My FIRST trip to Europe was amazing and today I’m sharing all the details of our week in Switzerland. Marissa, Aimee, and I are friends from high school, and we’ve traveled together plenty of times, but this was our first time going abroad as a group. Grab a cup of coffee, then dive into my Switzerland travel guide to find out where we went, what we ate and did & a few things I wish I had known before.
OUR ITINERARY: BERN, INTERLAKEN, AND ZURICH
We booked our flights to Switzerland in June last year but really didn’t plan until late 2022. We knew we wanted to see a few different spots while in the country, and we landed on Bern, Interlaken, and Zurich, each less than a two-hour train ride from the other.
We spent about a day and a half in each, and it was a great way to get a view of the outdoors and city life. We started in Bern, Switzerland’s capital city which is an exciting combo of old and new. The architecture is stunning, and it’s known for its bear park, the apartment where Einstein lived when he created the theory of relativity, and its famous clock tower.
In Bern, we explored the town, shopped, and checked out the beautiful views of the city, water, and shops. We also spent a few hours at their art museum, the Kunstmuseum Bern. We also had our latest night in Bern—after ending up at a bar, we made friends with locals and a traveling theatre group who were in town!
- Hotel City am Bahnhof: This spot was wonderful because of its central location in Bern—close enough to walk everywhere, but also just a few minutes away from the train.
Interlaken is absolutely stunning and is a popular spot for skiers and snowboarders because of its location in the Swiss Alps. In Interlaken, you’re surrounded by lakes and mountains. In Interlaken, we stayed in a hostel—Aimee’s stayed in a few before and found this one with a private room for three beds. It was by far my favorite spot we stayed! On our first night in the hostel, we had chocolate fondue and it was so fun to be surrounded by other travelers.
If you visit Interlaken, you’ll probably see tons of info about Jungfraujoch, the highest point in Europe that you can reach by tram. We considered doing that, but after hearing from a few locals that they wouldn’t do it, we decided to take a tram to Lauterbrunnen to hike to Muir. This was one of my favorite days of the trip! I don’t ski, but we rented a little sled to share between the three of us and spent a few hours sledding amongst the skiers and snowboarders. It was so fun and had the most beautiful views.
- Adventure Hostel Interlaken: Loved staying here so much. If you’re new to hostels like I am, I think this would be a great starter!
Zurich is Switzerland’s biggest city and was the last leg of our trip. In Zurich, we explored a few different churches with tons of history, and we did a walking tour to check out a bunch of chocolate shops.
We also went to an opera at the Zurich Opera House, and this was one of my favorite, unexpected activities!
- H+ Hotel Zurich: This was probably the most updated place we stayed, which was nice, but it was a bit farther from the city center which made traveling to and from more difficult.
PRO TIP: Switzerland has four official languages, but most people will speak German and English. I usually started conversations with “Sprecken sie Englisch?” aka “Do you speak English?” and people would switch to speaking English.
WHERE WE ATE + DRANK
Eating and drinking is absolutely one of my favorite parts of traveling, and this trip was no different. Switzerland is an expensive country, so keep in mind that you probably will spend quite a bit on food.
BERN
For our first real meal in Switzerland, we went with Italian, ha! This spot was delicious for a late lunch and the portions were definitely big enough to split. I ordered the strozzapreti, a creamy tomato pasta that was so full I desperately needed a nap afterward.
This was a fun coffee shop/bar that was full of people when we went in the evening. I went with a hot spiced apple and ginger drink, and it was perfect for the freezing cold.
Absolutely loved this bar. It’s tucked away downstairs in Bern’s Old Town, and we found a little room to sit in to drink beers—which were all inexpensive.
This bakery and cafe is located in the apartment building where Einstein created the theory. of relativity during his stay in Bern. The Einstein museum was closed, but the cafe was so fun to try! I went for a croissant with apricot jam which was so delicious.
This bar was so much fun and full of interesting decor. I believe we were there on a Thursday, and it wasn’t crowded, so we were able to sit and just chat before heading to our final stop for the night.
This was one of my favorite memories from the trip—both because of the drinks and because of the experience. At Kreissaal Bar, we met tons of locals and other people visiting, so we stayed for a few drinks and talked with them. When I go on trips I feel like I always have a college-esque bar night that lasts way too long, and this was such a fun one. After Kreissal Bar, we also had a stop at a bar that was about to close and a falafel spot, lol.
INTERLAKEN
We got to Interlaken later in the day thanks to our late start, and our first stop was actual Swiss cuisine. We walked to Stedthaus from our hostel and split a charcuterie plate, rosti (a traditional Swiss dish that is basically hash browns), and fries. We probably didn’t need as much as we had, but it was so fun to try Swiss cuisine finally!
After our Interlaken day sledding, we walked by a spot advertising apple strudel and immediately ducked in. We got apple strudel, apple donuts, and hot chocolate. Highly recommend the apple donuts and could have eaten a dozen more, but the strudel was cold… not sure if that’s common, but I prefer my desserts piping hot.
One of the top reasons I loved our hostel was because of our night at Fondue Villa. On Fridays and Saturdays, you can head to their dining room and order fondue. We had chocolate fondue since we had eaten dinner, and this was one of my top three favorite “meals”!
You can probably tell we didn’t stick with just Swiss or even European food on the trip, and I’m glad we didn’t! Aare is a Korean BBQ restaurant, and we split a few dishes (japchae, dumplings, and fried rice), and they were so satisfying and the perfect size for three.
ZURICH
Funny name aside, this spot was amazing and I loved the concept: they sell day-old pastries from local bakeries for a fraction of the cost! I believe there are a few concepts like this in the US, but I haven’t seen any in Alabama yet. Fingers crossed this becomes more popular here.
This was my favorite breakfast! I got the Babu Breakfast classic, which was a croissant, sauce (I chose apricot jam), cheese, and fruit. It was the perfect portion and a great combo of flavors. This was one of the only spots that had flavored lattes too, so I forked up the extra 50 cents for “vanilla aroma”. Worth it.
SANTA LUCIA
After exploring Zurich, we were basically starving, so we stopped at Santa Lucia (which might be a chain) to split a pizza. Went with the burrata pizza and I can’t recommend it enough. Marissa got the mixed greens, and while I don’t usually rave about a salad that’s only greens, whatever dressing they put on this was so good.
Our final meal in Switzerland was sushi, and this was some of the best sushi I’ve ever had. They had a huge menu with tons of vegetarian and vegan options, and we ordered so many rolls. The miso roll was probably my favorite, and don’t miss the pot stickers to start.
WHAT TO PACK FOR SWITZERLAND WINTER 2023
I’ll share a full blog post with outfit recommendations, but these are my absolute musts after this trip.
- Comfortable, weather-proof shoes. I packed three pairs of shoes because I had no idea what to wear, but I only wore one the whole time. My OTBT sneakers were just as perfect for walking miles a day in Zurich as they were for sledding in the snow in Interlaken. They’re incredibly comfortable but have a one-inch lift which keeps you away from rain/snow. They also were cute enough to feel like they were an actual part of my outfit! The ones I have are a few years old, but they have plenty of other options to check out.
- Pea coat. You’ll see tons of puffy jackets and trench coats, but pea coats felt the most sophisticated and in my opinion, less bulky. I wore a huge puffer for Interlaken because it was about 24, but in Bern and Zurich I wore my camel jacket.
- Scarves + beanies. I only brought one beanie and I regretted it! You will want to bundle up and cover your neck and head. Plus, scarves and beanies are pretty much the only way to add some color to most outfits, ha!
MY RECOMMENDATIONS: SWITZERLAND TRAVEL GUIDE
Now that I’ve been to Switzerland once, there are a few things I’d do differently!
I would 100% go to Lauterbrunnen in Interlaken again, especially in the winter. It was beautiful with some of the best views I’ve ever seen and so much fun even though I don’t ski or snowboard.
I probably wouldn’t do both Bern and Zurich again—they were tons of fun, but there’s so much more of Switzerland I’d choose to see again instead of seeing those a second time.
We traveled every other day, and I wouldn’t do that again. I loved it this time and thought it gave us the perfect blend of city and leisure, with the added bonus of a few guaranteed hours of rest. With all that said, it added quite a bit of time dedicated just to travel, and we had a few train mishaps that added even more time to our trips!
I don’t know if I’ll go to Switzerland again just because there are so many other spots I want to visit, but I loved being there. This trip has 100% itched my travel bug, and now I’m counting down to my next time abroad.
Being surrounded by so many new people and experiences was wonderful. Don’t be surprised if you see me searching for ways to become an ex-pat and live somewhere else because I never want this feeling to end.
Thanks for reading, Cecilia
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2 Comments
My first meal in Switzerland was at hotel Eiger! I stayed about a block away for my first four nights.
It was such a beautiful spot! I’d love to go back to Lauterbrunnen and stay even closer to everything, especially when it’s warmer.