By Jed
Our original October plan was supposed to include two weeks in Israel with my parents, but as so often happens to us, we happen to hit some bad timing. The planning for my parental visit in October was occurring right smack in the middle of the Gaza conflict. Thus, it was time for plan B. Switzerland is one of my favorite countries, but had been off our itinerary due to its insane cost (especially for budget travelers). Fortunately, having parents tag along lightens the financial burden quite a bit, so it was off to Switzerland for 9 days!
Lucern: Our Swiss trip started in the quaint town of Lucern. A picturesque, small city in Switzerland (though actually big by Swiss standards), the main feature of the town is the Chapel Bridge, a medieval wood bridge in the middle of the town. Unfortunately, like so many sites we have seen in Europe, it burnt down. The odd thing is, it was not some medieval gunpowder storage accident, as per usual, it burnt down in 1993! The likely cause was a careless smoker. It was rebuilt as it originally looked and, needless to say, it now has smoke detectors. Lucern also has a wonderful little art museum that is made up entirely of a private collection of one family and includes 180 works of Picasso, as well as works from the go-to impressionists. The then-young, female collector was quite friendly with Picasso (possibly in the way you think) and we got a treat when we got to meet and chat with the 82 year old dealer/philanthropist.
Lucern: Our Swiss trip started in the quaint town of Lucern. A picturesque, small city in Switzerland (though actually big by Swiss standards), the main feature of the town is the Chapel Bridge, a medieval wood bridge in the middle of the town. Unfortunately, like so many sites we have seen in Europe, it burnt down. The odd thing is, it was not some medieval gunpowder storage accident, as per usual, it burnt down in 1993! The likely cause was a careless smoker. It was rebuilt as it originally looked and, needless to say, it now has smoke detectors. Lucern also has a wonderful little art museum that is made up entirely of a private collection of one family and includes 180 works of Picasso, as well as works from the go-to impressionists. The then-young, female collector was quite friendly with Picasso (possibly in the way you think) and we got a treat when we got to meet and chat with the 82 year old dealer/philanthropist.
 With Anna, who looks happy to be taking a picture |  Double parent dinner! |
Lauterbrunnen (Swiss Alps): Next we headed to the mountains, my favorite part of Switzerland. We stayed in a small village at the foothill of the Alps and spent the next few days exploring the magnificent views from atop the mountains. It takes 4 cable cars to get the top, and being somewhat afraid of heights, that is a lot, but it is totally worth it. We also took a zipline down called the first Flyer that has quite an imposing first drop, but even my father joined in on the fun.
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Berne/Murten/Gruyere: From the mountains we headed to the capital city of Berne, a surprisingly quaint capital town. We also spent a day in Murten, a tiny town with a cool medieval wall still standing around the town. From there was our most filling day of the trip; visits to cheese and chocolate factories. It started with a trip to Gruyere, home of the well-known cheese. We took a visit to one of the town's cheese factories to see the cheese-making process. Best part was definitely the free samples which actually was some of the best cheese I've ever had. Although we were already pretty full, we had to head to the nearby Collier chocolate factory (a division of Nestle). The tour starts with a disney-esque animatronic presentation about the history of chocolate and then goes into a glimpse of the manufacturing process. It ends with the absolute best part: all you can eat chocolate! Yes, you heard that right. There is several dozen different types of chocolate laid out for you to try and you can eat as much as you want. I've never had so much chocolate in my life (OK, maybe Halloween night when I was 10). I wanted to sit and wait in the corner for an hour to regain my hunger, but alas, after all of us felt sufficiently nauseated we left and set out to Lake Geneva.
 Basel  Lots of Cheese |  Murten at Night  Chocolate Time |  Making Cheese in Gruyere  Enjoying |
Lausanne D'Ouchy (Lake Geneva): Our last stop was to Laussane in the Lake Geneva region. My dad surprised us all with an amazing room in a castle that surely beat the $13 night hostels we have been staying in. No trip to Lake Geneva would be complete without a boat trip, so we took an old-fashioned steam engine boat across the lake to the Chillon castle. Having been in Europe for some time, you would think we would be pretty sick of castles by now, but this one was surprisingly enjoyable. The city of Lausanne itself is nice but be prepared for lots of extreme uphill walking.
Switzerland continued to impress me with its gorgeous landscapes, small towns, laidback atmosphere and focus on the important food groups: chocolate and cheese. The trip was all the more enjoyable since I get to spend some quality time with my parents. It had been a long time since I saw any family, and it was great to have some quality time with my folks before beginning the long second half of our trip. Thanks Mom and Dad!
Switzerland continued to impress me with its gorgeous landscapes, small towns, laidback atmosphere and focus on the important food groups: chocolate and cheese. The trip was all the more enjoyable since I get to spend some quality time with my parents. It had been a long time since I saw any family, and it was great to have some quality time with my folks before beginning the long second half of our trip. Thanks Mom and Dad!
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