A picture is worth 1,000 words (much more in Switzerland).
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Going by currency conversion, that would put a photo’s value at approximately 1 billion dollars in Switzerland.
This country is obscenely, laughably, insanely – even offensively – expensive. how do people live here? No effin’ idea. But money aside, it sure is a nice place to visit.
Here are some highlights of our journey in photos. Enjoy the much cheaper experience.
Our journey begins
We started our journey in Basel. Which, tbh, was a bit of a bore. But, it was pretty, and we enjoyed an evening there.
Not pictured: We had dinner. Twice.
From boring Basel we were off to lovely Lucern. And lovely it was!
We instantly liked the vibe in Lucern. The sun was shining and we set out to see Mt. Pilatus.
But not before we took the tram in the wrong direction.
Luckily, the wrong way was a) not far because Lucerne is so tiny, and b) it led us to one of its notable sites that we weren’t sure we would make it to: The Crying (dying) lion. As we got off the tram and crossed over to take it back the other way, it was the perfect time to take this monument in.
Bonus sites unlocked, we were ready to get back on track and head to Mount Pilatus. It did not disappoint.
The gondola took 35 minutes to get to the top, so we had lots of time to take in the scenery. Once we were at the top we roamed around and took a few pictures. There were barely any other people up there, which was pretty awesome.
Back down the mountain, we were hungry. And so, to the beerhall we went.
Spetzal FTW.
It was only our first day in Lucerne, but there was still more to see!
We also took a quick walk through the Christmas market before calling it a night, and planning to come back the next morning.
The next day, there were new mountains to climb and more things to try not to blow all our savings on.
Jay failed at the latter with his breakfast choice.
Then we were off to Gutsch Castle. We took the funicular up to the top and roamed around the property with a very pretty view.
Lucerne was super pretty, and small. We had seen most of it, and decided to grab a drink. Or a few.
Next up, it was back to the Christmas market for an outrageously priced pot of delicious cheese. The only thing more outrageous than the price of the cheese was the price of the 2 glasses of water we drank with it for $20. ACTUALLY.
We did some shopping and purchased a cottage mug, and a piece of meat that Jay has been lovingly refrigerating and caring for since.
We liked Lucerne, a lot. But, we needed to make our way to Chur for our final Swiss stop. So we did.
Chur was as expected: A small town where the train stops on the way to notable places. It was pretty, and charming, but we quickly ran out of things to do.
We filled our time with…
The highlight of our time might have been the hotel we stayed at. If IKEA were commissioned to redecorate a prison, this is what it it would look like. It was clean, cleverly appointed and had heated floors. No complaints here!
The next morning, we were up and out to the Bernini Express train ride. It’s meant to be one of the most beautiful in the world, and the views did not disappoint.
Also stunning was the cost of the 2 coffees and small water we purchased on the train. At nearly $25 this was feeling nearly normal, which confirmed that it was time to get out of this country and back to reality.
The train landed us in Tirano, where we took advantage of the lunch that had been included with our train ticket. The meal was both delicious and affordable – the first time we’ve used those words together in days!
It was time for more Italy. Andiamo!!
