Switzerland has never been in my traveling list all these while but unexpectedly it became my first overseas vacation spot in Europe having thanks credited to this travelling mate of mine wanting so much to visit this expensive country. After almost 2 months of planning and preparation by starting everything from scratch, the itinerary is finally done with all destinations fixed and accommodations reserved.
Notes: 1 CHF = RM3.50 / 1 GBP = RM5.27 / 1 EUR = RM4.20
5th December 2014 - Friday (7°C)
* London
Since our flight to Zurich was scheduled to depart at 7.30am, we’ve decided to put up a night at the London City Airport which is a small airport without 24 hours operations; however the security and services were considered great where every passenger’s details will be checked and recorded before being permitted to overnight at the lobby. We’ve decided to select Swiss Airline despite that the price will be slightly higher than the other budget airways merely for the convenient of our hand carries whereby it will not be as strict as compared to the budget airlines. The 1 hour 40 minutes journey was pleasant having 2 Asian zombies on board after an almost sleepless night at the airport.
6th December 2014 - Saturday (4°C)
* Zürich - Bern
First arrival in a foreign country is always challenging where we need to figure out our way to the Zürich Hauptbahnhof (main city train station) from the Zürich Airport. Fortunately there was this cool Chinese lady who gave us a helping hand providing us the direction we needed and introducing an app that facilitates our entire journey in Switzerland.
After settling our baggage in a locker at the train station (at the cost of CHF8.00), we instantly hit the town to enjoy our first sight of this beautiful country. We get to taste the famous high-end macarons (internationally known for its signature macarons called "Luxemburgerli") and ice-cream (under the freezing cold weather) at Sprüngli - a Swiss luxury confectionery manufacturer founded in 1836.
The train services in Switzerland were indeed well-organised, convenient, and take you almost everywhere. With the 5 days Flexi Swiss Pass at CHF328.00 (RM1148.00), we could travel almost everywhere with trains, trams and buses within the Swiss territory.
7th December 2014 - Sunday (5°C)
* Bern - Zermatt - Matterhorn
This is definitely a must-visit destination featuring the most famous landmark and symbol in Switzerland - the Matterhorn. The cable car service in Zermatt costing us CHF49.00 (RM171.50 - after a 50% off as one of the benefit of the Flexi Swiss Pass) brought us to this highest cable car station in Europe (3,883m) - Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. The spectacular view of snow mountains was superb while we took our lunch at one of the open-air restaurant enjoying the famous Swiss potato dish.
The small town of Zermatt was lively with skiers and tourists and especially in the pubs along the streets that filled with crowds and music.
Regrettably we missed the Gornergrat railway due to the early sunset at about 4.00pm and also missed the famous cheese fondue where most restaurants were closed after 5.00pm. And here I’ve had my first meal with McDonalds trying their seasonal special burger and a cup of M&M McFlurry.
After getting back to Bern, we still have plenty of time to walk around the town and visit the famous Zytglogge Tower, but the shops were 95% closed at 7.00pm including the Christmas market hence we headed back to the apartment for an early rest in preparation for the early rise the next morning.
* Bern - Lucerne
It was a rainy day but fortunately it was only drizzling slightly when we hit the town. We managed to find the Nine Towers by chance but this spot was closed during winter. We stroll along the street getting most of our souvenirs in this town.
Our lunch at the Fondue House was rather ridiculous having the 3 course fondue set (Meat Fondue, Cheese Fondue and Chocolate Fondue) + red & white wine at the price of CHF163.80 (RM573.30). We were both bloated but yet to be able to finish all the dishes especially the potatoes, meat and rice.
We consumed much of our energy from this heavy meal to walk to our next destination - the Dying Lion Monument. There were coins in the pool as according to the usual tradition of making wishes, I’ve hence uses a coin in pound to make a wish and hoping that my dream will shortly come true. :p
The Glacier Garden right next to the monument was interesting with the mirror maze, museum and a wooden tower at the top of the hill highlighting the panoramic view of the Lucerne city.
9th December 2014 - Tuesday (-1°C)
* Bern - Geneva - Lausanne
Never have we expected that Geneva would be the coldest place of all forcing us to cover ourselves up as much as possible. The cold wind was so strong that we even struggle to move each and every step forward. Geneva doesn’t turn out to be a city that we would admire, we have therefore moved on to the next destination in our itinerary - Lausanne as soon as we have seen the Wall of Reformation.
Lausanne is definitely a city of staircases and slopes, where visiting the main streets and shops were putting us physically and our stamina on trial.
We walked round and round the Cathedrale Notre Dame as we missed the main entrance thinking that the big signboard at the front of the door was either a notice of closure or prevention of entrance, but after trying to inquire one of the worker, we only realised that he doesn’t speak a word of English. Nevertheless in a foreign land where language is obviously a barrier, the sign language has turns out to be the best communication mode and is almost internationally understandable and it works almost everywhere. With him demonstrating the direction, door post and opening the door, we finally get our way into the church.
After walking a few kilometres towards d'Ouchy intending to take a boat ride to Montreux, we then discover that the boat service was not available during winter. Surprises always come in the way but we are still glad to be able to spend the afternoon having our lunch by Lake Geneva.
10th December 2014 - Wednesday (-2°C)
* Bern - Interlaken
We were rather ill-fated that the weather turns out to be cloudy which deters us from visiting Jungfraujoch because it will definitely be a waste of money at CHF145.00 (RM507.50) if we miss any of the perfect scenery at this top of Europe. We therefore decided to adjust our plan slightly for the day.
After consulting someone local, we were recommended to visit the Bebbis Restaurant for our lunch having Buure Rösti, and to stop-over a small village up the mountain to enjoy the complete view of Lake Brienz. The locals were all very helpful and kind to lead us around and showing us wonderful places in that area.
After enjoying the snow, we were back to Bebbis Restaurant again for the last taste of cheese and chocolate fondue before we depart from Switzerland the next day.
During this whole trip in Switzerland, we have the pleasure to stay with a lovely couple - Sean & Laura in Bern spending comfortable nights in their apartment. They were very friendly and kind in giving us suggestions and recommendations whenever possible. Their cute little black cat likes to wait outside our door every morning and sneak in whenever we open the door.
11th December 2014 - Thursday (6°C)
* Bern - Paris
We were very fortunate to get the First Class Seat ticket for TGV Lyria while only paying the price of the Standard Class Seat. We almost slept through the 4.5 hours journey and arriving Paris at 1.37pm.
Here comes the challenge of not knowing French! We were confused at the train station finding our way to the apartment, and surprisingly the lady at the information service counter told me “I don’t speak English” and we were stunned knowing not what to do next. However she was kind enough to get the address from us and printed out the details to facilitate our journey. We finally managed to get to the apartment after few rounds of sign language communication with few of the passer-by. The owner of the apartment doesn’t speak good English but again she is very kind in trying to explain everything to us properly and making sure that our stay is pleasant and comfortable.
I finally get to witness the magnificent architecture and symbol of France - the Eiffel Tower! Nonetheless, it was rather disappointing that the surrounding wasn’t as romantic as I thought it should be. (Or maybe I should go with someone special the next time? Lol...)
The long stretch of Christmas market at Avenue des Champs-Elysées was wonderfully decorated. It is perfect to have a glass of warm mulled wine in hand under this cold weather while doing some shopping at this annual eventful bazaar. We even took a ride on Roue de Paris at Euro10.00 (RM42.00) to enjoy the night city view of Paris.
12th December 2014 - Friday (7°C)
* Paris
Here comes another day of extreme “exercise”, walking through almost every alley but without a clear direction in mind. After visiting so many souvenir shops, we could already figure out the average selling price for each item as the ranges of souvenir are rather similar. I’ve as well found some delicate stuff for myself in remembrance of my first visit to this dreamland.
Stepping into L’occitane, I almost lose control in picking my favourite ranges of products as I have always loved their floral collections and their different series of scent which never fails to make my day.
After a long whole-day of walk, it’s time for us to settle for our dinner. We visited one of the well-known restaurants in town intending to try out their famous escargot, but this restaurant only opens at 7.30pm and we are already starving! Strolling along the street, we found another nearby restaurant – Le Champanella serving this specific dish as well thus we decided to give it a try. The dozen of escargots was delicious and was not as pricy as we thought it would be at Euro 14.00 (RM58.80). The squid that I’ve ordered is nothing different from “Sotong Goreng” but at the price of Euro13.90 (RM58.38) T__T
13th December 2014 - Saturday (5°C)
* Paris - London
During the morning, we are still craving for the addictive escargot hence proceeded to search for a restaurant that serves this appetizer in the breakfast menu. We are glad that we finally selected this small restaurant - Le Centenaire where the escargot and salad are tasty and we met this funny fella who will joke, send us flying kisses and winks at us while serving the food. He even drawn a love on the receipt after we've settled the bill...lol
Thankfully we travelled to the Gare du Noud station slightly earlier as the train was so crowded that we are having a difficult time squeezing ourselves into the car together with our oversized baggage. We make it to the station just as planned and have enough time for lunch in one of the nearby restaurant. Still not forgetting the escargot, we ordered this time only half a dozen. Being an absolute seafood lover, my attention was easily caught by the word “mussels” but thinking that this is somehow like the snails that are being served in small portion. But out of my surprise, my order came with a huge portion having much more than I thought! The creamy sauce with white wine was excellent and this is really the best mussels I have ever had.
After getting through all the security checks at the immigration hall, we travel another 2 hours 17 minutes on Eurostar heading towards London. It was a disaster for us to know that we could only check-in at the apartment after 6.00pm while we were dragging our weary feet together with our luggage at the St Pancras station after arriving from Paris. In addition, this apartment was not as comfy as our previous stays where many things are rather restricted and troublesome (luckily we were just putting over for one single night). We only managed to walk on and around the Tower Bridge while enjoying the breeze before we call it a day.
14th December 2014 - Sunday (6°C)
* London
Once again with another disaster, we were asked to leave before 10.00am hence we walked to the nearby train station and parted from there where I head home to Chertsey and my travel mate proceed to the airport to head home to Malaysia.
With the new “Feel at Home” program on my pay-as-you-go package in the United Kingdom, I am able to serve the internet unlimitedly at no extra cost in these countries which is really convenient. I wonder when Malaysia can be included as part of the package so that I need not purchase any additional data plan while I’m back again for vacation.
Few tips and advices:
- The Swiss Pass is always a good choice where you can get a 50% off on most of the scenic or mountain route.
- Always buy your groceries at Coop whenever possible as the price is very much cheaper.
- Some WC in Switzerland cost CHF2.00 (RM7.00) per entry, so be wise to utilize the WC in the train while you’re travelling
This trip was rather challenging for me physically as I was down with flu and coughs for 2 weeks before and during the trip. Nonetheless I still survived travelling around under the freezing cold weather! There were so much hilarious, embarrassing and unforgettable moments and events throughout the trip which will eventually be a great memory and life time experience for both of us.
Here’s the ending for my 2014, and I’m gotta start making plans for a more exciting 2015~ Cheers :)
