Switzerland

Imagine arriving at your spring vacation rental in a little Alpine village, in six inches of snow! Add to that picture a walk from the train stop with luggage, a view into clouds from the rental chalet, and you have a bit of an anxious time for a travel planner. Now picture opening the curtains the next morning onto a glorious scene of snowy chalet rooftops, green meadows across a valley, and beyond the meadows, higher and higher layers of magnificent snowy mountains. The doldrums of the previous day evaporate, and my reputation as a travel planner is saved!

I had promised family members both skiing and hiking through alpine flower meadows on this trip to Switzerland, and they indeed got both. Wild white crocuses were blooming like popcorn scattered across some hillsides, and blue and pink gems of flowers were even blooming in our back yard. Ski lifts were closed in our area so we traveled by train for a stay at Zermatt where there is awesome glacier skiing year-round and also a mountain train for non-skiers to admire the majestic Matterhorn. The white world of snow and clouds, and the peaks soaring above, were incredible.

We did a lot of traveling during our 12-day stay, making good use of our Swiss Passes to explore the country by train, boat, and bus without having to purchase additional tickets. In Lucerne there was history, flowers, charming lake and mountain scenery, a visit to a Swiss home and a delicious home-cooked meal of raclette (a cheese and potato dish), and a fun folk music and dance performance. In Engelberg we walked through a mountaintop ice grotto under a glacier! In Zermatt we found toylike electric buses and taxis (no other vehicles) and old-time wooden buildings mixed in with new but still chalet-style hotels, a friendly blend to go with the friendliness of the many nationalities who travel and work there. A visit to Thun gave us a great exploration of a castle and the narrow medieval streets on the hillside leading up to it, with yards and gardens on the rooftops of residences below. Brienze was our B &B haven during a rainstorm and the home of a wonderful outdoor museum of buildings from all parts of the country, from steeply-pitched thatched roof farmhouses to balconied and geranium-bedecked homes. Our chalet in the mountain village of Gryon was the base for several hikes with views of avalanches and eagles, and a day trip to the impressive thirteenth century Chateau de Chillon near Montreux.

At other times of the year we would have found more snow for skiing, or more flowers, or even both, but whatever the season, the Alps are unforgettable!