've visited! We even got to see Michael Phelps' goggles! We ended the day exploring Lausanne's old town and then we took a steam boat back to Montreux, where we found a great Italian restaurant on the riviera with the BEST pizza!

Thursday morning we boarded an old fashioned Swiss train and headed to the charming town of Gruyeres... home of where Gruyere cheese was discovered and is still made today. We visited the most beautiful Gruyere cheese factory and got to see how the cheese is churned, packaged, and aged- it was fascinating! At the end we got to sample a 6, 10, and 14 month-old Gruyere cheese, what a difference aging makes! After tasting cheese, we explored the actual town of Gruyeres- the cutest most charming little village with a great castle.

We then had a picnic lunch and headed off to Broc, home of the Callier/Nestle factory- yes, it was definitely a culinary-filled day for us! The minute we stepped off the train, we were hit by a cloud of sweet-smelling chocolate... it was amazing. We took a tour of the chocolate factory, got to sample the roasted nuts and cocoa nibs they put in their chocolates and last but not least... we entered a tasting room filled with platters of all kinds of amazing pralines, nougats, truffles, white, dark, milk, crunchy... just about everything you could want in a chocolate! We lost count of how many we tasted but every bite was well worth it. After chocolate paradise, we headed for our last and final stop for the day, Chateau Chillon, a beautiful castle on Montreux's riviera that serves great significance to Swiss history. We got stunning views of both the Swiss and French rivieras as well as Lake Geneva.

After our event-filled day, we took a seat on one of the lake-side buoys next to Freddie Mercury's statue (singer from Queen, he was buried in Montreaux) and watched Montreux's stunning sunset, all while enjoying a great local bottle of wine... what a day! After the sunset, we couldn't resist going back to the same Italian restaurant for our delicious pizza- the perfect nightcap.



Friday morning we said Au Revoir to Montreux and headed to Zurich- our last day before our flight home. On the way to Zurich, we got to experience having tea and pastries on our trains' dining cart... made the trip go by so fast! We arrived to Zurich, checked into our beautiful hotel... The Courtyard Marriott (nothing like the Marriott's in the U.S., this one was like a St. Regis!) We got to explore the busy and fancy streets on Bahnhofstrasse and pretend that we were one of the high-profile Swiss bankers! What a charming city.. we both just fell in love with it. Saturday morning it was time to pack up and head home... what an amazing trip... we were able to see so much and truly experience the Swiss life- we were so sad to leave this beautiful country but we vowed to be back soon!

Switzerland Part 1

We are back! What a great trip and beautiful country... we were very sad to leave. We arrived into Zurich on Sunday afternoon, after 15 hours of traveling across the Atlantic. We then boarded a Swiss Train and traveled an hour south to Lucerne.

We stayed at the Hotel Waldstatterhof in Lucerne, a perfect central location for exploring Lucerne. We walked around the quaint town, walked across the famous bridge, saw the casino, and took in the Swiss culture! In the morning we were served a beautiful breakfast, which kept us fueled for our next train ride to Wengen.

Tuesday morning we arrived to Wengen, a beautiful little town nestled in the stunning snow-capped Swiss Alps. The sights were breath-taking... truly makes you realize and appreciate how unbelievable mother nature is. We stayed at the Beausite Park Hotel- a lovely resort with all the amenities one could as for. It was the perfect base for our trips throughout the Alps.

On our first trip, we took a cable car up to Manlichen, where we hiked up to a high vantage point of the the Alpes, Brienz Lake, and all the little towns below with cascading waterfalls. After our excursions, we retreated to our hotel where we enjoyed their indoor pool, sauna, and spa.. the perfect ending to our days. Then we were treated to the hotel's 5-course dinner... delicious food and local Vevey wine... we were in heaven!

Our next excursion was a one hour trip to the magnificent Schilthorn... up and up we went until we reached 10,000 feet! It took us a train ride and three cable cars to get up there, it was amazing! Ry was so excited to see where one of the James Bond movies was filmed, we got to see where all the scenes were taped and how it was executed. Then we enjoyed the best Machiatto coffees at their revolving restaurant... coffee while circling one the highest peaks in the world... could it get any better?!

From Schilthorn, we descended to cute villages tucked away into the Alps. First was Murren, where I got to go down memory lane from when I visited while studying abroad in Heidelberg. In Murren we had lunch and then we boarded a Funicular up to Appenzel- another town with stunning views and a play area with the cutest wooden slides, swings and teeter totters! Next was Grimmelwald where we got to touch the world's most beautiful goats- I'm sure their milk is delicious!

At the base of our descent, we got on a bus that took us to the Lauterbrunen Falls- an amazing enclave of waterfalls. It was fascinating to see how the water melts all the way from the top of the Alps to these caves, the water was an extreme force of nature! At the end of our event-filled day, we relaxed with a stein of delicious beer! We then settled back into our hotel for a cocktail hour, followed by another scrumptious meal.



Wednesday morning we packed up and hopped on a three hour panoramic train ride to Montreux, a town located in south Switzerland on Lake Geneva. Three hours may seem long but it goes by fast when they serve you yummy coffee while enjoying such beautiful scenery! It was so interesting to spend the first half of our trip with the German Swiss and now we were entering the French Swiss zone- a completely different experience. Stay tuned for the second half of our trip, up next!