Even before Covid's madness, when travel was in full swing, I was considering that I would like to visit Switzerland again after a long time. The only problem was when to get there? In the end, the coronavirus epidemic solved that question for me. All travel plans, including a summer in Canada, took a backseat and improvisation began. Since Switzerland was one of the first to allow entry, there was nothing to think about. Especially at a time when the numbers of newly infected were low and everything looked rosy as far as the summer season was concerned.
Rhine Waterfalls
After talking with Janet, the planning began. Switzerland has only one disadvantage. It is extremely expensive. That's why you have to plan everything in detail. For the trip to Switzerland we choose a bus of Regiojet company, which offered a night connection from Prague to Zurich for a wonderful 500 CZK. And since anyone who has not traveled by train in Switzerland, it is as if he has not been in this country, we will use this system for the rest of our trips, which the Swiss have perfected the most in the world. Therefore, so that the tourist does not have to take a loan for something like this, there is even a Swiss ticket called Swiss pass, thanks to which you can travel unlimitedly by train, boat and bus throughout Switzerland. In addition, all public transport, some toboggan rides, cable cars, and you get discounts or free admission to museums on this ticket. Swiss passes come in several variations (adult, juvenile) and are for different numbers of days. A more economical option is the one-day Swiss Saver passes, which have a floating price and can be purchased online. The price starts at 52 CHF. You might say that's a lot, but the standard ticket price for a 100 km trip from Zurich to Bern costs about the same. They don't have long-distance buses like ours. The Swiss Saver pass differs from the classic Swiss Pass in a few more details. For example, it does not cover the 50% discount on cable cars and tubing, which the Swiss pass does not cover. This is quite a disadvantage. Furthermore, you cannot use it to get to Chamonix Mont Blanc. Compensation is the possibility to use the tubing on Rocher de Naye, which again is not covered by the classic Swiss pass. The extent of validity can be checked on the issued map available on the SBB website. All this described so far is possible because all Swiss public transport is nationally integrated into a single system known as GA. In practice, this means that the Swiss equivalent of the My Train app will also show you public transport departures and buy you a ticket for it. In addition to the GA system, individual cantons have their own regional fare zones, similar to Prague's PID. Again, one ticket for everything, including boats.
I buy Swiss Saver passes about a month before departure. Sunday's cost me 70CHF and I buy Tuesday's for the same price. This one will run right out from under me, because just a minute ago the system was showing a price of 52 CHF. I manage to get the other two days for 52 CHF. For the return journey we will use the night train Czech Railways, which has started selling again after the coronavirus pause and whose price including the extra charge for the bed was 1500 CZK.
Since accommodation in Switzerland is extremely expensive, we will use the already twice proven Eichholz camp in Bern. They also offer accommodation in cabins, which is only 10 CHF more expensive than a tent, but they are very soon occupied. Moreover, booking is only possible via their website. There was no more room for us, so we slept in a tent.
Bern is an advantageous position because it is close to everywhere. Within an hour you are in Lucerne, Zurich, Interlaken and Lausanne. And Zermatt in about two hours. Thanks to the Gotthard Tunnel, the Italian part of Switzerland is now also accessible from Bern in the form of Belzano and Lugano. The only thing that is far from Bern is the Rhetoroman Chat (Chur and St. Moritz). But we are not heading there this year. Our plans include the Rhine Falls and Zurich, the Lake Lucerne area including the mythical Mount Rigi, the Jungfrau region specifically Murren and surroundings, Elgeberg, Lake Thun and the pan-Romantic Golden Pass track from Interlaken to Lucerne. On the last day we will visit Lake Geneva and Rocher de Naye. Train departures are not much to deal with. Even from the biggest hole there is at least one train every hour. For example, between Lausanne and Montreux there was a train every ten minutes.
Unlike in the Czech Republic, delays are the exception in Switzerland. I have seen two delays in the whole time and we experienced one five-minute delay. Otherwise, everything was on time, so it's not a problem to make three five-minute transfers in a row.
24.7.2020
D-day has arrived. Friday 24.7. We pack the tent, a pile of food, clothes and other stuff and at 8 pm we take the train to Prague. In front of the main station we enjoy the local vagabond welcome we randomly meet all the way to Florenc. Regiojet arrives ahead of schedule. The stewardess laughs at me for having a backpack bigger than my travel companion. The bus is only half full. I settle in comfortably, throw on my blinders and sleeping powder and wake up at the Austrian-Swiss border.
25.7.2020
We arrive in Zurich on time and are there at half past eight. Fortunately, the terminus is next to the main train station, so it's not far. We store our backpacks in the storage room on the first underground floor. Newly (compared to my last visit seven years ago) they take credit cards here, and for the first time we encounter Swiss price realities. A nine-hour storage for about 15 Euro.
Re 620 and Re 460 at Zurich Main Station
Once we get rid of our backpacks, we go to the ticket machine to buy a ticket to the Rhine Falls. Here I was quite disappointed by the ZVV (Zurich's integrated transport operator) website, which showed tickets for 17 CHF. But the machine kept showing different figures. And it was around 100 CHF. After several unsuccessful attempts I started to sweat, what now, because I didn't want to give that much money. So we went to ask. We told the helpful lady at the information desk that we wanted to go to the waterfalls and we wanted to go for the price the cell phone showed and we definitely didn't want to go for 100 CHF. At first she wasn't successful either, but we discovered why we didn't see the price mentioned on the internet. There is a magic word "ab" saying from. This magic formula is used by several Swiss carriers. However, she advised us of a nine-hour all-zone ticket for the canton of Zurich, which is also valid all day on weekends and holidays. The price was 25 CHF. You can pay at the machine with cash or card. With about half an hour to go before our departure time, we took a short walk along Banhofstrasse.
Zurich - Banhofstrasse
Around ten we get on the train and go to Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall. We can't go any further, because the Rhine is the border of the Zurich tariff zone followed by another tariff system. That's okay, though, because we're right by the falls, just on the other side of the river, and by the castle to boot.
The Stop Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall
Rhine Falls
The funny thing is that from this side, the view of the waterfalls is charged 5 CHF. We don't care about the better views from the other side and for free. So we walk through what is free on the left bank, check out the castle and cross the railway bridge to the other side of the river. It should be noted that there are a lot of tourists on both sides, mainly Swiss.
The Laufen Castle
Rhine Falls from the railway bridge
We make several photo stops on the right bank and find cheap souvenirs at the dock, where you can take a boat to the waterfalls or be dropped off on the island in the middle, and I buy a ceramic and painted beer pint for 5 CHF.
Rhine Falls
From the waterfalls, continue along the right bank of the Rhine to the neighbouring village of Dachsen. We stop for a while at the footbridge over the river, where we watch the locals swimming downstream, stopping on the way at the footbridge from which they jump back into the river. The way to float the rivers here is to take something inflatable, hold on to it, wrap your stuff in a waterproof bag and let the river flow by. And as we do family bike rides, entire families swim in the river here, including six-year-olds.
Floating the Rhine the Swiss way
The whole circuit took us about 3 hours. We got back to Zurich at about three o'clock. From the train we go straight to Banhofstarsse. It's full of shops and people. We make a little stop at Coop to buy a drink and compare prices. If you don't want to pay 3 times as much for ordinary food as in the Czech Republic, I recommend visiting only the aforementioned Coop and looking for products with their logo. They are the only ones that keep the price level as in our country. Sometimes they are even cheaper. For example, a delicious milk chocolate was about 0,5 Euro. 1,5l of Orange juice cost 1,2 Euro. After a stop at a shop we wandered through the local streets until we found ourselves at Lake Zurich.
Zurich
Lake Zurich
At the lake we go straight to the dock. We plan to get on the first boat that comes in. We get lucky and hit an hour cruise. Our ticket on it is valid, of course, but we ask at the entrance just to be sure.
Cruise on Lake Zurich
After an hour of sailing we are back at the dock and looking for a suitable beach to swim. But it's hot and crowded. So we're grateful just to get our feet wet. But the lake was very warm.
Lake Zurich
Zurich
Around 5:30 pm we go back to the station via Coop. We don't feel like walking anymore, so we use the local tram for one stop.
Zurich - On the tram
We pick up our backpacks and go to wait for the platform. About ten minutes before departure they announce a change of platform, so we have to run slowly to the other side of the station where our IR to Bern is standing. Right from the start we are lucky to be riding a Swiss tilting RABDe 500.
Zurich - RABDe 500 before the trip to Bern
For this train we have bought an promo ticket, which is linked to a specific train. That's why we're so late leaving Zurich. Even this Super Saver Ticket came out to 16 CHF which is some 500 CZK for a 100 km journey that takes about an hour and a half. I use a mobile app to check with the conductor, which after logging in uploaded all my tickets incl. Swiss passes. Plus, it's the 21st century here and all checking operations are done by the conductor via mobile, including loading the local In card. Thanks to this convenience, conductors manage to check in passengers about 3 times faster than in our country, where they struggle nonstop with loading QR codes.
We arrive in Bern on time, of course. From the train station we go straight to the tram that will take us to the campsite. We don't buy tickets, because the confirmation of the accommodation reservation serves as a ticket for public transport in the city. We arrive at the campsite at dusk, and this situation will not change for the rest of our journey. Since it is the weekend, the camp is packed to the brim, but there is still room for us. We set up the tent hastily in the kitchen corner and heat water for couscous and express menu. We take a shower and after a hard day we go to bed around midnight. Tomorrow, Lucerne awaits us.
Useful links:
Regiojet
Swiss Railways
Swiss Saver day pass
ZVV - Public transport Zurich
Camping Eichholz in Bern
