I'm flying into Zurich on 10/9 and flying home from Rome on 10/21. Other than a ride on the Bernina Express to get from one country to another, we have nothing else planned.
The closest I've been to either of these places is Ireland. I'm excited.
I assume you're riding from Chur to Tirano? I rode the opposite direction and it was spectacular. Leaving Tirano the gradual change in climate as you climbed the mountain was fascinating. It was all so lush and green down low, gradually becoming brown as you switch back and forth up the mountain, and then eventually white as you reached the top. It was also cool that I had the entire back car to myself to run around and take pictures from all directions. That train ride was one of the highlights of my trip. I also road the glacier express and it was nowhere near as interesting.
If you haven't already planned it all out, consider crashing a night in Kandersteg. It's about 30 clicks S of Interlaken, and one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Interlaken honestly sucked. Kandersteg was amazing and close enough to be a solid alternative.
For what it's worth, my approach to Italy was to spend days in the big cities and nights in places outside of town. You'll get better hotels for cheaper, and you'll damn sure eat better dining with the locals rather than with your fellow tourists.
Thanks for the tips. I'm going to look into those.
I was in Kandersteg in the Spring, so it had a natural advantage. I suspect Fall would still be pretty cool, and since it's a ski town, it'll be pretty low-key in October. I was just looking for a place to crash after a long train ride, and somebody recommended it. Once I looked more into it I wound up spending a couple of days before moving on to Interlaken. It became one of my most anticipated destinations. When you walk in from the bahnhof you pop out in this giant glade between the mountains, and the cliff face to your right is covered with waterfalls (again, it was Spring, no telling about Fall). That notch between the mountains is a 30 minute hike up to one of those
crystal blue lakes nestled in a crook 1200' above the town.
Everybody wants to visit Interlaken, but unless you're backpacking and looking for hostels and titty-bars, little towns like this are where it's at.
We're torn about how to do Italy. I would love to not have to rent a car as we move through it, but that'll handicap us a bit in terms of where we can go. I love driving and happily did over 1000 miles in Ireland with a 5spd Peugeot, but driving around the cities of Italy looks like nightmare fuel to me. It's like Boston during rush hour except I have the added stresses of being in a rental overseas.
I can tell you that the roads in Rome and Milan were absolute insanity. I remember thinking that I'd have a ball driving my E30 there, but only if it were incredibly well insured. The thing is, the parts of Italy that you really want to drive around in are the parts that everybody wants to drive around in. Places like the Amalfi Coast, which will be bumper to bumper traffic with tourists. Since you're already hep to the Burnina Express you've presumably already looked into rail passes. Italy's a great place to get around by rail, at least insofar as my interests were concerned. High speed trains will get you between big cities cheap and easily (and you can hop off in small places to eat or look around). Smaller trains will get you to the other places.
Prepare to be disappointed with Rome.
Topic: The "I'm Traveling somewhere" Thread (Read 57485 times)
