Holidays to Switzerland Travel Podcast Episode 156 Transcript

Wengen, Lucerne, Lugano: Tips for Planning an Unforgettable Family Trip to Switzerland

You can see the full show notes and listen to this episode > here.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Welcome to the Holidays to Switzerland podcast. If you’re planning a trip to Switzerland, this is the podcast for you. I’m your host, Carolyn Schönafinger, the founder of Holidays to Switzerland.com, and in each episode, my expert guests and I share practical tips to help you plan your dream trip to Switzerland. You’ll get helpful advice about traveling around Switzerland and hear about the most popular destinations, as well as some hidden gems. We’ll introduce you to plenty of wonderful experiences that you can enjoy as part of your Swiss vacation. Each episode is packed with expert tips, itinerary ideas, and inspiration to help make your Swiss Vacation Planning easy.

So, let’s dive in. Hi there. Welcome to this week’s episode. Planning a trip to Switzerland and deciding what to see and do can be difficult enough when it’s just you and your partner or you and a friend traveling, but when you are also traveling with children and grandparents, there are even more things to take into consideration. How will you plan your daily activities so that every member of the family, regardless of their age, is kept entertained and happy?

Today’s guest, Samantha Russell, was faced with that dilemma when planning her recent trip to Switzerland, but she found the perfect balance for a vacation that everyone loved. In this episode, Samantha shares her itinerary and the activities and excursions that her extended family enjoyed on their trip, and she has lots of tips that are relevant whether you are traveling with or without a family group or multiple generations. So, let’s meet Samantha. Good morning, or good evening for you, Samantha. Thanks so much for coming onto the podcast. Would you like to tell everyone a little bit about yourself and tell us how you came to be visiting Switzerland recently?

Samantha Russell: Yes, well, thank you so much for having me. I live in Pennsylvania, so yes, it’s good evening here in Pennsylvania in the United States, and I actually visited Switzerland for the first time a little over a year ago with my three children and a little bit of backstory. My late husband, Ryan, and I had planned to do this really cool trip to Switzerland, and we were gonna do all these hikes, and we mapped it all out.

I was pregnant with our third son, Teddy, at the time, and we kept saying, “Once Teddy’s born and I’m back in shape, we’ll go.” And then my husband tragically was diagnosed with brain cancer and ended up passing away. This October will be two years. Right after he passed away, it was a really long winter. Obviously, we were so sad, and I was going through every message with him and everything, and I found all these itineraries that he and I had created, and this specific one about hiking in Switzerland. I just thought, I need to do this.

At the time, the little boy that I had been pregnant with when he had gotten sick was now two, and I thought, I can do it. So I asked my mom and dad if they would come with me. They said yes. I spent most of that winter listening to a lot of your podcast episodes and planning this trip, and it was like therapy for me. We went last summer for the first time and we loved it so much. We instantly knew we needed to come back. So we just came back. My kids are now three, seven, and the oldest just turned 10 on this trip, and we went back again and spent about 10 days in Switzerland.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Amazing. Well, yeah, what a tragedy. But I guess your trip to Switzerland really gave you that connection to Ryan, because, as you said, you and he had planned these itineraries and what you were going to do. I’m so sorry to hear about that.

Samantha Russell: Thank you. I’m sure you’ve heard other people say this, or maybe you’ve felt it. There is something very magical about being in the Alps and looking at those mountains. You know, we stayed in Wengen both times, and it’s like my kids and I would say, you know, we felt like we were never closer to the universe or heaven, or whatever it is you want to call it. So it definitely has a healing property for me. I think I’m very drawn to the Alps in general.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, absolutely. Okay. So did your parents go with you again on this trip? I can imagine that traveling with three busy kids can be difficult at times when you’re traveling.

Samantha Russell: Yes, thankfully, I think they were thrilled to come again. So my mom and dad. My mom is in her late 60s, my dad’s in his early 70s, and then actually, I have two sisters that came with me on this trip as well. So they, neither of them are married or have any children of their own, and they were delighted to get to be the fun aunts and come along on the trip. So we had a full crew of varying ages.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, great. And for your sisters, was it their first time in Switzerland?

Samantha Russell: It was. It was. So I was so excited to show them why we had fallen in love with it.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, absolutely. Okay. So obviously, there were quite a few of you. How did you travel around Switzerland?

Samantha Russell: We 100% did trains this time, which was different. The first time we went, we had rented a car, and this time we did trains the whole time. I think I’d been a little intimidated the first time about doing the trains completely. You know, Americans are so car-dependent, but it worked out lovely. We took trains the whole time, and we didn’t have any issues at all. I was glad we had packed light. That made a difference.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, good. And so did you buy a rail pass, or did you just buy your tickets as you went along to get from each one place to another?

Samantha Russell: So actually, I felt really overwhelmed with what to do, and so I got a Half Fare Card. Each adult got a Half Fare Card, and then for the kids, they ended up being free.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, fantastic. All right, so can you just give us a bit of an overview of your itinerary, where you stayed, and then we’ll go back and get into it in a bit more detail?

Samantha Russell: Yes, so I’m just going to pull up. We actually have a blog, and I’ve listed it on the blog so it makes it easy for me to remember. So we did five nights in Wengen, two nights in Lucerne, and three nights in Lugano.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, so you were in Central Switzerland and then down into the Italian-speaking region. Which of these places had you been to on your previous trip?

Samantha Russell: So we had been in the same regions on the previous trip. I had been to Lugano before by myself without my children, and that was my parents’ first time there as well. And it was everybody’s first time doing Mount Rigi and some of those things in Lucerne. Because the last time we were in Lucerne, we just spent the night at a hotel after a late flight in, so we didn’t see much or do much. So even though we technically had been in the area, it felt like the first time.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, so I’m guessing because you’re trying to cater for lots of different age groups to keep everyone entertained, you probably had to plan your activities pretty carefully so that everyone was sort of kept happy all the time. So what sort of things did you choose to do that were suitable for all ages?

Samantha Russell: So we really focused. We all have such a love of the outdoors, and so whenever we could pair a time where we’re hiking and doing something active with, you know, a playground where the kids are going to love it, or choose a hike where there’s interactive elements for the kids, that’s always a win for everyone. My dad loves a good beer, so at the end of the hike, he can sit at a mountain hut and have a beer. That was great.

One of the things that was so cool was we were there right around, I think, August 1st, is the… I don’t know if it’s they call it Switzerland’s birthday, Swiss National Day? Yeah, Swiss National Day. So there were a lot of really fun cultural events and activities at the different places we were. So, you know, the day we were at Mount Rigi, for instance, in the Lucerne area, we stayed in Vitznau, which was all new to me, but we stayed at this really cool hotel called the Neuro Campus Hotel. It was great for families because the rooms were originally built to be apartments, and then they turned them into a hotel. So each of the rooms had a living space, a little kitchenette, and then two rooms and balconies overlooking the lake.

If you stay in Vitznau, there is the train, the cogwheel train you can take up to Mount Rigi, right there in the middle of the square. That’s what we did. We took the train up to Mount Rigi, and we spent the entire day up there. They had hiking trails. Obviously, there’s a playground. There are different stops along as you come down. We were able, I think it’s called Rigi Kaltbad, like the midway point. I’m probably butchering the name, but they had alpenhorn players, they had traditional dancers, they had cheese and chocolate tastings.

It just made for such a magical day to, you know, take the train all the way to the top of the summit, get all those views, and then make our way down. We did the playground, the traditional festival, I guess was what they called it. So it was a lovely, lovely day and a great place to stay, right there on the lake.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, fantastic. Okay, so let’s maybe start with Wengen. That was your first destination in Switzerland, is that right?

Samantha Russell: Yes, yeah, because I know you spent a bit of time there, hiking and visiting playgrounds. So maybe you could talk through the day excursions that you did, so our listeners can get a bit of an idea of what they can realistically achieve in a day, especially if they’re traveling with children.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, that’s such a good question. We love staying in Wengen for that reason. It kind of gives you a head start on the day in a way because you’re already up there in the mountains. I know some people will choose to stay in, for instance, Interlaken, and that’s great. But for us, we wanted to already be up in the mountains, just to save some of that travel time with kids.

So we stayed there, and the first excursion that we did was we took the cable car up to Männlichen, I believe, is how you say it. We got to the top, which has the most amazing views. We walked, I think it’s about a kilometer walk, pretty steep, so everybody feels accomplished by the time they get to the top, to the Royal Viewpoint there at the top. You can just see it’s really like a 360-degree view. You have views of the Eiger and the famous three mountains, the lakes down below. You can get the most amazing pictures, but it’s not that strenuous of a hike. So we did that, and we walked back down to where the cable car is, and there’s a really fun restaurant and a very famous playground that people probably have seen on social media. It’s the, I think it’s called the Herdsman’s Playground, with this big, massive cow.

My kids had the best time doing that. After we had some lunch, we took, I think it’s called the Lieselotte Trail. It’s a trail designed to entertain kids, a family-themed trail, and it’s mostly a descent, so you’re not going uphill. They have these little interactive stations, and you get a little map, and at each station, there are different activities that you do. So you might ring these Alpine cowbells, or use these water squirters to give the wooden ducks a refreshing bout of water. And then there’s a punch card that you get punched or stamped at each station. So my kids adored it. It made the hike so much fun. It keeps everybody entertained, and even my parents, my dad had knee surgery not that long ago, even he could do the descent hike without a problem.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, great. So where did you end up when you finished that hike? Was it at the midway station back down towards Grindelwald?

Samantha Russell: Yes. And we met a young couple, and they were gonna take the lifts down all the way to Grindelwald, and they were gonna keep going. For us, that was a lot already to do in a day. So we took them back up to the top, and then let the kids play the playground a little bit longer, and then took the cable car back down into Wengen. So that was like a big chunk of time for us. I think it took us maybe five or six hours, with all the playground time and the lunch time and everything. Then we went back and gave the kids some downtime, and then spent the evening in town doing some of the marble runs that they have there, which the kids also absolutely love.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, great. Okay, so what about the next day?

Samantha Russell: So then the next day was a big day for us, because my son, it was in honor of his 10th birthday, the only thing he wanted to do was go paragliding. So we had arranged through Airtime Paragliding, which is based in Mürren, to do that. And so we were all a ball of nerves. What I was shocked by was when I found out that you actually can be as young as like five and go paragliding. There’s really not, you know, very young children can do it because you’re tandem with a guide who knows exactly what they’re doing.

They were great. So we sort of divided and conquered. My mom and my one sister stayed with my youngest, who’s just three, and they kind of had a lazy morning. They went and visited the bunnies and did all that. My dad, me, my other sister, and my son took the train down to Lauterbrunnen, and then we made our way to the cable car at the back of the valley. We then went up and paraglided off of the edge of the cliff. I’m having a hard time describing it because I was terrified, but it was truly one of the most amazing things.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Wow. Yeah, you’re very brave. But I guess if your 10-year-old son wants to do it, you’ve got to show him how brave you are too.

Samantha Russell: Exactly. We always say in our family that being brave doesn’t mean you’re not scared. It means you’re terrified or scared, but you do it anyway. And so I was trying to live that for him.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Great. And your dad did it as well?

Samantha Russell: No, he stayed down and watched us come in and took some videos and things. And then the rest of the family met us, and we went to, I think it’s… I’m going to say, Staubbach Falls. So we were all, you know, riding high on that. We went over then. That day was very busy down there, so there was, you kind of almost had to queue up to see the waterfall. But that waterfall, it’s this beautiful waterfall that’s just plummeting into the valley, and I actually read, it’s one of the tallest free-falling waterfalls in Europe. Then you’re able to go into the rock underneath it.

Because my son is three, you need to be at least four to do the other waterfall at the end of the valley, which is Trümmelbach Falls. So we did this one instead, and this one was free, and that one has a charge. So that also is a win, win, win.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, so did that take the whole day for you, or did you do something else?

Samantha Russell: It took most of it. We did end by renting bikes through, I’m going to say Imboden Bike Rentals, right there in Lauterbrunnen, and we just did a little bike ride down the valley and back, which was also so fun because everyone could do it. They even have electric bikes. So we did the waterfall, the bikes, and then made our way back up.

Carolyn Schönafinger: And did I read somewhere that you also went to Fanksteg from Grindelwald?

Samantha Russell: Yes. So another day, we took the train down and then made our way into Grindelwald. When we got to Grindelwald, we were kind of debating what to do. You know, you read so much about Grindelwald First and all the activities there, but you also read about how bad the lines are. Since my son, who’s sort of the daredevil, had gotten a lot of that excitement out with paragliding, I thought, I think this would be a better option, especially because all the ages, because there’s a mountain coaster there that everyone could ride, and they have something called a fly line there, which is, again, everybody could do it. You only had to be about four to do that one, which I knew my littlest wouldn’t want to do anyway.

We had so much fun. You can buy a pass and get multiple rides on both the mountain coaster and the fly line, and there were no lines at all. We just were able to ride over and over. They have the sweetest little mountain restaurant up there and a playground with a bounce house. So we spent the good part of a day there. Then we again, divided up, and some of us did a hike, a really, really great hike right there, from the top of the mountain down to Grindelwald Glacier Gorge. It was supposed to be 60 minutes. It took us about 90 because we stopped for a lot of pictures and videos, because it was so beautiful.

Then the other group, the seven-year-old, the three-year-old, and my dad and my sister, they took the cable car back down and then took the bus and met us at Grindelwald Gorge. So again, we did a lot of that where we did stuff together, and then we would divide up based on people’s abilities.

Carolyn Schönafinger: But that’s the beauty of it, isn’t it? When you’re traveling with different age groups, you can do that, and the public transport makes it so easy as well. There’s usually a bus or a cable car that can get you to the end of a trail if you’re meeting up with someone who’s walking.

Samantha Russell: Oh my gosh, absolutely. It was so perfect because, you know, they weren’t in a rush. They let the kids play the playground a little longer while we started the hike. That hike was… I thought for sure we would see a lot more families on it, but we didn’t. It was so wonderful. I don’t think as many people know about… I hadn’t read anything about it, but if you’re wanting to visit, do the mountain coaster and the fly line and then pair it with the glacier gorge, I think it’s such a great option to hike down that way.

Carolyn Schönafinger: I remember years ago when we visited there, when our children were small, I still had this thing about cable cars. I’m not that fond of heights, and it’s only in the last few years that I’ve gotten over myself and now go in cable cars. But my kids wanted to go up to Fanksteg, and I said, “Well, there’s no way we’re going in the cable car.” So we walked up and nearly killed us, and they weren’t happy, but at the top, at the time, there was that mountain coaster, so that was a nice reward for them.

Samantha Russell: I was always like you. And, you know, it is so true, the more you do it, the more you trust it, and it starts to like, become, okay. You don’t like it, but it’s not as scary, the cable car rides.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, absolutely. Okay. So that was basically your time when you were based in Wengen.

Samantha Russell: The only other thing we did that I didn’t mention was we did do a day where we just went up to Mürren and walked through the sweet Alpine village and took the funicular up to Allmendhubel’s playground, and there are some hiking paths up there. Again, it was so great because, you know, you can take lots of public transportation, which is so much of the fun, and then there are so many varieties of hikes once you’re up there. We didn’t do like, a very strenuous hike. We just did this little flower trail. There, I mean, I could sit up there all day and look at those mountains with that view. So it’s the other side of the valley, and it gives you a completely different perspective.

I just think Mürren is such a quaint Alpine village. You could spend all day there. So that was the only other thing we did. My kids loved that playground as well because it was a hot day and they have like a water feature where you can run through, and you don’t know when it’s going to squirt you. It’s like a water maze. So they really enjoyed that.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, well, that’s great. So from there, you moved on to Lucerne.

Samantha Russell: Yes.

Carolyn Schönafinger: And then, so from there, you did the excursion to Mount Rigi that you mentioned earlier. Was there anything else that you did whilst you’re in Lucerne?

Samantha Russell: The other day that we were there, the weather was not as good, so we weren’t really sure what we were going to do. Like, should we do the Swiss Transport Museum? We thought, “You know what, we’re going to get out our raincoats and give it a whirl.” Because everybody really wanted to see Old Town Lucerne, and we really wanted to do a boat ride, so we got a bus to Weggis from Vitznau, a quick bus ride, and then we got on the boat there, and the boat took us to downtown Lucerne.

Then we just went to this adorable chocolate shop right there in the center of town. It has a wall, if you’ve been to Lucerne, I’m sure you’ve seen it, where the chocolate runs down the back of the wall. We all spent so much time picking out chocolates and tasting them. Then we sat down and tried all the different chocolates together. Then we wandered the town some more and looked at all of the buildings that were painted with these beautiful murals. We visited a church that was there in the center of town. So we really just paired the boat and walking the lakeside promenade and going into the town as the most of the day.

Then we took the boat back and really enjoyed a lovely dinner in Weggis before we then took the bus back again. So again, with a group that big, it was so lovely. We didn’t have to pre-book any transportation in advance or anything. It was really easy to figure out. I was so pleasantly surprised.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Oh, that’s good. And there’s so much to see in Lucerne as well. I mean, it’s not a big city, but especially by American or Australian standards, but there’s certainly a lot to see.

Samantha Russell: Oh, yes, for a day. Yeah, you can easily spend a full day, I’m sure, longer. But for us, it was perfect.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, good. So then you went on to Lugano. So did you need to go back into Lucerne to get the train to Lugano?

Samantha Russell: Yes, exactly. And it was an easy train ride. It was no problem at all. You know, there’s certain parts of it that are really pretty. Then we arrived in Lugano, and it was so funny. It was like stepping into another world. The weather was completely different from the rainy time we had had in Lucerne. It really felt like you’re stepping into Italy in a way, because we had done Lake Como the previous summer as part of our trip. My mom and dad kept saying, “I can’t believe this is Switzerland.” Like, it feels like we’re in Italy in a lot of ways. So we were there, we basically have two full days then in Lugano.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, so I think you might have done a mountain excursion whilst you were there too. So can you tell us about that?

Samantha Russell: Yes, so right behind our hotel where we were staying, there was the funicular that you could take up to Mount San Salvatore. We took the funicular up to the top. Again, that’s great for all ages and abilities. We took the very first ride of the day up there. We wanted to get a head start, and when we arrived, we had coffee and croissants in the little restaurant. Then they actually have these pictures and storyboards everywhere that tells the story. This fable basically about this mountain man that these two children were scared of, these peasant children and this witch. My three-year-old, especially, was so into it, and he wanted to go look for this creature that they said lived on this mountain. So we spent a lot of time reading all these boards, and then we made our way up to the top, very, very top, first to the old church that’s up there, where you have this amazing 360 view of the entire lake below and the city.

We took some pictures up there. We visited the church, and then we came back down. Again, we split up, so the youngest little one stayed with grandma and grandpa, and the rest of us, including the seven and nine-year-old, departed for a hike. All of the hikes leave from right behind the restaurant, so it makes it really easy, and they’re well marked. We hiked down the mountain all the way down to the lake and had so much fun because it goes through a lot of little villages that are like these little, feel like Italian villages, and you literally, the hikes go right through them. So we would stop and talk to the people living there, or get a drink of water, get a pastry. It just made for such a fun hike, because it wasn’t just like you were in the woods, you know, you were experiencing all these different towns along the way.

Carolyn Schönafinger: So was it very hot when you did that, or was it just like pleasant for hiking? Because I know in Ticino, where Lugano is, it’s usually pretty hot in the summer months.

Samantha Russell: Yes, because we left early enough, it wasn’t too too bad, but it was definitely warm. We were sweaty by the end, and we were originally going to go all the way to Morcote, which it said was about, I think, just under three hours. But my seven-year-old, about 15 minutes in, started asking when the hike was going to be over. I thought that might be too much for her. So we pivoted and we went to Melide instead, which was, again, it said it should be about an hour. It took us maybe an hour and 45 minutes. So we did stop and spend some time in the little villages and take pictures and things like that, but it was a decent sized hike for us.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, good. All right, so all of that pretty much took up that one day for you.

Samantha Russell: Yes, exactly. We went back and swam most of the afternoon. We went to a really great dinner, explored the cute little town, and they have like a Old Town Piazza with a little carousel that my youngest wanted to ride over and over and over again. My older two, they were so enthralled by the massive McDonald’s right on the promenade, they had to get ice cream cones from. So, yeah, we just… that was most of the day.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, all right. So what about the next day?

Samantha Russell: So the next day, I had read about this fishing village that you could go to, Gandria. We had a leisurely morning that morning, like just coffee and croissants and relax. And then about maybe around noon or so, we caught a boat from Lugano, and we took it to Gandria. Gandria is this fisherman’s village that it’s like stepping back in time there. It’s just so, so, so sweet.

The one mistake we did make, though, was we knew, after we visited this village that we were going to walk this path. We had brought our bathing suits, so I’d read how you could take the boat there and have lunch and then walk this path of the olive trees. It’s called, which sounded so magical and wonderful and that it will take you to this lido that you can pay a few dollars and spend the afternoon swimming. So that’s perfect.

But because my seven-year-old had kind of had a problem with the day before, I was like, “I’m going to bring the double stroller.” The three-year-old’s definitely not going to walk that far. Well, it’s all stairs in Gandria and very, very narrow alleys. So that’s the only thing, if you are going to do this, do not bring a stroller or bring a backpack. I’d keep a backpack of some sort instead, because it is not easy, or maybe a collapsible stroller, but it’s not easy to have a stroller there.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, as you said, some of the alleyways are very narrow, and there are lots of steps on that trail. I’ve done that myself. Okay, definitely not stroller friendly.

Samantha Russell: Yeah, it was, it was funny. But, I mean, you know, that’s why I work out, it was no problem. I couldn’t carry it, but she had to wait for people to clear the path. So one of the things that I was really impressed by in Lugano in general was we had a pretty big group, and we didn’t make any reservations in advance, and we always were able to find a place to eat. We were there the beginning of August, so like high season. So I thought that was very interesting and unique. You know, we hadn’t always had that experience. I just wanted to mention that in case someone’s going with a large group, to not be discouraging, like you have to have to have everything plotted out. What we did was just eat at sort of different times.

So that day, we had a late lunch, and then we made our way again along this path, and then we ended up at the Lido San Domenico, I believe, is how you say it. We spent all afternoon there. It’s not a zero-entry beach by any means. So if you do have young kids, you want them to know how to swim, or you’ll have to hold them. But there is a great diving board you can jump off of, and then you basically swim to this platform in the middle of the lake. We just did that all afternoon. They have a little restaurant there, a snack bar. It was so magical. And then we walked back into Lugano. So another long day again, but it was great for everybody. Everybody had something that they could do that they liked.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah. Oh, good. And was that the end, right at the end of your trip? Then, did you then fly out of Milan?

Samantha Russell: Exactly. So we took the train to Milan the next day.

Carolyn Schönafinger: So what do you think were the highlights for each generation that joined you on your trip? What did your kids like the most?

Samantha Russell: The youngest two, for sure, loved just the playgrounds. You know, going to these playgrounds, they were so massive and different from being at home, and these views and the interactive elements, I think they would both say that was the highlight. My 10-year-old loved all the thrill stuff. So he loved jumping on the net over the glacier gorge with the water running underneath, and loved paragliding, the mountain coaster. For me, it was the hikes. I mean, I can’t get enough of these hikes, and I’m hoping my children are growing to love it as well.

Then my dad, he loved that he didn’t have to work hard. He could take a funicular or cable car and end up with these amazing views that, you know, normally you’d think you’d have to hike to get to, and have these incredible views no matter where we were. So he loved that the most. My mom and sisters, I think they all really love just the old towns and the, you know, just some of the quaint villages. Old Town Lucerne, they really loved the history and the culture side of it.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Well, there’s certainly something for everyone, that’s for sure. Do you have any tips that you would like to give to our listeners who are perhaps planning a multi-generational trip, or even just, you know, like mum and dad taking their kids to Switzerland?

Samantha Russell: Yeah, I think you know before you go, it can feel really overwhelming. So I did spend a lot of time listening to this podcast, reading blog posts from other people who had gone, watching videos of hikes. I think one of the things to note is that if somebody is an avid hiker, and they read a sign and it says it takes 60 minutes, just to be prepared with your little kids and walking and stopping, it can take a lot longer.

If you do want to hike with your children, you know, get them started before you leave for the trip. So doing hikes at home, or even if you don’t live in a place that’s got mountains or anything, you know, walking the neighborhood for keeping them on their feet for longer periods of time and not expecting them to just show up in Switzerland and be able to hike for 60 minutes. We also would always bring, like, little marshmallows or something. And every 20 or 30 minutes, everybody would get one, a little pop of sugar to keep you going. So, you know, just having a plan.

And I think when it comes to grandparents and, you know, having multi-generations, asking everybody, “What are you most excited to see or do?” And trying to make it so that every day, everyone’s checking off at least one thing. So it might not be that the whole day is exactly what you want to do, but you know that somewhere in there is going to be your turn.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, great advice. So is there any plans for returning to Switzerland?

Samantha Russell: We already booked our stay for next year. We truly love it, and I think it’s just something so, like I said, so magical for us about the Alps, especially. So we booked our Wengen apartment because I was sharing where we were staying on my Instagram page, and all these people started booking it, and I got so scared, I was like, “I better hurry up and book it before it gets completely taken.”

Carolyn Schönafinger: Oh, well, it’s always good to have a trip to Switzerland booked, that’s for sure. Now, talking about that Instagram page, if people want to follow along with you and look at what you posted about your recent trip and your next trip, where can they follow you?

Samantha Russell: Yeah. So the Instagram page is @jollygoodtravel. And then we have a blog, jollygoodtravel.com, and we just posted all about our Switzerland itinerary there as well. So both of those would have lots of information.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Fantastic. Well, I’ll include those links in the show notes so that if anyone just missed that, they can click on through and follow all your travel adventures and get all your tips as well. Thank you so much, Samantha, for sharing your travel adventures with us today.

Samantha Russell: Thank you so much for having me. This was so much fun. Wonderful. Thank you.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Samantha and her family have obviously fallen in love with Switzerland, and who can blame them? It’s such a stunning country that offers something for everyone, regardless of age. I’m so happy to hear that they have already started making reservations for their next trip.

I’ll include the links to Samantha’s Instagram page and blog in the show notes for this episode, along with links to my articles about the Swiss Half Fare Card and how to choose the best Swiss Rail Pass for your trip. You can also get a copy of my free Swiss Rail Pass cheat sheet and find out more about my Switzerland Rail Pass comparison calculator in the show notes too. Those show notes are at holidays to switzerland.com/episode156. In next week’s episode, we’ll be learning about the gorgeous boutique towns around Lake Lucerne. I hope you can join me then. Until then, Tschuss!

You can see the full show notes and listen to this episode > here.