Germany & Switzerland

REVIEW FROM KRIS:

We stayed at several different hotels during our tour. There were only two that I would give low marks.

Zurich: The hotel itself was fine, clean rooms, pool, workout room, etc. But the location was horrible. Not knowing the area, it appeared to be in a not very good part of town. There wasn’t anything within walking distance to see or do. We found one little café and got horrible service at a very high price.

Lausanne: The hotel was very very modern. We went to Europe to experience the “Old” Europe, and this hotel was very disappointing. It was in a big city. The streets were very confusing to navigate. We had horrible service in the hotel restaurant (waited an hour for a dish of ice cream and never got it, we ended up just walking out without it).

All of our other hotels were great. They were very charming and old world. The views from the rooms were incredible; the rooms were very cute and cozy. The staff was accommodating. The locations were great.

Did you explore any of the surrounding area/towns on your own? If so, please explain how (rented car, bus, taxi), where did you go, what did you do and would you recommend other travelers do this?

We took a taxi from the Train station to the hotel in Zurich. This was very expensive. We found out that there is a tram that runs very close to the hotel. We took the tram back to the train station at the end of our tour, this worked out perfectly.

We were on our own the second week of our vacation. My daughter lives in Stuttgart Germany and has become familiar with the public transportation system. It was very easy to figure out and very inexpensive. I would highly recommend the public transportation system if at all possible.

We also rented a car for a trip we took to Triberg. This worked out well also since the car had a built in navigation system and it gave us turn by turn directions that got us exactly where we needed to go and home again without any difficulties.

What is the ONE THING, in your opinion, that everyone traveling to this destination should do/see?

The trip to the Gornergrat (spelling??). That was simply amazing and breathtaking.

Over-All Satisfaction

Please rate your over-all vacation experience (Scale of 1 – 5… 5 being the best, 1 being the worst), and explain why:

4 - The experience was amazing, the tour guide and driver were fun. Christian was so knowledgeable and kept everyone on track. Sometimes he gave a little too much information! I loved that they took care of our luggage and that breakfast was included every morning.

The only reason it rates a 4 instead of a 5 is that some of the stops seemed too rushed. When we went to the Chocolate Factory, there was hardly any time at all to shop. I felt like I didn’t get what I wanted and there were way too many people there at one time. Also, at some of the stops we had to choose between eating lunch and seeing some sights, we didn’t have time to do both.

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REVIEW FROM GAYLE:

Hotel/Resort Accommodations

Most of the hotels had rooms that, although they might have been a bit small, were very charming which is what we were looking for. The starting and ending hotel in Zurich was very ordinary - A European version of Holiday Inn – and our least favorite.

Optional Sight-seeing Tours

Tour Company: Cosmos

How did you find out about their tours? Announced as part of the original tour

Where did you go and what did you do? Took a train from Zermott to Gornergratt, Switzerland to view the Matterhorn. Had group photo and individual photos with a St. Bernard taken by professional photographer.

Would you recommend this tour company/tour to others? Yes

Did you explore any of the surrounding area/towns on your own? If so, please explain how (rented car, bus, taxi), where did you go, what did you do and would you recommend other travelers do this? On the Switzerland tour through Cosmos we couldn’t travel on our own, however, if part of the group went on an additional excursion, we would stay behind and explore the town on foot.

In Germany, however, we mostly used the bus and trains to travel throughout Stuttgart and surrounding communities. We enjoyed walking through a vineyard, shopping and the Beer Fest in Stuttgart; taking a mineral bath and eating Döners in Bad Canstatt; and walking through more gardens in Perkins Park. We rented a car and drove to Ludwisberg to tour the palace and gardens and received a personal guided tour (long story). We also drove to Triberg which is in the Black Forest where we saw many, many cuckoo clocks and Germany’s tallest water fall.

What is the ONE THING, in your opinion, that everyone traveling to this destination should do/see?

Appenzell, Switzerland is the quintessential Swiss town. Farms dotting the mountain side, painted buildings, and flowerboxes on every building - even the barns. This was one of the first stops on the Switzerland tour and will stay in my memory forever. It was exactly how I pictured Switzerland to be and I was not disappointed.

Over-All Satisfaction

Please rate your over-all vacation experience (Scale of 1 – 5… 5 being the best, 1 being the worst), and explain why:

Absolutely a 5! It far exceeded any expectations I had. The tour company was very organized and showed us wonderful sites in Switzerland.