European Trip
Switzerland and Germany are such an incredible countries with many top tourist destinations. It was going to be Cal’s first trip and also we were celebrating our 5 year anniversary. I took 2 weeks off of work but with travel time and such ended up being more like 10 full days of travel. Since we were taking a long flight with Calvin, we looked for only direct flights. It gave us just a handful of options and we ended up choosing Zurich. We also did a few things differently than in the past. We booked the night at the air BnB before we arrived so when we landed from our red eye we were able to check in immediately- this was a life saver. Also, we usually move all around from city to city and this time we decided to spend half the time in Zurich and half the time in Munich as bases and take day trips from there. This helped us not to lug all the baby stuff around every day changing hotels etc. This trip was very feasible with minimal changing of accommodation. From the US, many flights to Europe are red eyes, so that constitutes the first day. The flight back was in the morning. So ultimately, we had 10 days to explore. We really crammed in a ton! Hope this itinerary helps in your own journey!
Getting to Zurich
Our direct flight to Zurich was supposed to leave from the United States at 5:45 PM and arrived at 8:05 AM. It ended up being delayed but thankful since we got a direct flight it didn’t impact connecting flights. From the airport you can take the S-Bahn or train for 7 CHF one way to Zurich Main Station. The trains leave every 5-10 minutes and run from 5 AM-midnight. The ride to the Central train terminal is about a 10-15 minute ride. Another alternative is to take the tram on Line 10 which takes about 35 minutes but passes by Zurich University and more. You can take a taxi but it costs more and takes the same time as the train. We stayed near the Central Train terminal for convivence. Zurich is a very walkable city.
Getting around
Zurich is a very walkable city. We did not use any form of public transport around the town since it was so easy to walk everywhere. We have a baby stroller and the streets were easy to navigate with the stroller without a problem. There are some areas of stairs but other alternative ways up or down without stairs in most areas.
Our trip involved going to Lucerne and Bern for day trips, which we did by train. Switzerland’s rail system is easy to navigate. Since we stayed near the train station that also made it easy to navigate. There are ticket kiosks all over to purchase tickets to anywhere you want to go.
We elected to do a day tour from Zurich to Rapperswil, Heidiland, and Liechtenstein. I really wanted to go to Liechtenstein for a day. Our options were to rent a car and do it on our own or join a tour. When I found this tour it seemed like the perfect thing to do! It was a longer day but was perfect for us!
Six day itinerary
Day One- Zurich
Flight from United States left day before and landed in the morning. After getting through customs and taking the train down to the main station we walked to our Air BnB apartment we rented. It was perfect because we were able to walk right in and take a nap. After our nap, we headed to the grocery store to stock up on food, baby food, diapers, etc. We ended up making dinner the first night at our place and taking the first day easy as we adjusted to the time difference.
DAY TWO-Lucerne
As I was trolling the weather, it looked like today was destined to be the sunniest day. We orginally, were going to spend the day around Zurich but I changed the plans for us to go to Lucerne for the day to take advantage of the good weather. After having breakfast at home, we headed to the main train station and hopped on the next train heading to Lucerne. Lucerne is about 50 minutes by train. We arrived and started to explore this incredible city. We saw the iconic Chapel Bridge, Lake Lucerne and the lion monument. It was a beautiful day and wonderful trip.
DAY THREE-Zurich
Today was predicted to be a bit rainy so we thought may be best to stay in Zurich where we could jump back to our place for cover if needed. Turns out after a morning drizzle the rest of the day was sunny and beautiful. We saw the iconic Zurich spots including Lindenhof Hill, St. Peter’s Church, Grossmünster, Fraumünster, Town Hall and Lake Zurich. We had a great lunch and were able to check out a local brewery.
DAY FOUR-Bern
Today was predicted again to be a rainy day. We debated on where to go and initially were talking about Interlocken but the weather looked very rainy and we decided against it. Bern however looked like it would be cloudy but not raining so we decided to hop on a train and go there. Though it is farther away there is a fast train between the cities and only took 1 hour. Bern is the capital of Switzerland and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is known for its old town, the Zytglogge (Clock tower), and Französische Kirche (French Church) which date back to the 13th century. You can also see the Parliament Building, Einstein House, Rosengarten, Bear Park and Aare River.
DAY Five-Epic tour- Rapperswil, Heidiland and Liechtenstein
We moved our day tour to this day based on the weather and we were very happy to have done so. The tour left from the Zurich bus station which is also close to the train station so perfect for us. It started with drive through Zurich on the way to Rapperswil a small town along Lake Zurich which has Rapperswil Castle and rose gardens. We had lunch here as well. From there we headed to Heidiland. This stop in Maienfeld Switzerland is in the Alps and has small houses to recreate Heidi the iconic book. Then the last stop was in Liechtenstein. Here we were able to get our passports stamped, send postcards and see some of the iconic sites in Vaduz the capital of this small country. On the way back we stopped at stunning overlook.
DAY SIX-Zurich to Munich
We checked out of our accommodation after breakfast and headed to the main station to hop aboard a train from Zurich to Munich. This is a 3 hour train ride and we took the train late morning to arrive in Munich for the early afternoon. We picked a hotel in walking distance to the main train station and were able to check in on arrival. After putting our bags down we went to dinner and had an early night for our big day trip the following morning.
DAY Seven- Day tour Linderhof Palace and Neuschwanstein Castle
Today was a packed day on a full day bus tour of two really incredible castles in Germany. Both Linderhof Palace and Neuschwanstein Castle were built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in the 19th century. Linderhof was his primary residence and it is beautifully decorated inside. Neuschwanstein Castle inspired Disney and is stunning.
DAY Eight- Munich
Today we spent around Munich. It was a beautiful day and we got a lot of walking in all over the city. We visited the English Garden, Marienplatz, Old Town, Odeonsplatz, St. Peter’s Church, Frauenkirche and more.
DAY Nine- Nymphenburg Palace and Munich
Originally, our plan was to take a train from Munich to Salzburg, Austria for the day. This is a 1.5 hour train from Munich but after going a lot we decided we would rather take in more that Munich had to offer and have relaxing and fun day exploring the Nymphenburg Palace and taking in some iconic beer halls.
DAY ten- Munich
Today was predicted to rain, so we planned to visit the iconic Residenz Munich which was the former palace of the Wittelsbach Monarchs of Bavaria. It has ten courtyards and more than 130 rooms. The rooms are so impressive. You can get an audio guide but if you listen to it you may be there forever. By the end we were running through the rooms just to see them as Cal was starting to get hungry and tired. We had timed it perfectly though because all the rain occurred while we were visiting and the rest of the afternoon weather was perfect. I went up Peter’s Tower in the afternoon for an epic view of Marienplatz. This is stairs only so Cal and Thomas stayed below.
DAY Eleven- Munich back to Zurich
After breakfast we headed to Munich Main Train Station to catch the 3 hour train back to Zurich. We planned to stay at a hotel at the Zurich Airport as we had an earlier flight out and thought it would easier to do with the baby being conveniently at the airport. The airport has a bunch of dining options and the hotel was great!
DAY Twelve- Flight home
Today was our last day but was just a day of travel. We took a direct flight home. It was a wonderful trip and we made it much easier by not moving around with all our stuff between hotels. It is very easy to do day trips and just to enjoy the cities we stayed in.
