[Idyllchat] Switzerland

Sun Nov 12 21:51:12 EST 2006

I think Ian gave some great advice.
  I'd like to add something that I forgot to mention in my previous email to Andrew (but this appeals to all ages):   there are great medieval castles to walk through at Thun and at Oberhafen.

  Also, I'd like to elaborate a little, to all ages, about the trick to making those one minute train transfers that Ian referred to, so you don't have to wait an hour for the next train:

  As the train you're riding in starts entering the station, remember to look out the windows on your left and right to spot where the right track is with the sign showing the town of your next destination.  Then when your own train stops, you'll know which direction and track number to zoom over to.  Except for the really huge stations like Lucerne or Zurich, it's usually the next track beside yours on either the left or right.

  Eventually, we decided we didn't really need to bring a schedule of the train transfers with us on our outings.  I found the transportation transfers, from train to train, or from train to boat, train to bus, etc., worked in Switzerland like the cogs on gears in an old fashioned clock:  a cog (for instance your train) on a gear (such as the tracks which go only so far) has to match up with the cog (the next train or a boat or bus) of the next gear (the next set of tracks, different width for example), to move the clock as a whole (the traveler in the whole transportation system) forward.  They are timed closely to make your travel most efficient, but only if you are paying close attention so as not to miss a connection.

  Linda

Paulmickgardiner at aol.com wrote: 
  From: Paulmickgardiner at aol.com
Date: Sun, 12 Nov 2006 15:25:55 EST
Subject: Fwd: [Idyllchat] Switzerland
To: idyllchat at lists.untours.com

From: "Ian Bleicher" <ianbleicher at rcn.com>
To: <Paulmickgardiner at aol.com>
Subject: RE: [Idyllchat] Switzerland
Date: Sun, 12 Nov 2006 15:21:33 -0500

              Hi Grandma,
  Could you send the following reply to that boy who is going to Switzerland?

  Hi Anrew,
  My name is Ian, and I am 15.  Let me start by saying that my Untour in Switzerland (two summers ago) was a life changing experience.  I traveled with my: parents, sister, 2 aunts, uncle, cousins and grandparents.  Your trip will be a little different because it’s just you and your grandparents, but it will still be awesome.  To answer a few of your questions about transportation, I can say that Swiss transportation is really easy.  After about 1 train ride, you get it.  Some advice that I would give is to go quickly from one train to the next.  I remember that at one station, we had like 1 minute to get from our train to the next.  The other piece of advice that I would is to bring something to do on the train.  Any kind of portable game system (game boy, psp) would be perfect because you are going to spend multiple hours a day on the train.  As for places to go, I don’t really know your town (I stayed in kandersteg), but one place to not miss is the Jungfraujoch. 
 Basically, it’s a train ride that takes you to the peak of a mountain at 11,000 feet.  It was one of the most memorable experiences of my trip.  It is really expensive (like 150 dollars for the ticket), but it’s worth it.  If you want, you can even go outside and ski on the glacier.  There’s a ton to do up there, but don’t forget to bring your own lunch (lunch at the station is expensive and mediocre), and bring a camera (you can see for miles).  About the food, there’s pretty much normal food, but definitely get: fondue, chocolate, and hot cholate( it tastes like a melted chocolate bar).  Good luck and have fun.

  Fellow traveler, 
  Ian    

  -----Original Message-----
From: Paulmickgardiner at aol.com [mailto:Paulmickgardiner at aol.com] 
Sent: Saturday, November 04, 2006 10:52 AM
To: ianbleicher at rcn.com
Subject: Fwd: [Idyllchat] Switzerland

    Ian - You might have some good ideas for the boy.    Love, Grandma

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