Zurich, Switzerland

My flight to Switzerland was on Swiss Air Lines, flag carrier of Switzerland. Great onboard service by the flight crew. The food and wine represent Switzerland. 

Arrived in Zurich, largest city in Switzerland and a major financial center. Stayed at Limmathof Hotel, five minute walk from the train statin. There is a Coop grocery store nearby - the Coop is a grocery chain in Switzerland. 

We purchased the Swiss Travel Pass to get around Switzerland. This pass is good for all public transport in Switzerland - most trains, buses, boats, and cable cars. The pass also covers most museums and gives discounts on mountain excursions. 

Swiss Air Lines Airbus A330-300, Chicago to Zurich.

 

Landing in Zurich. Switzerland is very green, like Iceland, Ireland, and Scotland.

Walked along the Limmat River, which leads into Lake Lucerne. Lots of beautiful buildings along the lake and river.

Rode the cable car to Felsenegg, a five minute ride up the mountain. Great panoramic views over Lake Lucerne and the mountains. We spotted some cows. Lots of hiking trails to retreat from the busy city life.

We did a half day trip to Rhine Falls, a one hour train ride from Zurich. The falls are the largest in central Europe and most notable for its width. Typical flow rate during the summer is 600 cubic meters per second. There is a bridge with a pedestrian walkway which goes over the raging Rhine River. Laufen Castle sits above the falls. Rhine Falls video.

Entrance to Laufen Castle. The castle has viewpoints of the river and falls, plus a restaurant.

Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

We departed Zurich and headed for Lauterbrunnen by train. Lots of great scenery during the train ride. We saw mountain waterfalls, turquoise colored lakes (caused by sentiments from glaciers), and castles.

Lake Lungern

Reichenbach Falls near Meiringen.

Giessbach Falls tumbling into Lake Brienz

Castle (now a hotel) overlooking Lake Brienz.

Lauterbrunnen is a small town located in a deep valley. Tall cliffs surround Lauterbrunnen and 72 waterfalls flow over - the region has the nickname "Valley of 72 Waterfalls". We stayed at Chalet Rosa, which is a house that was converted into a bed and breakfast lodge. Very impressed with the manager who handled guest check in, prepared the breakfast, and cleaned rooms all by herself. 

Lauterbrunnen sits along the Lütschine River, where many tributaries join. The river has a pale blue color and carries glacier water and sediments from the mountains into Lake Brienz. 

Upon arriving Lauterbrunnen, we can see the Staubbach waterfall from the train station. 

Gryffenbach falls, can be seen at the train station

Staubbach falls looks vibrant when the sun is out.

Staubbach falls looks like mist flowing from the top of the cliff.

Spotted a cow near Staubbach falls.

Spissbach waterfall

Lütschine River

We visited Trummelbach Falls, largest subterranean waterfall in Europe. This waterfall is unique since you go inside the mountain to access it. There were 10 viewpoints total. As the glaciers melt, the water flows from the mountains into Trummelbach. Maximum flow rate is 20,000 liters per second. 

Murrenbach waterfall

We then headed to Murren by bus then cable cars to enjoy the views of the valley and mountains. There are additional cable cars to get to the peak of Mt Schilthorn, but since it was cloudy on top we passed.

Jungfrau from Murren

Peak of Jungfrau among the clouds

We watched people paragliding off the mountains

Zermatt, Switzerland

Good mountain views on the train ride to Zermatt. 

Zermatt sits near the foot of the famous Matterhorn mountain. The town is a car-free zone, though electric vehicles roam the streets. We stayed at Hotel Alphubel in Zermatt. Our room had a partial view of the mountains where we spotted mountain sheep. Also saw a house sitting on a cliff - I'm sure getting to and from that home would be an adventure.

The Matterhorn Museum shows the history of the mountains and life in Zermatt in the 19th century. The museum has a movie about the first attempts to climb the Matterhorn in 1865 - be prepared to shutter at the sight of the climbers' rope breaking.

Near the Matterhorn Museum is the Mountaineer's Cemetery, which is a memorial to people killed when they attempted to climb the Matterhorn and other mountains near Zermatt.

Matterhorn mountain around sunrise.

Clear day at the Matterhorn - only lasted a few hours before clouds started rolling in.

We rode a cogwheel train to the summit of Mt Gornergrat. Lots of views of the Matterhorn and surrounding region. The angle from Mt Gornergrat is ideal and is what we know from photos of the Matterhorn. 

Close up view of Matterhorn, from the train.

Matterhorn with Zermatt

Partially frozen mountain lake

Matterhorn from the summit of Mt Gornergrat. This is a screenshot from the webcam I took just before we left our hotel to board the train.

Panoramic view from the summit of Mt Gornergrat.

World's biggest chocolate Matterhorn - 4478g or 9.87 pounds

Matterhorn mountain with the train running. The clouds  resemble the shape of the mountain.

Dufourspitze, at 4634m/15,203ft this was the highest elevation mountain we saw from Mt Gornergrat.

Grentz glacier.

Monte Rosa glacier

Beautiful turquoise mountain lake between Monte Rosa and Grentz glaciers.

We rode the train down one station, Rotenboden.  Then walked to the Riffelsee for a view of Matterhorn over a lake. By now, clouds had rolled in so the the Matterhorn was partially covered.

This is the view from Riffelsee on a sunny day. 

Our actual view. We can still see the base of the Matterhorn.