Long Weekend in Switzerland

This past weekend we took Caden to his 6th country. We traveled to Switzerland and visited Interlaken and Spiez. This was our first time to visit Switzerland and we thought it was beautiful. We stayed in Spiez but spent most of our time in Interlaken. We stayed at a very European bed and breakfast and decided to pay for half-board for Friday night. Half-board just means you want dinner in their restaurant. We had a 3-course dinner which included spaghetti and tomato sauce, fish and potatoes, and ice cream for dessert. All for the price of Fr. 22 per person plus our drinks. I ordered water and it cost Fr. 4, which is around $4 for a glass of water, no refills. You would think in Switzerland water would be cheaper than beer and wine, but it's not. Even soft drinks cost more than most of the beers, wines, and soft drinks.

One of the most disappointing things about Switzerland is the inflation of the Swiss Frank (Fr.). Although the Fr. is comparable to the U.S. dollar when you convert your money most items cost at least twice what they would in the U.S. For example, there is no dollar menu at McDonald's. A happy meal costs Fr. 6.90 and the value meals cost Fr. 11.90+. So if Collin and I wanted to eat at McDonald's and both get a meal we would spend close to $25 for two meals. So we decided not to eat at McDonald's and go ahead and splurge a little more to eat real Swiss food.

We arrived in Switzerland Friday around 11am and had a nice lunch. It was raining Friday so we mainly drove around and explored the cities by car. We drove up several mountains and got our "bearings" so to speak. Saturday we woke up to more rain so we canceled our plans to visit an outdoor museum and went to the mall and had lunch. We had hoped there would be several restaurants in the food court but there was just one. The food was okay. That afternoon the weather cleared up and we walked around Interlaken and ended up eating at the Zum Baren, an old Swiss restaurant. The restaurant is over 200 years old and was built in the 1700s. I ordered cheese fondue (fondue is famous in Switzerland) and Collin ordered a meat and veggies dish. I was hoping for Fr. 25 I would get more than just a pot of cheese. But for that price I only got a pot of cheese and cubes of bread, which is typical. Thankfully, it was the best fondue I've ever had.

Sunday was a beautiful day so we drove around and went to the Trummelbach Falls. We hiked up a mountain to see 10 glacier-waterfalls inside the mountain made accessible by a tunnel-lift and illuminated. The Trummelbach drains the mighty glacier defiles of Eiger, Monk, and Jungfrau and carries 20.200 tons of boulder detritus per year. Its drainage area is 24 km2, half of it covered by snow and glaciers. Up to 20.000 liters of water per second. The only glacier-waterfalls in Europe inside the mountain and still accessible. It was an awesome experience. Here are some pictures from our trip.

Trummelbach Falls

Trummelbach Falls - lots of steps

Spiez, Switzerland

Jungfrau Mountain in Interlaken, Switzerland -

there is snow all year and is considered the top of Europe

Interlaken, Switzerland

Interlaken, Switzerland

Beautiful rainbow after the rain in Interlaken

Interlaken, Switzerland

Interlaken, Switzerland