Euro Tour: Captivating Italy and Dramatic Switzerland

Kahan se shuru karu uski taarif jo khud khuda ke itne kareeb hai....
kahan se bayan karu woh ehsaas jo chasm-e-badoor hai,
Jahaan tak nigaahein jaaye duur duur baahaar hi baahar hai,
Dil ko tassali mile inn bahaaron mei aisi yeh jannat hai!

 "Travel makes you modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in this World" - Gustav Flaubert

More we have been traveling, more we feel small teeny meeny part of this Whole big Universe and it only brings gratitude towards everything and everyone. With such Gratitude in Heart and immense blessings from loved and dear ones and i am sure with some happy hearts we commenced the journey of Italy and Switzerland with merely 1.5 months of planning. Impromptu traveling though can sound exciting can go worse especially the huge trips like this! But Thankfully for us it worked very well and we were quite bang on our targets of "to do list" except bungee jumping and paragliding over Interlaken. 

Wedged neatly between Germany, Austria, France, and Italy, Switzerland melds the best of all worlds — and adds a healthy dose of chocolate, cheese Fondue, cowbells, Alps mountain playground, pristine lakes and cable cars.”

So how this plan began? Ideally extended Mehta family was to visit Bhutan and due to some cancellations in plan last minute. Bhai as we call him (Kaushal Mehta) came up with his desire to visit his Dream Destination - Switzerland. Combined with lot of Comp off holidays that Jimit could get during Easter break. But Heh Easter was just around the corner so it sounded impossible at beginning to even think of Europe for Holidays. Also we all come from humble background where a Euro trip means a real big deal. But ultimately Our Wooden Anniversary was game changer and we all promptly agreed to carry on this trip. So 4 of us are decided to travel for 16 days. And 16 days just in one country sounded like huge task so we decided to add one more country. This was not that difficult since bhai and UB as i call her (Urvi Bhabhi) have been to France and Germany and I didn't want to Flights to or Fro from Austria was quite expensive so we boiled down our option for 2nd country as Italy. And heh remember Italy - My childhood memories of watching Italian lanes and those Tuscan road drives in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam made me absolutely in favor of this country instantly. Not to forget recent mention of Italy for Viruhska wedding in Tuscany and DeepVeer wedding in Lake Como. 

So here we go for Emirates Flight from Hong Kong to Rome and Zurich to Hong Kong Via Dubai both the times. (Emirates gave great flying experience, Its called Class for a reason!)

Next Most important decision was planning Itinerary and trust me, I had given up this time! Post flight booking i realized 6 days in Italy is complete injustice. "We travel at length in one country to explore and live with its vibes rather than just traveling for checking in" hence it became more difficult to plan Itinerary though we were sure of not spending anything less than 10 days in Switzerland so obviously we had 6 days in Italy. So with back calculations we divided days and our Itinerary building started.

And then our Itinerary looked like this: Off course it took some time to derive at final one after 15 edits may be - The details of this with out Learnings, mistakes we made, key takeaways, etc will be followed ahead in this blog.

ITALY-

Italy, a European country with a long Mediterranean coastline, has left a powerful mark on Western culture and cuisine. Its capital, Rome, is home to the Vatican as well as landmark art and ancient ruins. Other major cities include Florence, with Renaissance masterpieces such as Michelangelo’s "David" and Brunelleschi's Duomo; Venice, the city of canals; and Milan, Italy’s fashion capital. It uses curency as Euro and official language spoken is Italian. Country code being +39. So we planned our Itinerary only North of Italy since we had only 6 days. South Italy covering Positano, Amalfi, etc will be covered in next Tour de Italiano :p For now here is our details -

Day 1 : Base Rome

Flight from HK to Dubai and there onto Rome. Landing in Rome was mesmerizing. All those tales of the town that i have heard since school history book days about Roman empire and well built Roman Guys, its rich artistic and cultural excellence,  The Italian Renaissance and not to forget the stories of Pope and its importance to Catholics which is right in Rome - The Vatican City. Off course many may not be aware but Vatican City is a different country and is the smallest country within city itself. With flashbacks of history book we landed in UNESCO World Heritage recognized city famous for most tourist visits - Rome!

There is Long queue for Immigration so plan for the day accordingly. Initial vibes werent that great honestly because of Cab Scene!
Mistake : Whatever happened, still we should have straight away taken direct cab. Though if you have very very very limited luggage Express train from Airport to City is quickest option. But Gujjus with tons of food, beware!
Why? Few bucks saved and didnt have to rely on anyone but had to carry bags up and down the stairs which made us tired on day 1 itself.
Learning: Always travel direct to hotel in fastest mode of transport with least exertion to body to enjoy rest of your vacation with peace.
The taxi driver we approached quoted 50 Eur for entire Van till our hotel ad suddenly when we came out with luggage he started demanding double the price and also the information desk said post 9 AM the traffic in city is crazy. So you will take 1 hour by train route and 2.5 hours by road and probably in half sleep we didnt bother to check google maps and went ahead for train option.
However, rough beginning always make you tougher and it never means rough end as well. So with Kadam kadam badhaye jaa motivation we reached Hotel Pacific which was 700 mts walk from Cipro MTR. Felt like longest walk of life!

Never mind, Every dark cloud has silver lining. Thankfully got early check in and we could leave hotel on time for our expedition. Well, before that - Rome being ancient city its natural that man hotels were quite historic and especially we were traveling around Easter so we didnt have much options left and this could fit our criteria and Budget (Approx HKD1000 per night) so went for it. It had big beautiful rooms and some rooms had balcony facing city with vibrant yellow buildings (my favorite part). So would like to rate it average just because it was tooo old built probably in early 1940's. So you can look for relatively new properties but if dont get any other option this is good!

Best part is here to come...look of gigantic Colosseum...right outside Colosseum MTR. Absolutely spellbound by its size and structure. What an Architecture. What kind of Vision people had then to build such structures and what Engineering they learnt to have this. Its magnificent.  Well we booked guided tour with Klook which included visit to Colosseum, Ruins of Roman Empire, Palentine Hill  and Gardens around. Honestly i found them to be quite boring and dragging. Except the fact that you get to skip lines and get easy access to otherwise Huge place this tour was not worth it. (We paid approx 400 HKD per head for it)

Key Takeaway: They have limit of some 30,000 people per day can enter Colosseum. So its wise to book through some agent so you dont miss out on being there still not getting in. And don't underestimate the queue for direct entry its crazily big so i guess its best to not put your brain in saving money here.

Day 2: Base - Rome

 

source: From respective location websites

  

Today we technically visit another country :) - The Vatican City. So here you will see the Famous Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and the St Peter's Basilica. So everything is interconnected and guide will literally run you through it. We had taken 11 AM to 2.30 PM tour post which we enjoyed lunch of Pizzas and went ahead on foot for our city tour of Rome which included visit to Piazza Novana, Piazza Venezia, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and finally Spannish Steps.

Mistake: Selecting super boring guided tour of Vatican  because of boring guide (Again Klook)

Learning: Check reviews of guide before booking, we saw some other guides doing fabulous jobs. One was tour name with The Roman Guy but they are double expensive then Klook. So Vatican museum has insane amount of crowd especially when you enter the Hall full of Michelangelo's painting depictions its insane and i realized why there were seprate tickets for VIP entry (which means you get to enter them 15 minutes before its open for crowd but off course it comes with much more extra price (We paid approx 460 HKD Per head for this day)

Best Part: We are in Vatican City, smallest country in World with best Architectural  Buildings. Also Trevi Fountain was love at first sight fountain.

Also, we took Rome Pass for 48 hours for 12EUR each which we could not use best because of initial tiredness

Key tip for travel in Italy: Once you buy 1.5EUR ticket you can travel for 90 mins with it in bus and train.

Key Takeaway: Skip line tickets through agents in Vatican City really works well...its super super super crowded otherwise and you may not get entry at all.

And my fav pose...

 
Day 3: Base - Florence

What is life, is full of care. We have no time to stand or to stare! But certainly not when you enter Florence :)
Right from starting train journey in high speed Italiano Train at 300kms/hr followed by almighty blessed rainstorm making the day cold with 8 deg temperature was perfect to be in that day.

The beautiful way to see the Florence is by walk because it's a small city centre with just 3 to 4 kilometres radius and and you have to take stroll around the town where one doesn't need to be on vehicle.

We started our walking tour from the
1. market which smelled all leather and some pretty cottons dresses to pick from
2. Just a walk away was Cathedral and Duomo which was giant piece of some unexplained beauty
3. Few blocks ahead was Ulfizi Gallery which displayed Michaelangelo's David
4. Glleria D'ell Academia again with few masterpieces
5. Followed by further small walk to Ponte Vechio and Palazza Vechio which survived World War II bombings.
And then back to our wonderful hotel in Florence.

We could not have asked for more beautiful Italiano day!

Mistake: We are PRO now for any mistakes so we managed to check in till hotel in perfect way. Learning: Should know cycling to see city fast instead of walking

Best Part: Seeing Duomo and famous sculptor Michaelangelo's work - David Saakshaat!

Key takeaway: Don't spend bucks in booking city tour. Just walk on. And Florence being typically travel touristy county some hotels may offer bike for free, even if its not you can definitely get one for free just by requesting to get for few hours.
 
Day 4: Base - Florence

 4th day of journey from Florence was nothing but a dream that i actually got to live!
Dream to see those long long patches of vineyards as far as eyes could settle!
Dream to pass by the road full of lush green beds of trees
Dream to walk those narrow medieval lanes 
Dream to be around those tall inverted triangle trees
Many dreams packed and lived in one destination named - Tuscany!

Destination 1 was Siena which mesmerised us with its giant cathedral on hill and Notre Dam like structure just next to it. Siena is one of the towns in hillside of Tuscany. The whole view made us stand still in the time. Must try here is Pizza which was just too perrffect for Italiano Snack. It was one of the most authentic one and that too Jain Pizza that i have tried till date. What surprises me is their patience to hear our preference and to respect it and make something to match your expectation. Traveling does widen your horizon of mind :)
Destination 2 was now a journey beyond dream... towards San Gimignano. After having superfluous Lunch of Pasta and Bruschetta and some old Cheese with Chianti White Wine we couldn't ask for more but then we were treated with Photo stopover at Chianti Region. San Gimignano was one of the oldest Medieval Town also known as Manhattan of Medieval Era in Tuscany.
This was Followed by obvious stopover at Leaning Tower of Pisa! For that no words only photos can do justice.
Under the perfect Tuscan Sun, we had an 400 Kms journey for our lifetime memory. And bus tour was immensely memorable with meet and greet with people across the World...

It would be unfair to not mention that Tuscany was most awaited destination of trip in Italy and it didnt dissapoint us at all... As far as eyes could go we were treated with lush greenery, vineyard and Medieval villages.

Learning: It was best to book tour from local shop in florence CiaoFlorence and in the street of city centre there are many travel shops which gives full day 1 day trip options to Tuscany at very reasonable rate then prebooked tours from klook like 3rd parties who eventually tie up with local tours. 

Key tip: If you have more time in Florence, spend at least 3 to 4 days discovering this mesmerizing district and include visit to Cinque De Terre,  Chianti Vineyard, Tuscany Medieval villages and off course Leaning tower of Pisa 

Best Moment: Lunch under perfect Tuscan sun overlooking Vineyards and enjoying Bruschetta, Cheese and Pasta. And not to forget the drive through Tuscany. It still gives me goosebumps when i recollect those images.

Key Takeaway - You should have at least 3Nights in Florence for sure. Pack Ponchos and keep small umbrellas and Caps and a hoody alway ready. Weather can change in fraction of seconds and at once you may need all :) 
 

Day5: Base - Milan

Boungiorno Milano! 

Milan city tour though didn't sound too exciting but as they say, when you expect least you get beautiful surprises. Milan we chose because it gave fastest and easiest access to reach upto Switzerland and we had initially planned to visit Venice from Florence and move to Milan overnight. But thankfully we skipped Venice and reached directly to Milan. Its a big debate if one should or should not go to Venice. In my personal opinion Italy has much more to offer and Venice is just badly overrated.so post reviews for Venice, we decided to skip it al together and hence we got opportunity to do city tour of Milan city.
We visited with our unlimited day pass following places - Duomo Di Milano it was Cathedral and was mesmerizing with detailing and sculptors beyond imagination

Followed by Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II just beside the Duomo - On the ground of the central octagonal, there are four mosaics portraying the coat of arms of the three capitals of the Kingdom of Italy (Turin, Florence and Rome) plus Milan's. Tradition says that if a person spins around three times with a heel on the testicles of the bull from Turin coat of arms this will bring good luck. This practice causes damage to the mosaic: a hole developed on the place of the bull's genitals.

Followed by Milan Castle which has excellent park and best way to sit and sip some coffee and see sunset, well if you are photo crazy people like us you are going to get many photo stops here.

And then all the to Milan Canal which looked like pseudo Venice. It was beautiful Piazza for strolling around with many many cafeterias and Restaurant and it did look like some Party stop.

Key tip: 48 hours Milan pass is just for 8EUR per head which was best decision since we sat around in tram, bus, trains all with this pass. Tram number 1 is the Tram that you can board and is the best way to see around whole city just by being in Tram
.

Learning: All train stations has city map and information desks so one should spend first 10-15 mins.in understanding local map from localite and you may want to consider re scheduling your trip as per some expert advices. 

Learning: Everything is very well connected and one need not really walk too much if planned all well.

Best Moment : Eating Palak Paneer after long time at Rajput Indian Hotel and walking over flee market. Seeing the vastness of Duomo and strolling around Milan Canal.

Day 6:Base - Milan

"Not Until we are lost, we begin to find ourselves" and its only when you risk something and find its more worthy than your risk the true satisfaction seeps in!

Lake Como and Bellagio visit was a stake that we took risking our whole day since it was 1 hour travel away from Milan. But Thank God we took that risk, it was every penny and every minute worth it. And what a Finale to end journey in Italy.

It definitely wouldn't have been perfect without going to Lake Como and Bellagio! We are all in absolute awe of this picturesque prefecture town of north Italy. The nature just made us sit still in front of it for hours and we never realised where did hours flow with this place and it was time to bid adieu already. It was probably most silly day because we as such didnt wander much but at times pace is least important every minute spend on those landscape took breath away, bought in more satisfaction to be there around, made me full of gratitude towards almighty, Jimit, family and friends to be part of my life and it was place may be where i felt i wish i could afford to bring everyone here!

We were trying to figure wedding of DeepikaRanveer villa location to building our own futuristic retirement plans on banks of this lakeside colorful town... it was enormous!

Key tip: Lake Como is quite wide area and you may end up messing up whole.day. Thanks to information desk in Galleria, we went from.Milan centrale to Varenna which was 1 hour scenic journey and from there Bellagio is Just 15 minutes ride away... Varenna in itself is quite big and may need 4-5 hours of good time to hike up till castle but we decided to just walk around Promenade which was just too perfect to sum up best of beauty and relaxation and took 15 mins ride to Bellagio. (Return Ferry ticket cost 24 EUR)

Best way to see Bellagio is booking Toy train which also works as hop on hop off train and you can see entire Bellagio in 2 hours instead of wasting time walking up hills and getting tired we found this to be best way to see Bellagio. And it costs just 5EUR :)

Mistake: Thankfully none!

Learning: The another way to reach Lake Como and Bellagio is to take train from Milan to Como Cadorna and from there bus to Bellagio which takes 1.5 hours. But this may be long cut if you have limited time.

More information here -https://lakecomotravel.com/how-to-get-to-lake-como/
 
Key Take away: Dress at your best :) This place has some serious wonderful locations for perfect pictures. Also for Varenna there are not very frequent trains so be on time, they are very very punctual and train stations are quite big especially in Rome and Milan so you may want to reach train stations bit ahead of time. Well if you have luggae, there are not many luggage racks in trains so you may want to reach early to find sweet spot for your luggage.
 

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland is a mountainous Central European country, home to numerous lakes, villages and the high peaks of the Alps. Its cities contain medieval quarters, with landmarks like capital Bern’s Zytglogge clock tower and Lucerne’s wooden chapel bridge. The country is also known for its ski resorts and hiking trails. Banking and finance are key industries, and Swiss watches and chocolate are world renowned. For its location covering different regions it has four official languages spoken like French, German, Italian, Romansh. So we decided to skip West and North of Switzerland for this trip and here comes details of the ones we did-

Day 7: Base Interlaken West Airbnb

An Exclusive good bye to Country which enriched us with scenic views, landscapes beyond drems, history, Lake side beautiful coasts, rich ancient culture and some magnificent structures to remember forever. We take EC32 train to begin our journey from Milan till Interlaken and it was so convenient to cross borders being seated in train. Not to forget the unimaginable views from Spiez to Interlaken which was a super headsup to begin tour to our Dream Destination. We checked in our Airbnb in Interlaken which was superbly connected by bus in midst of meadows and mountains we definitely wouldnt have asked for anything more for another 7 days to live. It was great apartment with appropriate convenience and no nonsense extra stuff. We like Big empty and appropriately furnished house and this was it! 

Today with limited time in hand, we went on to explore local information desk to gather all information and marched to Grindelwald to treat our eyes with first exclusive looks of snow clad mountains and lush green valleys beneath!

Key Tip: Even if you have 2-3 hours in hand once you are in Interlaken, its best to head to Harder Kulm. It gives most mesmerising view of valley and snow clad mountains both from Funicular and the Harder KulmView point. Best part in spring and summer is sunsets are generally at 8.30 - 9.00 M so you have more time to enjoy beauty in day time. There is Queue  to go up so earlier the better. In summers last Funiclular to go up is till 6.15 PM but check the timings before hand in websites to avoid disappointment. With Swiss Pass you have to pay half fare for this Fuicular (Approx 16 CHF for return ride per head) 

Learning: Thinking that we will come back to Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen again and do trekking and will click pictures leisurely. "Will come back again" never works so its better to plan ahead in time.

Mistake: Nothing can go wrong here, there is so much to do and see that if you miss one beautiful thing you will be instead treated with another beautiful thing to see and do.

Key Takeaway: Yeah! Switzerland is Beautiful but devilishly Expensive!

Day8:Base - Interlaken

 Mountain Excursion - Schilthorn (Free with Swiss Pass)

Best way was to reach Schilthorn was like this: (Trust me i didnt find this detailing easily and it can get quite confusing) 
So Schilthorn peak falls in Jungfrauch region and Jungfrauh region is big Alp mountain with different peaks and Schilthorn is one of it. We skipped Jungfrauch for 1) Its insanely expensive 2)Its is overrated and crowded and 3)It didnt offer any exclusive views.

So to begin with Journey towards Schilthorn: Take train from Interlaken west to Lauterbrunen - Lauterbrunen to Murren by Cogwheeltrain and Murren to Schilthorn by Cable car

While returning if you are visiting in summer you can detour from Murren to Amendhubel which has small flower park trail and its insanely beautiful. Also you can enjoy some Cheese fondue at Almendhubel with best views. 

Mistake: We were not aware that it was peak Skiing time and we had to wait in long long queue in every mode of transport to reach till schilthorn (Avergae wait hours for whole to and fro journey was 4+ hours) so please check schedules before hand and plan accordingly.

Key Tip: Weather can get really funny in Switzerland what may seem like most amazing weather in Valley may not be true for mountains. Every Mountain has its own website with Live cams so its best to check live camera of the mountain and go for the excursion to avoid disappointments. Always keep Plan B ready incase weather in mountain is not best you can go for another plan. Once on top of mountain give yourself some time for SnowPark, Sky walk and Thrill walk its fun and time consuming experiences.

Learning: There is another way to reach Schilthorn, if you do not encounter so much rush you can include visiting Trummelbach waterfalls (Takes 1 hour including small hike up the stairs to see different level of falls) along with Schilthorn mountain. For this You have to take this route: Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen, Lauterbrunnen to Stechelberg by Bus (Bus No 141 also stops at Trummelbach falls so you can plan visit while going or returning) and from Stechelberg cable car goes up to Murren via Gimmelwald and another cable car from Murren to Schilthorn to reach top.For James Bond fans - this is the place where the movie 'On her Majesty secret service' was shot.

Key Tip: Download SBB App for all forms of travel in Switzerland nothing can be best way to reach sooner and faster then using this App. This Mountain is Free with Swiss Pass.

Most important key takeaway: Mountain excursions can really get tiring especially if its windy and you are avid snow lover and end up playing too much up there. So post a day of mountain excursion you may want to keep normal day seeing valley or villages without going up the snow. Depends person to person again.

What to pack while going up the snow: As per weather (when we went up it was -5 degrees)

1. Appropriate Skiing Hand gloves (Just wollen is not warm enough) 

2. Layer yourself with Thermal pant and shirt inside, wear normal jean and tshirt and then if you have thick jacket its great enough otherwise layer with sweater and then jacket.

3. Muffler is a must to cover face till nose in case of bad wind.

4. Ear plugs (a great investment) or atleast take cotton balls

5. Warm head cap (even if you have hood this is must)

6. Camphor tablets (for good breathe incase you feel dizzy in extreme wind) we used it once and it was savior

7. A good shoes with grip is a very very must because you dont want to slip in ice which is melting and not walk friendly... a bad shoes only make things worse. I had bought Trail Hike rainproof shoes from Decathlon for 589HKD and it worked best.

8. Extra pair of socks so that you can quickly change if you get wet in snow

9. Polythene if you are not carrying snow boots or Shoe Protector (Yes, there is something like this available in market which makes wax like layer on your shoes and make it water proof - though i could not find one in HK) you may want to tie polythene inside your shoes. (Trust me it works fantastic both towards wind and water)

10. If you are vegetarian do carry your own food (and at request and buying hot cup of chocolate milk you will be allowed to sit in cafeteria and have your own sandwiches :) )

11. Lastly a small folding bag which can fit in your haversack so when you want your stuff on and off you can dump them in this small folding bag and keep handy as well. 

Day 9: Base - Interlaken:

 Tummelbach waterfall

 Local Interlaken tour

 Interlaken OST - Brienz Cruise

"So much of who we are is where we have been"

If not for the enthusiasm to see and explore more we would have ended up been lazy bees today but we wrapped all our tiredness and started from where we had left half yesterday - Trummelbach Waterfall - Its easy way from Interlaken to Lauterbrunen followed by hopping in Bus 141 to reach these well directed falls. There is an elevator to take you up otherwise 200 steps climb. Its an Engineering Marvel the way they have directed the falls between caves and mountains. Well i will not describe more and leave it to you for more exploration :)

Post these falls we headed straight for Cruise from Interlaken OST to Brienz. I have personally not seen something so pristine from so near. Mountains were dramatic, Glaciers were magnificent and Blue waters stole hearts, Cows grazing, the cow bells ringing in ears like most beautiful music, colorful town by the lakes, Children enjoying their summer homes in the vicinity, Gardens filled with lovers and admirers, waterfalls - small and big all around so much to take in in just one ride it was perfect and we absolutely loved it.

I was little sad to let go of paragliding for this cruise but once i was on it i didn't repent even once may be I saw and felt much more closer to nature and its beauty at ease than 15 minutes birds view from paragliding would have made me feel.

And though we were almost done for the day we stretched ourselves to Harder Kulm only to find long queue because a funicular comes every 30 minutes to take you up. With lot of doubts we stood quietly (Magic of Group Travel - a group always has larger and brighter energy than traveling solo or even as couple. One person's vision becomes everyone's goal and you ought to enjoy many more things) This 10 minutes Funicular is all you need to hold your breath and mesmerize the beauty of Interlaken. And the View point from Harder Kulm is again absolute must must must see.

And Imagine post this we also walked our way till home for 2 kms encountering white flower trees, pink flower trees, different color tulips on the way, it was like local Interlaken Darshan... and we could see Kursaal Interlaken Casino where Yash Chopra statue is instilled. He is being honored as Ambassador of Interlaken by Swiss government for his shooting in Switzerland and making otherwise not so famous place a very famous tourist destination for Indians.

Key takeaway: There 2 types of cruises here 1) Interlaken West to Thun which is 2.5 hours one way but you have an option to get down at any stop like Spiez and get a train back to Interlaken. or 2)Interlake OST to Brienz (1 hour cruise and you can remain seated and come back in same cruise to  Interlaken OST) All this is covered in Swiss Pass otherwise one way costs some 60 Francs approx.Remember the sun sets till late here and if you have swiss pass you can do too much in a day provided you are at your best energy levels :)

Day10:Base - Interlaken

Mount Titlis. Heh it was our Wooden Anniversary this day - The 21st of April and what best way to celebrate then go up the dramatic snow clad mountains. Mount Titlis is quite a far away from Interlaken (3 Hours one way to be precise but it includes Golden Line Scenic train and you will be promised mesmerizing 2 hours journey) So From Interlaken the journey begins till Lucerne and from there to Engelberg and from Engelberg a small bus ride till beginning of Cable car up till 1st stage of Mount Titlis where we got down and got carried away by snow and started playing and snow fighting. Well, then! Then, you have to be seated in same car and it will further go up and from there and you will take one more Rotating Gandola car which is unique experience and then you finally reach 10,000 Feet above sea level on Mt Titlis where you will come across Snow, snow and some more snow before you reach Cliff walk which is enthralling. The bridge is made between 2 cliffs and its achievement to cross that. Also there is Open Chair lift to come down.

Key Takeaway: Since we were staying in Interlaken we could reach earliest to Mount Titlis by 11 A.M and last cable car from Mt Titlis to Engelberg is 5 P.M. Since we were lost in between we spent quite a bit of time here and there hence couldn't do all activities. So time your visit wisely. At final phase you will find silly DDLJ poster with Raj and Simran...I know its silly but pardes mei DDLJ ka hona, ek photo tho banta hai!

Mistake: We had decided to do Lucerne city tour and Mount Titlis together but Mt titlis has quite a lot to enjoy and if you wish to really have fun one thing at a time do not plan anything else with a mountain especially huge mountain like Titlis.

Learning: Time your visit well otherwise will miss on lot of activities and fun opportunities.

SURPRISE: There is Vegetarian Restaurant just at base of Engelberg cable station called Restaurant Stand and one more surprise you will will find Panorama restaurant where you can find Jain food as well... may be most expensive Vada Pav on earth :p

P.S. When we went the wind was very very very much in speed and Open Chairlift was closed. So when we went to ticket centre and complained because we paid 12CHF per head specially for it they gave us souvenirs coupon costing 20 CHF :) So puchne mei kya jaata hai, always ask! This Mountain is where you can get 50% discount with Swiss Pass.

Key takeaway: Wear you best sunglasses and apply UV creams, if its sunny day you may really get badly tanned up in the snow close to Sun.  

Day 11: Base - Interlaken

Zermatt - They say its Heaven On Earth! but we could not see heaven from quite nearby. They also say that best way to see Zermatt is by seeing Sunrise or Sunset through Matterhorn. One cannot reach Matterhorn except hiking but one can certainly view Matterhorn from best place called Gornegrat view station and easiest way to reach there is by taking furnicular from nearby Zermatt train station. The ticket till up costs 76CHF for which iyou can get 50%  discount if you have Swiss Pass. We had hard luck and by the time we reached Zermatt after 2 hours train journey the cloud had surrounded Matterhorn and there was no point spending for funicular. So we saw partial Matterhorn from the Bridge which is well marked in map. You can pick maps from Tourist information centre right outside Zermatt station.

Key Takeaway: Zermatt is great Ski village which is car free zone and there are many many High end resorts which are quite expensive during Ski Season. Also there are few other options which if fits your budget is best to stay there for a night for marvelous night view of village.While returning from Zermatt you will have to change train in Spiez and may have 15 minutes time in between so all you have to do is exit and take quick photo stop of beautiful lake and scenic beauty of Spiez and then quicky get back. Shhhh its secret way of seeing one more city.

Also, Zermatt has lot of Shopping options. We found Cow bell cheapest in store near Zermatt station. Exactly in right from Information Centre (you will see Red colored Cow statue outside). Further if you walk towards right towards Church you will Find Lindt chocolate Showroom and trust me chocolates here were amazing and cheapest to get back for home.

Also if you are here around Summer you will find beautiful Alphorn players near Zermatt church or may be many other places in Interlaken.

P.S. We also found cheapest souvenirs near Interlaken OST station just next to Paragliding booking centre. We could not go back  to buy from here but we couldnt find anything like those rates anywhere else. So just for information - A small cowbell rates begins from 3.5CHF but its very very very small, smaller than key chain. A reasonable big bell may cost from 7CHF to 30 CHF and then biggest ones offcourse have no limits.

Day 12: Base - Interlaken

Finally DDLJ Moments coming closer :) We visited Glacier 3000, its pretty small mountain compared to other two we visited and quite overdone with Snow :p But we were still enthusiastic! So you have to reach Gstaad from Interlaken and take Bus No 180 from Gstadd to Col Du Pillon and you will be dropped near Cable car station of Glacier 3000 in 40 mins. The drive till cable car from Gstaad is extremely scenic and beautiful.

One can visit snow park there as well which has Tissot Cliff Walk and Open Chair lift. Unfotunately due to wind pressure cliff walk was closed and we attempted to take open chairlift but i must admit it was quite dangerous and fatt ke hath mei aagayi thi :p So you see a perfect and good weather is must must for enjoying mountains. But nothing can stop a group spirit of Gujjus and we started playing Garba to make our body warm :p Wow, that works!

With Swiss Pass one will get 50% discount on this mountain as well and cost around 38CHF. One can keep maximum 3 hours to visit this glacier since its not quite big.

Then come back to Gstadd station by same bus No 180 and enjoy the walk over Promenade which is very very beautiful and apparently lot of Indian Bollywood movies has been shot here. The list of which you can find in Mango Indian Restaurant which is just around the Promenade. May be maximum 1 hour you can spend around strolling here and then come back to Bus 180 and go to Saanen station just across the station you will find the Bridge where Palat scene of DDLJ was shot. It was quite thrilling living those DDLJ moments which i must have seen like soo sooo many times. From that Bridge you will see chapel again DDLJ one... its 10 mins walk away.

SURPRISE: Just outside train station we saw on the board that they have Bollywood tour organized from Saanen which take you around all famous shooting locations and also chocolate factory in Broc.

Key takeaway: Bus 180 runs every half hour so you may want to clic picture on bus stop and kepp for reference and return according to bus timings. Gstaad and Saanen together can take upto 1 to 2 hours depending on your interest and speed and catch back train to Interlaken. Also From Interlaken towards Gstaad, you will change train from Zweissmen and board Golden pass rail. But heh Zweissmen is the same station jaha se Simran ki gaadi chuti thi so dont forget to click yourself with it. You will have good 3 to 4 minutes to also go in front of the shop from where she had bought cow bell and told the shop keeper to keep change right in front of Zweismen station :)

Mistake: We should have probably not attempted this mountain already knowing the climate but we took chance. But one should not and rather plan something else.

Learning: Never go against the tide :) dont challenge climate. We learnt this hard way after Matterhorn and Glacier 3000.

Day 13: Base - Interlaken

After much traveling we were seeking rest but Thank God again that by mid day we got our spirits moving and we headed to another amazing activity to remember - Cheese making factory Le Gruyers and Maison Cailler Chocolate factory. Let the child inside you awake and experience this lovely treats. They are definitely must visit for understanding cheese making process and chocolate making processes.. Quite an eye opener and its so amazing to see how things are made which we consume dearly every now and then.

Key takeaway: Dont rely on google maps. It shows some weird ways to reach. Le Gruyer cheese factory which is just outside the train station may be 50 mts walk away. And Maison Cailler choclate factory as per google maps it will make you get down at Broc Village and walk 1.2 kms but you can get down at its next stop Broc - Fabrique which is just 250 Mts away. Also there are special Chocolate trains and Fondue trains which are quite steep in prices but if you are with kids this may still make sense.

SURPRISE: Both Chocolate factory entry and Cheese factory entrance is included in Swiss Pass, which we were absolutely unaware of.

Learning: There is so much of Chocolate, Nuts and cheese to taste that you certainly have to go empty stomach and you will be sorted till dinner :p

Day 14: Base - Vevey

Felt like an end of an Era :( We had to wrap our 7 days stay in Airbnb. It was so perfect to be here. But with little heavy heart we move our base to Vevey for last 2 Nights in this beautiful country. Today we head to French speaking South province of Switzerland (Why is it called french speaking ? Well, the history will follow in end :) ) Vevey is scenic and pretty but our Heart still belonged to Interlaken. Post check in, in our beautifully located Hotel Bon Rivage on Lake Geneva we headed to Chateau De Chillon. This is very strategically located Castle a bit further from Montreoux (Casino capital of Switzerland). It is most visited Castle in Switzerland as per tourists record. We clearly underestimated its size :p it took us 2 hours to see entire castle.The fun moment was to see the private company dinner organised in the castle and when the guests entered there were dances and trumpets... Aaah so lavish. Yeh idea use karne jaisa hai!

And finally, I could get Cheese Fondue with Snow mountain view just in opposite cafeteria along with some amazing pizzas to enjoy. Though i was looking forward for cheese fondue but honestly i didnt become fan of it. 

Just on Lake Geneva nearby from Station you will find installation of Huge Fork installed between lake and just opposite is Charlie Chaplin statue. Fork of Vevey is 8mts tall and holds Guiness book of World record as tallest installed Fork. 

Key takeaway: Head straight on top of the castle to see most breathtaking views ever. They are postcard perfect.

Just outside Castle they have made beautiful deck leading upto lake and one should not leave this place without photo bombing here :) Well, the entrance to this castle is free with Swiss Pass.

Learning: Do not underestimate the size of castles :p it does take time to see them inside outside throughly and also they had video stations inside for 20 mins movies for which we couldnt give time but one should certainly :) Also we were too tired and could not take a halt at French Riveria famous stop - Montreoux. Funicular 105 stops near Monetroux lake side promenade and if you have time its must to stop here and enjoy the typical French side of Switzerland :) 

Day 15: Base - Vevey

Geneva City Tour: Vevey to Geneva is an hour away journey. Heading to United Nations and feel pride to see Indian Flag. If you are on time then can take an hour of tour inside. Just outside United Nations is Big Broken Chair which symbolizes the Unity. From here straight away one can head to Jet'd Au water fountain right on Lake Geneva and Flower Clock watch right around the garden. One can head to Patek Philip museum  which is open between 2 to 6 pm which is must visit for fan of wathces. Best thing is to explore lake side by taking cruise of 1 hour around Lake Geneva. Last cruise at 4.30 PM and runs every hour from 12.30 PM. In return we took a halt at Aubonn for some more chocolate shopping :)

SURPRISE - Aubonn has Outlet Mall and you will go nuts to see the prices here. Basically they are all Brands shopping factory outlet and you may get lucky to get something for great deal. Recommended atleast half day visit.

I was not a fan of city tour and i think i can confirm after being there, personally i would have preffered being around village more than being in city.

Key Learning: Wherever you stay in Switzerland you will get Day passes which would be valid in local buses and trams adn may have some local sightseeing discounts attached with it. So if you do not wish to travel too far and is falling short from Swiss Pass days you can rely on these passes as well.

Mistake: I am calling it a mistake but it may not be actually. I think we should have based ourselves for last 2 days somewhere near airport or in village. Vevey is beautiful town of French Riveria and its gives total feel of being in France but Swiss village with Swiss chalet is amazingly different and valley has its charm for which you are there :)

Some tips on important things:

Food: So we are Pure Jain people and prefer fresh food. Switzerland is super super expensive for eating out. Just for example a Normal Indian Sabzi costs 20 to 25 Francs, so a one time meal for  2 can be anywhere around 40 to 50 CHF depending on you apetite :p

Coop, Migros and LIDL are almost available everywhere, you can find Breads, Butter, Salads, veges, lot of amazing fruits here. LIDL seemed cheapest for buying in bulk some Cheese or Chocolates for souvenirs back home for family and friends.

Breakfast - We had taken ready to make Upma and Poha home made. (You can message me for recipes separately :p)

Lunch - Mostly we took out Salads and Sandwiches with some khakhras and chips to top it up. Also we had made huge quantuty of Sukhadi (Gujju sweet made from Wheat flour, Jaggery and Ghee) so it used to be both filling and strength giving.  We also ventured into taking Biryani and Pastas in some occasions and it was definitely good to repeat.

Dinner - So we had taken rice cooker with us and had apartment in Interlaken. So we used to make some Daal rice or Khichadi or Sabzis and have it with Corn Pesso tortilas which were much available from Coop.

Cheese Fondue: Switzerland is founder of this amazing dish (not that i am fan :p) but beware if you are 4 and want to share 1 amongst 4 you have to pay cover charges. So better ask before you order. Generally Cheese Fondue costs 25 to 35 CHF depending on different places.

Must Try: Pizza and Pastas in Italy a must try. The olive oil they used was so different and yummy that it felt like all together a different food. We had best Pizza in San Giovanni in Tuscany.

Accomodation:

In Italy : Always stay near Metro station. This is basic thumb rule for happy and convenient travel. Rome and Florence didnt have easy availability of elevators and carrying luggage can be a task. So pack light, travel light!

In Switzerland: Its offcourse best to stay near stations but in Switzerland Bus connectivity  is fantastic so you can consider booking place near Bus stop and plan your connectivity accordingly. What i understand from my stay there is if you are like us and want to cook at home and changing base is a issue then base yourself somewhere in central place like Interlaken. Much depends on your Itinerary that what would be central location for you.

Traveling:

In Italy:  In Rome we took 48 hours pass for 12 EUR and in Milan 48 hours pass for 8 EUR. Florence is much smaller and you may not need such passes. All the more its very bike friendly. Inter city travel by in Italian trains is super easy and efficient. There are two trains like Train Italio and Trenitalia. the former one is cheaper and equally good. More details for the same is in below article. Inter city trains are super fast and can run upto 300kms/hr. Best article i found on train traveling in Italy is -
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187768-c19328/Italy:Italy.Train.Travel.html

Swiss Pass: So you must have understood by now that Swiss Pass is magical. It just works for anything in Switzerland including cable cars to reach up the mountains. But it comes with a cost :) there are 2 types of Swiss Pass : 1) Flexi pass and 2) Consecutive pass. There are fixed umber of days for which you can buy pass as following - 1) 3 Days Pass for 232CHF, 2) 4 days Pass for 281 CHF, 3)8  Days pass for 481 CHF and 4) 15 Days Pass for 513 CHF *These are second class rates there is also first class available.

Difference is - you get few preferences in cue when you have first class pass and also in trains 1st class compartments are different. Well i thought Second class was quite great in itself with not much difference. 

There is another Concept called Swiss Half Fare Card - best to my understanding this is best for people who keep changing base and do not have to travel much. This Pass makes everything at 50% discount.

Best way to know all information for travel in switzerland is by this App: https://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/travel-in-switzerland/international-guests/swiss-travel-pass.html

Its super accurate and dont rely on google many times its plays funny. But SBB app is spot on correct!

By Road: EUROPCAR, AVIS are some of the options for car rental. I am not best person to guide for this but best to my understanding the routes covered by Trains are so scenic and beautifully carved that why to drive?

Luggage Management:

In Italy: Be rest assured that every big train station has luggage storage which you can utilise for few bucks (varies in every station) for parking your luggage if you want to take a city tour of one place and move on ahead from that train station same day then this is good option.

In Switzerland: SBB is a rockstar, they not only have luggage storage on most of the important stations but also have facility to transport your luggage ahead of you in case you want to stop over in one city for a day and reach your destination a day or two later and dont want to carry your huge bags. You can uses SBB services and they will transport it to the station of your next destination. And they are pretty accurate. We didnt use this service but we saw in couple of trains luggage being handled and they were spot on Neatly done! 

 

Packing tips:

1. Do not dare to carry more than required stuff. Most of the times you will be in Jackets or sweaters so rather use yur luggage for packing some different sweater, jacket and stoles.

2. Generally in Apartments you may get washers so you can repeat your clothes so pack accordingly. Even if you dont get washer, there are lot of laundry facilities and its wiser to use that.

3. STRICTLY PACK LIGHT and not more than 1 bag per head and 1 haversack. We carried lot of food and rice cooker, etc so we could not reduce luggage from 1 check in bag per head but if you are going to rely for food from out then carry less bags.

Currency:
In Italy,  Euro is accepted currency in Italy. they accept cards almost everywhere except street shopping offcourse. In Switzerland CHF or Francs is accepted currency. Som places they do take Euro but they will return change in Francs and Euro would be taken equivalent to Francs which is offcourse expensive affair. HK Credit card  charges around 1-2% after currency conversion and Indian cards are very expensive because charges can go upto 5.5%. Best is to fill in currency in your Bank cards if you are traveling from India. Like Axis Bank or ICICI bank or whichever issues foreign currency cards. They work best and gives best rates with minimal overhead charges. Do not convert Eur to Francs, again its expensive in Switzerland. Its best to carry two separate currencies. Limit your cash because Italy we had heard stories of too much notoriety. We didn't face any though. But we bought the travel sling which is quite thin and to be worn inside your t-shirt so you can keep passports and any big cash safely inside it and no one can notice :)    

Scenic Train Routes:

So there are couple of scenic route trains specially made with huge windows (though all the latest made train in Switzerland has much more bigger window and are equally beautiful and go through same paths as scenic routes). Some of the most known ones are Golden pass line, Bernina Express, Glacier Express. More information can be found on SBB for this. Though my personal experience is to first build your itinerary and then check which train journey you can fit in. Other way round may get tricky. 

People also love to see cities like Bern, Zurich, Lucerne, Lausanne, Basel and more villages like St Moritz, Chur, Lugano, etc and more of moutnains like Eiger, Mt Rigi, etc but that certainly needs atleast 20 day tour or more of Switzerland to fit everything in one go. 

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” —Mark Twain

A best concluding picture cannot be best then this :) We put our heart somewhere in Switzerland and departed with aching heart to depart from Switzerland and Italy and then bidding adieu to Bhai and UB in Dubai! But with hope to meet family soon!

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