Friday, April 14, 2017

Zurich, Switzerland



Yeah!!! We are going for a 10 days countries hop in Central Europe.

This itinerary takes me almost 2 weeks to finalize.. especially the transportation and accommodation from country to country. Its never an easy task to set an itinerary for a group, individual will have their personal preference.




The summary of the itinerary will goes by;

  • Flying in to Zurich, Switzerland
  • Train to Munich, Germany
  • Train to Salzburg, Austria
  • Drive to Hallstat, Austria
  • Drive to Vienna, Austria
  • Fly Bucharest, Romania

As we will be meeting friends (Poh Choo and Cristell) in Zurich, we try to catch the earliest flight to Zurich. Yet our friend still have to spend 2 hours waiting for us in Zurich airport.

Waiting for our flight in Otopeni Airport in Bucharest
Finally we met up... Immediately took a wefie at Zurich Main Train Station.
Quickly settle our accommodation in Sorell Hotel Seidenhof, that is 7-8 mins from station.
Lets fill up and get moving to our first attraction in the itinerary.

Nearly forget about the metro ticket issue which I faced during the planning. After so much calculations to get the most economic ways of transportation, purchasing Swiss Travel Pass online is the most ideal option. Swiss Travel Pass covers Metro, Subway, Trams, Bus, basically travel around Zurich with 1 pass. There are a few pass options, it will be suitable for individual if you look back in your itinerary.

We chosen 3 days Swiss Travel pass instead of half fare card, as we will be expecting to commune a lot on the train. CHF 216 for Adult and CHF 108 for children age between 6 to 16. Wow... not cheap woh...


We took a direct train from Zurich Main Train station to Neuhausen station. Its free, because we have already paid for the Swiss Travel pass. LOL

After 40 mins of train ride, here we reached Rheinfall...

Rheinfall are rated as the biggest waterfall in Europe, size recorded as 150 meters width and 23 meters height.


Princess' signature post... Nice shot


There is a boat ride to bring you to as close as possible to the fall. There are several package of boat ride though. We spend quite some time to finalize the route that we are taking.

   Pricing as such:

  • Trip to the rock - 25 min @ CHF 10
  • Short Roundtrip - 15 min @ CHF 6
  • Rhine Crossing - 5 min @ CHF 2
  • Schloo Laufen & Rhine Crossing - CHF 7.50
  • Combi Trip with Schloss Laufen - 1 hour to 1 hour 45 min @ CHF 22
 ***** Children age 6 to 16 @ half price

Rhine Crossing is to cross over the other side of the river, as there is a viewing platform just above the fall. We go for a Short Roundtrip instead, so as not to spend too much time here. On the other hand, our friends who flew for so many hours will be able to have an early rest to recover for jet-lag.

Price and route for the boat ride
Water are so eager to rush off the top...
Route tend to drifted out of plan as I literally forget to take holiday period into consideration. 14 Apr 2017 is Good Friday in Zurich, and they declared additional 1 day off for extended celebration... OMG... we are there on these 2 days... sad...

We only could loiter around Limmatquai, as most of the shops are closed.
Only eateries are still in operation.
Limmatquai is a row of shops operate along River Limmat.
Basically looks like Boat Quay in Singapore.
Still proceed to where we suppose to...
Grossmunster - A landmark church in Zurich
 
We noticed this Chinese restaurant on the train, and we decided to head back to give it a try.
Miss delicious Chinese food so much.
Not too bad, just the portion is too big.

************
Day 2: Main focus - Jungfraujoch

Jungfraujoch is named as "TOP OF EUROPE", getting the name as it is the highest Alps in the continent. Connecting the 2 four-thousander peaks Jungfrau and Monch, at an elevation of 3,466 metres above sea level.

We have to take a few train connections in order to reach the top, 5 train rides in total. There is no direct train from Zurich to the top. Mountain rail from Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch is not covered in the Swiss Travel Pass.

Zurich -> Bern -> Interlaken -> Lauterbrunnen -> Kleine Scheidegg -> Jungfraujoch (Total: 4 hours)

There are 2 routes to reach the top, either by Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald.
Also could purchase a round route ticket.
This mountain rail is scenic though.
In the month of April, the Alps is still snowing... *stress*

Here we are... feeling a bit giddy is normal as the
sugar level in your blood reduce drastically at this height.
Could be Alps height reason, Lindt has a shop here.
Good business... I assume...
A prototype of the making of Lindt Chocolate


Lol... I'm not taking a photo with this stranger.
I am trying to take a photo of the shop and suddenly she look into the camera...

We are courage enough to step out to the Sphinx Observation Deck.
It is really freezing cold...

>>> Ice Palace <<<
Basically everything made of Ice, that include the wall...etc
There are even Ice Sculpturing


There are just so many scenery to appreciate in Jungfraujoch. No doubt the journey from Zurich is cumbersome, it still worth the trip to be at the Top of Europe... Time to leave Jungfraujoch...

Is she drunk??? LOL...
We are actually on the mountain rail that is going 45 degree downhill.

************
Day 3:

Since many attractions are removed from our itinerary due to Good Friday, we decided to travel to Lucerne, since the train ride is covered under Swiss Travel Pass.

Lucerne Train Station
Glacier Garden, found by Queen from brochure.


Funny Mirror Image

Partial city view of Lucerne
Lion Monument craved in a rock - One of the rated tourist attraction




Took a ferry ride from Lucerne Ferry Terminal to Vitznau Ferry Terminal... Visiting Mount Rigi... Did read up a bit on Mount Rigi online, since we have the timeslot, lets go...

Another mountain rail ride... The only different is, its snowing heavily...

Everybody is so excited with the snow...
Even the adult is also playing with snow ball...

Nice view from this height.
On the mountain rail leaving Mt Rigi.


Back to Lucerne City. Visiting this Iconic winding bridge, Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke), connecting to both shores. Roof of the bridge is decorated with 17th-century art.




Have a great dinner and we shall call it a day.

Since most of the shops are closed, we target to leave Zurich early, and head toward Munich.

After discuss with the group, we decided to join the local half day tour to Neuschwanstein Castle, a 19th century fairytale castle. There are so many good reviews online.



>>>>> Stay Tune <<<<<
>>>>>> Munich <<<<<<



Saturday, April 8, 2017

Constanta, Romania




Constanța is a city in southeastern Romania on the shores of the Black Sea. Constanța is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. 


So many beautiful ancient building in this county.


This blog is a throwback 5 months ago. So, I have forgotten the name of the buildings. They are government building, church and even casino.






Rated best decorated house, by us... LOL
Its full of vines

This is the shore of Black Sea.
The sea look black in color from a distance, but the water is very clear.
The building behind is is Tomis Turistic Port.
Ancient designed building sitting at the edge of the shore.


Street artist along the shore of Black Sea.
Finger Tap Painting - the artist uses his fingers to paint.
 

Before we head back, we visited a local winery - Clos de Colombes.

Of course I am not allow to do wine tasting as I need to stay behind the wheel for 3 hours.

Queen will be the representative. Commented: not too bad




This photo is the proof. Coffee cup is nearer to me... LOL






Friday, April 7, 2017

Ruse & Varna, Bulgaria


This is our first experience driving out of Romania. Introduced by our France neighbor, Varna is a beautiful beach in Bulgaria.

Since it is not very far, we decided to give it a "GO" in a no-plan weekend...

It will be a estimate 4 hours drive, we decided to stop by the nearest city, Ruse, after crossing the Romania-Bulgaria custom. Had a quick lunch in one of our favorite restaurant: Happy Bar & Grill...





 Continue our journey after lunch...

Here we reached... Varna breach

Mr BaBa, a local restaurant designed in a ship.
Setting up tent on Varna beach, at the weather in April.
Maybe I do not know how to appreciate a beautiful beach,
looks more like East Coast Park though.
Strong cold wind blowing non-stop... sooooo cold



Too cold to picnic on the beach. It only last us an hour or so.
We had our dinner in Mr Baba, and we left Varna.

We will be heading to Constanta, Romania to stay over...

Stay tune...

Flying Cow Ranch, Taiwan (飛牛牧場)

飛牛牧場 (pinyin: Fēi Niú Mù Chǎng) Flying Cow Ranch  It is a tourist attraction ranch located in the Northern-west of Taiwan, in Miaoli Co...