DRIVING IN SWITZERLAND

        I don't drive in Switzerland--or anywhere else. I'd probably leave my driver's license at home when touring Switzerland even if I were a motorist. Over the past 150 years, the Swiss have spent billions of francs on the world's finest network of trains, buses, boats, funiculars, aerial cablecars, trams, and chairlifts. You can go nearly anywhere in Switzerland with a Swiss Pass in your pocket and the Swiss Official Timetable in your tote bag. So why view the countryside through a bug-splattered windshield like a tourist in California, New Jersey, or Texas?

Still, if you must drive, I won't throw myself in front of your car or caravan. Instead, I'll concede defeat gracefully and point you to articles and other Web resources by people who are more willing than I am to wrestle with a mechanical beast.

Here are three comments about Swiss driving that my husband (the driver in the family) asked me to pass along:

1) Watch out for speed traps, including radar guns or cameras mounted on posts.

2) Consider a European rail/drive pass (available from our partner, Rail Europe).

3) If you rent a European car, don't count on cup holders.

Also, if you rent a car in Switzerland and plan to travel outside the country, heed this warning from Peter Anich of the Austrian National Tourist Office:

A new law regarding rental cars outside the European Union has been in effect since August 5, 1999: if you rent a car in a country that does not belong to the European Union, such as Switzerland, you are only permitted to drive it for eight days in any EU country. If you stay longer, you must leave the car at a branch of the rental agency. They will hold it and return it to you when you depart for the non-EU country in which it was rented.

If you inform the rental agency of a non-EU country in advance that you need a car longer than eight days in an EU country, they will try their best to rent you a car that is registered in an EU country which will permit you to drive it indefinitely in any EU country.

Camping in Switzerland

      When you ask humans about Switzerland, they allocution about banks, money, neutrality and the casual change clock. Ask about a anniversary in Switzerland and camping is generally the endure affair they anticipate of, but it shouldn't be. The superior associated with the Swiss in added areas is aswell a authentication of what they action in agreement of camping. Swiss camping holidays are of the accomplished quality, in agreement of both accessories and service. Still not convinced? Let's yield a afterpiece attending at Swiss camping to actuate you...

Quality Campsites and Adaptable Homes in Switzerland

'Swiss' is generally a by-word for 'Quality', and a camping anniversary in Switzerland is no exception. We can see just how absurd such holidays are by demography a specific bivouac as an example; "Manor Farm" abutting to Interlaken epitomises the best camping the country has to offer. South facing, on the shores of the Thuner See Lake and in afterimage of the Eiger, the website could not accept a added amazing setting. The superb accustomed adorableness is even added appropriate if apparent from the clandestine beach, and annihilation beats adequate watersports with such a abundant backdrop. The area are immaculately kept and the accessories absolutely up to date.

There are organised or self-planned activities accessible (including mini-golf and volleyball ) to accumulate the kids amused while you relax in the bar or aboriginal chic restaurant. For accomplished ancestors activities there are abundant cycling routes nearby, and the bounded walks are absurd and awe alarming adventures in such backdrop and surroundings.

The adaptable homes and best tents accessible on the Swiss bivouac are aswell not the run down shacks that camping generally entails; these are four star, top superior adaptation for you and your family, with abstracted affable areas in the tents and clandestine showers in the adaptable homes. In Switzerland annihilation is additional rate, and the agents at the Manor Farm bivouac are consistently appetite to reside up to the Swiss reputation.

The Things to Do

With the bulk of activities on action you could appropriately absorb all of your anniversary just at the campsite. But Switzerland offers more, with a huge ambit of options for anniversary makers (the added benefit getting that abounding are a stone's bandy from the site).

Bern, the de facto basic of Switzerland, is alone 27 afar away. The city-limits is a melting pot of nationalities and cultures, and you realise the arduous array of peoples who reside in the city-limits by just alert to the altered languages announced on any street. The acclaimed Zytglogge alarm belfry is appropriate of the city's ability and style, accepting been revised, redesigned and adapted abounding times over its 800 year history, abundant like the city-limits itself. Bern has been the at the assemblage of a alternation of European bound and administration changes over hundreds of years of political and amusing change, and it's a amusement to analyze the city-limits to ascertain this amazing mix.

Choosing a Camping anniversary in Switzerland agency allotment quality, action and amusement in abundant ambience and with top chic facilities. We agreeably acclaim it.

travel to interlaken

       I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Interlaken, and not just because i travelled there . Rather, it's because this overgrown village has been the tourist hub of the Bernese Oberland for nearly 170 years without tavelling into a Las Vegas, Blackpool, or Torremolinos. You'll still find cows and sheep on the outskirts, and there are few high-rises, motels, and fast-food joints to spoil the landscape.

Snobs might claim that Interlaken is a tourist town, but so what? Tourism has long played an important role in Swiss history, and the visitor who contemplates the Jungfrau Massif from the Matten (the meadow in front of the town) is sharing in a tradition that dates back to the early 19th Century.

You won't need to stay in Interlaken to enjoy its convenience as a tourist center. Just as all roads once led to Rome, most rail lines in this part of Switzerland lead to Interlaken. This makes it easy to take day trips from just about any resort in the area, especially if you have a Swiss Pass or Berner Oberland Pass that allows free or reduced-price travel by train, bus, boat, funicular, cable car, or chair lift, etc.. .

Here are just a few of the things you'll find to do in or near Interlaken:

Lake steamer cruises. Take a boat to Brienz, a picturesque woodcarvers' town at the far end of the wild and scenic Brienzersee. Allow time for a morning or afternoon at the Swiss Open-Air Museum at Ballenberg, near Brienz. Or catch a steamer to Thun, where Lake Thun feeds into the River Aare, and enjoy the views from the towers of its medieval castle.

Mountain excursions. The Jungfraujoch Railway is Europe's highest. It takes you through Alpine meadows, then plunges into a stone tunnel on its ascent to permanent snowfields and spectacular views. Other (and less expensive) excursions include the Schilthorn aerial cable car, the Schynigge Platte cogwheel railway, the Brienz-Rothorn-Bahn with its antique steam-driven locomotives, and funiculars such as Harderbahn, which carries tourists up Interlaken's "Hausberg."

Hikes. Whether you're an experienced trekker or a casual walker, you'll find a plethora of well-marked trails in Interlaken and nearby resorts. (Note: Paved footpaths along Lake Thun and Lake Brienz are suitable for wheelchairs, strollers, and baby carriages.) Switzerland for Visitors has a hiking article worth reading.

City, town, and village sightseeing. When the weather turns dreary, head for Bern (the Swiss capital), where you can shop in arcaded passages, visit museums, and enjoy other activities that don't require an umbrella and galoshes. Even when it's sunny, you should allow time to visit Thun, Brienz, and some of the mountain resorts and villages in the area. All are easy to reach by train, bus, and/or boat.