SWITZERLAND Road Trip

WHEN:

July 6-18, 2020

WEATHER:

When we flew in, the weather app on my phone was telling us that it was set to be a very rainy trip. Things changed, however, and we really had only ONE rainy day! Because we covered a lot of ground, the temperature varied from super warm (dress weather), to super cold (snowy mountain peak situations).

THE TRIP:

After an EARLY flight, we landed in Zurich, Switzerland in need of some lunch. We quickly learned the high cost of products in the country after our standard McDonalds meal cost us 30 euros.

With full stomachs, we then picked up our exceedingly nice rental car…a white Mercedes Benz convertible. John likes to RENT nice cars so that he is not as tempted to BUY a nice car…and since we were doing a lot of driving this trip, it just made sense. I especially like renting convertibles because when the top is down, I feel like I am truly able to experience the surroundings, minus the concerns of the chair. It can be hard to get certain places in a wheelchair, so to be able to drive over beautiful mountain passes or along the coasts of epic crystal clear lakes with the wind in my face (yet not having to worry about treacherous ground or pushing myself) is super freeing. John (amazingly) managed to cram all of our luggage plus my wheelchair into the tiny trunk and back-seat…and just like that, we were off!

Stop 1: Lucerne. This town is absolutely stunning. From the crystal-clear lake, to the iconic wooden-bridge, to the castle on the hill and surrounding mountain peaks…it was more than we had expected. Walked around town and found some sunglasses for Kaitlin and a new swimsuit for John (I literally never remember my sunglasses when travelling).

Trekked down to the lake where we discovered that we could rent a boat and go out on the water! I was hesitant in terms of navigating this with the chair…but as we all know, my man LOVES boats, and he was confident that we could make it work. Made a quick run to a grocery store for some picnic-dinner items, and back to the boats we went! Like the champion problem-solver that he is, John got me situated in my chair in the front of the boat…and off we went! Team…it was a BLAST. We cruised around the lake, had some wine and some snacks, and returned back to shore with enough time to do a bit more exploring before sunset.

Walked part-way around the lake for a BEAUTIFUL view looking back at the town. Returned back and walked over the most beautiful, iconic wooden-bridge rimmed with geraniums all the way across. To be honest…pictures I saw online of this bridge were the sole reason why I wanted to visit Lucerne…and it did not disappoint. A lovely sunset and an early bedtime concluded this LONG but incredible day.

The next morning, John went for a swim in the lake while I prepped for the day. Croissants and coffee from a bakery…then an attempt at “hiking” up to the castle on the hill (always an adventure with the chair). We found a steep but manageable paved-path up to the castle…but may have gotten a BIT ambitious on the downward route, which ultimately resulted in us navigating some pretty treacherous ground. Fortunately the route-choice was John’s, so he couldn’t complain when helping me down more than a fair share of stairs across the steep hillside. Made it back to the car unscathed, and headed towards Interlaken.

Stop 2: Interlaken. The drive from Lucerne to Interlaken was notable…especially the route we took! A very common choice is to take Brunig Pass…a one hour drive that is fairly direct. Because we had a convertible and the weather was lovely, we decided to do a longer route which took us over Susten Pass. This added a decent amount of drive-time to our day…but the views were worth it! Upon leaving Lucerne, we hugged the lake as much as possible and stopped in Brunnen for some pictures and ice cream. Continued on Route 4 down through Fluelen, where we jumped to Route 2 until Wassen. In Wassen, we took Route 11 to begin our journey over the pass. Like I said…the views were incredible (see pics)…and you’d better believe John had fun doing some curvy-road-mountain-driving in his sports car :) Followed Route 6 down along lake Brienzersee and just through the city of Interlaken. Because we had taken such a long driving route, we actually didn’t even stop in town. Our hotel was about a 20 minute drive up into the hilly countryside to the South of Interlaken. STUNNING location overlooking the lake. Interesting setup. Individual rooms and bathrooms, but a large industrial shared kitchen with multiple cook stations, food storage areas, and tables to eat at. Arrived just in time to get situated in our room, make dinner, and enjoy an incredible sunset meal.

Day Trip: Jungfrau. As I mentioned before, Switzerland has made many of its mountain peaks accessible by either train or gondola or both! This was an amazing opportunity for me to get to see some of the views that I can’t normally reach due to the wheelchair. Jungfrau railways has built the tallest railway in Europe. It takes you up to a really neat viewing platform which is located on a saddle between two 4,000 meter peaks. I rode the Jungfrau train about 15 years ago when my family vacationed in Europe, and I knew I wanted to take John to see it. The train can be approached from either Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen. From either of these towns, you take a train up to Kleine Scheidegg, where you transfer to the Jungfrau train that takes you to the top. We chose to start in Lauterbrunnen.

Beware…this train is not cheap. We were SUPER grateful that my ticket was discounted (due to the wheelchair). Also…it’s very popular and crowded. I think you might have to reserve tickets decently far in advance when tourism is at its peak. Even with Coronavirus, we were surprised how many people were on the train. On the way up/down we saw miles of lovely peaks, tons of hikers, and plenty of cows. The train makes a 5 minute stop part-way up at Eismeer station where you can get out and view the convergence of several glaciers as they snake down the valley. At the top, we explored the ice caves and took WAYYY too many photos from the observation platform which overlooks an insanely beautiful glacier on one side, and much of the country of Switzerland on the other!

When we returned back to Lauterbrunnen, the weather was still lovely, so we hopped in the car and drove the rest of the way up the canyon until we hit a dead-end. Moral of the story…basically the whole of Switzerland looks like a postcard. Absolutely incredible.

Returned to hotel for another beautiful sunset overlooking the valley and lake. One of my favorite things about this location was listening to the cow-bells echoing throughout the valley. I originally didn’t believe John when he said that’s what was making the noise…he can be a trickster sometimes, and I can be gullible. But after witnessing several groups of cows up-close, I was convinced :)

Stop 3: Geneva/Viry.