Swiss Made Grand Tour of Switzerland - an Epic Road Trip with NDTV Goodtimes

Grand Tour of Switzerland is a journey which takes you across the country over a distance of more than a thousand miles, and across towns, lakes, UNSECO world heritage sites and more. The journey is best experienced on its roads as a Road Trip. I was invited by the Swiss Tourism Board and NDTV Goodtimes to be a part of this epic journey and also be a star (haha - wishful thinking) for a TV show :)

Here is a short version of this week long trip :)

A stop-over during the Grand Tour of Switzerland

The sign of Grand Tour of Switzerland. Image credit: Swiss Tourism

Sometimes when I get up after a particularly satisfying sleep, I can distinctly feel the taste of chocolate in my mouth, see the bright colored flowers in the balcony, a long, winding and unending road, and company of some exceptional co-travellers. Such mornings are great and they tell me that the dreams Switzerland are still with me and even though I am back home, and that the memories of the magical land and the road trip will stay with me for a long long time to come.

On the way to Zurich...

This wasn’t the first time, I was doing a road trip in an unknown place with promise of meeting strangers and making new friends. More than a decade back when I did an impromptu road trip from Srinagar to Ladakh, the land was as new and unique to me as was Switzerland. However, every time I hit the road (on a bike, car, bus), all I look forward to are adventures and stories.

The planning for the Grand Tour with NDTV started on a rather unusual note. A call from a young woman telling me that in a week’s time I would be in Switzerland made me think of it all as a prank call from friends. It was only when I actually applied for a visa that I the feeling started to sink in - I was going to Switzerland on a road-trip! Well it all did come true and brilliantly together eventually :)

Every village looked as beautiful as this one!

To me the road trip was as much about the road as it was about the people I met as we zoomed past across cities. When I started the trip, I had no clue about the places I would be visiting in Switzerland and even when I got in my hand, I barely looked at it. So the next one week in car, walking on streets, sipping coffee in tiny cafes, waking up in strange new places, dancing on the streets, and more, were all surprises me for. All nights ended with discussing the plans for the next day and each of these conversations were a revelation to me almost everyday. This was one trip where I went with almost no homework, and so enjoyed it all the more!

Ah the gorgeous evening light!

Lovely view of Lake Geneva...

Top 'Grand Tour of Switzerland' experiences!

Traveling with a TV crew is a different experience though, and it actually takes a while to get used to a camera following you everywhere (well, almost). However, once I became friends with the camera crew, we had a blast together everywhere. We were in perfect sync with each other, I always got the cue quickly, and they always understood what kind of traveler I was. As I went about interviewing people for ‘Tell me your Dream’ project, they always followed me close by. We became natural allies in Switzerland.

I can go on and on about the background of the trip, but that’s a subject for another story. For this one, let me share my Top Experiences from the Grand Tour of Switzerland with NDTV. Before you read further, here is the complete map Grand Tour of Switzerland.

Map of Swiss Made Grand Tour. Image credit: Swiss Tourism

Falling in love with the roads and getting lost on them!

Our journey actually started with picking our cars - an Audi and an Volkswagen from Geneva airport, and hitting the road. Rachit and I were in the Audi while the girls chose the convertible to enjoy the breeze. However, very soon it became apparent that something was odd - the girls were gone for too long. For a while we thought that they took the wrong turn and went towards the French border, but we met a few hours later in one of the most beautiful possible Swiss villages for lunch.

View from the car...

A road trip in Switzerland... @ndtvgoodtimes @myswitzerland #SwissMade #GrandTour

A video posted by #TellMeYourDream2015 (@siddharthajoshi) on Aug 10, 2015 at 10:15am PDT

A road trip which starts on this note, certainly only got better with each passing day. We often spent hours on the road and I was mostly mesmerised by the beauty outside. The roads are predictably great, but the villages we passed by as we jumped across cities were class apart. I barely used my camera, and tried to soak it all in with just my eyes. The time spent on the roads was often more enjoyable than the city where we spent the nights. 

I love my co-travellers!

I think I am blessed by the Lord himself when it comes to travel companions. I am yet to go on a journey where I have not gotten along well with my co-travellers, and Switzerland was no different. I interviewed Rachit at the airport itself and so we broke the ice right in the beginning. Deeba was a little different though, she was absolutely and unpredictably one of the most hilarious travel companions ever for me. I think she made the journey so much more fun, next time I am planning to actually pay and travel with her :)

The bunch getting a little crazy :)

Ok. Looking more sane :)

Though Neha works with NDTV Good Times, we very quickly gelled well at a more personal level as well. We shared so many dinners, drinks and secrets that we were all pretty much like one large happy family in the end!

Meeting the chocolate chef at 6am

We did chocolate tasking at Max Chocolatier in the afternoon, and even though I loved the experience, I knew something was missing as we the chocolate chef had left for the day and I still had unanswered question - Why are Swiss Chocolates the best in the world?

No to be deterred, I fixed up an appointment with the chef for the next morning at 6am and that’s exactly what I did, even though my body kept demanding that I sleep more. Ove the next one hour and half, I had some great talks with the chef, tasted raw chocolate ingredients and finally found an answer to my question. Are you curious as well? Read: Why are Swiss Chocolates the best in the world?

Walking inside a glacier on the Top of Europe - Jungfraugh

From the moment I stepped on the railway station and met with the guide, I knew this was going to be one heck of a day! I hit it off immediately with the guide and he was also extremely happy about sharing all this life stories with someone - in short we made a perfect combination.

View of Alpine Glaciers from Jungfraugh 

The restaurant inside a glacier :)

Later when we go into the train which took us through the tunnel, he asked me to join him in the engine and sit with the driver. This was certainly a first for me and to be able to do it on one of the world’s steepest and most iconic train ride was in itself an experience. Needless to say, I loved it! The feeling of going deep into a dark tunnel with none in front was something memorable.

I also loved the time we spent walking inside a glacier, especially the ice bar which almost felt like being in a James Bond movie. The place is quite touristy, but I would strongly recommend it to anyone who visits Switzerland, it’s worth the rush!

My first visit to a Medieval castle - Chillon Castle

The first time I heard about the place, I rejected it and thought it would be much better to do a short trek in the Alps. However, Deeba showed me some images of the castle and I changed my ind immediately. It’s one of Europe’s most visited castles, and it’s location on the Lake Geneva makes it a perfect place for gorgeous pictures as well.

Beautiful Chillon Castle! 

Go there for history, stained glasses, wall paintings and the wine which is made in the cellar right there. If you are in two minds still, take my recommendation and make a trip to Chillon Castle.

That BIG jump into deep water - Canyoning in Interlaken

Now Interlake is as touristy as it can get in Switzerland. If there is one place outside New Zealand which can fight for the title of an Adventure Capital, it would probably be Interlaken. This means there are lots of people (though you hardly see anyone), and there are loads of adventure activities that one can try.

The crazy jump you cant seen the top of the rock! Pic credit: Outdoor Adventures

Our Canyoning group! Pic credit: Outdoor Adventures

We decided to try Canyoning, a name that I had not even heard before. The evening before we were to try Canyoning, I did a quick youtube search and the videos completely psyched me out, apart from giving me a huge adrenaline rush. However, the experience of actually doing it surpassed anything that I imagined it to be. I wore a GoPro all through the activity and captured some awesome footage, though I have almost no images to show here. Look out for our video when it gets telecast on TV, I am sure it would give you a bit of fright! :)

The steepest train ride in the world - Mount Pilatus 

From Alpnachstad to Pilatus Kulm, the world’s steepest Cog Railway line takes travellers all the way to the top of the mountain (well almost) and its a trip which is even better than any view you can get from top!

The railway started in 1889 (wow) and goes up at a gradient of a maximum of 48%! Actually if you take the train on the way down, it can feel a little scary going at that angle - but the stunning views will keep you distracted :)

Lake Lucerne from top...

A video posted by #TellMeYourDream2015 (@siddharthajoshi) on Aug 6, 2015 at 11:24am PDT

The people and their dreams

No journey for me is complete with our talking to the locals and collecting their dreams, and Switzerland was not different. I was actually quite worried about continuing my pet project there, but collecting dreams there was as fun as anywhere else in the world. People from varied backgrounds opened up to me and shared their stories.

I spoke to my guides, to my co travellers and most importantly to strangers on the streets. Not one person said no to sharing their story and dream. So much warmth!

Diving into a Swiss Lake

I had been telling anyone who cared to listed that I would like to swim in one of the hundreds of lakes in Switzerland. However, for some reason or the other (often it was lack of time), it kept getting pushed to the next day.

So, on the last day when we were driving to Zurich to catch our flight early next morning, we passed by a lake and Neha decided to fulfil my one BIG wish. She herself found the natural lake not as pristine clean as she would have liked, but we both still decided to soak in some cool water on a warm Swiss day. There wasn’t much to do, but throw water on each other and float away. Interestingly, I cold sun bathe while floating in the water :)

Picnic lunch in a Swiss Chalet in Geneva

I think this is what dreams are made of - an afternoon spent drinking wine, eating cheese, getting to know new people and sunbathing in a cool Swiss Chalet. Well, I did start the picnic with a bit of a disaster - I tried opening a bottle of Swiss Wine and ended up breaking the cork! This can be especially bad if you have cameras on you trying to record that moment when the bottle pops, but I made sure it never did :)

Our setting for the EPIC picnic!

Nevertheless, the picnic lunch experience at Geneva was perfect in every possible way. With this gorgeous old house in the background, what can actually go wrong?

The old Churches and Abbeys of Switzerland

I had somehow always associated Switzerland with beautiful landscape and villages with wooden houses, and so I was quite pleasantly surprised by the old architectural marvels in the country. The one place which left a lasting impact was Einsiedeln Abbey. I had an opportunity to interact directly with the father, and he even agreed to be interviewed by me. The images of the stunning interiors, especially the ceiling, stayed with me for days after I came back also.

Also worth checking out is the library and the horse-shed, both almost as old as the monastery itself. 

Swiss wine of Lavaux. And those gorgeous houses!

Did you know that Switzerland also had it’s own unique wine, and that it grew in a UNESCO world heritage site? I didn’t and so I was in for a surprise when we decided to drive there for lunch and wine tasting.

Deeba and I enjoying Swiss wine :)

The next few hours were a complete treat to the eyes and mouth. After some great fish caught from the Geneva lake just below the vineyard, Deeba and I went for some wine tasting and later for a walk through the old villages of Lavaux. The pictures that came out of the day were some of the favourite from the entire trip to Switzerland.

Where Sherlock Holmes faked his own death!

In 1893, Sherlock Holmes visited the Swiss Alps and at the Reichenbach Falls he had a scuffle with  Moriarty and fell off to his death. Of course, he faked his own death just as he himself was a character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Sherlock Holmes at Meiringen

During this trip Sherlock stayed at a beautiful and quaint village of Meiringen, which now also has a museum on him. It’s a popular tourist destination, especially for Sherlock fans but we ended up staying there because the hotels in Interlake were all full! The hotel was disappointing, but I loved the village and the small Sherlock clues spread all across. Looking for them is almost like a treasure hunt!

Fondue for lunch on the Swiss Alps

When Neha asked me if I knew what Fondue was, I was rather embarrassed because I knew was that it was something to do with cheese. While Deeba flaunted her status as a food blogger and rattled about how amazing Fondue was, I wanted to hide my face.

Setting for Fondue!

Rachit and Deeba arguing over something - a usual day :)

Anyway, we decided to try Swiss Fondue in the most traditional possible way. Usually there are fondue tables across the country which can be used by anyone passing by that route to make fondue. The table has space for making fondue and also space for people to sit and eat.

So did I like Fondue? I think it was alright; however as I was really hungry, I gobbled it all up rather quickly. What I loved more was the experience of setting up the table (of course, with help from our Swiss hosts) and eating it as a group from the same Fondue pan. Eating food from the same bowl builds bonds :)

Switzerland - the land of Bollywood Dreams

Dstaad is known as the Bollywood country in Switzerland and the full credit for this goes to Yash Chopra. While we still marvelled at the beauty of Kashmir in 1980s, Mr Chopra suddenly brought Switzerland to our theatres. The most unforgettable image from 1980s is the chiffon clad Sridevi shivering on top of the Alps.

Look at those Bollywood landscapes...

Lovely hotel at Dstaad...

Surprisingly, this part of Switzerland is as beautiful as it looked on the big screen. Every single road is perfectly manicured, not a single flower is out of it’s place and every small chunk of snow seems to be placed to make the view perfect. I absolutely loved these tiny towns, especially Dstaad. My only regret is that we didn’t get a chance to spend the night there.

A Train Ride to remember

Most would think of a road-trip as traveling in a car at all times. However, I am not the one to follow conventions and also decided to try out some luxury train experience to Lucerne. My co-travellers left me at the station and zoomed off in cars, while I joined local guide to accompany me and join me for a lovely lunch in the train. A journey is always more interesting than the destination, and the journey in itself is more interesting if you have interesting people around.

My companion in the train ride

Over the train ride of about three hours, I learnt much about the Swiss way of life and especially about the city of Lucerne. I had the a few hours free after reaching Lucerne and my guide gave me numerous tips on all things I could do based on my interests. Th loved his company, his talks and his life story as I also interviewed him for my ‘Tell me your Dream’ project. I would certainly recommend a train ride to anyone visiting Switzerland - it’s a way more relaxed way of looking at the gorgeous countryside than car ride.

Here's a guide to travel in Lucerne, if you ever end up being there: A magical morning walk in misty Lucerne

And finally...

Well, is this all? Not at all! I can go on and on and on with the list, and my readers can literally sleep off. This is just the highlight, and if you want to catch up on all the fun from Switzerland, do keep an eye on NDTV Good Times to catch me in action on TV :)

Let me end the post with some fun images with the most fun people in the trip :)

The four of us again :)

I am not sure if I am dancing here :P

Deeba posing!

And Rachit posing :)

All of us posing :)

Posing after wine tasting (the drivers didn't get to taste any of it :))

And finally Neha living her Bollywood moment :)

Our Audi with a Grant Tour sticker :)