Trip Report: Germany's Black Forest and Exploring Switzerland

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KLM Cityhopper E190 EuroBiz (AMS-FRA)

After our layover in Amsterdam we had a short flight down to Frankfurt on KLM Cityhopper, their regional subsidiary, on the E190. WHile European Business Class is not great, Business Class on the E190 is worse as there are no middle seats to block. We also encountered some weather delays and got remote stands at both ends of the trip. Though they did serve a full meal on a 38 minute flight. You're lucky to get a beverage refill on a US carrier in that time.

Full write-up is in the link above.

Exploring Badenweiler

Our first stop on this trip was the Black Forest resort town of Badenweiler. We were only here for a couple of days which were mainly comprised of wedding festivities but we still had time to do a little sightseeing.

Our first stop in Switzerland was in the riviera town of Montreux, located on the opposite end of Lake Geneva from the city of Geneva. For our 3 day stay here we booked at the Grand Hotel Suisse Majestic, a Marriott Autograph Collection hotel in the heart of the city.

The hotel and staff were extremely nice and welcoming and the view from our room couldn't be beaten. Full writeup at the link below.

Grand Hotel Suisse Majestic, Autograph Collection Montreux

Exploring Montreux

We arrived in Montreux mid-afternoon and after checking in to the hotel we headed out to explore the city. The scenery around the area is amazing with the massive French/Swiss Alps and Lake Geneva as the backdrop. We spent a couple of days here and easily could have spent more.

Full write-up and additional photos in the link above.

We had a quick overnight in Zermatt and Mrs. H2O had a vision of where she wanted to stay for this part of the trip. She handled the hotel booking and found a great place in the Chalet Hotel Schönegg. While the hotel was situated up on the hill, with great views of the Matterhorn, it was connected to town via a tunnel which made it very easy to get around. Full write up at the link below.

Chalet Hotel Schönegg Zermatt

Our time in Zermatt was short and after 24 hours we were back at Zermatt Bahnhof to head to our final destination, Zurich. Unlike our five train trip from Badenweiler to Montreux, this trip would be relatively painless. An hour on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn from Zermatt to Visp and a quick transfer to a regional train to Zurich should make for an easy travel day.

Full writeup from this portion of the trip can be found here.

For our last destination on this trip, we had three days in Zurich. While both Mrs. H2O and I have been to Switzerland before, this was our first trip to Zurich. We stayed in the Enge District, near District 1 and the Altstadt which made it very easy to get around and see the sights.

The weather was a bit warm for Zurich this time of year but felt great to us. We spent a majority of our time along the waterfront eating, drinking, and enjoying the atmosphere. We also checked out some museums during our stay.

Full writeup of our time in Zurich can be found here.

After a week and a half abroad it was time to head back to Austin. Since we were flying KLM Business Class from Zurich, we had access to the Marhaba Lounge prior to our flight.

Marhaba Lounge Zurich