Is Switzerlands worth the trip?

Hey friend,

I am back from the Swiss Alps, so let me share some thoughts about the place with you.

I’ve heard endless stories about how Switzerland is an incredibly beautiful country. I finally decided to judge for myself. My wife and I jumped into the car and drove for what might be the last summer road trip adventure.

To use Swiss roads, you need to get a vignette for 40 francs (it’s almost 1:1 so it’s €43). That was the first cost of the trip (it’ll be important in the conclusion). After 6-7 hours through Germany and France, we reached the first destination, a city called Bern.

The immediate reflection about the city and the roads in general is how clean and tidy everything is. No trash, no dirt, no random rubble lying around the streets. People, from what I could tell, smiled more than in Amsterdam on average.

The city itself left me with the impression of a regular small town in the German-speaking part of Europe. Apart from the cleanliness I mentioned, the architecture and vibe were things I’d seen already.

The only exception was an incredible river cutting through the town with beautiful blue water and bridges hanging over it. I was also dumbfounded seeing people putting their stuff inside water-resistant bags, jumping in the water and casually crossing the city using the strong current. It felt like a normal type of transportation here. Instead of waiting for a tram, you just jump into the river and it delivers you to the other side of the city.

Our next destination was Interlaken. It’s a small town in the middle of the country squeezed between two huge lakes - Thunersee and Brienzersee. The lakes were stunning, and the surrounding mountains were included in the package. We rented a camping ground, 20 minutes from one of the lakes. We hadn’t done car camping in a while, but we had a good reason to do it here (yes, costs again).

I rarely get impressed by lakes, and I think I’ve seen beautiful ones in my life, but those two were truly special. I’ve never seen such a turquoise, almost unnaturally blue colour of water. You can expect such a colour in the ocean somewhere in the Caribbean or at the Great Barrier Reef, but not in a lake!

I don’t know if photos justify the colour, but in real life it was mind-blowing. To get a closer look, we even rented a paddle boat from which we couldn’t resist jumping into the water.

The next day, we hiked to yet another lake, Oeschinensee. The weather wasn’t as great, and without the sun, the water was not as turquoise, but I heard good reviews.

The hike itself was fine, with some good balance of the forest and mountains. I wouldn’t call it exceptional in terms of views, but the infrastructure, as everywhere else in the Swiss Alps, was perfect.

Near the lake, we witnessed a good reminder to always be careful when swimming in summer. Some guy jumped into the lake right near the shore and hit his head pretty badly. Since it’s in the middle of the mountains, they had to send a first aid helicopter to pick him up. I think he’ll be okay as he repeatedly said that. He’ll probably just require a few stitches.

Despite the sad reason, it was cool to see a helicopter landing. I’ve never seen it before. It is SO loud and windy, exactly as they show it in the movies.

General impression of Switzerland: It’s fine. Nice nature and infrastructure, clean and enjoyable. The camping grounds were also very good with clean showers and other amenities.

Unfortunately, I am a bit of an annoying person in that regard, and I cannot just enjoy the vacation. I always think about the price/quality ratio. In that regard, I think Switzerland is simply too expensive.

I am not sure whether it’s the Alpine region specifically or the whole country, but the prices were insane. On average, we paid 1.5x - 2x what we’d pay for food in Amsterdam (which is already expensive). Hotels and Airbnbs were so expensive that I couldn’t justify them, hence sleeping inside the car on the camping grounds. But even camping was 6 (!) times more expensive compared to Dutch camps, and even more so compared to other European countries. Alpine regions are often expensive, but Swiss areas were just on another level.

At the same time, I cannot say Switzerland is as much better than other places as its price tag would suggest. I was in the Alps in Italy, and it was beautiful there, for a fraction of the price. The only thing that was truly special was the blue lakes, but I heard they have them in Bavaria as well.

Looking at the half-full glass here, Switzerland is the most expensive in the world according to Numbeo, which means I will probably never experience more expensive prices than here. That’s a relief!

Meanwhile I am back to my Amsterdam routine but since I was on the road the whole week, I don’t have much to recommend to you today.

Discovered a pretty sweet indie rock artist, Kevin Copeland, with the debut album Only Love Songs. Definitely my type of tune.

Also watched Stand By Me in a 4K restoration at the cinema. I’ve watched most of Stephen King’s adaptations at this point but can’t believe I missed this one. The movie was such a great journey into childhood nostalgia. This movie is 40 years old now, but it holds up so well.

Till the next time,

Dima, Amsterdam home.