Travelfood

If Switzerland would not be so ridiculously expensive, the country would probably be one of the best in the world. Maybe the price level is what prevents the whole world from moving to the beautiful alpine country. Timetables work and the air is clean, the scenery is so beautiful that you could just stare at all the houses and mountains for ages and the food tastes good. The cities are built so beautifully that they match the surrounding natural beauty.

Even if you might know some German, you cannot be sure that you cope with your language skills in the German-speaking regions, because the Swiss-German dialect is so strong that you might not make sense of it. In the French-speaking regions you manage well in French and in the southernmost Italian-speaking Lugano even the scenery is similar to the one in northern Italy. German-speaking Zurich, Basel and Lucerne are beautiful but the smaller towns like Valais, Brig, Andermatt and Sion are far more stunning. The Alps are nevertheless what makes Switzerland unique and the further up you go by train, the more advantageous it is to start the Alpine trek from there.

In Switzerland you probably want to travel by train from one place to another. The Swisspass train ticket is tied to the time you want to use it for limitless travel and it is certainly worth its price. I myself studied French in Lausanne for a month and during that time I found lots of ways to make use of bargains, found the same products cheaper outside tourist centers and I also found ways to eat Swiss delicacies cheaper than in expensive Swiss restaurants.

Swiss cheese is the foundation for most of the Alpine delicacies and you just have to taste them. Ordering fondue costs a lot (and most often the single traveler cannot even order this dish for a minimum of two persons), but it is worth the money. Sometimes it might be more inexpensive to order raclette, which is fried cheese instead of cheese from a pan (fondue). From small kiosks at the railway stations you can also buy belly-filling rösti cakes, which is grated, fried potato for a small price. The food is heavy, but after a long alpine trek you have certainly deserved your calories!

Europe, food, Switzerland, travel, travel experiences