Paris and Switzerland, May 27 - June 7, 2012.

My college roommate wanted to take his family to visit London and Paris, and asked us to join them.  We were not really in the mood of visiting London’s traditional sites, so we opted to join them in Paris, and then Anne and I would continue on to Switzerland for a few days.  She had visited Switzerland with her family as a teenager, and this would be my first trip.

5/27/2012 Sunday.  Ellie took us to the airport.  Flight to IAD slightly delayed due to late incoming aircraft.  Flight to CDG delayed by 1.5 hours due to thunderstorm in area and some trouble with luggage loading.  My original seat was reassigned to someone else, which made me quite unhappy – I got assigned to a seat with limited recline.  Gate agent finally just gave me seat 10D even though she couldn’t get the system to issue a boarding pass.  Plane had a few empty seats, but was called full.  I suspect it had something to do with weight limits for this 757 and the distance it has to travel.  Trip took 7 ½ hours, so we got to CDG at about 1 pm.  Didn’t get much sleep.

Took RER to Gare du Nord.  The one time I was cheated as a tourist was at Gare du Nord; my impression wasn’t improved this time as there were tons of people milling around.  Taxi driver didn’t know the way to the hotel even though it was very close.  I refused to pay the full fare since he made numerous detours, which he accepted.  Not off to a good start.

Met up with the Hui’s (they have 4 people) and walked up to the Sacre-Coeur Basilica.  Has a nice view of the city, although the view isn’t really spectacular.  We could see the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame in the distance.  There were lots of shops from this Perigold region, selling products ranging from foie gras to honey.  Surprisingly busy for a Monday afternoon.

Dinner at Regis Restaurant next to hotel.  No one wanted to go out and walk some more afterwards, and I went to bed at 10:45 pm or so.  Woke up at 4 am, got another hour or so of sleep before I finally got up.

Sacre-Coeur Basilica.

 Shops set up outside Sacre-Coeur Basilica.

 View of Notre Dame from Sacre-Coeur.

Another view of Paris from Basilica.

Our hotel.

Hotel: Adagio Apartment Hotel Montmartre (4 nights).

5/29/2012 Tuesday.  Morning visit to Arc de Triophe where we climbed another 300 steps or so to reach the top; the view of Paris was quite nice, though.  Paris is basically a city of low buildings with a few exceptions: the La Defense area, Sacre Coeur, Eiffel Tower, several churches (including Notre Dame), and several large buildings (such as The Louvre and Opera Garnier).  One could argue the view from any of the high points would look suspiciously like any other view.

 Walk up the Arc de Triophe.

 View of La Defense area from Arc de Triophe.

Kin's family on roof of Arc de Triophe.

Next stop was Musee d’Orsay which has a large collection of Impressionist work.  Our Museum Pass gave us some level of priority so the wait wasn’t that bad, the regular line was quite long.  Went back to the hotel at about 5 pm, rested a bit before going to Opera Bastille for a performance of Barber of Seville.  Stopped by Chicken Spot to have a simple dinner first.  The opera house is quite new, but the entrance to it from the metro was occupied by quite a few (over 10) homeless youths.

 View of The Louvre from Musee d'Orsay.

 View of Sacre-Coeur from d'Orsay.

 The Musee d'Orsay used to be a train station.

 Opera Bastille.

Curtain call at Barber of Seville, Opera Bastille.

The Hui’s went to Eiffel Tower and didn’t get back until about midnight.  One of the two elevators wasn’t working, so it was a two hour wait before they could get on.  They said it was worth it, though.

5/30/2012 Wednesday.  Due to our late evening last night, we didn’t get started until about 10 am.  We took the train to Versailles and spent most of the day there.  It is still spectacular even on a second visit.  However, only the Grand Apartments and the Dauphin Apartments were open, so we didn’t get to see too much of the interior.  We walked among the gardens for a couple of hours.  My last visit (with my brother) was in the winter and no one was out and about – it actually snowed on our day of visit.  Dinner at Restaurant E’tracte right across the street from the hotel, run by husband and wife team.  Food reasonably good, but place was very quiet.

 Outside Versailles.

 Gilded gates, Versailles.

 Hall of Mirrors, Versailles.

A typical room in Versailles.  This one actually is relatively simple.

A nice long corridor, Versailles.

 Angelina Cafe, Versailles.

Simple and relatively inexpensive lunch at Angelina Cafe.

 Versailles gardens have many pools, fountains, and statues.

 This reminds me of many Monet paintings,

 and this one Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte.  Painting is at Art Institute of Chicago.

 Tree-lined footpath, Versailles.

 Carefully designed and maintained gardens at the Versailles.

Saturn Fountain, one of many in Versailles.

Entr'acte Restaurant across the street from out hotel.

On my way over to Versailles, a couple of pickpockets tried to steal from me while we were riding the train.  While they were unsuccessful, I was shocked at how blatant they were (there were six of us, and evidently they still thought they could succeed), and the trains weren’t all that crowded.  Together with my opera experience (where a couple of people decided they had the right to any opens seats they saw), this has left a rather bad taste in my mouth.  I was willing to reassess the French people this visit - last time I visited I was scammed by someone trying to help me with train ticket purchase, and we saw a couple of young kids try to steal from an elderly woman on the train – but that is not going to happen.

5/31/2012 Thursday.  Morning visit to the Louvre turned out to take most of the day.  Saw (actually revisited) most of the sites highlighted in the museum’s brochure.  Lunch at the Louvre cafeteria, reasonably priced items were available.  We then took the metro to the Opera station for a quick look at the Garnier building, and then walked to Pierre Herme to buy the jam Jessica wanted.  After a quick stop at Lafayette Galleria with its large dome, we got to Notre Dame.  Inside was quite enormous.

 To me, the I M Pei addition in this courtyard simply draws too much attention to itself.

 It makes for a great background for a group picture, though.

 The Louvre is as impressive for its architecture as for its collection.

 Atrium inside the Louvre.

 The obligatory photo in front of Mona Lisa.

And also Venus de Milo.

 Winged Victory of Samothrace.

Michelangelo's The Dying Slave.

Psyche Revived by the Kiss of Love by Antonio Canova.

 An extensive collection of Egypian artifacts.

 Striking the same pose.

 The Lacemaker by Vermeer.

 Blatant counterfeiter next to Young Man Sitting by the Sea, by Flandrin.

Notre Dame. 

Famous stained glass window at Notre Dame.

Stained glass dome inside Galeries Lafayette Hausmann.

Dinner locally at Montmartre Relais Gaston.

6/1/2012 Friday.  Travel day.  The Hui’s and we share a van to the airport.  They found out their flight was cancelled, good thing they arrived early enough to be rebooked on a 10 am flight (original flight to leave at 12:30 pm); still, they had to literally run to catch it.  We had a tight connection but made it even though our Paris to Frankfurt flight was delayed.  Zurich Airport is modern looking, and is right next to the train station.  The airport seems large, but there weren’t that many planes when we landed.  Bought an 8-day Swiss Pass (even though we are there for only 7 days, and will just need to get from Zurich to the Airport on the last day) and headed to Interlaken.  Checked into hotel with view of the Jungfrau.  Walked around town in the evening.  Dinner at Migros, a supermarket cafeteria.

 On the way to Interlaken from Zurich.

 View of Jungfrau from our hotel - Interlaken Best Western Berenhof.

 View of street from our hotel room.

One of the channels connecting Lake Thun and Lake Brienz.

Hotel (3 nights): Interlaken Best Western Berenhof.

6/2/2012 Saturday.  Breakfast at hotel.  Train to Lauterbrunnern, stopped for ½ hour, then to Kleine Scheidegg, also stopped ½ hour, then to Jungfraujoch.  Last two legs were on cogged railways, with the trip from KS to JFJ being inside a tunnel.  Walked around JFJ for about 3 hours, visited the Sphinx, Ice Palace, The Plateau, and The Alphine Sensation.  While outside, we got a good view of the Jungfrau, Monch, and Eiger (of Eiger Sanction fame).  The Ice Palace is lined with ice and contains several ice sculptures.  Took the 4 pm train down to Kleine Scheidegg, then onto Grindelwald.  Per Rick Steve’s Guidebook this is an expensive resort city, it didn’t feel like that at all.  On the other hand, there was nothing spectacular about it, so we headed back to Interlaken.  Had dinner at a neighborhood place called Bruno’s Pizza, but served other food.  Things are generally quite expensive, a small McDonald’s cone costs CHF 2, a Ma Po Tofu dish is CHF 18.

Lauterbrunnen in the Valley of the 72 Waterfalls.

 Gondola going up the mountain, Lauterbrunnen.  The structures on the mountains are snow fences.

 Another view of Lauterbrunnen.

 At an intermediary train station.

 Eigerwand and Eismeer are two stops along the Kleine Scheidegg - Jungfraujoch railway.  Both are inside the Eiger, the mountain made famous by the Clinton Easton Thriller Eiger Sanction.

 Eismeer Station at 3160 m (10368 ft).

 Elevation at 11 333 ft.

 Guyer Zeller is the person who built the railroad.

 Self-service restaurant in Jungfraujoch.

 Said restaurant in the background.  Quite a job to build it.

 A huge glacier as viewed from Jungfraujoch.

 In case there is any doubt.

 The Monk (Monch) in profile.

 Crows don't mind the elevation or the cold.

 The Jungfrau.

 Everything is the "highest."  Including this Karst cave.

 The Ice Palace.

 Back to the valley.

 Sections of the railway are covered to protect them from avalanches.

 Cows do wear cowbells here.  I wonder why they are necessary.

6/3/2012 Sunday.  There are still many places that observe Sunday closings in town, which surprised me a little as there is little evidence of much religion going on.  In any case, we got up a bit late (around 8:30 am for me) and had a late breakfast.  Our main aim today is to get to Schilthorn, a mountain at over 9000 feet that supposedly has the best view of Jungfrau, Monch, and Eiger; weather permitting, that is.  We also got to try the different modes of transportation on our way over and back, and visited a couple of the villages.  The way over was: train to Lauterbrunnen, cable car to Grutschalp, train to Murren, walk to other end of town (15 minutes or so) to catch another cable car to Schilthorn.  On the way back we took the cable car back to Murren, then connected to Gimmelwald, and then to Stechelberg bus station to catch a bus back to Lauterbrunnen.  Today, alas, was mostly overcast.  It eventually started to rain, sometimes quite heavily when we got back into town.  Thus we had clouds to contend with during the entire trip.  From what we could tell, the views of the three peaks would have been great, and one could see other mountains in the range also.  As it was, we did see them, every now and then, and there was not this panoramic view we enjoyed yesterday.  The small towns we passed by are nice, but not any place I would want to linger unless I am in a hiking mood – there the steep paths make a strong deterrent.  Rick Steves writes glowingly of Gimmelwald, including the Schwarzemonch (Black Monk) that is just across the valley from it.  I don’t find it as compelling.

 View of Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau from town of Murren.

 Cable car station Birg along Murren to Schilthorn route.

 It sits on a mountaintop. How did they build this?

 Schilthorn Cable Car station at 2970m (10000ft).

 A ski run in the James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Service was filmed here.

 No sales clerk at this store in Grimmelwald.

 Cable cars, cable cars, ...

 Another view of the three: Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau.

 Eiger and Monch.

 Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau.

 Valley of 72 Waterfalls as seen from cable car.

 There are some nice walking trails.

 A hostel in Gimmelwald.

We got back early enough (around 4 pm) to grab something to eat and then attend a local concert of Verdi and Rossini.  It was 6:30 pm or so when we were basically done for the day.

A concert at Schlosskirche Interlaken.

6/4/2012 Monday.  We left our luggage with the hotel and tried to catch a cruise on Lake Brienz this morning.  Because of my confusion we ending up taking the boat from Interlaken East to Brienz and then the train back (our original plan was to do the reverse.)  The water of the lake was cloudy, had a slight grayish blue tint to it, probably a result of the glacier melt.  Very few other boats were out and about, it was still very cold after all; but I can picture this as being a nice place to do boating.

 Boarding the boat at Interlaken East.

 The Swiss are not above garishness, as evidenced by this colorful boat.

 Here the colors are just lovely.

 Giessbach See and Grand Hotel.

One of many waterfalls around Lake Brienz.

Getting off the cruise at Brienz to catch a train back to Interlaken.

After reclaiming our luggage, we caught the 1 pm train from Interlaken West to Zermatt, via transfers at Visp and Brig.  The transfers were quite easy, you just had to stay awake to hear the announcements.

After checking in at our hotel, which is modern in comparison to what we have seen so far, we decided to take the train to Gornergrat (as much as 10210 ft above sea level), a 35-minute ride.  There is not much at the station, except for a good view of Matterhorn and Mt. Rosa (which is actually taller).  On a day the clouds don’t interfere, that is.  Today was mostly sunny, but the clouds all managed to hang around the peaks.  We stayed there for about an hour, at the end we did catch glimpses of the top of the mountains.  We strolled in town for a bit after dinner, and it was much less cloudy and Matterhorn looked absolutely gorgeous.

Train to Zermatt.

Town of Zermatt.

 First glimpse of Matterhorn on our way to Gornergrat.

 Gornergrat station at 3112 m.

 A huge glacier as seen from Gornergrat.  The picture doesn't begin to capture the size.

 These two mountains Nordend and Dufourspitze (at 4612m and 4638m) are taller than the Matterhorn.  They are part of the Monte Rosa Massif.  (I know this from a plaque in the viewing area.)

 The Matterhorn in the background.  It was shrouded by clouds.

The skies cleared up during our trip back to town.

 Town of Zermatt.  No cars.

 These used to be cheese houses.  The rocks at the base are to stop rats from climbing in.  I wonder what they are used for nowadays.

View of Matterhorn from edge of town.

We have been having dinners at cafeterias, today we had a sit down.  Neither Anne (who had the sausage and Rosti) nor I (chicken in local sauce) was particularly impressed with Swiss food so far.

Hotel: Garni Testa Grigia, Zermatt.

6/5/2012 Tuesday.  Checked out of hotel at about 10:30 am, left luggage in storage, and walked (about 20 minutes) to lift station for ride up to Furi and then to Trockener Steg (elevation 9642 ft).  Great view of the Matterhorn and surrounding area.  Stayed there for about an hour before heading down, timing was such that we were not going to make the 1:39 pm train to Zurich, so we stopped by a small eatery and had their roast chicken, which was quite tasty.  They ran out though, so all I had was a breast portion.

 On our way to the lift station.

 On the lift.

 Furi station.

 Trockener Steg (2939m, 9642 ft).

And my GPS agrees.

Train from Zermatt to Zurich took about 3 hours, with only one change, and with Bern to Zurich segment a non-stop one.  Pretty crowded as we caught the rush hour.  Stayed around the train station and ate at a Chinese take-out place.  Two simple dishes and one soup totaled CHF 37.  Taxi from train station to hotel also not cheap at CHF 25 (a 10 or so minute ride).  Renaissance Tower Hotel is in the Technopark, so is quiet at night.  After settling down, we took the tram out to the train station, walked for a bit, and came back to the hotel.

Hotel: Renaissance Zurich Tower Hotel (2 nights).

6/6/2012 Wednesday.  First we stopped by to see the murals painted by Giacometti at the Zurich police station by the Limmat River.  I don’t see why it is written up in any guide book at all – unless there is some historical significance to it.   If there is Top 10 List for Zurich, I am quite sure this is not on it.  Next we took the tram to the Art Gallery (Kunsthaus) which doesn’t accept the Swiss Pass but is free on Wednesdays.  I didn’t find the huge crowds I expected there.  The collection of Giacometti is substantial (father Giovanni and sons Alberto & Diego); and there are quite a few impressionist paintings, with a few Picassos, Miros, and Mondrians thrown in for good measure.  I am not sure how the works are organized, though: in the middle of a bunch of medieval paintings you would see a photograph with (as far as I could tell) an unrelated subject.  Overall it was a good experience.  We next stopped by the piers trying to catch a short ferry ride on the river.  It was about 2:25 pm when we go there, and the boats would leave at 2:30.  A quick enquiry at the ticket window had us rush towards what I thought was a 60-minute ride.  When the boat kept going south (on Lake Zurich) we began to wonder.  Turns out it was going to be 2 hours each way.  While we were okay on time, we didn’t really want to spend all that time on the Lake, even though we like boating.  The staff was helpful in pointing out where we could get off to catch a train back into town, and we did so at Wadenswil, getting back at around 4:30 pm.

 Zurich.

 This tram station outside the main train station is quite busy.

 Zurich Art Museum.

 We cut short our cruise on Lake Zurich and caught a train back into town.

After resting for a bit at the hotel, we took the tram for one stop to eat at New Point Kebab, and then continued on to Tonhalle for a performance by Tonhalle Orchestra.  It was about 10 pm when we got back to the hotel.

Tonhalle, Zurich.  Brahms was at its opening concert.

Inside of Tonhalle.

By now we are quite adept at the Swiss transportation system.  Even though we didn’t save a lot of money by buying the Swiss Pass, we did save quite a bit of time as we could just jump onto anything (except mountain transport) that came along.  The tram system – like others I know – is mostly an honor system where no one checks your tickets.

6/7/2012 Thursday.  Woke up at around 6 am to get ready for taxi ride to train station at 7 am.  If we didn’t have the Swiss Pass, a taxi ride to the airport would cost about the same as taxi + train.  In any case, traffic was surprisingly busy at this time of day, but we got to the airport by 7:30 am.  It seems every other airline uses automatic check-in, except for United (and probably other US airlines.)  It was still quite easy.  Ate breakfast at Marche airside, and spent my last CHF on a Swatch watch – now I have to find a young person to give it to.  I am typing this on UA979 ZRH-EWR; the plane is about 90% full.  And the intercontinental terminal is quite crowded.

We landed 45 minutes early, but still missed the 1:10 pm train back to South Amboy.  And for this time of day there is only one train each hour.  All said and done, we got home at about 3 pm.