Switzerland

Dear Tom and Jenny,

Switzerland is a country known as a vacation destination—and for good reason! The resorts here are unparalleled, and the laidback people and delicious food make for a great getaway. However, I know that you seek more from your travel than a fun escape. From our conversations, I know that you two desire to experience the world at its most raw, authentic, and inspiring. With this in mind, I have crafted a journey for you that scales great mountain heights, pauses to reflect on underappreciated Alpine towns, all the while including a smattering here and there of classic Swiss vacation repose.

Day 1: Arrival

Start your week-long journey at the medieval fortress town of Bellinzona. Most tourists simply hurry through, but you will have time to get a sense of this Alpine gateway town’s rich, medieval heritage as you explore the three citadels, towering over the town, as if watching over it—Castelgrande, Castello di Montebello and Castello di Sasso Corbaro. The traveler of old approaching from the South saw Bellinzona as the gateway to the Alps, while for those approaching from the North, it was gateway to Italy.

After lunch, continue on to Andermatt, where you will board the Glacier Express to Zermatt. This legendary journey, which many seasoned travelers consider one of the most astonishing train rides in the world, is a leisurely, unhurried journey through the Alpine heartland of Switzerland, surrounded by picturesque pastures, valleys and mountain forests of untouched beauty, also offering views of the town and Lake Lucerne.

When you disembark in Zermatt, a horse carriage will take you to your hotel, where you may continue to enjoy full views of the Matterhorn or visit the village’s lively après-ski culture. If you take the latter option, enjoy an evening stroll down the Bahnhofstrasse, with its boutique shops and restaurants, as you watch night fall over the Matterhorn.

Day 2: Skiers’ paradise

Jonas, our expert guide, will meet you this morning for a tour of Zermatt. This car-free, world-class ski resort at the foot of the Matterhorn, 1,620 meters above sea level, offers magnificent mountain and glacier scenery and a thriving scene.

Jonas will take you to Gornergrat for lunch hiking. There, you will enjoy an easy, flat walk from Riffelalp to Grünsee, and then challenge yourself on the more complicated Gorner Glacier. From there, you will take the trail to Hohtälli. You can choose from the many paths from Gornergrat back to Zermatt– such as the steep descent to Grünsee via the gully, or the gentler alternative via Rotenboden and Riffelberg.

I have planned a special treat for you, based on our recent chat: Dinner at the Restaurant Blatten. It can only be reached on foot, after a 45-minute hike. It’s a truly unique atmosphere, dining exclusively with others interested in a culinary experience far, far off the beaten track. I trust it will suit your adventurous palate.

Day 3: Alpine worlds

This morning, you will arrive in Täsch, where Jonas will take you on a sightseeing drive to Interlaken through the numerous mountain crossroads. You will go deep into the mountains, experiencing places of frosty solitude, little Alpine worlds all their own, almost lost in eternal ice and snow.

One can’t help but marvel at the depth of contrast in this region– the untamed wilderness of the highest Alps reaches right down to the edge of farm and orchard, where the stubborn, intractable will of the Swiss over countless generations has transformed stony ground into fertile fields. Fields of rye grow next to melting snow-banks, and vineyards nestle beside stone terraces. Here, you begin to truly experience the wonder that is the Valais Canton. Few tourists take time for it, but I want to be sure you don’t miss it.

After lunch, you will ascend to Goppenstein and cross the Alps via the Lötschberg Tunnel to the North into Bernese Oberland to Kandersteg for a two-hour drive like no other. For part of the journey, your car will be placed on a special train, while you remain seated in the car with full views of the panoramas all around you.

Then, you will go to the Blausee Nature Park, sometimes called “the bijoux of the Bernese Alps.” This deep blue lake with its crystal clear water is the centerpiece of a nearly 20-hectare nature park with a unique Alpine trout breeding farm. Relax on a boat trip on the dreamy-blue lake.

When you’re ready, you will continue to Spiez, which lies on Lake Thun. You will follow the shores of Lake Thun, passing the lovely villages of Hilterfingen and Oberhofen, which offer plenty of scenery, along with castles, churches, parks, and snow-covered mountain caps.

Upon your arrival at Interlaken, you will be accommodated in the Grand Hotel Victoria Jungfrau. Built in 1864, it was instrumental in turning Interlaken into one of the world’s most coveted destinations for those seeking rest and repose.

Day 4: The Bernese Alps

Today, Jonas will accompany you on a day-long tour of the Jungfraujoch mountains. Because you both love valleys, you will embark on an excursion to the heart of the Bernese Alps, taking in the green valleys, the glistening, eternal snowfields and glaciers encircling the mighty Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau peaks.

Continue on to the Waterfall Valley of Lauterbrunnen to see the cascading falls of Staubbach, and take the train to Jungfraujoch, through the four-mile tunnel cut through the rock of the Eiger. You will arrive at Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe, to see the Ice Palace and the Sphinx Terraces by a cable car lift, giving you absolutely breathtaking views of the Aletsch Glacier.

You will visit the mountaineering village of Grindelwald, the winter sports and mountaineering capital of the region, then return to Interlaken. Per our conversation, I have arranged a private helicopter tour of the glacier.

Day 5: Ballenberg Museum

Today Jonas will take you to Bernese Oberland, starting with a visit the Trümmelbach waterfalls where, from a specially constructed elevator, you will see ten illuminated glacier waterfalls inside the mountain. These are, in fact, the only accessible glacier waterfalls in Europe.

Then you will visit the picture-book village of Brienz, the center of the Swiss woodcarving tradition. Craftsmen will explain the fascinating history of this trade to you amidst Brienz’s traditionally Swiss wooden farmhouses with geraniums in the windows.

You will then have plenty of time for the Ballenberg Museum, an open-air museum of genuine farmhouses dating back 300 years, showing how the hardy Swiss farming families lived. Inside the houses, you will see the traditional furniture, the mountain kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms, and the utensils for baking bread, cheese-making, weaving, spinning, wood-carving and even coal mining. Practitioners of these traditional trades will demonstrate their craft for you.

Day 6: An Alpine family farm

This morning you will go to Lungern, a picturesque farm village between Lucerne and Interlaken. Either Alois Ming or his son will take you on an adventurous drive up to their family dairy farm at the top of the alp, where you will meet the rest of the Ming family, who live traditionally with no electricity or indoor running water.

After the Swiss welcome with fresh warm milk, you will help the Mings make Swiss cheese on an open fire according to age-old methods. You will then be treated to an open fire preparation of the customary Aelplermagronen—a delicious dish of onions, potatoes, pasta, cheese and cream, topped off with apple cream, cider and Swiss coffee schnapps, the local brandy mixed with coffee so light “you should be able to read a newspaper” through it.

You will enjoy spending the rest of the day in the storybook town of Lucerne, on the iconic lake. Walk the famous wood-covered bridges such as the Chapel Bridge and the Dance of Death Bridge. Continue to the Lion Monument, carved out of a rock in memory of the Swiss Guards who defended the palace during the French Revolution.

As your journey draws to a close you will continue to Zurich via the scenic Albis Pass where you will spend the night.

Day 7: Departure

After a wonderful week in lush valleys and winter wonderlands, you will depart for home in the morning, restored by time spent in rejuvenating Alpine exploration.

Tom and Jenny, it has been a pleasure planning this Alpine adventure for you. Do not hesitate to reach out to me at any point, should the need arise.