There’s one thing that I wish I had during my summer holiday: a bigger budget for the Switzerland trip. Luckily, I had enough to visit the Schynige Platte Alpine Garden!
If you’re planning to visit this expensive country and earning in ringgit as a normal office executive, remember this: make sure that your budget is enough for you to enjoy the trip, so you don’t regret.
I knew that Switzerland was one of the most expensive countries in the world but I underestimated the fact.
I thought, the cities with beautiful views that I wanted to visit (Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Grindwelwald) were reachable by trains so it wouldn’t cost much.
“My budget would be enough,” I assured myself (translation: train tickets are affordable, right?).
Apparently, one-way train ticket from my place, Wilderswil to Lauterbrunnen was already CHF 6 (around RM30) 😅
And when I reached the beautiful villages, I would still need to take a bus or other transportation to do sport activities or see even more beautiful views.
Since I skipped Jungfraujoch that costed around CHF 160 (around RM800, CHF 1 = around RM5), didn’t take extra transportation, and didn’t do any sport activity, I told myself that I had to see at least one stunning viewpoint while in Switzerland.
So off I went to Schynige Platte Alpine Garden!
🌼🌹🌻 The CHF 64 train ticket was worth it 🌼🌹🌻
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Summer Breeze and Stunning Views of Schynige Platte, Switzerland
First of all, inter-village train ride in Switzerland is great. No matter which village you go, you can see beautiful views from the train.
Not forget to mention that the trains in this country are nice and comfortable!
But if you love flowers, want to see wonderful views from above, and have an OK budget, I feel Schynige Platte is a good choice.
Paragliding in Switzerland costs around CHF120-200 while the return ticket Wilderswil – Schynige Platte is just CHF 64. You can enjoy a scenic train ride up to the mountain and see stunning views of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau.
The entrance ticket is already included in the train ticket and you can wander around the Alpine garden by yourself easily.
Although I went there in the summer, it was chilly on top. So, bring a jacket, sunglasses, and nice hiking/walking shoes.
As it’s located on top of a mountain, you can expect a lot of stairs in Schynige Platte Alpine Garden. It’s more like a huge, natural garden on top of a mountain than the normal flower gardens in Europe.
The train from Wilderswil to Schynige Platte was full with passengers but when I went there, the garden wasn’t crowded.
I had a leisure walk there, nobody rushed me to climb up or down the stairs. Most of the times, there was nobody in front of or behind me!
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While waiting for the train back to Wilderswil, I saw a group of South Korean uncles and aunties with their hiking shoes. They seemed like they just had a good hike.
I just found out that Schynige Platte was also a popular hiking destination. Ooh, maybe most people went hiking instead of visitting the garden 🤔
Yup, I guessed it right. I should have done my homework before my trip to Switzerland! If you plan to hike in Schynige Platte, you can refer to this blog post or this one for some tips.
Important note: the train comes every 40 minutes. The last train down to Wilderswil is at 17:30, don’t miss it!
Traditional Swiss Dinner and Evening Walk in Interlaken
It was meant to be. I had no regret.
I mean, my Switzerland budget and the Schynigge Platte hike. Luckily I went to the Alpine garden instead of hiking, else I would miss the train down and the dinner with the group.
We had a traditional Swiss dinner consisted of cheese fondue and rosti (potatoes, shallowed-fried in a pan). For the dessert, we had chocolate mousse.
Gareth waited for me to finish my dinner, although he wasn’t eating. I was worried he’d missed the train so I suggested him to go first.
Luckily, I managed to catch him up at the train station so we could go to Interlaken together. It was a good evening walk thanks to the beautiful view, ambiance, and this:
Yes, this gelato and chocolate shop.
We saw it the day before, it had a very long queue and looked very nice. So, we decided to try it.
Gosh, it was one of the best dark chocolate gelato that I’ve ever had!!!
If you visit Interlaken, make sure that you drop by at Vittorio Vanini. Just look for a shop with a big chocolate fountain behind the cashier 😍🍫🍨
Interlaken is even more charming at night, with beautiful cafes and a huge lake in the middle of the park.
If you’re craving Turkish food and desserts, there’s a small shop that sells baklavas and other food near the Youth Hostel (opposite the train and bus station).
Of course, Gareth had to stop there for his baklava before we went home, haha 😁
Luckily we went there earlier compared to the day before, so we managed to catch the bus back to the hotel. Yaaay! We didn’t need to spend another €20 taxi fee 😄
Overall, I enjoyed my budget Switzerland trip. Thank you, Schynige Platte Alpine Garden, you made my day 💐💚💐
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