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My wife and I, kind of on a whim, booked a trip to Torgon, Switzerland for the end of June. I've never been to Europe before so have some questions and am looking for any cool tips anyone has on places to go, see, hike, whatever. First, what's needed for electrical stuff (laptop, cellphone charger, etc.). Also, how's driving there? Visas?
Any help/suggestions are appreciated.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldMember
Ok, laptop and celphone charger, have a look at them. Should say something like 240-110v 50/60Hz this means you just need an plug adapter.
Cell phone coverage - as your provider
visa - if you are a US citizen you don't need one.
Driving - can you drive stick? narrow but (in switzerland) good roads. - Don't speed there are cameras everywhere and the rental company send you the bill - can be $1000's
Torgon is overlooking lake geneva, just round the corner from Evian france. in winter it is part of the portes du soleil. one of the bigest ski areas in the world - imagine summit county colorado interconected.
Summer skiing, Glacier 3000, Zermatt and Sass Fe are all day trip distance. Chamonix is nearer but you need skins to ski in summer here.
Must ride the Aiguille du Midi in Cham - no other ride like it.
Easy hiking - straight out your door. Chamonix is 1-1.30 hours from your door (via Martigny, col du forclaz and col du montets). Or Zermatt about 2.5 hours away both have some of the biggest hills this side of Tibet
http://www.viamichelin.com/
To work out where things are and how long to drive.
Beware gas costs $6 a gallon or more here.
Italy, go via Great St Bernard pass, come back via Mont Blanc Tunnel
LITT, Ripzalot and TeleAl are all nearby.
Tom
^^^ that was pretty good.
i would add:
good hiking and biking in torgon. by the end of june the lifts will be cranking, and i will be mountain biking. hike or rent a bike and tour around portes du soleil. from torgon to chatel to morgins to champoussin to champery. and back. give me a shout if you want a bike tour.
a day trip to chamonix and up the aguille du midi is a must. and if you have the time a day trip to zermatt or saas fee. both are pretty spectacular.
otherwise just kick back in the sun and enjoy the mountain air. :)
I know nothing of the place, but I would've started at the Swiss Army Knife Factory.
Laptop and cellphone charger - Check.
Cell phone coverage - Check.
visa - US citizen - Check.
Driving - can you drive stick? - Yes. Check.
Don't speed - Check
Summer skiing - arrrrgggghhh....no check. Wifey wants to sightsee, I want to hike. I'm hoping to do a skitour next year in the first part of April.
Aiguille du Midi in Cham - Check
Easy hiking - straight out your door. - Check
Chamonix - Check
Zermatt - Check
Beware gas costs $6 a gallon or more here - Check :eek:
Italy, go via Great St Bernard pass, come back via Mont Blanc Tunnel - Check
Thanks for all the information! Thanks to Ripzalot too. Ripzalot, I may take you up on the bike offer. I'll have to see how the schedule works out. We're only there 7 days and I know there's lots we want to travel around to and see. I'll pm you if I think it might work out.
If wifey wants to sightseeing... You might consider visiting Lucern, Interlaken and especially Grindelwald/Klein Scheidung (prolly misspelled that one). Checking out Eiger N-faces is really humbling.
Thanks hemas. I know Lucerne is on the list but I don't know about the other places. I'll have to check with her. I definitely want to check out Eiger but again don't know what's on her agenda. Thanks for your help.
if you enjoy hiking be sure to enjoy one sunset just across the valley at the auberge de sonchaux. you have a spectacular view over the entrance of the valais and the whole lac geneva as the sun sets down at its other end.
food and wine are simple and also not very elaborate but view and ambience is magnificent..
http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/offe...omy-17537.html
http://maps.google.de/maps?f=q&hl=de...&t=k&z=18&om=1
i will second that. hiking around there is awesome...you can take the gondy up to Jungfrau, its expensive but worth it...Quote:
Originally Posted by hemas
^^^ Jungfrau....I know that's on the list! We'll hit that for sure. Thanks!
Cool! Yeah, we'll try to hit that for sure. Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by greg
just to give you an idea of how close/far everything is:
Torgon -> Chamonix = 1:33
Torgon -> Zermatt = 2:35
Torgon -> Saas Fee = 2:28
Torgon -> Grindelwald = 2:55
Torgon -> Lucerne = 2:48
imho, i would recommend picking maybe 2 of the 5 for a 7 day stay. spend more time in the mountains relaxing and hiking rather than driving.
also:
lavey-les-bains, a hot springs wellness type place is about a half hour from torgon just off the highway. your wife will love it. it's something you could do every day after hiking.
an evening cruise on lake geneva might be nice too. start at villeneuve, cruise to lausanne and back. great views of the vineyards along the lake. stop in montreux and see the chateau chillon (old castle/fortress in the lake)
hit me with a PM if you need more details.
Fixed it for youQuote:
Originally Posted by Ripzalot
euro cars (and compact in particular) need much less gasQuote:
Originally Posted by GoldMember
Depending on your schedule, it could be cool to do the Passportes VTT while you are there. It's basically a discovery tour of the Portes du Soleil mountainbike area with food stalls, wine and beer along the route.
More info can be found here: http://www.passportesdusoleil.com/in...GE_USERLANG=en
I've never done it myself but everyone I know who've tried it says it's a blast. It will most likely be very crowded in the weekend so try for the Friday the 29th if that fits with your schedule.
i've never done it either (i hate crowds) but i've done the full circuit many times on my own. monster queues at the lift stations. it takes a while to get all those people up with all those bikes. not recommended for casual bikers. you should be a pretty competent mountain biker and have a decent bike. i would recommend at least some light armor (helmet & elbow/knee pads). it fills up fast too. i think they have sold out (3000 bikers) every year.Quote:
Originally Posted by PeterK
personally, i really don't see the point...it's much nicer when the place is empty!
I've been in the Portes du Soleil area for mountainbiking a couple of other weekends and except for the Chavannes lift in Les Gets where all the british tourists go, there has been basically no queues. But as you say, I guess this weekend is fairly different.
Helmet, leg armor and full fingered gloves and some previous mountainbiking experience would be very recommended, yes...
The point I guess is to make a nice discovery tour of the area and enjoy lots of local food and wine along the way. For crowd haters, there are for sure much better places. I'm still bummed that I can't make it this year :(
les gets used to be my go-to spot until they stop letting bikes on the mont chery chair. i can't believe that people actually push their bikes up now. morzine can be quite busy as well. but usually not more than a 10 minute wait on even a busy weekend.Quote:
Originally Posted by PeterK
i usually start at morgins or champery, then make my way over into france down to les lindarets, to avoriaz, to morzine, to les gets, and back. but now the areas of les lindarets and chatel linga have some of the best trails imho.
give me a shout the next time you go to PDS. i'm usually biking every weekend in the summer. i'll be posting in sprocket rockets.
Will do :) If you happen to be in the Geneva area with your mountainbike tonight a bit before 7pm, swing by the telecabine du Saleve (the one that crosses the Autoroute Blanche). We are a gang of people who are heading up there for some riding after work tonight.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ripzalot
GoldMember: Sorry for hijacking your thread. Back to what to do in Switzerland now...
Rippzalot and Peter, Thanks for all the beta! This is all really helpful. I ride mountain bike a lot and am a pretty decent rider, for an old man.... If the rental stuff looks like it's pretty good, that sounds great. The lake cruise sounds like a good time. I'll have to gather all the ideas up and figure it all out now. Looks like we've got plenty to do. Thanks again for all your help!
Not sure you copied this piece. You do know that the voltage will be different and you need a plug adapter for your chargers, right?Quote:
Originally Posted by Idris
Yes, I'm a boor.
not for AC->DC chargers generally Bustah. Just have to get the prongs right (no converter).
Did you see "plug adapter" check on Goldmember's list? Because then, your young eyes are much better than mine.Quote:
Originally Posted by lemon boy
Anyway: http://www.enjoy-europe.com/hte/chap11/electric.htm
^^ but a helpful boor. Yes, I know what he's talking about. I've seen them before but didn't know the lowdown on what was necessary in Switzerland.
This thread has been a great help. Thanks to all of you.
Now I see what you're saying. You're right, I didn't have them on the list above. My bad. I thought I had it on there. Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by Buster Highmen
Quote:
Originally Posted by lemon boy
All my chargers (laptop, cell, camera, even ipod) only need the two prong adapter, not a voltage adapter. Travel stores have them for under $5 a pop.
sorry buster, b/c you quoted idris I assumed (falsely) that you were taking issue with idris' list of stuff.
I'm considered even more than a boor and a fool, eh?Quote:
Originally Posted by lemon boy
beats a boar and a foal
but it doesn't beat a beer and a feel...
iceman!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by lemon boy
where is our maul wielding fawnicidal maniac?
Just got back this morning from our trip to Switzerland and, other than the above pointed comment about the weather :the_finge while we were there, it was awesome! Thanks again to all of you for your sage advice and ideas. We got a lot in in our eight days, even though it rained a little (torential fucking downpours) for six of them.
Here's just a shot of one of the better days....and it was sweet!
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_77520.jpg
My wife and I got back from Switzerland two weeks ago. The place is awesome. People are really friendly and helpful. I didn't read all the posts, so this might be a repeat:
1) The trains are really good there, you may want to think about ditching the car and just taking the trains.
2)Interlaken was awesome and worth looking at for a visit.
3)While you are there you should try canyoning. It is a ton of fun.
Yeah, you already went. My post is worthless.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldMember
Nice shot!
You got some good beta up there, but let me chime in.
Zermatt is a necessary stop just to see the Matterhorn.
Wife will love it.
The Top of Europe Train Jungfraujoch is what you want to do if you see the Eiger.
Wife will love it. (The train ride is expensive, but no one ever complains.)
Lavey-les-Bains.
Wife will love it. (It's 24 CHF for 3 hours.)
Monthey Thai Take Out, just past Placette on left, on your way home from Lavey.
Wife will love it. (Pass through Monthey to go to Lavey, and find it while small railway is running along road.)
It's green. It's excellent. It's less than 20CHF/meal.
Villeneuve to Lausanne, great idea. Could also be done by bicycle,
with lots of swimming spots to choose from along the way.
Not sure if wife bikes, but if so, wife would love it.
Evian is nice, but unless you are passing through, save yourself.
Boat rides on Lake Geneva are also nice. Would be a nice return means after bike ride. (see above).
Bike path in Rhone Valley is nice and flat. It also leads to Lavey les Bains.
If in Cham, take that gondola ride too. The Mt. Blanc will be staring at you.
As for my advice, I am not married.
to add:
If it is raining, something we are seeing too much of at the moment,
Lavey-les-Bains is the solution, at least for a day.
Aqua Park is also fun, for the children.
Pierre-Giannada in Martigny is a nice museum.
Leukerbad for more thermal baths in a bath town in the mountains.
Park Adventure in Aigle for the kids (outdoor ropes course).