Topic Wiki

Trip Reports
Dan
Yungerman
chucksterace
VacationLover Part 1
VacationLover Part 2
Chapshnell
Tzadik Nistar
@Yehuda - 1 day trip
sam28
Sam28 St Moritz Switzerland kosher Grand Hotel Kempinski
Yehudaa - 18-hour Zurich stopover


Kosher food list 2022

Zurich
HOTELS
-The Park Hyatt is fantastic and a 10 minute walk to shul.
Tram stop: Stockerstrasse

RESTAURANTS

Meat:

Florentin - Located inside he JCC https://florentin.rest/
Tram stop: Bahnhof Enge

Grill Cave

Food truck. Check website for opening hours. Burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs etc.
https://www.thegrillcave.co/


Milk/Parve:

Babi's Bagels (Bederstrasse corner Klopstockstrasse 8002 Zürich) Tram Stop "Waffenplatzstrasse"

Bakery:
Ma'Adan Bakery
Manessestrasse/Schimmelstrasse
Has delicious pastries and also sells sandwiches, salads, and some sushi.

Butcher:
Metzgerei Kol Tuv

Can preorder for pickup.
Can also deliver throughout Switzerland by post.
See website for details.

https://www.koltuv.ch/en

ATTRACTIONS
-Walk around the lake area
-Bahnhofstrasse window shopping
-Take a train to Lucerne and buy the golden ticket, included a boat ride on Lake Lucerne, cogwheel train and tram. Then take bus back to Lucerne
-When you arrive in Lucerne you can go to the tourist office to see a live view from Mount Pilatus (Or you can check online). If it's cloudy skip the cogwheel train and just take a nice boatride and explore the town, ancient bridges, and walk on top of the old city fortress walls.




Options in the Alps

Arosa: Metropol Hotel - quaint little old hotel. Not very fancy - it's like honeymooning in your grandmother's house (HT: Mrs. Moishebatchy). The food is very basic, but delicious. Mikva on premises. If skiing is your thing, the have an agreement with one of the ski places (Härtner) not to charge Metropol customers for ski rentals over Shabbos.


Need a meal on shabbes, please PM me (Chuchem). I live 15 minute walk from the hyatt, close to chabad. Zürich has no eiruv!

Major Attractions
“Please edit the wiki to add more attractions”

Central Switzerland
-Lucerne, Pilatus Offers: Cogwheel, Gondolas, Alpine Sliding, Mini Zip-line and fun area
-Titlis Offers: Gondolas, Snow Tubing, Trutti Bikes, Ice Museum, Row Boating
-Brunni Offers: Gondolas, Alpine Sliding, Stroll in Lake(!)

Jungfrau Region
-Jungfrau/jungfraujoch Click here for the Kosher hotel in Wengen / 360-degree panorama of Jungfraujoch-Top of Europe
-Grindelwald Offers: Gondolas, mega Zip-line, Trutti Bikes

Eastern Switzerland
-St. Moritz
Davos / Klosters
Arosa Click here for the Kosher Levins hotel

Southern Switzerland
-Zermatt - "Matterhorn"
-Saas-Fee Offers: Gondolas, Alpine Sliding, Mega Zip-line, Trotti Bikes, (Saas-Grund has Monster Trotteres) and on top of "Allalin" you can go Snow Tubing and Skiing even in the summer!
-Crans Montana You can email the Kosher hotel in Crans Montana Hotelmk@gmail.com  or call them at 0032485640498 or 003233011600


HalbTax Pass

A HalbTax pass (or Half Fare card) is a card designated for tourists and not for Swiss residents (officially...). The card gives you half price on all public transportation like buses, trains, trams, boats and also on "most" cable cars (attractions). There are basically 4 kinds.

1) An annual pass, the price is currently 175 francs. If i remember correctly it has a photo ID of the recipient, so double check before sharing it.
Click here for the annual pass

2) A 30 day pass, the price is currently 120 francs, it does not have a photo ID on it.
Click here or here for the 30 day pass

3) - Recommended for frequent traveling Swiss Travel Pass - you prepay a set amount per day and get unlimited for that day (plus "optional" for a fee, for 1 month including the days you chose, it is a HalbTax, even on the prepaid free days, it's only free for all transportation, on cable cars you only get half off). The price per day depends on how many days you prepay, for example if you prepay 8 days, the price per day will be about 53 francs, if you prepay 3 days the price per day will be about 73 francs. If you are 25 y/o or younger, you can get the Youth Pass which is cheaper - If you prepay 8 days  the price per day will be about 40 francs a day, if you prepay 3 days the price per day will be about 62 francs.
Click here (or here) for the prepaid pass

The card comes with a few days “you could chose your dates later”, officially when you want to use a certain day for the free day you should fill in on the pass that date, and when the first conductor comes he punches that day, but technically you can leave the date blank until the conductor comes, that way you have a chance if no conductor asks you for your card (happens quite often) you can save it for the next day :)

4) Swiss Transfer Ticket" This card costs 141 francs and is valid for 2 trips from and to the boarder or airport, for example you are traveling from the airport to Arosa and are not planning to go anywhere else or take any other transportation, with this card you will effectively pay 71 francs per way. This card is only valid for trips to and from the airport or boarder and no (long) stops allowed. Technically if you will travel one more day, the Swiss travel pass mentioned above will probably be cheaper.

Make sure to order your pass a few weeks before leaving, it takes about 1-3 weeks for the pass to arrive. But you can always buy it in the Airport, though you might have to wait in line and also if you want to buy the Youth pass (for 25 y/o or younger) they might ask you for proof...

There is also a family pass if you travel with a large family, I am not familiar with that.


Fast Baggage
There is a service via SBB, They deliver your luggage for you!! For example you are traveling from ZRH to Arosa, you don't want to be busy Shlepping around your luggage, You can check in your luggage in the airport and they (SBB) will deliver it to the train station in Arosa. This service is available "from and to" most train stations in Switzerland. You can ask about the Fast Baggage by any train station or read here or here

You can even buy a tag that you put on the luggage before checking in your luggage in any airport (i.e. JFK) and Rail Europe will take your luggage from the airplane in Switzerland and deliver it either to your hotel or to the train station in the city you're going to.  Read about Flight Luggage Here




PS. When doing research and getting to a website in German, just add /en (after .ch) to translate to English.
And Hey, Don't forget to write a TR ;)

Sample Itinerary for 9 hour stopover on Swiss flight from TLV to U.S. that lands at 810 and takes off around 5
Copied from @cholent:
Here it is: landed in zrh, crazy line for entering country but moved pretty quickly, about half an hour. Picked up sim in the airport. Rented car through Priceline from europecar. Drove to Titlis, stunning scenery along drive. Missed a turnoff because I couldn't get Waze to talk and I was trying to do some stuff online while we were driving, added half an hour to get there, but the stunning scenery made it worthwhile. Got there, parked, you pay at the entrance if you're going to park for more than an hour. Paid, took the cable car. Got off at there halfway station by mistake, gorgeous lake. Went back on and back up to the top. It was somewhat cloudy which was a pity. Suspension bridge was fun but no view because of the clouds. Took the ice flyer to the other peak, then went sledding down the hill, lots of fun. No tubing because there wasn't enough snow. We didn't have enough time for the ice cave because of the extra time driving there and we weren't sure where it was anyway. Made some new Israeli friends and took the cable car down with them. Got back to the airport, returning the car took less than five minutes, getting through the airport took a little longer so we didn't have time for showers at the lounge. It was amazing all around, I would definitely recommend

« Last edited by yyzzrh on October 20, 2022, 01:16:48 PM »

Author Topic: Switzerland Master Thread  (Read 604243 times)

Offline The Guy

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #860 on: January 28, 2015, 01:16:47 PM »
In a few days i hope to update the wiki with info on attractions and also all about the Halbtax pass, it looks like there is a lot of confusion going on here.

Thanks, really appreciated.

Offline Elchay

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #861 on: January 28, 2015, 01:56:10 PM »
In a few days i hope to update the wiki with info on attractions and also all about the Halbtax pass, it looks like there is a lot of confusion going on here.
That would be greatly appreciated. I am also doing a 21 hr layover in Zurich in mid February (landing 7:15 on Sunday eve and leaving on 5:00 flight Monday) and was wondering what my options are. Is going down to Grindelwald to get a peak at the Eiger/Jungfrau to ambitious?

Offline VacationLover

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #862 on: January 28, 2015, 02:11:33 PM »
That would be greatly appreciated. I am also doing a 21 hr layover in Zurich in mid February (landing 7:15 on Sunday eve and leaving on 5:00 flight Monday) and was wondering what my options are. Is going down to Grindelwald to get a peak at the Eiger/Jungfrau to ambitious?
Jungfrau is a 4 hour train ride from Zurich not sure if it is worthwhile

Offline VacationLover

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #863 on: January 28, 2015, 05:10:28 PM »
Thanks, really appreciated.

That would be greatly appreciated.
I updated the wiki!
BL"N when I will have time I will fill in the info on the attractions.

Offline Chapshnell

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #864 on: January 28, 2015, 05:13:33 PM »
I added my TR to the wiki

Offline VacationLover

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #865 on: January 28, 2015, 05:24:31 PM »

Offline davmtl

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #866 on: January 28, 2015, 11:57:58 PM »
I updated the wiki!
Thank you!!! You just made my life (sorry, trip) a whole lot easier!

Offline Chapshnell

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #867 on: January 29, 2015, 12:30:52 AM »

Offline D93

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #868 on: January 29, 2015, 02:11:14 AM »

Offline VacationLover

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #869 on: January 29, 2015, 07:19:26 AM »
Im not sure how to make words look like a link
Insert hyperlink. Or i can do it for you, or something fishy can do it. He is one of the nicest people around.

Offline Elchay

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #870 on: January 29, 2015, 09:21:17 AM »

I updated the wiki!
BL"N when I will have time I will fill in the info on the attractions.
Thanks!

Offline VacationLover

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #871 on: January 29, 2015, 10:01:20 AM »
Doesn't it cost CHF 175 for 1 year ?
Is it worth it for me if I will be traveling from ZRH to Crans Montana, and back - almost 4 hours each.
Check the wiki i keep on updating it... I clarified that there is a Youth Pass. If you are 26 y/o or younger, definitely worth a 3 day prepaid card!! your total price will be $187 and you get 3 unlimited days!

Offline mosh47

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #872 on: February 01, 2015, 12:10:06 PM »
after reading throu this thread I came up with a 3 day trip from wed mor to sun mor wed mt titlis thurs st moritz fri Luzern mt pilatis we will be staying in luzerzn does this make sense ? we were thinking of going skiing in st moritz is ther a better place and any cheap  ? any info would be appreciated 

Offline VacationLover

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #873 on: February 01, 2015, 12:48:43 PM »
after reading throu this thread I came up with a 3 day trip from wed mor to sun mor wed mt titlis thurs st moritz fri Luzern mt pilatis we will be staying in luzerzn does this make sense ? we were thinking of going skiing in st moritz is ther a better place and any cheap  ? any info would be appreciated
Sounds good. You might wanna do Saas-Fee instead of st. Moritz either way check on sbb.ch/en how much time it takes to travel from Titlis  to St. Moritz/saas-fee . And cheapest would be a 3 or 4 day prepaid swiss card, check wiki about that card.

Offline mosh47

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #874 on: February 01, 2015, 05:52:20 PM »
Your saying saas-fee is better for skiing ?

Offline VacationLover

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #875 on: February 01, 2015, 06:01:59 PM »
Your saying saas-fee is better for skiing ?
Just realized you are a new guy here, welcome!

I was never yet at St. Morirz i was only by Saas-Fee and its stunned and is known for skiing. I am mentioning Saas-Fee cuz it might be closer to Lucerne than St. Moritz but check it on sbb to verify

Offline mosh47

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #876 on: February 01, 2015, 07:03:37 PM »
thanx

Offline The Guy

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #877 on: February 04, 2015, 12:08:39 PM »
Check the wiki i keep on updating it... I clarified that there is a Youth Pass. If you are 26 y/o or younger, definitely worth a 3 day prepaid card!! your total price will be $187 and you get 3 unlimited days!

Maybe add to the wiki about the "transfer ticket"

http://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/holidays--short-breaks-in-switzerland/swisstravelsystem/swiss-transfer.html

If I take the option to pre pay three days,what should I use when going out each day on the mountains on cable cars or trains if needed?

Offline VacationLover

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #878 on: February 04, 2015, 12:13:23 PM »
Maybe add to the wiki about the "transfer ticket"

http://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/holidays--short-breaks-in-switzerland/swisstravelsystem/swiss-transfer.html

If I take the option to pre pay three days,what should I use when going out each day on the mountains on cable cars or trains if needed?
Ha? You can purchase the prepaid travel card with many options for halbtax days. i.e. 3 days unlimited travel and 7days halbtax.

I never knew about the transfer ticket. You can add it to the wiki as i am not familiar with that
« Last Edit: February 04, 2015, 12:17:19 PM by VacationLover »

Offline The Guy

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Re: Switzerland Master Thread
« Reply #879 on: February 04, 2015, 12:25:26 PM »
Ha? You can purchase the prepaid travel card with many options for halbtax days. i.e. 3 days unlimited travel and 7days halbtax.
Wow, I don't realize that before.

On another note add to the wiki the hotel in Crans Montana.
When I was searching for a kosher hotel everyone told me only arosa.
In Crans Montana I hear it's nicer and 1000 chf cheaper per week.
Meir klein from Belgium takes the hotel for a few month in the year.
Hotelmk@gmail.com
0032485640498
003233011600