Switzerland

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The penthouse please!:
I stayed at a youth hostel in Geneva, and managed to get a private room - it wasn't until I opened the door did I realise I had been given the penthouse, with it's own roof top patio, and views over Lake Geneva!

I must admit, I didn't spend a great deal of time in Switzerland on my first visit - I was there for a job interview in CERN (which I didn't get) so as soon as the interview was over I got out.

I do remember having to nip across the border into France to get some bread and cheese for a sandwich at a more reasonable cost!

View from the Penthouse

My second visit was far more interesting - I had a long weekend in Switzerland, I stayed a night in Chur, and a night in Zermatt. With a splash of Bern and Zurich thrown in. The only way to travel around Switzerland is by train, and the Swiss Rail Pass is a cost effective way of doing it, there are a number of versions but the one I got allowed three days travel in a month (I was going to use them on consecutive days, but you don't have to do that). Be warned, you can only get the Rail Pass outside of Switzerland.

Chur is a pretty little town set in a flat river valley surrounded by snow capped mountains. I arrived on the sleeper train from Paris, and had an hour to find and check into my hotel, before heading back to the station to catch the Bernina Express. The Bernina Express is a great railway trip, it takes you from Chur to Tirano in Italy. It goes across the Benina pass in the Alps with some great views. As I walked out of the station in Tirano, I had to show my passport! I had a quick look around, and then it was back on the train for the return trip to Chur.

The next morning I had a chance to look around Chur before hopping on another train, this time the Glacier Express that took me between Chur and Zermatt.

Zermatt was a complete surprise to me, I was expecting a sleepy little village. What I got was a buzzing ski resort town! My hotel promised me a view of the Matterhorn from my room, but when I checked in I couldn't see it. However the next morning the weather had cleared and there it was! I got up early and managed to beat all the skiers into the cog railway to Gornergrat to get some Photos of the Matterhorn. Then it was back down to Zermatt, a mad dash to checkout, and then down to catch the 10:30 to Bern.

After Bern, my final stop was Zurich, and I spent a few hours wandering around the city. Zurich is a city of fountains - all of them using drinkable water. I saw several people filling their water bottles from various fountains!