Something to Declare

August 30, 2023: Prelude, Auftakt, Preludio

Sorry, I couldn’t find the Romansh word for “Prelude.” And that’s the next-to-last time I’m putting notes in three-part harmony to accommodate Switzerland’s three major languages.

When we last left Stef and Stan, they were returning from Southeast Asia (described in a previous series of blogs: Bali, Borneo and Beyond). We’re now getting that pre-travel frisson (“trip-tillomania”) for Switzerland.

Why Switzerland? Well I’ve always been attracted to places where cultures clash and mush together. The original idea was to visit Alsace-Lorraine, which is that part of eastern France that has been, at times, part of Germany (depending on who won the last war). We’d decided that our preferred mode of tourism is to rent an apartment or house as a “base,” and do day trips by rail or car. And it turns out that the most convenient way to get to Colmar and Strasbourg was by way of Zürich, Switzerland. And this caused Stef to recall the lovely times she’d had in Switzerland decades ago, and the planning for the La Suisse portion of the trip took on a life of its own.

So on September 1 we leave for Zürich via TAP Portuguese Airlines.

Why TAP? Well, as you may recall from my posts sent from Poland (Back in the Shtetl Again), Premium Economy just doesn’t cut it. And TAP appeared to have the least expensive Business Class fares for Switzerland. Some of this may be related to the fact that not all TAP Business Class flights have lie-flat seats. Although the TAP representative (a man named “Bunny,” no kidding) assured us that the seats will go flat. We’ll see.

We found an apartment on Air B&B in the northwestern “Industrial Chic” part of Zürich. It’s on a street called “Naphthastraße” (the “ß” is a German character called an “ess-tzet” and pronounced “ss”). So we’ll be staying on a street named for an industrial solvent.

We’re planning day trips in Switzerland including places like Lucerne, Bern, Basel, Stein-am-Rhein, and Rapperswil-Jona. Our Road Scholar friend, Lisa, will be joining us for a couple of days. In keeping with the original idea of the trip, there will also be visits to Alsace.

We will also trek to the scenic mountain “Stanserhorn,” near the town of Stans (couldn’t resist going there, given the name, could we?). We are informed by friend Edith (a native of Switzerland) that Stanserhorn is not in “The Alps” (nor are the other mountains closer to Zürich). The real Alps are allegedly farther south, near the Italian border.

(Well okay, Edith, if that’s how you feel about it.) But in the photos online, Stanserhorn looked Alp-y enough for us:

After combing the web, Rick Steves and Lonely Planet, Stef has prepared a lush itinerary. She’s scoped out sources of cheese and chocolate, which she may or may not eat (hah!). She also found the the well-known Lavaux vineyards. To be sure, these are near Lausanne, which is something of a schlep from our base. But further research revealed some Swiss wineries closer to Zürich. As well as sources of Riesling and Gewürztraminer in Alsace, along with choucroute and saucisson. Plenty of food and wine porn in the offing.

Looking forward to sending out posts to all of you, and getting your feedback. As they say in Switzerland, au revoir, auf wiedersehen, and ciao for now! In Romansh, by the way, it’s “chau sin seveser” or “a revair.” I have not a clue as to how those are pronounced.

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