Journey to Switzerland Travel Itinerary and Budget Analysis

Travel Itinerary

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Budget Analysis

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Journey to Switzerland Day 13

Katie Burnet, Katie Stanton

Lindsay C., Kaitlyn Tsai

Day 13 : August 11th

With sad hearts and unshed tears, the four of us packed our bags at seven o'clock this morning to return back to the United States. We thanked Mr. Carter again for being so generous by letting us use his house as our own personal hotel and for all the food he provided. To settle the debt, we paid him $100 per person for the meals he had given us. Staring at the beautiful view from the house, we knew we must say good-bye, but we knew we would definitely return to Switzerland. This was the most fantastic, educational, and fun-filled vacation anyone could ever have, and we were so grateful to be able to experience what this country had to offer. When Mr. Carter dropped us off at Zurich airport, Lindsay hugged him and promised to email him pictures of the trip. We waved goodbye as he drove away into the countryside. At 5:00 this evening, we finally reached RDU, gaining six hours from the time difference. Kaitlyn's car was easily found; the ride home was quiet since we were reminiscing about the events that had taken place. The mood was definitely unhappy. We weren't sad because it was a bad experience but sad that it was over. Our journey to Switzerland was the most incredible vacation in the entire world. We all can't wait to return next summer!

Journey to Switzerland Day 12

The Lion Monument


Kapellbrücke Bridge

Day 12 : August 10th

Since today was our last day in Switzerland, we decided to do something spectacular. To get a full day of Swiss culture, we jumped on the train at seven o'clock in the morning and headed to a city south of Zurich called Lucerne. Lucerne is a charming, touristy city that is split down the middle by Reuss Lake. Frescoed buildings, churches, chapels, and bridges are what Lucerne is known for. We arrived around 40 minutes later and rented bikes for the day at the train station for $26.40 per person. We then gathered all of our items and made our way into the heart of the city.

The first place we visited was the Lion Monument. This depressing statue of a dying lion was created out of sandstone to honor the 700 Swiss mercenaries killed in 1792 in Paris. The loyal troops tried to defend the royal family of Louis XVI when revolutionaries attacked the Tuileries castle during the French Revolution. In Latin the phrase, "To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss" is inscribed above the lion. After this, we rode our bikes through the Old Town. This dainty part of the city is filled with clusters of medieval houses and cobbled roads. The atmosphere of the bustling marketplace still thrives today. Vendors selling vegetables, flowers, and fish, is a regular occurrence here. Next, we pedaled our way to the famous Kapellbrücke Bridge. Apparently, this "must see" is a medieval covered bridge that runs across the Reuss River. The Kapellbrücke was built in 1333, and it was previously used as a lighthouse, or lecerna in French. The word, lecerna, is said to be the origin of the city's name.

By around six o'clock this evening, we were famished. We found a restaurant called Fritschi. The building, covered in beautiful frescoes, was hard to miss. The main item of the menu was Rösti, or potatoes. Everything was Rösti, which is potatoes that have been boiled, grated, and fried, and was delicious! A traditional meal was called spiegelei, which were potatoes with an egg on top. Katie Stanton loved it, but Katie Burnet almost barfed for the second time on this trip.

After our hunger was satisfied, we took a night walk along the waterfront of Reuss Lake. As we reviewed all of the experiences we had on this trip, we admired the lovely moonlit scenery. Finally, around nine at night we decided, in spite of our instinct to "accidentally" miss the train, that it was time to head back to the house. This trip to Lucerne was a fantastic end to our trip in Switzerland.

Journey to Switzerland Day 11

The Grossmunster Cathedral with its two towers

The large crypt

The beautiful stained glass

Day 11 : August 9th

Today we traveled back to Zurich to visit a cathedral. We hopped into Mr. Carter's car and got a ride there in 15 minutes. Once we arrived at ten o'clock, we hopped on a bus to the cathedral called Grossmunster, which is no longer used for church masses. It is a 12th century Romanesque building, rich in the history of Catholic saints and stories of Protestant preaching. It was free to go into the cathedral, but to go up into the tower cost us 2 francs each. In American money, this is only $1.68.

The church, with its beautiful architectural style and stained glass windows, dominates the city of Zurich since there are no other buildings comparable in size. Inside the church, there are frescoes painted on the walls depicting saints, and it was entertaining to see the different types of gargoyles. Lindsay even found a monkey gargoyle! There is also a large sculpture of Charlemange. According to legend, the Grossmunster was founded by Charlemange after his horse bowed down on the spot marking the graves of three early Christian martyrs. From the north tower we could see the entire city and other churches, like the Framunster, across the river. The Grossmunster also has the largest crypt in Switzerland with three aisles. A crypt is a stone vault beneath a church, usually containing coffins or relics. Kaitlyn is definitely the loudest out of all of us, and every time words came out of her mouth, a loud echo would vibrate the walls.

After this fun-filled day of exploring an ancient church, we went back to Mr. Carter's house on the train and ate dinner there around six. We are so sad tomorrow will be our last official day to explore Switzerland.

Journey to Switzerland Day 10

Kyburg Castle and Museum


Some of the knight's armor Katie sent crashing down

Day 10 : August 8th

Today we trekked out to Kyburg, about 30 minutes away by train in order to visit the famous museum and castle. The Kyburg Castle is the largest castle in Eastern Switzerland, and we're all glad we decided to make this trip. We ate cereal at the house, hopped on the train around 10 o'clock, and were there by the opening time of 10:30. The admission was a little steep at $8.00 per person, but it was totally worth it.

The first aspect we noticed was how humongous this place was. It wasn't as large as the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, but it was still magnificent. It reminded us of the fairy tale castles deep within the forbidden forests as told to us in our childhood stories. Instead of taking the guided tours, which are more expensive, Katie Stanton suggested that we guide ourselves through the castle. Even though we didn't have a professional feeding us the information, we still learned a lot about the castle's history through its international award-winning museum. The Kyburg Castle was first mentioned in 1027, but the date of its original construction is unknown. Many events that took place in the castle date back to the Middle Ages and time of the feudal system. In order to get a feel of what it was like back then, many locations in the castle had exhibits. For instance, the kitchen was open, so we could smell the aroma of different spices. Also available to look at were the courtyard, chapel, and even a torture chamber! This experience really made us feel like we had taken a trip back in time. Our favorite part of the tour was the "Do Touch" exhibit. This part of the castle was where we could physically put on medieval outfits like a lady's dress or a knight's suit of armor, fill a bucket from a well, or try to sleep on a mattress filled with leaves. We each tried on different clothes, and Kaitlyn even tried on knight's armor!

Speaking of knights, we had another funny situation that happened involving Katie Burnet. While we were strolling around, enjoying the amazing scenery, we walked by a line of knight's armor. Of course, Katie just had to touch one. At her touch, the armor teetered. It finally just came crashing down, sending at least seven other knight's armor down with a loud clash. She was so embarrassed, Lindsay had to call a tour guide to help with the clean-up. Never in our lives have we seen Katie's face as beet red as it was today.

After this, we ate a late dinner at Restaurant zur Linde. It was just like eating a home-cooked meal, and all of the locals had happy dispositions. The decor was cute and cottage-like. Katie Burnet had vegetable soup. Katie Stanton had Meatloaf "Grossmutter kind." Lindsay had Spatzli, which is a flour based dumpling. Kaitlyn ate a plate of vegetables. For dessert, we all split a dish called Creme Caramel, and all of us agreed it was enticing to the taste buds. Our final bill came to $36.00. After this, we caught the train back to the house around eight at night.

Journey to Switzerland Day 9

Gottfried Keller


The Gottfried Keller Center

Day 9 : August 7th

Today, we traveled by train to the Gottfried Keller Center, located in Glattfelden. Because Glattfelden is located right next to Zurich, it was only a 25 minute trip. This center was created in honor of Gottfried Keller. He was born in 1819 in Zurich and died in 1890. Zurich, which is where we have gone hiking, boating, and shopping, is Switzerland's largest city, and the canton Zurich capital. It is also known for its culture and being the wealthiest city in Europe. Gottfried Keller was a well known novelist, poet, short story writer, and artist. He was known for his realistic and purposeful work. His most famous novel Green Henry depicts a man's struggle as a failing artist and is considered to be one of the greatest works of Swiss literature of the 19th century. Romeo und Julia auf dorfe is another one of his works in which he rewrote Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet making it take place in a small Swiss village. Keller is also known for becoming canton Zurich's first official secretary in 1861 but later retired in 1876 to continue his writings.

Katie Burnet yet again embarrassed herself today. What in the world are we going to do with her? The entire time while we were visiting the center, Katie was talking to some of the guides saying, "Who is Got-Fried Keller and where was Got-Fried Keller born?" She didn't realize his name was actually pronounced "Gott-Freed" not "Got-Fried" like "french fries."

The Gottfried Keller Center, called the "Zentrum" by the locals, had many exhibits on his life and works. After we finished looking around, we stopped for dinner at the Gottfried Keller Cellar. The food was traditional Swiss cuisine like meat pies and pasta. It wasn't as good as the other places we have eaten, but it was still filling. After eating our meal, we took the train back to Mr. Carter's house.

Journey to Switzerland Day 8

The chocolate factory

Day 8 : August 6th

We love chocolate! Today we visited the Lindt & Sprüngli Chocolate Factory right outside of Zurich. This morning at 9:15 we were out of the house headed to Zurich again thanks to Mr. Carter, who gave us a ride. Once we arrived at the chocolate factory, the hypnotizing incense of chocolate filled the air. Thankfully, we were allowed to "sample" their chocolate as we toured their exhibits for free of charge. There was a small museum displaying the chocolate and showing a film. We learned in the film that the company is over 160 years old and was founded by the confectioner, David Sprüngli-Schwarz and his son, Rudolf Sprüngli- Ammann. They decided to try a new recipe of making chocolate in a solid form. Because it was well liked by the social elites, they moved their business into a factory on Lake Zurich. This started what is today one of the favorite chocolate-making companies. We mutually agreed to skip lunch since we were full to the brim with free samples.

Of course, we couldn't go through today without something tragic happening to Katie Burnet. Katie had stuffed so many free samples into the pockets of her jeans, there had been a huge bulge. As the time passed, the chocolate she held in her pockets slowly began to melt without her knowledge. The once bulging pocket became a lumpy pile of gooey chocolate-covered wrappers. Yuck! The entire way home, Katie smelled like a walking version of the chocolate factory, and we could see people abruptly turn their heads at the strong scent. It took three washes to get the stain and the chocolatey aroma out.

For dinner, we ate at a cute place called Molino Zurigo. The little restaurant was welcoming as well as decently priced. According to the locals, this restaurant serves the best pizza in town. It must have been appetizing because the four of us finished every crumb! Lindsay decided we're all going on a diet after we return to America. Ha-ha! Mr. Carter, who met us at the restaurant, gave us a ride back to the house around eight o'clock.