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Switzerland, Alsace (France)

Time travel:

Airport:

Zurich Airport, Zurich, Switzerland

Route :Zurich - Bern - Bulle - Montreux - Evian - Annecy - Neuchatel - Colmar - Mulhouse - Guebwiller - Equisheim - Colmar - Strasbourg - Colmar - Ribeauville - Riquewihr - Kayserberg - Colmar -  Obernai - Selectat - Colmar - Haut-Koenigsbourg - Weil am Rhein (Germany) - Zurich

Automobile:

VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT STATION

A few words about  preparing for the next road trip.

About the route.We chose Zurich as our airport. Firstly, the flight from Tel Aviv to El Al to Zurich was noticeably cheaper than in other companies. Secondly, Zurich is simply closer to the goals of our road trip.

  In the initial phase of our journey, we sort of returned to 2002: Bern,   Montreux, Evian, Annecy. And then Alsace awaits ours!

Automobile.We ordered a Skoda Octavia Station with an automatic transmission. It seemed to us that the trunk is the largest in this class of cars.

Hotels.Since the countries we are going to are almost the most expensive, we set a goal  to book hotels up to 100 euros per day.
In France, we achieved the result easily, because we booked hotels in the B&B Hotels chain (Annecy and Colmar). But in Switzerland, we tinkered for a long time. As a result, we booked the first hotel in Bulle, and the last ... in Germany, in the Basel region - three borders touched there: Switzerland, France, Germany.

On other material and technical support.In recent years, auto travel, we have armed ourselves, as they say, to the teeth:
- two GPS navigators  with fresh (2015) maps of Switzerland, France and Germany;
- conventional road maps;
- digital video camera;
- two digital cameras with a rich set of memory cards;
- an e-book with dozens of files to read;
- iPad with materials on the subject of our auto trip;
- four mobile phones;
- spare batteries and chargers for all equipment.

First day

Zurich

We flew from Ben Gurion to Zurich at 7.10 am. The flight took place normally, as they say, in the normal mode.
  We arrived in Zurich around 10.40 local time. In Zurich, on the first day of our trip, only EuropCar pick-up was programmed. It turns out that we were not expected here - the car is not yet ready. We were asked to wait a little and as compensation they offer an additional driver for free. Already good!

  We are waiting. Half an hour later we are told that the car is ready, they give us the number of the parking lot. We trudge there with all the luggage, we come to the parking lot, and there ... it's empty! We send our messenger back to the office. They say: excuse me, here is another car, they give a new parking number. We arrive at the place, and there ... Skoda, but not Octavia, but Yeti - it has a trunk three times smaller! We are again, for the third time, sending a messenger. Finally, we get not an Octavia, but a Volkswagen Passat Station! As it turned out, in this car the trunk is no less: all our 6 suitcases fit! And one more thing, looking ahead: we found a built-in GPS in this car, in addition to our 2 GPS, and it works, including in Russian. In recent days, we have only used the built-in GPS.

  So we start our road trip. Here is the first day map:

As you noticed, immediately after the flight and getting the car, we went for a walk in Bern.

Berne

The first point in Bern that GPS took us to was the underground parking in the central station. Very convenient parking! Plus it's the cheapest! Here is her address: Bahnhof Parking AG Parkterrasse 14 Postfach 5474 3001 Bern.

  And here is the map of the central district of the Swiss capital, which helped us on the spot:

Here are some photos specific to Bern:

 The Old Town is dominated by tall houses covered with tiled roofs. The first floors are solid arcades that stretch through the entire central part of Bern.

Bulle

This city   is not famous for anything. We just booked a hotel here. It was in the center of the city, there are many shops and coffee shops around.

Here is her address: Hotel des Alpes, 3, rue Nicolas Glasson, 1630 Bulle, Switzerland

True, it was not very convenient with parking. It was located on a nearby street, until 10 pm you have to pay at the automatic cash desk, then until 5 am for free, then again you have to pay.

Second day

Here is the second day map:

Montreux

Montreux is the center of the Swiss Riviera. After 2002, when we were here, nothing has changed. But it is very pleasant to take a walk on the embankment along Lake Geneva, especially since the weather is favorable for this. That we enjoy doing it.

Chillon

Behind Montreux, a breathtaking panorama opens up against the backdrop of snow-capped mountains. At the steep slope of the colossal mountain, the gray walls of the Chillon Castle, the main attraction of Montreux and all of Switzerland, are visible. This is one of the most famous castles in Europe, shocking Byron and sung by him in the poem The Prisoner of Chillon Castle.
 

Evian

The same thing that we did in Montreux, we do in Evian (Évian-les-Bains) - we walk along the embankment along Lake Geneva, but this is already France!

Annecy

We ended this long day in Annecy.
  First of all, we checked into our second hotel. It is located not in Annecy itself, but in its suburbs.
 
  Here is her address: B&B Hotel ANNECY 50 impasse de Lécherte CD 173, 74370 Argonay-sur-Pringy, France
  Site: //www.hotel-bb.com/en/home.htm
  This hotel chain is good for everyone: free parking, good amenities, towels are changed every day, and WiFi is very stable.
There is only one problem: the room is very small, at least half a meter wider.

In the evening, after a short rest, we went to Annecy to at least have dinner.

Our dinner turned into some kind of show! We (each!) were brought a board with cut pieces of meat of different kinds.

And in the middle they put a gas brazier, on which we roasted meat for ourselves.

Yummy!!!

Third day

We spent the whole third day again in Annecy.

  Here is the map of Annecy Central

I must say that, unlike our first visit in 2002, this time Annecy was a bit disappointing. This day was Sunday and the whole old city was turned into an ordinary market.
  As compensation for the relative failure, we took a boat cruise on Lake Annecy.
  Lake Annecy is considered the cleanest lake in Europe. The second largest lake in France (length 14.6 km, width 3.2 km). Maximum depth 82 m.

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