(This is a continued series from Travel Freely Member Adam’s 70 Days on Points and Miles around the world. Read his introduction here and see links to more posts at the bottom.)
After 8 sunny days spent between Mallorca and Barcelona, we headed to our next destination: Switzerland, which is famous for many things – watches, chocolate, cheeses – and not the least of these: MOUNTAINS!
And let me tell you – we had our fair share of mountains while we were in Switzerland. But before I tell you all about it, how did we get there? Another budget flight covered with Capital One Miles
$45 per ticket, requiring 4.5K Capital One Miles was all it took to fly direct from Barcelona to Zurich
However, credit cards really helped with another element of this particular section of the trip…
Getting my parents to Switzerland! We booked my parents’ flights from Cleveland to Zurich through the Capital One Travel Portal. While travel portals are not always known for being the best way to get flights (compared to points and using transfer partners), it REALLY paid off for us!
The cheapest fares elsewhere were a little over $1200 round trip, but with the Capital One Travel Portal we secured TWO round trip tickets for a total of $1,665.98. A nice reminder that you should remember to check travel portals as well.
Once we were in Zurich, we rented a car near the airport for a great price. Only $360 for 9 whole days!!
We spent our first day touring the different parts of Zurich before heading off to Rapperswil-Jona for the first stage of our road trip. This was a great spot to introduce ourselves to the nature of Switzerland. We were able to soak in the sights of the Alps while walking across the Rapperswil-Hurden Wooden Bridge, the longest wooden footbridge in all of Switzerland.
In the nearby area, there is a mountain called the Druesberg, peaking around 7,500 feet. It was here where we took our first ascent of a mountain and made some of the best memories of the entire trip. After an exhilarating hike up, we made it to a restaurant called Druesberghütte Plus near the peak. The lovely Swiss-German couple who own the mountain top tavern made us a traditional meal and we enjoyed the views as we ate our well-earned food.
But all of this pales in comparison to our descent – an incredible journey back down the mountain trails on thick-tired scooters! It’s hard to beat soaring down a mountain in the Swiss Alps on a scooter, incredible views flashing by as we sped down the same path we had just hiked. This is a bit of an off-the-beaten-path opportunity, and one I would wholeheartedly advise you to take the next time you visit Switzerland!!
The next day we split our time between the House of Läderach (a famous chocolate factory in Bilten), the idyllic atmosphere of the beautiful lake Walensee, and the rushing waters of the Seerenbach Falls. It’s hard to say which of these is my favorite, but I think their combination does a good job of reflecting some of what it means to experience Switzerland. The meticulous work of the Swiss performed in the chocolate factories, the unusual contrast of crystal clear lakes and soaring mountains, and the overwhelming power of nature as examples of one of the highest waterfalls in Europe.
At the end of our third full day, we spent the night in the charming town of Glarus, with views of the Alps out of our window. It is here in this restful town where I will leave our story for now, which is fitting, as it was where we relaxed before some of the most action-packed and exciting days of the trip.
If you thought that riding a scooter down a mountainside was the best that Switzerland could offer.
The morning after staying in Glarus, we began our day with a quick trip to the Bärglistuber waterfall. We saw a few waterfalls during our time, but I think this was one of my favorite. There was even a well-developed pool of water at the bottom – and we would have gone swimming if the water hadn’t just come from a freezing glacier…
We took our car up between the mountains in the direction of the Klausenpass. Passing through the region of Urnerboden was incredible. Practically at the top of the mountains, the road passes through incredible stone features to reach the other side. It was here that our trip was detoured slightly by some rogue dairy cows who had found their way onto the road. With views like this, we didn’t mind, though – and the owner came along soon enough to move the cows back off the road.
Driving the Klausenpass is not for the faint of heart – as the narrow roads are quite literally on the side of the mountain, sometimes with no guardrails. However, we made it safely through to the other side of the pass before deciding to go to a dairy. We found the nearest one on Apple Maps, just a few miles off the main road. Little did we know, we would be taking a single-lane road back up the side of a different mountain, only to find out we had to park and hike an hour to the dairy… what was supposed to be a relaxing day quickly turned into yet another adventure! But this one had cheese, yogurt, and beautiful views as a reward.
We made a quick stop through Lucerne before driving on towards Interlaken. Before we made it there, we stopped in to see the Rosenlaui glacier gorge – there are few places we have been to before that match the sheer power of nature on display here. After experiencing the gorge, we stayed in the nearby town of Grindelwald, nestled up in the mountains. Here we actually stayed in a barn and slept in hay!! While that may sound crazy – it was actually a rather popular Airbnb, where the owner made us a large, free breakfast spread every morning from the products on her farm!
While in Interlaken, we did a number of things. We toured the famous town of Iseltwald, took some small hikes, and my favorite – we went to Harder Kulm. This is a vantage point at a mountain peak overlooking Interlaken. It has incredible views of the two lakes with the city nestled between. This was another magical moment on the trip. Coming up to the triangle viewpoint took our breath away. We walked out on the platform that extends beyond the base of the mountain to take it all in. The mountain peaks, glistening water of the two lakes below, and the exhilarating flights of countless paragliders soaring around us.
We then drove south, heading for Zermatt. The quickest route was actually to drive our car to a station where we parked on a train that drove us through a tunnel beneath the mountains. After our unique transport, we finished the drive to Zermatt and toured the town before preparing for a hike. We took a funicular to Sunnegga before hopping on a gondola that took us to Blauherd. Here we started the Five Lakes Hike that took us around the area, featuring the main attraction of Zermatt, the Matterhorn!
After only a day in Zermatt, we drove toward the French region of Switzerland, where we stayed near the town of Aigle. We spent a peaceful two days here, visiting the nearby destination of Gstaad, as well as having a wine tasting experience in the vineyards surrounding the Chateau d’Aigle.
Our very last stop was Bern. We only had a few hours to see the city before heading back to Zurich, where we stayed at an airport hotel before flying out the next morning. Our 10-day road trip to Switzerland complete, my parents were heading back to Cleveland, while Dakota and I moved on to our next destination: Venice!
Our very last stop was Bern. We only had a few hours to see the city before heading back to Zurich, where we stayed at an airport hotel before flying out the next morning. Our 10-day road trip to Switzerland complete, my parents were heading back to Cleveland, while Dakota and I moved on to our next destination: Venice!
More from Adam’s 70 Days on Points and Miles:
