Visiting Switzerland With Our Son

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Our son, David wanted to meet us somewhere in Europe at the end of May for a long weekend before we moved back to the States. We wanted it to be a direct flight for all of us so after some discussion we settled on a trip to Switzerland. We had been avoiding Switzerland because it is so expensive there but since we were only going for a short time, we felt we could swing it.

We have been fortunate living in Tirana where there are so many direct flights to so many good locations. It was a two hour flight to Zurich.
We arrived at our Zurich hotel and met David around lunch time. He had made arrangements for us to eat at a Michelin Star Restaurant for lunch. It was a new experience for all of us and a huge treat! Thank you, David!

Of course, the food was delicious but for me the best part was how beautifully the food was presented.

We stayed at a hotel located on a river that feeds into Lake Zurich. The hotel was called Hotel Storchen. Storchen means stork in English. You can see a statue of a stork on the hotel to the right of this photo.

In and around our hotel…

This musical clock plays everyday at 11:00AM and 4:00PM and is located above the door of Kurz Jewelry Shop in one of the Zurich shopping districts. The music it plays is traditional Swiss music and features hand carved figures that dance, wave and ring cow bells. It was charming!
Walking around Zurich after our first dinner in Switzerland.

Views from a couple of morning runs…

Do you see the very tip of the house to the right of the tree in the distance? That is one of the houses Tina Turner owned while living in Zurich. The other house is directly on Lake Zurich. She moved to Switzerland in 1995 with her German partner Erwin Bach, a record producer. She passed away there in 2023. Tina Turner gave up her American passport in favor of a Swiss one. One of the reasons she liked Switzerland is because it allowed her to have a more normal life. In Switzerland it is against the law for the paparazzi to take pictures of someone without their written permission. This law is strictly enforced.
Zurich and the lake are in the background.
Taking a boat ride across Lake Zurich to visit the Lindt Chocolate Factory and Museum
This huge chocolate fountain greeted us at the entrance to the chocolate factory/museum. We spent a little over an hour taking a tour which included lots of information about the history of chocolate plus we were able to taste lots of chocolate.
This is how we tasted some white, milk and dark chocolate. All the chocolate tasting was unlimited.
At the end of the tour we were invited to take many pieces of chocolate with us. Yum! We enjoyed the tour and would recommend it if you visit Zurich.
We have now arrived at the Zurich train station so we can take a two hour train ride to Interlaken in the Swiss Alps.
Lots and lots of bicycles at the train station.
I took this video simply because I loved all the activity and hubbub of the train station.
When we arrived at our hotel in Interlaken, this was happening in the lobby. So traditional, loved it!
When we were walking to dinner we came across one of many traditional looking Swiss Alps homes.
We started our day in Interlaken by taking a cog railway up to Harder Kulm which is the closest mountain to Interlaken.
Looking down on the City of Interlaken, breathtaking!
The cows with their bells are one of my favorite things about Switzerland.
Taking the cog railroad back down the mountain.
This is Staubbach Waterfall located next to the small village of Lauterbrunnen. Can you see the people hiking up to the falls? It was about a 20 minute walk up the hill and through a short tunnel to get behind the falls.
Behind the falls…
The next small village we visited was Murren which is not accessible by car so we took a cable car to get there. Here we are looking for a place to have lunch.
We found a place with a gorgeous view. It almost does not seem real, more like a postcard.
I love these signs which tell us which direction to go and how far it it to the next town. The yellow signs are how long it would take to walk there since there are no cars in Murren.
This sign was at the beginning of the trail to Gimmelwald. As you can see, it is a 35 minute walk or a 15 minute sled ride in the winter.
As we were hiking out of Murren, we came across this cemetery. Having a small private garden for each deceased person seems lovely to me.

As you can see, it was a beautiful, beautiful hike to Gimmelwald. This was not our first trip to Gimmelwald. When our daughter, Elizabeth was a junior in college she studied in Luxembourg for a semester. When we came over to visit her, the three of us traveled to and stayed in Gimmelwald for two nights and spent a day skiing in the Alps. We loved this charming small village at that time and loved it this time too. The idea of coming to stay in this mountainous area for a month is very appealing. The cost would be prohibitive but it is still nice to think about it.

We have now arrived in Gimmelwald, a small farming village of 100 people. Once again, no cars are allowed here. The road is for farm equipment.
Charm, charm and more charm! I absolutely loved Gimmelwald!
The next day we said good bye to our fun and crazy son as we took the train to the airport to fly back to Tirana. It was easier to say good bye this time because we knew we would see David in less than two months. Loved, loved our time with him!

The last week of school, Albanian College celebrated International Day. Each class chose a country and then come up with ideas about how to teach other classes about the country they had chosen. My class chose China primarily because one of my students is from China and he is very well-liked. The children decorated our classroom door, made a Chinese flag and made up some games to learn about China. Some of the parents sent in Chinese food (and some Albanian food) for the children to enjoy. It was a wonderful way to teach children about other cultures.

This is the last blog about our travels. The next (and final) blog will be about wrapping up our time in Albania. Thanks so much for your interest in reading this blog.

September, 2024

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Published by Sarah Williams

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11 thoughts on “Visiting Switzerland With Our Son”

  1. This post really home as it took me back to my jr year abroad spent in Basel, Switzerland right near Zurich. I was back and forth over this beautiful country and you have hit many of the highlights Sarah and Randy. So many happy memories from there in 1973-74 couldn’t afford the fancy restaurant though. Ate a lot of chocolate bars as I recall.

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  2. What a special time with David! ❤️ Loved the musical clock story, no paparazzi “rule”, the views (breathtaking!), & David’s goodbye dance! I learn from your blogs … thank you!

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  3. What a special time with David! ❤️ Loved the musical clock story, no paparazzi “rule”, the views (breathtaking!), & David’s goodbye dance! I learn from your blogs … thank you!

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  4. I love all your blogs! The pictures & your commentary make it feel like I’m traveling with you. David looks great!!! Hope to see you around Fairport soon !

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  5. Unlimited chocolate tasting – in Switzerland!?! Wow! I’m so glad you had a fun adventure with David to end your travels there. It looks beautiful and delightful. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. I don’t think you would be disappointed! When planning your trip be careful not to mix up Gimmelwald and Grindelwald. Grindelwald is a larger village which we did not have time to visit.

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