Let me tell you about my favorite village in Switzerland.
No, my favorite village in Europe.
Wait, no. My favorite village in the world.
I take this phrase in the highest regard, because Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, is the kind of place you have to see to believe. I’ve been twice, and will go every single time I am in Switzerland.
In this one, I’m going to convince you to do the same.
When we announced that two-weeks of our year and a half long trip around the world were going to be spent in the country of Switzerland, we got a lot of interesting feedback.
Of course, most of it was about the price tag. We knew Switzerland was going to be one of the largest budget items of the itinerary and was something we planned for in advance to accommodate.
But after researching many of the options for saving money in the country, from cooking our own meals to staying in private rooms in apartments, one stood out as an even better cost saver: the Swiss Pass.
Much like other rail passes, we abused our rail pass extensively while in Switzerland. In doing so we saved quite an impressive amount of money while also having the opportunity to try out more big-ticket items that we would have otherwise missed. But is the rail pass right for you on your next trip to the country?
Let’s find out.
Disclaimer: We received the Swiss Rail Pass complimentary from the tourist board during our stay; however, we have a full analysis of costs included in this post from our trip in 2013.
In many cases the highlight of a city is often the unknown experience that you happen to stumble upon after arriving. Something that, while isn’t the main draw to the city, is one you thoroughly enjoyed experiencing after having planned your visit for other reasons. Our stay in Zurich had one of these appear, and it was only later that we found out how lucky we were for it to happen.
The Zurich Festival (Zuri Fascht) is one of the largest celebrations the city of Zurich hosts and is a 3-day event that happens once every three years. We arrived in Zurich on the first day of the festival and also happened to only be staying for three days. Coincidence? I’m starting to believe in those less and less as this year-and-a-half long trip goes on.
While exploring Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland we came across an interesting sign. Not one for a truly Swiss experience like an alphorn concert or cheese making class, but one dedicated to the world of movies.
It simply said “Bond World 007 – Grand Public Opening June 29th.” We looked at our watches and realized that it was, in fact, June 29th.
One glance at each other and we knew, fate was calling.