Switzerland Day 7 (14 Jan 26) – Zermatt: Klein Matterhorn & Zermatt Village – From the Glacier Paradise to the Alpine Village

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Matterhorn – The Toblerone Mountain

Matterhorn is perhaps most famed for its presence on Toblerone chocolate bars and was often used as a poster child for Switzerland. A visit to the country is not complete without a visit to the mountain. However, Matterhorn is not accessible unless we are experienced climbers (which we were not); the closest we can get is Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, located on Klein Matterhorn. Klein Matterhorn is separated from the Matterhorn by the Theodul Glacier and offers the closest, most direct, and spectacular views of the Matterhorn. 

We woke up early to watch the sunrise over the Matterhorn from the balcony of our apartment.

Ascending to the top of Matterhorn Glacier Paradise at 3,883m

Getting to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise was a breeze, thanks to the engineering prowess of the Swiss in their cable car construction. We headed to the Glacier Paradise base station and got our tickets, which we were able to get half price using our Half Fare card. The base station was packed with skiers going up the mountain this morning. Despite the long line, the queue actually moved very fast. We found ourselves on the cable car going up to the mountain in under 5 minutes of queue time. The way up to the mountain was easy, with only one change of cable car in between. As we ascended up to the mountains, we were treated with views of the Zermatt Village and the Swiss Alps. And all these while, the pyramid-shaped Matterhorn never left our sight, as though the mountain was protecting us on our way up. The first cable car brought us up to 2,939m to Trockener Steg, passing by three cable car stops at Furi, Schwarzsee, and Furgg along the way. When we were riding past Schwarzsee, we spotted the huge “Zermatt” sign. This was the sign that I wanted to bring my friends to take pictures with, but I found it difficult to access when I was planning this trip. I was elated when I saw that this sign was so close to the cable car station. I told my friends about this sign and would return on our way down, as it would be difficult for us to get to the top with the amount of skiers going up the mountain. After another 15 minutes, we reached Trockener Steg, where we changed onto another cable car up to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise.

Glacier Paradise Top Station

When arriving at the top station of Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, we originally wanted to visit the viewing platform, which promised us a spectacular view of the mountains. However, the viewing platform was under renovation during our time of arrival, and would only be opened at the end of January 2026. Since we couldn’t visit the viewing platform, the next best alternative was the skier’s start point next to the restaurant. It was chilly and very windy the moment we stepped out of the building. The chilly winter alpine wind kept blowing our way, making standing outside the building a torture. Despite the chilly winter wind, stepping outside the Glacier Paradise top station building treated to a view of the winter wonderland of the Swiss Alps. The viewing was spectacular. We shuttled in and out of the building to take in the views and a quick wefie before we gave up and headed to the Glacier Palace.

Glacier Palace

The other activity to do up here at the top station of Matterhorn Glacier Paradise for non-skiers was to visit the Glacier Palace (other than visiting the viewing platform). Perched 15m below the surface on top of the 3,883m Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, the centuries-old ice formations sit on the broad glacier between the Kleine Matterhorn and Breithorn, which is the highest Glacier Palace in the world. Our visit to the Glacier Palace started with a lift ride 15m below the surface to a tunnel of ice where we saw numerous ice sculptures ranging from bears to eagles to wolves and even ice sculptures of humans. There is even an ice bar and an ice slide. The ice slide was carved into a tunnel, which looked dark and claustrophobic. However, once we had a go, it was not as dark as it seemed, and it was quite fun. The only issue we found was that the slide was not slippery, especially with the mat that was provided. We thought it was better without the slide. After playing with the slide, we explored the rest of the ice cave and saw more ice sculptures. We spent a total of 30 minutes in the Glacier Palace.

Cinema Lounge

Our last stop at Matterhorn Glacier Paradise was the Cinema Lounge, which was situated at the entrance from the cable car station. Since we were here, we figured to take a look at what the Cinema Lounge offers. To our disappointment, we thought the film shown in the lounge was boring. There is a limited number of hanging chairs for visitors to sit and watch the replay run videos of people climbing to the top of the Matterhorn. I thought it was not worth the time coming to the Cinema Lounge, unless one has time to kill. Seeing there was nothing else to do up here (no snow fun park for us to sledge), we took the next cable car and descended the mountain.

The Lower Stations of Trockener Steg and Schwarzsee

Before heading back to Zermatt, we had lunch at the Trockener Steg. There are two types of dining available at Trockener Steg – the sit-down full-service and the canteen-style self-service restaurants. We opted for the canteen style and found the food to be reasonably priced and delicious. Other than dining, Trockener Steg offers visitors a great spot for pictures with the iconic Matterhorn.

Schwarzsee is our last stop before we return to Zermatt. It is the second last station on the mountain before we reach Zermatt. We did a brief stop here to take pictures with the “Zermatt” sign. As the sign sits at the side of a ski slope, we had to walk down the slope to get to it. The “Zermatt” sign at Schwarzsee was a great spot as the letters were set against the Matterhorn.

Exploring Zermatt

It was already 2 pm when we arrived back at Zermatt. We originally planned to visit the Rothorn, but seeing that the last descent from Rothorn was at 3.30 pm, we figured it was not worth going up since we would not be spending much time on the mountain. We changed our plan to spend the rest of the afternoon visiting the sights in Zermatt.

Municipal Administration Office Viewpoint

There are a handful of sights in the village of Zermatt which can be seen in one afternoon, due to the compact size of the town. We stopped by a viewpoint of the Matterhorn outside the Zermatt Municipal administration office. This viewpoint gave us a good view of the Matterhorn against the traditional Swiss alpine cottage. As it was situated on an elevated platform, we were not worried about blocking the human traffic on the main street. There are some benches placed here for people to rest and admire the beauty of the Matterhorn. With the wooden alpenhorn strategically placed on the stairs to the platform, I thought this was a good place for people to take pictures of the Matterhorn and the traditional long Swiss horn.

Pfarrkirche St. Mauritius

Our next destination is the Pfarrkirche St. Mauritius, situated in the centre of the village, just next to the Municipal administration office viewpoint. One cannot miss this church due to its location and its distinctive stone structure, bell tower, and green roof. The church, dating back to 1285, is the tallest structure in Zermatt. Unlike the churches we saw in Italy or Paris, the exterior of Pfarrkirche St. Mauritius is rather plain, with the exposed stone feature on the tower. As with its exterior, the interior of Pfarrkirche St. Mauritius looked equally clean, without elaborate carvings and frescoes. The only fresco is painted in the centre of its ceiling, depicting Noah and his ark. The main altar features a baroque style with elaborate carvings, with the statue of St. Maurice installed in the centre of the altar.

The Matterhorn Museum is another sight in the centre of Zermatt, next to Pfarrkirche St. Mauritius. The distinctive glass-domed building was a stark contrast to the traditional architectural style of the church. The museum archives how Zermatt changed from a sleepy farming village to a world-renowned alpine village. It also displayed wooden cottages and the effects of the first climbers of the Matterhorn. We did not enter the museum as it costs CHF 12 to visit. There is a cemetery behind the church (which we discover in the evening when walking past it), with graves of the mountaineers who scaled the Matterhorn.

Hinterdorfstrasse

The main street of Zermatt, Bahnhofstrasse, ends at the train station, which is filled with shops selling from souvenirs to luxury items. Most of the restaurants and supermarkets are found on the Bahnhofstrasse. We made a detour off the Bahnhofstrasse into Hinterdorfstrasse. Often missed by visitors to Zermatt, the Hinterdorfstrasse is a small street with traditional Swiss wooden houses built on both sides of the street. These houses used to be barns and stores for the residents to store their harvests. The distinctive stone stabs these houses sat on were designed to keep mice out. Today, the facades of these houses have not changed, but their function changed. Most of these houses were converted to chalets and cafes. I even saw a plaque on one of these houses that dates the house back to the 17th century for the storage of sugarcane and bread. I thought Hinterdorfstrasse is a great spot to take in the historic vibe of the town and makes a great photograph spot, especially in winter when the houses are blanketed with snow.

Murini Hill – Sunset in Zermatt

As it was approaching sunset, one of the things that we planned to do was to view the sunset and see the village of Zermatt light up from Murini Hill. Murini Hill is situated in northern Zermatt, past the Zermatt train station and Rothorn cable car station. The walk up the hill started with a climb up a gentle slope, and the walk up the hill ended with a 300-step staircase. There was a small crowd by the time we reached the viewpoint on Murini Hills, all waiting for the sunset and the village light up. This is the viewpoint from which the iconic photo of Zermatt glowing at night with the Matterhorn Mountain standing solemnly behind was taken. We watched the sky turn from light blue and eventually be taken over by darkness, and Zermatt slowly be taken over by warm orange light. The view was spectacular. We were glad that our patience paid off as we waited for sunset. We did not wait for the sky to turn completely dark; we headed to the supermarket to buy dinner and breakfast before heading back to our apartment to rest for the night.

Switzerland Day 6 (13 Jan 26) – Interlaken: Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe

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We woke up to a hazy Interlaken today. Initially, I planned to visit Jungfraujoch, followed by Lauterbrunnen today. Since we visited Lauterbrunnen yesterday and had only one sight on the list, we can afford to wake up a little later. As we will be taking an evening train to Zermatt, we checked out of our hotel early in the morning and left our luggage with the hotel, where we will return in the evening to collect it for our onward journey.

Getting to Jungfraujoch

Jungfraujoch, with its nickname “Top of Europe”, is very misleading. Initially, I would have thought this meant the mountain would be the highest peak we would visit during this Switzerland trip. At 3,400m, Jungfraujoch certainly sounded like the highest peak. We would subsequently find out that the Matterhorn Paradise (that we will be visiting tomorrow) towers over Jungfraujoch by almost 500m, and that would be the highest peak we visited on this trip. Jungfraujoch was called the Top of Europe due to its housing the highest railway station in Europe. There are two ways to get up to Jungfraujoch from Interlaken: the all train option via Lauterbrunnen, or one leg with cable car via Grindelwald Terminal. For the first option, one would need to change trains three times, in Lauterbrunnen, Kleine Scheidegg, and Eigergletscher. The cable car option requires us to take a train to Grindelwald Terminal, and change to a cable car to Eigergletscher to catch another train to the Top of Europe. The cable car route is 30 mins faster compared to the all train route. As we wanted to try both routes, we took the cable car route during our ascent and the train option when descending. One point to note for those who got the Bernese Oberland Pass and Half Fare Card: the Bernese Oberland Pass also covers a partial train ride to Grindelwald Terminal and Lauterbrunnen. By booking our ticket from Grindelwald instead of Interlaken Ost Station (where we were staying), we saved CHF6 per person per way. We also found that booking tickets with the Half Fare Card gave us a larger discount than the Bernese Oberland Pass.

The train ride from Interlaken Ost to Grindelwald Terminal was uneventful, where we saw more winter scenery of the Jungfrau region. The beauty of this route lies in the cable car ride from Grindelwald Terminal to Eigergletscher. As the cable car pulled out of the station, we were mesmerised by the scenery of the land covered in white snow with huts concentrated at parts of the land, resting on the foot of the mighty mountain ranges in the region as though humans were seeking protection from these mountains. Occasionally, we would fly over skiers challenging themselves on the many ski slopes, having fun skiing down the mountain. At one point, we flew over forests of pine trees showing us their resilience, flourishing in the bitter winter cold. These trees looked as if they were competing with each other to reach for the sky. We even saw a train making its way up the mountain on the grounds below us. We could see the entire winter snowscape flashing past our eyes in the 15 mins Eiger Express ride.

The next leg of the journey involves a train ride through a tunnel. As the train runs on a schedule, having arrived at Eigergletscher via cable car gave us some time to explore the outdoor area of the train station. From here, we could see the glaciers sitting on the side of the mountain top. Soon it was time for us to board the train. It doesn’t matter which side of the train we were sitting on, as the train would travel inside a tunnel that brought us up to the peak station, and there was nothing much to see. There was a brief stop at Eismeer viewpoint, 3,160m up the mountain, where we were given time to look out into the glacier. This part of the mountain was a relatively flat piece of land covered in snow that seemed to form a bridge between two mountain ranges. I would advise people to sit closer to the door of the train as everyone rushes out at Eismeer to get a good spot at the viewpoint. The rest of the journey from Eismeer to Jungfraujoch was pretty much uneventful.

Attractions in Junfraujoch

360° Cinema

Once at the top of the mountain, we were greeted by a large cafe and a souvenir shop outside the exit to the train station. Here is where we saw people sitting around enjoying the views of the mountain. I found the view up here to be similar to that in Eismeer, with the exception that we were on a higher elevation. There is a fixed route for visitors to experience the six attractions at Jungfraujoch, which would end up returning us to the cafe and the souvenir shop. Following the signage, we arrived at the 360° Cinema. This cinema projects footage of climbers coming up to the summit of Jungfraujoch onto the wall. We did not find it particularly interesting as the film does not explain much about the formation of glaciers. We only stayed here momentarily and headed to the next attraction on the circular route.

Sphinx Terrace & Aletschgletscher

We skipped past the next two attractions along the route due to their closure. Technically, the next stop was supposed to be Sphinx terrace, an observation terrace outside the astronomical observatory on Jungfaujoch. When opened, the terrace would have treated us to the majestic views of the mountain ranges and a good view of the glacier below. The other attraction that was closed during our visit was the Aletschgletscher. This is the part where we would get to walk on the actual glaciers. I had initially planned to include a 1-hour walk on the Aletschgletscher to Mönchsjochhütte, a restaurant housed in a wooden hut. However, the path to the hut is only open from March to October, which means we were confined to the observation building. We were also disappointed to find that the snow fun park on Aletschgletscher was closed as well due to the closure of access to the glacier in the winter months.

Alpine Sensation

The next attraction on the route was the Alpine Sensation, a 250m corridor between the Sphinx Hall and the Ice Palace showcasing the development of Jungfraujoch. Entering the Alpine Sensation is like walking into a magical tunnel with the ceiling decorated with flowers; in winter, these look like snowflakes to me. I did not see much development of the area being displayed here, except for a couple of signboards talking about climate change and its effects on Jungfraujoch and another telling when the mountain was first climbed. I find the displays of wood sculptures of humans and benches dotted in this part of Jungfraujoch interesting. The large snow globe display gotta be the highlight in the Alpine Sensation and is what attracted me most here. With so many details, mainly carved out of wood, I spent at least 3 mins looking at the condensed version of Jungfraujoch, spotting things that are familiar to me, like the Eiger Express cable car that we rode on, and the train that we saw in the cable car. There was a natural stone tunnel after the giant snow globe with some vintage pictures of people climbing up Jungfrau from yesteryears, before the train was constructed. The tunnel led us to the next attraction, the Ice Palace.

Ice Palace

The Ice Palace in Jungfraujoch is essentially an ice tunnel carved out under the glacier in 1938. Entering the Ice Palace is like entering another world. The entire place is covered in ice, even the floor. Despite being made out of ice, the floor does not feel slippery. The highlights of the Ice Palace were the ice sculptures, where we saw a handful of sculptures like polar bears, penguins, eagles and a dragon. There is even a sculpture of a man playing piano and an ice bar. The ice palace wasn’t that big and took us only 7 mins to complete the tour.

Glacier Plateau

The highlight of our visit to Jungfraujoch would be a visit to the outdoor Glacier Plateau. This is where we found the famous twin Swiss flags with the peak of Jungfraujoch in the background, which everyone comes here to take. There was a short queue at the flag when we arrived. Everyone seems to have one objective here: take the mandatory “I was here” picture with the flag. We also joined the queue to take our pictures with the twin flags. As we spend more time here, we see more people coming to join the queue. If one wanted to take a picture with a Swiss flag, but did not want to join the queue, we saw another flag just further up the plateau. There was no queue for a picture with this flag, and yet it also offered the peak of Jungfraujoch.

Most of the visitors to the Glacier Plateau are here just for the iconic picture; only a handful bothered to walk around the plateau to look out into the Swiss Alps. There are two sides that offer different views up here. There is the side where we walked up from the building that offered an outdoor viewpoint of the Aletschgletscher, the largest glacier in the Swiss Alps. Like the views we saw previously, inside the building, the Aletschgletscher looked like a large flat piece of snowscape that seemed to bridge between two mountain ranges, making these mountains look shorter than they actually are. Nonetheless, looking out into the snowy desert of Aletschgletscher felt liberating. The other side of the plateau offered views into the nearby mountain ranges rising above the land. Unlike the mountain ranges we saw on Mt. Titlis or Schilthorn, not all of the mountain ranges we saw here were fully covered with snow. Let’s say there are more rocks than snow on these mountains. As there is only one spot for us to look out into the glacier and the mountain ranges, we did not spend too much time here.

After visiting the attractions on Jungfraujoch, there is really nothing much we can do up here (since the Glacier walk and the snow fun park are closed during the winter months). We waited for the next train to take us back to Interlaken. For our descent, we opted for the all train route. Unlike the upwards trip, the train does not stop at Eismeer from Jungfraujoch to Eigergletscher. The train departing from Eigergletscher requires us to change to another train in Kleine Scheidegg. For the descent route, we found the views on the left side of the carriage more scenic as we were able to see the mountain ranges and the ski tracks. We were also able to see the village of Wengen on the left side of the train, one stop before Lauterbrunnen. I thought the Glacier Plateau existed only for tourists to take their Instagram photos or TikTok videos of them holding up the Swiss flags. There are better views of the Swiss Alps for places that cost a fraction of the price; the “Top of Europe” marketed was not exactly at the highest point in Europe, but only refers to the highest train station in Europe. People are attracted here only for their “I was here” photo. Perhaps my perspective might change if we had the Sphinx terrace and the Aletschgletscher open.

Next Stop – Zermatt

Our train to our next town, Zermatt, departs at 6.07 pm. We made it back to Interlaken in time to pick up our luggage from the hotel concierge and headed to the train station. Fortunately, our hotel offered to send us to the train station. Getting to Zermatt from Interlaken Ost is rather inconvenient as it involves two train transfers in Spiez and Visp. However, the transfer was rather seamless. The train ride was rather uneventful, and due to the darkness outside the train window, we were unable to see any views. We reached Zermatt at 8.17 pm and hopped on the transfer to our apartment provided by the hotel and rested for the night.

Switzerland Day 5 (12 Jan 26) – Interlaken: Thun, Schilthorn & Lauterbrunnen – From the Gateway to Bernese Oberland to the 007 Mountain to the Valley of 72 Waterfalls

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We have a jam-packed day today, visiting three sights. Originally, I planned only to visit Schilthorn today. My friends initially wanted to go paragliding, but paragliding is out for me due to my recent knee surgery. Instead, I initially planned to either laze in the hotel to wait for them or to visit Thun, a city at the northern edge of Lake Thun. However, over the past few days, my friends got worried about the cold and the weather; they eventually cancelled the paragliding and joined me on a quick stop at Thun. We ended the day by visiting Lauterbrunnen, something that I initially planned for tomorrow. But it only makes sense for us to visit today, as we will be passing by Lauterbrunnen on the way to Schilthorn.

Thun – Gateway to the Bernese Oberland

Thun is a small town nestled on the northern edge of Lake Thun, famed for its Castle that offers visitors a sweeping view of the Alps. There are three options in getting to Thun from Interlaken: ferry across Lake Thun, or the faster train or bus options, all of which are covered under the Bernese Oberland Pass that we purchased. As I had made a booking for brunch buffet at 12.30 pm in Piz Gloria on Schilthorn, we needed to leave Thun by 10.30 am. Hence, we took the faster train option.

Obere Schleuse – A Lock, A Bridge and Stunning Views

As our time in Thun is very limited, we focused on visiting Schloss Thun and the sights along the way. There are several ways of getting to the Castle from the train station; we could reach the Castle directly via the central artery of the town. However, we chose to do a slight detour via Obere Schleuse. Obere Schleuse is a lock built in 1723 to control the water level and prevent flooding, and it sits at the mouth of the River Aare. Today, it is still used as a lock on top of being a pedestrian bridge. Walking on the covered wooden bridge reminded me of the Chapel Bridge we saw in Luzern a few days ago, but without the painted murals. We could still see some pump mechanisms on the side of the bridge. What drew me to Obere Schleuse is the view it offers. Due to its location between the River Aare (the same river that runs to Bern and is the longest river in Switzerland at 295 km) and Lake Thun, Obere Schleuse offered us a fairy-tale-like view of the lake merging with the Swiss Alps, decorated with the neoclassical building style of Kunstmuseum in the foreground.

Kirchtreppe – The Link between Royalty and Commoner

After a brief stop at Obere Schleuse, we made our way to Schloss Thun. Using the directions given by Google Maps, we walked along the banks of the River Aare and finally into the Altstadt Thun. Here we were looking for a set of stairs that would bring us uphill to the Castle. The entrance to Kirchtreppe merged with the shops on Obere Hauptgasse; if we were not looking for it, we would have thought it was just another shop front. Kirchtreppe is an old wooden covered staircase dating back to the 19th century with a total of 157 steps split into two sections by an octagonal pavilion. We welcomed the presence of the pavilion as it serves as a resting point for us. This pavilion didn’t offer any viewpoints, but the modern painting on the ceiling of angles and soldiers served to distract us from the climb. As we were climbing up the second section of the Kirchtreppe, we met a local who recommended that we take the elevator down to the main street after visiting the Castle (luckily, we heeded his advice; if not, we would have missed the rustic Thun old town).

Stadtkirche Thun – The White Church on Top of Thun

At the end of Kirchtreppe, we came to a road with the left leading to the Castle and the right leading to a church. We initially did not plan to visit the church. But since we were already here, we might as well pop in for a quick look. Stadtkirche Thun is the Reformed Church of Thun, with a tall single octagonal tower dating back to the 14th century in front of the church building. Like most of the churches we have seen in Switzerland, the Stadtkirche Thun has a plain facade. Before we could enter the church, we were captivated by the window that overlooks the roofs of the town and the stunning snowcapped mountainscape this window offers. We were glad we did the detour to visit the church. The interior of the church is simple but bright, thanks to the large windows that let in a lot of natural light. We did not see any high altars inside the church; instead, a table rests in the centre of a stage. As we were about to leave the church, we chanced upon a wooden door that stated “museum”. The museum in Stadtkirche Thun is situated on the lower floors of the clock tower, and the first floor is a relatively large room. Here we could see the octagonal shape of the room (that was how we knew we were in the clock tower), which was filled with a couple of stone tablets, a model of Stadtkirche Thun and a stained glass of Jesus. Seeing there wasn’t much going on here, we headed up the wooden staircases in the centre of the room. Emerging from the flight of stairs, we came to another room which exhibits bells and a golden clock hand that were used in the early days of the church. We also spotted a glass case with some mechanisms encased within. Due to the lack of English signage (and we were too lazy to whip out our phones for Google Translate), we can only assume this was the decommissioned clock mechanisms. There was another set of stairs also sitting in the centre of the room, like that one below, but the top of the staircase was bolted shut. We assumed this might lead to the clock mechanisms. Despite the absence of elaborate carvings and the smallish museum, I thought Stadtkirche Thun was worth a visit.

Schloss Thun – The Icon of Thun

We headed to Schloss Thun after leaving the church, which is directly across on the other end of the road. The 800-year-old Castle was originally a fortress and a symbol of power over the region and local trading paths with its imposing tower. Schloss Thun has a very short opening hour during the winter months; in fact, the museum of the Castle is only open to visitors on Sundays between noon and 4 pm, which is outside the spare time we had. However, the castle grounds are open to the public. We were well aware that the Castle would not be open when we visited, and the purpose of visiting the Castle is for the panoramic views its terrace offers. Entering the main entrance of the Castle, we landed in a large courtyard. There are a couple of stairs that lead to the upper levels of the Castle. We headed to the terrace and were treated to a magnificent view of the town and the Swiss Alps. The view here is so vast and idyllic. Rows and rows of roofs partially covered with snow, with the river peeking out amongst them in the foreground, that seemed to give way to the forest, and eventually the Swiss Alps took over the land, and without hordes of tourists here, we felt the zen in the atmosphere. After taking our fair share of pictures of the picturesque view the terrace offers, we headed back to the old town via the elevator that was recommended to us earlier.

A Glimpse of Thun Old Town

The lift sent us to basement 7 and into a carpark. We saw a door across the lift, which opens up to a neon coloured lighting tunnel. The tunnel led us to Obere Hauptgasse at the end, the main street in the heart of Altstadt Thun. Here, four-storey buildings with coloured facades lined up side by side along this main street. The lower floors of these buildings house shops, cafes and restaurants. The presence of the Bern Canton flag and Swiss flags overhead, hanging across buildings, constantly reminded us we were in Switzerland. In fact, I was joking with my friends that when posting a picture here, their friends will immediately know we were in Switzerland. We followed the directions by Google Maps and arrived at Mühleplatz, a square predominantly occupied by cafes and restaurants, after crossing one bridge. As it was still early, none of the business establishments in Mühleplatz was open. Passing the square, we followed the River Aare and headed to the train station via Frutigenstrasse. We made it in time to catch our 10.30 am train to Lauterbrunnen, where we got onto a bus bound for the Schilthorn valley station.

Schilthorn – The James Bond Mountain

Schilthorn is located in Lauterbrunnen. Being home to the world’s steepest cable car is the pull factor that drew me to include a visit to this mountain for our Switzerland trip, in addition to the cable car ride being covered in our Bernese Oberland Pass. The mountain got its fame for being the set location for the 1969 James Bond Movie – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. To get up to Schilthorn from Thun, we took a train to Lauterbrunnen with a change in Interlaken OST, and transferred to Bus #141 to Stechelberg (generally the stop that everyone alights). The bus from Lauterbrunnen Bahnhof drove through Lauterbrunnen, where we got a good view of some of the 72 waterfalls, which were mostly frozen.

Getting to the peak of Schilthorn used to require four cable cars with a change of cable car in Grindelwald to Mürren, then onwards to Birg and Schilthorn summit (Piz Gloria), but things have changed since 2024. Under Schilthornbahn 20XX, there is now a direct connection between Stechelberg and Mürren, skipping Grindelwald. The redesigned cableway was divided into three Sections. Section 1 from Stechelberg and Mürren, Section 2 from Mürren to Brig, and the last section from Birg to Piz Gloria. Sections 1 and 2 have completed and opened since Nov 2024 and Dec 2025, respectively. The final section is still under construction and is scheduled to open on April 26. At the time of our visit, we were able to ride the new Sections 1 and 2 from Stechelberg to Birg. It is the Stechelberg to Mürren leg that has the steepest ropeway, with a gradient of almost 160% (about 58°). We did not feel the steepness during our ascent, but the steepness is felt on the return trip. We can immediately see (and feel) the steepness of the ropeway the moment the cable car makes its way past the last pylon and makes its way to the valley station. It felt like a roller coaster ride, but a lot gentler. I’d highly recommend people ride down to take the front window to feel the effect of the world’s steepest cable car. We were transported up to the summit at 2,970m in just 24 minutes.

Piz Gloria – Brunching in the 360° Revolving Restaurant

Piz Gloria is a two-storey building perched at 2,970m on the summit of Schilthorn. The first thing to do the moment we disembarked the cable car in Piz Gloria was to head to the 360° restaurant on the upper level for our buffet brunch that we booked for 12.30 pm. The brunch buffet costs CHF38 per person, which offered exceptional value for money (mains already cost between CHF26 and CHF30, excluding drinks), where we could help ourselves to unlimited servings. Once we made it to a flight of curved staircase, we were warmly welcomed by a staff member who happily showed us to the table he already reserved for us. Our table was placed by the large window panel, where we were treated to views of the 200 mountain peaks while we ate on the rotating platform. For those who might be concerned about the motion from the rotation, the rotation was so subtle that we did not feel it (if we did look out for the window). Speaking of food, several selections are waiting for us from the three buffet lines. The restaurant dedicated one line each for starters, cold food and warm food. For starters, we were given two soup choices, alongside the many types of bread. The cold buffet line features salads and cheese with a side of fruit in a takeaway cup. The warm food comprises pastas, sausages, stewed beef, and rosti. We could also help ourselves to the fruit juices, barista coffee and tea, which are also included in the buffet price. The buffet food was delicious and was kept topped up throughout our stay at the restaurant.

Skyline View Platform

After brunch, we went to the panoramic viewing platform on the lower level of Piz Gloria. The Skyline View Platform offered us views of the same mountain ranges that we saw while we were having brunch in the 360° Restaurant. From here, we could see rows and rows of snow-capped mountain ranges that seemed to stretch forever into the horizon, as though each of the peaks was vying for our attention to take pictures with them. Standing out here on the platform looking out into the Swiss Alps can be very therapeutic. We even spotted Lake Thun on the Skyline View Platform. As we were taking pictures and immersing ourselves in the astonishing view of the mountain ranges, I spotted the Piz Gloria View Platform, sitting about one storey below the Skyline View Platform. To access the circular steel Piz Gloria View, we needed to walk on the mountain peak. The snow up here seemed thick, and we did not feel safe to get to the platform. We eventually gave up the idea of going to the Piz Gloria View platform.

Spy World

The only other thing left for us to do up here is to visit the Spy World. Located on the lower level of Piz Gloria, Spy World lives off the James Bond association from yesteryears that showcases some of the props that were used in the 1969 film. There is some information about the filming locations in Schilthorn and interactive games that attempt to keep us engaged. Perhaps the most interesting exhibit here is the helicopter simulator, where we could sit in the cockpit of the helicopter and fly it from Lauterbrunnen up to Schilthorn. We did not find the museum particularly interesting to visit. After spending some time shopping in the souvenir shop across, seeing that there was nothing else we could do up here, we headed down one cable car stop to Birg.

Birg – The Thrill Walk

We stopped by Birg mainly for the thrill walk, which is a steel corridor that is being wedged into the mountain cliff. The Thrill Walk supposedly made us feel as if we were walking in thin air, looking out into mountain ranges ahead, above some 2,600m. There are two such walks in the region, one here and the other at Grindleward First, which is further from Interlaken. Since we are going up the Schilthorn, we took the one at Birg. Initially, we planned for 45 minutes at the Thrill Walk; however, when we arrived at the Thrill Walk, only a small section was opened, which only took us 8 minutes to complete a return trip. Despite the small section being opened, the thrill walk still allowed us to feel the thrill of walking on the side of the cliff, and the grated see-through flooring indeed made us feel as though we were walking on thin air. There is a section with tight ropes and a glass floor that gave us the additional kick of thrill. I thought this thrill walk was amazing, and the engineering that goes into wedging the platform onto the cliffside was incredible. I can imagine the amount of thrill one would get will double when the entire thrill walk opens.

Lauterbrunnen – The Valley of 72 Waterfalls

I originally planned to visit Lauterbrunnen, a Swiss mountain village that is famed for its stunning view of water pouring over the gigantic, near-vertical cliff. I made a last-minute insertion to stop by Lauterbrunnen this morning while taking the bus to Schilthornbahn through the village. The original plan was to start walking in the valley where Lauterbrunnen sits, from the train station to the self-serve cheese vending station some 1.6km outside of the village, and walk back to the station. Since we were passing by, we alighted at the stop near the cheese station, which saved us at least 20 mins of walking.

Lauterbrunnen is a village situated in a valley between Interlaken and the Jungfrau Massif, where it is one of the points to transfer to Jungfraujoch. It is famous for the 72 waterfalls and many hiking trails in the summer. I knew we had to cross the river, and I kept looking out to see if there were any bridges that we could use to cross the river on the bus. Finally, I saw one bridge over the river on Google Maps, and we alighted at the next stop, Schützenbach near Camping Jungfrau. We followed the directions on Google Maps and arrived at a wooden-covered pedestrian bridge, very much like the one we saw in Luzern and Thun, but on a smaller scale. Across the bridge, we entered Camping Jungfrau, which seems to cater to campervans. Despite looking small on the outside, these colourful wooden huts were furnished with a bed and a couch. I wanted to bring my friends ot the self-serve cheese vending machine, and we took a left turn at the main road from Camping Jungfrau that leads out of Lauterbrunnen village. This is when we saw the true beauty of Lauterbrunnen. With the majestic towering cliffs flanking on both sides, as if someone took a knife and chopped the mountains in two and placed Lauterbrunnen Village between the mountains. We could see remnants of waterfalls that would seem to flow from the mountain top, but mostly were all frozen except for one. I can imagine what a picturesque sight it would be in summer with waterfalls after waterfalls along this stretch of road. The only waterfall that remains flowing has a small stream of water falling over the top of the cliff; this is the Staubbach Falls. In summer, it would be dumping a massive amount of water over the very same cliff that we saw, but in winter, this mighty waterfall refuses to give in to the cold weather and continues to flow down the cliff.

Along the road, we saw both sides covered in pure white snow, with a cattle barn and some goat farms. I can imagine these barn animals will be roaming freely within the premises of the farms, grazing on grass that is now covered with snow in summer. We chanced upon a cattle barn along the way, which we were very much interested in visiting, but gave up the idea as we did not see the owner for us to seek permission to enter. The self-service cheese station was not far from the cattle barn, about a 5-minute walk down the road. The unmanned self-service cheese station is essentially a fridge placed on the side of the road for locals and visitors to purchase farm-fresh cheese, using the honour system. What we did was to get the cheese we wanted from the fridge and place the stated cash amount into a wooden box next to it. My friend bought a block of cheese, which she subsequently said tasted delicious. After buying the cheese, we made a U-turn and walked back to Lauterbrunnen Bahnhof through Lauterbrunnen Village. Along the way back, we finally found out where the strong spotlight casting onto Staubbach Falls came from. The spotlight was mounted on top of the visitor centre to the Staubbach Falls hiking trail. This trail, which only opens during non-winter months, gave visitors an opportunity to walk behind the falls. Before my trip to Switzerland, one of my colleagues urged me to taste the Swiss milk, which tasted slightly sweeter, according to her. When we saw farm-fresh milk from the vending machine at the visitors centre, we had to get it. True to her words, the milk not only tasted fresh, but it was also slightly sweeter than what we had at home. We continued our walk along the road to Lauterbrunnen Bahnhof. Along the way, we were treated to scenes of towering cliffs with frozen waterfalls. As it was dusk, we were also treated to the tranquil view of the village slowly covered with warm yellow light set against the pure white snow. This is the scene that represents Switzerland in winter. We headed for the train station and took the next train back to Interlaken Ost after our brief stop at the supermarket opposite the train station. Despite not having much to do in Lauterbrunnen on a winter afternoon, we liked the tranquil walk along the way and the scenes of giant cliffs on both sides of the village.

Switzerland Day 4 (11 Jan 26) – Lucern: Mt Titlis – Our Little Adventure on the “Heimlifeisser” Summit

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Mt Pilatus (2,132m), Mt Titlis (3,020m) and Mt Rigi (1,798m) are three mountains near Luzern that can be easily done as a day trip. Our Tell Pass, a Luzern regional pass, covers all three mountains. We opted for Mt Titlis as it is the tallest of the three nearby mountains and has a unique revolving cable car.

Mt. Titlis – The “Heimlifeisser” (Foggy) Summit

The locals nicknamed Mt Titlis the “Heimlifeisser” (meaning foggy) due to its height, with its peak being covered with clouds most of the time. We started our day by checking out of our hotel early in the morning and heading to the train station to leave our luggage at the lockers, as we would be catching the evening train to Interlaken. We spoke to the hotel reception staff last night and were told that the luggage lockers are on Platform 1 and Platform 13, the two ends of Luzern Bahnhof. A quick check on the SBB indicated that our train departs from Platform 12, and our evening train to Interlaken leaves from Platform 11. We headed to Platform 13, where we found lots of lockers of various sizes to store our luggage. where we. Luggage storage in Switzerland costs CHF12 for 6 hours, which would be collected upfront, with the access timing being paid when we collect our luggage in the evening. Getting to Titlis is easy; we took a train to Engelberg, where the cable car station is just a 5 min walk from the train station.

Riding the World’s First Rotating Cable Car to the top of Mt. Titlis

Once at the valley station, we redeemed a cable car ticket from the counter staff using our Tell Pass. Passing through a walkway towards the cable car ridge, we were met with hordes of skiers going up the mountain. There are so many people that there were four queues forming, and the escalators stopped working. Despite the crowd, we got to our first cable car in under 10 minutes. The first cable car is an eight-seater cable car that brought us up to 2,428m, through Trübsee and terminated at the Stand. As most of the skiers came in large groups, we got the whole cable car to ourselves. After the initial climb, the cable car inclines gradually above a pine tree forest. At Trübsee, as the cable car was pulling into the station, a local and her son hopped into our cable car. She was very friendly and recommended that we check out the frozen lake at Trübsee if we have the time later (we followed her recommendation, which led us to our little adventure hiking in the snow). The ride up to Stand took around 20 mins. At Stand, we followed the signs posted around that said “Titlis” and got the rotating cable car – The Rotair. This is one of the reasons that pulled us to visit Mt. Titlis, apart from the higher mountain peak, this mountain also features the world’s first rotating cable car. This ride took another 5 mins to reach the top. As the Rotair ascend another 1,000m up into the mountain, the cabin gently rotates without much motion being felt. It is this rotation that would give us a 360° view of the Swiss Alps without us having to move around inside the cabin. Having said that, it is a pity that the floor-to-ceiling glass of the cabin was covered in snow and had some heavy scratches, which prevented us from getting any views on our way up. Nonetheless, it was interesting to have ridden the world’s first (and only) rotating cable car.

The Rotair pulled into the building at the peak of the mountain, and we were greeted by some friendly staff asking where we wanted to go. The first thing on our minds was to do the Cliff Walk and the Glacier Ice Flyer. The Cliff Walk is Europe’s highest suspension bridge, perched at 3,041m, the 100m long suspension bridge offers a view of the Swiss Alps and a 500m deep chasm. The bridge would then bring us to our next activity, the Ice Flyer, where we would take a chairlift over the glaciers with crevasses of up to 10m deep. Well, at least that was what we planned to do. Upon taking the elevator up to the top floor of the building, our hopes of experiencing the Cliff Walk and Ice Flyer were dashed. On the top floor, we saw a make-shift metal container tunnel with a side opening that leads to the viewing platform, but access to the other end of the tunnel was sealed with tape. At this point, we thought we might have gotten the access to the Cliff Walk wrong and headed out to the panorama terrace. We were again disappointed as we were not able to see the mountains or anything else due to the clouds. The construction of the Titlis tower also did not add to the beauty of the place. The whole small terrace felt like a construction site. All we could do up here was to take some pictures with the “3,020m” logo.

We headed down to the cafe for a light meal and some coffee, and also to find out where the entrance to the Cliff Walk is. The cafe staff informed us that the Cliff Walk was closed due to a snowstorm last night. After eating, the clouds seemed to dissipate, and we were able to see the grandeur of the Swiss Alps.

Titlis Glacier Cave

The only thing to do up here, other than going out to the panorama terrace, is to visit the Titlis Glacier Cave, on the third floor of the building. Passing through the entrance, the Titlis Glacier Cave, formed 5,000 years ago, is an ice tunnel about 10m under the glacier on top of the mountain. Though we were in an icy cave, the floor did not feel slippery. Inside the cave, we saw the thick ice formation on the ceiling and the walls. Other than the ice tunnel, there are displays of things such as cowbells, wooden cows and even a bottle of Gin being frozen inside blocks of clear ice. On top of these frozen things, there are some ice sculptures, such as the Titlis Logo and a robot. The biggest ice sculpture was an ice chair. Other than that, I thought the Glacier Cave was quite boring. We spent less than 10 mins inside, with most of the time used to take pictures.

Sledging Fun at Trübsee Snow Park

After the Glacier cave, we headed out to the panorama terrace once again to see if the Cliff Walk was open. But to our disappointment, it remains closed (for the rest of the day). Seeing there was nothing else we could do here, we took the cable cars down Trübsee, the centre of action on Mt. Titlis.

There is a snow fun park at Trübsee, where we can do some sledging. The signs to the snow fun park were not very well marked, but we found it eventually. Titlis placed some plastic sledges at the exit of the tunnel to the park, where visitors can help themselves to this equipment at no charge. We first used the “beginner” type, which is essentially flat pieces of plastic. We tried sledging in Innsbruck last year when we were in Austria, and are quite excited to introduce our friends to this activity. Unlike the slopes in Austria, the slope here is longer. As we sledge down the slope, the slope starts with a steeper gradient and eventually tapers off to a flat surface. The initial drop was exciting and certainly generated more speed. As our feet were on the snowy surface, we generated a lot of snow backsplashes that affected our sight. But that does not affect us having fun sledging. My first-timer friends like the adrenaline rush from the sledge, and we ended up spending one hour having fun sledging. In between, we encouraged our friends to try the “more advanced” sledge, the upright ones. They were initially sceptical but eventually got used to it.

Trübsee to Untertrübsee – Our Little Adventure on Mt. Titlis

After spending an hour sledging, we had some time before our train ride back to Interlaken. At this point, I suggested to my friends that we take a walk to the frozen lake that the local lady told us about earlier. The walk was relatively easy, mostly on flat ground. We followed the path on the higher grounds, occasionally littered with signs that pointed out where we were. We were expecting to see a sign that pointed to “Lake Trübsee” later on the road. We saw people skiing at a distance and a ski lift operating, and occasionally a structure or two popping out along the path covered in thick snow. The Rotair that we were on this morning was constantly in our sight, assuring us the peak of Mt. Titlis was still with us. Walking on the snow with the towering mountains felt like hiking in Antarctica, but with more people around. We were not worried about getting lost, as long as we still saw people walking our way and there were still signs around that pointed the direction. Halfway on our walk, we came across a sign that said “Trübsee 🚠 – 35mins; Untertrübsee 🚠 – 20 mins”. This is when I opened up Google Maps and realised that we were walking on the perimeter of Lake Trübsee, and the area on the lower elevation is the lake. However, there was no way we could reach the lake surface. Seeing the sign, I thought that since the Untertrübsee cable car station takes a shorter time to reach, it must be closer to us. We followed the sign and headed towards Untertrübsee station. As we were walking on the path, which turned from a flat surface to a gradient. This is when we saw the poles that we were following lined up to the top of a hill, and my friends remarked, “Do we have to go all the way up?” At this point, we were already 10 minutes into the walk, which meant we just had to walk another 10 minutes to reach the cable car station. We persisted and made our climb up a small hill. The climb technically wasn’t difficult, but the thick snow and the high altitude (at 1,900m asl) made it challenging for us. We finally reached the top of the hill, and the path went downwards from here. It took us 10 minutes to climb up the hill, and we did not see any signs since the crossroads 10 minutes ago, plus there were no cable car stations around. We suspected we might be on the wrong path, after all, if there is a cable car station, the structure would be large and would be full of people. After a 5-minute walk, I saw a cableway at a distance and a blue box coming up the mountain attached to it. I announced to my friends the direction to the cable car station. Most of them did not see it initially, but as we got closer, they eventually did. We finally reached the Untertrübsee cable car station, which is just a small hut, and we were the only ones here. This cable car station was automated. The cable car was small, despite stating a maximum capacity of eight, and with the six of us, we already felt the tightness. The cable car ride started with a glide over the forested mountains filled with pine trees, but the real fun comes after the last pylon in the forest, where the cable car drops down some 500 m over the cliff surface. We can’t help but admire the ingenuity of the Swiss cable car engineering.

At the base station of the Älplerseil Untertrübsee-Trübsee cableway, we thought we would see the large cable car station that we had taken earlier in the morning up Mt. Titlis. But what greeted us was a snowy path that led to a large hut. We did not see any large cable car station or train station. We headed to the hut (which is a restaurant and a rest place for skiers) and asked for directions. To our horror, we were far from being close to the end of our walk. The staff at the restaurant gave us directions to the train station and told us, “It is just a 40 min walk”. Well, since we were already here, we can’t possibly go back up and walk another 1 hour to the Trübsee cable station. The only way was forward. As we were resting outside the restaurant, we bumped into the lady we met in the cable car earlier this morning. She asked if we had found the lake and admired us for making it all the way here, as there are few non-skiers here (later, we found out what she meant). The start of the walk was relatively straightforward and flat. But this is when we realised that we were actually walking on a ski slope. As this was a ski slope, it meant we would be going downhill most of the time. We were well aware that we were walking on a ski slope and stuck to the side of the path as much as we could so as not to be a nuisance and get in the way of the skiers (I’ll be super annoyed if I were skiing and some tourists just walk in the middle of the ski track). Although it was a downhill path, the walk was equally challenging as we had to avoid the skiers and at times crossed the ski path (when it was clear), at the same time looking for a solid snow path so our feet wouldn’t sink too deep into the snow. The scenery was stunning as we were walking down: the snow-covered forest on one side, the afternoon sun rays hitting the top of the Swiss Alps on the other side, and the snow-covered buildings below looked like some Lego models. Alas, we were too busy focusing on each step we took and being mindful not to impede on the skiers that we did not have the time to admire the breathtaking scenery that was before our eyes. It took us 45 mins to reach the bottom of the slope and the end of our little adventure on Mt. Titlis. Time to head back to Luzern for our train to Interlaken.

Onward to Interlaken

Due to our little adventure on Mt. Titlis, we were late for our original connection between Luzern and Interlaken. Fortunately, there is another Luzern-Interlaken Express train service plying between the two cities, and we ended up taking the train 1 hour later than our original schedule. After collecting our luggage, since we still had some time before our train ride to Interlaken, we bought some to-go dinner at the train station to eat on board. Whilst on the train, we sat on the right side of the train as advised by the Luzern tourism website for some great views of Lake Luzern. However, we can’t see anything out of the large windows due to the darkness outside and the reflection of the lights inside the train. We used this 1-hour travel time to rest after a long hike on Mt. Titlis. Upon reaching Interlaken, our hotel had transport waiting for us at the train station. We checked into the hotel and rested for the night to recover the energy we would need to explore the Jungfrau region tomorrow.

Switzerland Day 3 (10 Jan 26) – Luzern: Mt. Stoos & Luzern Altstadt – From Riding the Steepest Funicular to Exploring the Historic Centre

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We visited the first mountain of our trip, Mt. Stoos, today. Going up the mountain on the world’s steepest funicular and coming down the mountain on another cable that would take us to another town near Luzern, where we took a cruise on Lake Luzern back to the city. We spent the afternoon exploring Luzern Altstadt and finished up our day with a visit to the Lion monument.

Snow Day on Mt. Stoos

Getting to the Stoosbahn from Luzern was very straightforward. We took a 40-minute train ride to Schwyz station, followed by a 20 min bus ride on Bus #501 from the bus stop at the side of the station. The bus ride to Stoosbahn was very frequent and timed with the arrival of the trains from Luzern. The total travel time took us about 1½ hours. All transportation, including the funicular and cable car rides, is included in our 2-day CHF120 Tell Pass regional card (Half-Fare Card does not give us additional discounts for the pass).

Stoosbahn – The Steepest Funicular on Earth

The purpose of coming to Mt. Stoos is to take the world’s steepest funicular, with an inclination of up to 47.7°. The Stoosbahn valley station is just steps away from the bus stop; one will not be able to miss the two bright yellow rimmed glass cubes sitting at the bottom of the mountain. If confused, just follow the crowd as we did. All the people who alighted at this stop come for the Stoosbahn. With our digital Tell Pass at hand, we approached the ticketing counter and were issued a card to access all the rides in Mt. Stoos. The Stoosbahn runs every 30 mins up and down the mountain. The Stoosbahn consists of four circular dome carriages, with the carriage nearest to the entrance of the valley station (eventually the bottommost carriage when the Stoosbahn scales up the mountain) being the one with the best view. As we climb up the mountain, the circular carriages will stack on top of each other according to the gradient of the tracks. What is fascinating is that we remain upright all the time without feeling how much the funicular has tilted.

As the funicular pulled out of the station, the first thing that greeted us was the frozen River Muota below. At this point, the gradient was still quite gentle, almost level to the ground. As soon as we crossed the frozen river, the gradient quickly tilted to about 20°. But we did not feel any changes in the gradient inside the funicular due to the incredible engineering of the funicular. Soon, we came into the first of the three tunnels that the funicular would pass through. Coming out of the first tunnel, the view of the Stoosbahn gave way to a white, icy mountain cliffside. The distance between the first and second tunnel was not far; we were already entering the second tunnel before the first one left our sight. Emerging from the second tunnel, the Stoosbahn reaches a maximum steepness of 47.7°, and we began to see the neighbouring mountains standing mightily before our eyes. The third tunnel is the longest of all three tunnels. Coming out of the third tunnel, the Stoosbahn started to level to around 10° gradient and eventually levelled up to flatness as we were approaching the peak station. Amazingly, the Stoosbahn brought us up 744m on the surface of the mountain in merely 6 minutes. What an engineering marvel!

Stoos Village – Going Round and Round in the Village

Coming out of the Stoosbahn peak station, we arrived at the Stoos village nestled about 1,300m up Mt. Stoos in the Alpine landscape of Central Switzerland. Stoos Village is the heart and centre of all activities on Mt. Stoos, where most amenities like restaurants, ski rentals, convenient shops and holiday chalets are located within mere steps from the Stoosbahn station. There is even a hotel next to the funicular station. Stoos Village is also home to numerous ski slopes for all levels of skiers. We originally planned to do a short hike at the top of Fronalpstock peak at 1,900m and reach the viewpoint where we would get a view of Lake Luzern below. After which, we would sledge down 500m in height from the peak to the middle station for a few runs. The first order of things is to find the chairlift that would bring us to the top of Fronalpstock. As we were walking around, looking for the chairlift, we were also playing in the snow. It was snowing, and we were excited to see snow (we came from a country that never snows). We had fun walking in the snowy trails, throwing snowballs at each other and admiring the snowy scenery that was so rare for us to see. In fact, we did not realise that we kept walking up and down the same path from the Stoosbahn station to where we thought the chairlift to Fronalpstock was. After spending some time walking up and down the same path, we decided to seek some directions from the ski rental. We were fortunate to have met a very friendly and welcoming lady at the ski rental. She told us that the chairlifts to Fronalpstock are not operational today due to the strong winds, but recommended that we go to the Snow Fun Park for some sledging.

From Stoosbahns station, we seem to spot a “shortcut” to the Snow Fun Park. Little did we know the so-called shortcut had our legs sink into calf-deep snow and down a short snowy slope. We barely had any experience walking in snow (the last experience we had walking in snow was from our Austrian trip one year ago), and bashed through the thick snowy grounds, using houses in between and footprints that others had left behind to guide us to the Snow Fun Park. It took us about 20 minutes to reach the Snow Fun Park. Here we saw a few people playing sledging, and that really got our hopes up. As we were walking around to see where to rent a sledge (we did not want to walk all the way back to the ski rental by the Stoosbahn station), we spotted the chairlifts to Fronalpstock, and we actually saw people getting onto them. This means that we get to resume our plan. As we walked closer, a staff member at the chairlift approached us and smashed our hopes. He told us that the chairlift is only operational to the middle station and closed to the top station due to the winds. Seeing that there was nothing we could do, we resumed looking for a place to rent a sledge. We found a shop further down the path, but the only shopkeeper was busy helping two customers with their skis. As we were hungry, we headed for lunch and to return to the rental sledges later.

After lunch, we attempted to return to the shop, but the shopkeeper was again busy with yet another set of customers. As it was about time for us to descend the mountain to catch the ferry back to Luzern, we walked further down the path to the Morschach cableway station. This part of Stoos Village felt tranquil as it saw little footfall. We used the time while waiting for the cable car to explore this part of Stoos Village. The snow-covered forest and a cliffside with a viewpoint that gave us a partial view of Lake Luzern made this part of the Stoos Village feel magical and tranquil. There was no laughter and shouting of the people sledging and skiing; all we heard was the sound of our feet squashing onto the snow below. The snowy weather added a little more magic to this area. Soon it was time for us take the Morschach cableway down to the valley station.

Cruising Lake Luzern: An Alternate Way of Travelling to Luzern

To return to Luzern, we could either backtrack and take the Stoosbahn and train option or take the cable car and ferry options. One of the activities to do in Luzern is to take a cruise on Lake Luzern. To maximise our experience (and the Tell Pass value), I planned for us to take the cruise back to Luzern. To get to the cruise pier, we took the Morschach cableway from Stoos Village (a 25 min walk from the Stoosbahn peak station), and changed to Bus #504 at the Morschach cableway valley station to Brunnen See Schiffstation. From there, the pier is a 3 min walk across the road. As the bus drove around the windy mountain road to the shore of Lake Luzern, we were treated to stunning views of the lake. I saw a boat coming into Brunnen and commented to my friends that this might be the ferry that we would be taking.

We were pleasantly surprised that the Swiss timed their public transport with perfect precision to the next transport. We made it in time to catch the ferry back to Luzern. With our Tell Pass at hand, we merely show our QR code to the ferry staff at the pier. The ferry ride back to Luzern took around 1½ hours. As the ferry slowly made its way on Lake Luzern, we saw dramatic mountains that merged into the lake, making them look like we were cruising in fjords. Cruising on Lake Luzern truly made us realise how large the lake is; we felt like a dwarf walking amongst the giants. The cruise stopped by a few other piers to pick up and disembark passengers. We occasionally head out to the outdoor decks to enjoy the breeze and the snow falling from the sky. I thought this cruise option also gave us some time to relax and recharge for the exploration of Luzern Altstadt later. As the cruise was nearing Luzern, the shallower depth of this part of the lake allowed us to see through to the lake floor.

Luzern Altstadt: Walking into History

We originally wanted to join the complementary city tour of Luzern. However, the tour starts at 11 pm, which would mess up our plans for today. Thus, we opted to explore the old town on our own.

The sights we visited for our tour of Luzern Altstadt

Jesuitenkirche – The first Baroque Church in Luzern

As the Jesuitenkirche is only very close to the ferry pier, it made sense for us to start our city walk from the church. The Jesuitenkirche was completed in 1677 and was originally intended to function as a college. However, as construction started, it was decided to build it into a church instead. With the two green-domed towers built beside the central building, one cannot miss the Jesuitenkirche when walking around Luzern Bahnhof or the Altstadt. Do not be deceived by the plain facade of the church; the beauty of the church lies in its interior. Instead of sitting in an elaborate square with a large foreyard, the church sits quietly on the riverside with a small church front real estate. Entering the church, we were immediately wowed by the complex and intricate baroque decor from the ceiling to the walls to the high altar. Other than the frescos painted on the white ceiling, what caught my eye was the intricate floral patterns that beautified the ceiling. The touch of the crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling gave it an elegant look. The walls of the church are predominantly white, which makes the church look clean and pure. At the end of the church sits the high altar. With marble columns and tiles and the gold trimmings, the high altar looked dignified. The painting of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus coming from the heavens to save people from their sufferings was vividly painted.

Spreuerbrücke – The Younger Brother of the Chapel Bridge

We left the church and walked along the riverbank, past the medieval riverside houses that are now mostly shops and restaurants, and we came to the Spreuerbrücke. Unlike the bigger Chapel Bridge, Spreuerbrücke receives little attention. The smaller wooden bridge was constructed in the 13th century to connect the mill on the right of the River Reuss to the mills in the middle of the river. The bridge only connected to the Altstadt on the left bank in 1408. Walking on Spreuerbrücke, we could see the resemblance to the Chapel Bridge. Similar to the bigger Chapel Bridge, Spreuerbrücke also has painted panels on the inner triangular frames of the roof and features a smaller tower at the side. Unlike the Chapel Bridge, this tower is connected to the bridge instead of rising from the riverbed. There are wooden benches on Spreuerbrücke for pedestrians to rest or sit and absorb the tranquillity that this part of the town brings. Crossing the Spreuerbrücke is a smaller bridge; our starting point, Luzern Altstadt, is at the other end of the bridge.

Luzern Altstadt – The Painted Buildings that Tell a Story

One of the highlights of Luzern Altstadt is the paintings on the walls of some of the medieval buildings. These murals recount stories of the city’s past, culture, trade traditions, and legends. They also served as advertisements for the former guild houses or commemorated important historical events. Entering the old town from Spreuerbrücke, we arrived at Mühlenplatz. This is where we saw one of the many painted houses. As this part of the old town is close to the mill, the painting on the buildings depicts mills in action. Walking on the cobblestone grounds of the Altstadt reminded us of the time we were in Italy. We were keeping a lookout for the murals on the walls of the buildings, other than looking into what the shops around had to offer. Not long after, we arrived at Weinmarkt. This part of the city has been the city’s food market, operating on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and it is also the venue for Christmas markets. The buildings around Weinmarkt were once guild halls, such as the Hotel des Balances, which had paintings of hunters. Sitting in the centre of Weinmarkt is the fountain Weinmarkt-Brunnen. The buildings around here feature the painting of the biblical feast of Canaan.

Our feet led us to the Rathaus Stadt Luzern, between the river and Weinmarkt. One cannot miss this old stone building with an attached clock tower. As we were walking around Luzern Altstadt, looking out for the next mural on the wall, we unknowingly came to Hirschenplatz. There are two buildings with paintings here, with one depicting the Battle of Dornach, and the other is merely an advertisement mural selling jewellery. Our walk through the old town ended with a visit to Fritschibrunnen, a colourful 12th-century fountain decorated with carnival friezes and masks. Luzern old town is very compact and can be completed in 2 hours at most. After our walk through Luzern Altstadt, we took a bus near our hotel for dinner. After all, our final destination is next to our hotel.

Lion Monument

After dinner, we walked to the Lion Monument, our last sight of the day. The Lion Monument depicts a lion lying on the ground with a shield beside it. The monument is carved into the side of the cliff to commemorate the Swiss guardsmen who died defending the country during the French Revolution. Usually, there would be a fountain in front of the monument, but it was dry during our visit due to maintenance work. We headed back to our hotel to rest for the night after visiting the Lion Monument, after all, we have our second of the six mountains that we will be going on this trip.

Switzerland Day 2 (9 Jan 26) – Bern: Jewels of the Captial – From Altstadt to Gurten Kulm

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Today is the day we truly start exploring Switzerland (yesterday was a preview). Bern is a small city and is extremely walkable, with most of the attractions in the old town. This was where we spent most of our time today. I planned to use the morning to explore the city, after which we would return to the hotel and pick up our luggage for our train to Luzern later in the afternoon. As the sights in Bern are under 7 minutes from each other, we had additional time to visit the bear park and took an excursion slightly outside the city to Guten Kulm.

Bern Alstadt – The Icons of the City

We originally wanted to head to the train station in the morning to deposit our luggage in one of the lockers at the train station, in case we were short on time. Afterall, I planned to start our Bern Altstadt walk from the train station. However, after our first night in Bern, we realised that the town is actually very compact, and that we would have the time to pick up our luggage after finishing all the sights in Bern. Since our hotel is just one tram stop away from Zytglogge, it only makes sense for us to start our old town walk from the clock tower.

The route of our visit in Altstadt Bern today

Zytglogge – The Iconic Clock Tower of Bern

After checking out and depositing our luggage at the concierge of the hotel, we took a tram for one stop to Zytglogge, the icon of Bern. Every picture of Bern we saw online features the Zytglogge standing in the middle of medieval buildings. Zytglogge was built in the early 1200s as a gate tower of the city’s western fortifications. The tower was then converted to a women’s prison in the mid-1300s when the city expanded further. A fire in the 1400s destroyed the tower completely and was rebuilt into a clock tower in the 15th century, ranking as one of Switzerland’s oldest. The Zytglogge’s iconic astronomical clock was installed in 1530, allowing the clock to tell astronomical information such as the position of the sun, moon, and zodiac signs, in addition to the time. The city had a scheduled guided tour of the interiors of the Zytglogge, where visitors will be brought up to the tower and get a better understanding of the workings of the clocks inside the tower. As we were pressed for time, we did not join the tour. Nonetheless, we found some interesting exhibits, along with explanations of the workings of the tower and how to read the astronomical clock at the bottom of the tower.

After visiting the Zytglogge, we walked along the street away from the main street towards the bridge that connects the old town to the bear park. We spotted the Zähringerbrunnen a few steps from Zytglogge. The Zähringerbrunnen is a monument honouring the city’s founder, depicting a standing bear with a shield and flag and a bear cub standing between its legs. As we walked further down the street of Kramgrasse, heading to our next stop of Münsterplatform, we were immersed in the medieval buildings that stood the test of time. These buildings, now being converted to shops, have a pseudo cellar opening in front, which seems to lead underground (we later got to know that these are actually basement access, as some businesses used this space to set up shop). However, most of the shops we saw were still closed as we were pretty early. As we walked past the post office, we urged our friend to buy a postcard and mail it there to prevent her fate three years ago, when she did not receive any of the postcards she sent from our Italian trip. We told her that by passing her postcards directly to the post office staff, she would definitely receive her postcards.

Rathausplatz – the Town Hall & the Church

Walking amongst the medieval buildings seems to transport us back in time. As we were walking on Kramgrasse, I suddenly spotted a green building that seemed important. A quick check on Google Maps reveals this to be the Berner Rathaus. We did a quick detour into the alleyway that led to the Berner Rathaus and arrived at Rathausplatz. Other than the Rathaus, Rathausplatz is also home to the Kirche St. Peter & Paul and Vennerbrunnen. The three-storey sandstone square Berner Rathaus has a rather simple facade. We would have missed it if not for the two flights of stairs that led to the main entrance on the second level. The main entrance has a protruding structure that the staircases lead to. This structure is adorned with two female statues and a clock with golden arms. Looking up close, the Berner Rathaus has a row of 26 wooden shields, representing the 26 former districts of the canton, lined just below its red tiled roof on the main facade. It is a pity that the Berner Rathaus is closed to the public; if not, we would love to take a look inside.

Next to the Berner Rathaus is the Kirche St. Peter & Paul. The sandstone church, built in the 1850s, is the city’s first church and has a single bell tower in front of it. The flying buttresses that seem to support the walls of the church from the outside reminded me of the Notre Dame de Paris. We wanted to visit the interior of the church. However, as we walked through the main wooden doors to the church, there was another closed metal gate that prevented us from venturing further beyond the foyer of the church. We can only catch a glimpse of the church’s interior through the gate. The interior looked simple and gloomy due to the natural colour of the materials used to construct the church. Seeing that we could not do much here, we headed outside and continued our exploration of the city. As we walked past the Rathausplatz, I spotted a fountain with a statue of a soldier sitting in one corner of the square. This is the Vennerbrunnen, which was installed in 1542, and with the buildings it stood in front of, standing here felt like we were being transported back in medieval times.

Münsterplatform – Balcony of Bern

As we left Rathausplatz, wanting to continue our walk along Kramgrasse, my friend suddenly wanted to visit the toilet. A quick Google map showed the nearest toilet is at Münsterplatform. Since we were going to visit this place later, I did a quick switch of the sequence of our visit and headed for the Münsterplatform instead. The Münsterplatform is a rectangular park that sits 14m above the River Aare, offering us a view of the river and the nearby neighbourhood, as well as the Alps. The foundation of the platform was laid in 1334, and the construction of the walls was completed in 1514. Until 1531, the platform served as a cemetery before it was converted into a park. Today, the Münsterplatform is planted with chestnut trees with benches for locals and visitors to relax and take in the beautiful views of the surroundings. From the platform, we could see the river and Kirchenfeldbrücke, the bridge that links Altstadt Bern to the south of the city. After taking our fair share of pictures, we headed to the elevator, the Mattelift to the Mattequartier below.

Mattequartier – The Riverfront Medieval District

Exiting the lift, we spotted a booth with a lady sitting inside, collecting the CHF1.50 for the use of the lift. As my friends were looking for small change for the use of the lift, I checked with the friendly lady if the cost of using the Mattelift was covered under the Bern Welcome card. We were pleasantly surprised that it is covered. Bidding farewell to the friendly lady, we walked towards the River Aare, just mere minutes away from the Mattelift. We saw a bridge that we could get closer to the River Aare next to the artificial channel that was constructed in 1360 to divert the river water into one of the three watermills. However, upon reaching the structure, we found that it was closed to the public, meaning we were not able to get closer to the River Aare. We headed back to the main streets of Matterquartier and headed to the Bear Park. The Mattequartier is medieval Bern’s smallest neighbourhood, mainly housing workshops and mercantile activities. Walking in this peaceful neighbourhood allowed us to appreciate the beautiful medieval buildings and the sheer height of the Münsterplatform.

The Bear Park – Home of the Canton’s Mascots

Since we were already at the foot of Nydeggbrücke, the bridge that links Altstadt Bern to the eastern neighbourhood where the Bear Park is located, we made a quick pit stop at the park, knowing that we would not see any bears in the bear park as they would be hibernating for the winter. There are two pits in the centre where the bears would play during non-hibernation months. On top of that, there seem to be some cordoned-off areas at the side of the park next to the bank of the river. This would be the pen of the individual bears. After visiting the (empty) bear park, seeing that we have sufficient time to go a little further before our train to Luzern later in the afternoon, we decided to head outside the city to the nearest hill, Gurten Kulm, via bus.

Berner Münster – The Cathedral of Bern

As the bus we took requires us to change to another line in the old town, we decided to make a quick stop in the old town to finish off the other two sights we wanted to visit. Our first stop is the Berner Münster. The Gothic-style Berner Münster started its constructionin 1421 and was completed in 1893. With its 100m tall tower, this cathedral is the tallest in Switzerland. A climb to the top of the tower would give us a great view of the city. However, as we were walking up to the cathedral’s main entrance, we saw visitors going up to it and turning away. We half suspected the cathedral might not be open since we saw some scaffolding on its side as we were walking up to it. To our dismay, the cathedral was bolted shut. It is a waste that the church only opened at noon, meaning we could either loiter around to wait for it to open or miss the tower climb and move on to our next destination. Since we were already deciding to head to Gurten Kulm, we gave the tower climb a miss. And since the cathedral is closed, we could only see it from the outside and take some pictures. After taking pictures, we headed to our final sight in Bern Altstadt.

Bundeshaus – The Place where important decisions are made

Our next stop is to visit the Bundeshaus (Parliament Building). Initially, I wanted to visit the interior of the building after our interesting experience in the Austrian Parliament in Vienna last year. The Swiss Parliament Building offers guided tours of the building in English and Dutch to visitors. However, there wasn’t any English guided tour on the day of our visit. We could only see the building from the outside. It felt pointless to see this beautiful building without seeing its interior or taking the guided tour to understand the workings of the Swiss parliament. We did not stay here for too long and headed to a nearby cafe for a coffee break before taking a bus to Gurten Kulm.

Gurten Kulm – The Roof of Bern

Getting to the top of the 858m Gurten Kulm from Bern Altstadt was very easy. There are multiple buses that run to the funicular station at the base of the hill, and the best thing is that the bus rides and the Gurtenbahn are included in the Bern Welcome Card. The fastest way for us to get to the hill, as recommended by Google Maps, was to take Bus #19 from the bus stop near the Parliament Building and change to Bus #16 with an 8 min walk to the funicular station. As we alighted from Bus #16, we followed a sign at the bus stop that pointed us to the funicular station. Little did we know that we had to take a short 400m climb up the hill through a “forested” track to an inconspicuous platform that sticks out in the middle of the track. What Google Maps led us to was Grünenboden, the mid-station for the funicular ride, instead of the valley station. At Grünenboden, we saw the Gurtenbahn coming our way, but did not stop. We later realised that we were supposed to press the top button on a box at the station for the Gurtenbahn to stop at the mid-station. Luckily, the next Gurtenbahn came 10 minutes later.

As the Gurtenbahn climbed up the hill, we saw more of the City of Bern. We were sure we would get a panoramic view of the city. Soon, we found ourselves on top of Gurten Kulm. Exiting the station, we came to a crossroad and a map of the attractions on Guten Kulm. There is a hotel, a restaurant and even a miniature train ride up here. Attracted by a Tower structure, Gurten Aussichtsturm, we made our way to the tower. Entry to the metallic 25m Gurten Aussichtsturm was free. A 121-step spiral staircase in the core of the open tower took us 5 mins to climb up. As we were climbing up the Gurten Aussichtsturm, the cold wind made climbing the tower difficult. But that does not deter us from reaching the observation deck at 22m of the tower. From here, we were treated to a panoramic view of Bern. The city of Bern suddenly looked small, but the view was great! We could see the River Aare that snakes around the Altstadt and even the mountains behind Bern. The only issue we had was the occasional strong winter wind that blows on the tower, shaking the tower so much that we felt it could topple anytime (it is perfectly safe), or we could be blown away by the wind. Despite the cold wind, we enjoyed the view the Gurten Aussichtsturm offers and were glad we made it up the tower. After spending 10 minutes up here taking pictures and soaking in the panoramic view of the city, we decided to head down the tower. However, with the constant wind blowing, we had to wait for the wind to turn weaker (so it wouldn’t shake the tower so much) to descend the tower.

As it was near the time for our train ride to Luzern (after catering time for us to get back to our hotel to pick up our luggage and travel time to Bern Bahnhof), we had to return to Bern. Before heading down to the valley station by Gurtenbahn, we had time to take a wefie at the pavilion. After descending from Gurten Kulm, we took Bus #9, which directly brought us to our hotel to pick up our luggage.

Onward to Luzern

Time was a little tight, but we made it in time to pick up our luggage and took a tram to Bern Bahnhof to board our 2 pm train to our next city, Luzern. The train ride from Bern to Luzern was also rather uneventful, and we eventually reached Luzern after a 1-hour train ride.

Arrival at Luzern

After arriving in Luzern, the first thing to do was to orient ourselves and get on the correct bus to our hotel. Like Bern, Luzern also offers guest cards to visitors staying in Luzern, which gives us complimentary public transport in the city. As we already bought the Tell Pass, which also includes all transport in and around the city, we did not have to bother too much about the transport cards. The bus ride to our hotel took under 10 mins. After checking into our rooms and settling down a little, we headed out to the city to buy breakfast for tomorrow and to hunt for dinner. Some sights in Luzern never close, such as the old town and the icon of the city, the Chapel Bridge. As the Chapel Bridge is near our hotel, we made it our only stop in Luzern for the evening before hunting for dinner.

Kapellbrücke – Chapel Bridge

No visit to Luzern is complete without a walk on the iconic 204m Chapel Bridge, Europe’s oldest covered bridge. The Chapel Bridge was originally built in 1365 to link the old town to the new town and features paintings on triangular panels installed as part of the structure of the bridge. These paintings were created during the Counter-Reformation, featuring scenes that promote the Catholic Church. However, the wooden-covered pedestrian bridge was almost burnt down in 1993, destroying â…” of its interior paintings. Equally iconic as the Chapel Bridge, the Water Tower that protrudes out of the River Reuss is what gave the Chapel Bridge its identity. The 34 m octagonal water tower was built around 1300 as part of the city wall and used as an archive, treasury, prison and torture chamber. It is a shame that the Water Tower is not open to public visits; we would have gotten a good view of the Chapel Bridge and Luzern from the top of the tower. Walking on the Chapel Bridge is like walking in a piece of history, and offers a good view of the River Reuss and the riverside buildings on both sides of the bank. The paintings on the bridge brought a sense of uniqueness and history to the bridge. It is a pity that the explanations are only in German.

After crossing the bridge to the “new town”, we headed back to the old town side via Rathaussteg, an iron pedestrian bridge near the Chapel Bridge. The Rathaussteg offered us a good view of the entire Chapel Bridge and made a good spot for us to take pictures of the entire Chapel Bridge. We scouted the restaurants on the riverside and found one that offered good and reasonably priced food (we would expect the food near the river to be of “tourist” prices). The service at the restaurant was great, and the food was delicious. After a hearty meal, we headed to a nearby supermarket to get breakfast for tomorrow before returning to our hotel to rest for the night. After all, we would need the energy to have fun in our first mountain exursion, Mt. Stoos, in Switzerland.

Switzerland Day 1 (8 Jan 26) – Bern: Into Switzerland – The Plaground of Europe

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Switzerland, the neutral Central European nation, has been a bucket list for most of us. When we speak about Switzerland, the first thing that comes to our minds is the snow-covered alpine towns. As this is the first time any of us has travelled to Switzerland, we stuck to the “traditional” tourist towns and cities. We will start our journey from Geneva and end our journey in the same city. For the next 13 days, we will be basing ourselves in five cities (Bern, Luzern, Interlaken, Zermatt and Zurich) and visit six mountains.

Our Journey through Switzerland for the next 13 days

Our Swiss journey began with a 17-hour flight from Singapore with a 2½-hour transit in Jeddah. After deplaning, we followed the signs hanging from the ceiling of Geneva airport, which pointed us to “arrivals”. As we neared the immigration counters, we saw two queues forming. We joined the longer “international traveller” queue, which was piling up and didn’t seem to move at all (the other queue was for EU and Swiss citizens). We only saw immigration officers stationed near the immigration counters directing people to the correct line. We were glad we did not join the shorter queue, as it might be back to the start of the queue for us. Before arriving in Switzerland, we were expected to register our biometric data with the Entry/Exit System. However, it does seem to be the case today. Instead of directing us to the registration machines, we were told to queue for manual immigration. I asked a staff member at immigration and was told that the EES was in effect at Geneva airport, but they shut it down due to the long line. Despite the long queue for manual immigration clearance, we were not complaining. At least we get our “final” Switzerland border passport stamp (before it’s phased out).

After spending about 1 hour in line at immigration (a stark contrast to our experience at Vienna airport just 1 year ago), we headed to the carousel to collect our luggage. The brief moment of peace after clearing immigration ended at the luggage carousels. Geneva Airport felt like a fish market, where people were frantically looking for their carousel and luggage. We eventually found our carousel and collected our luggage. We headed to the train station, located in a separate but linked building on the left side of the arrivals hall, for our train to Bern. Rising from our lesson learnt last year in Vienna, where we spent 1 hour sitting around waiting for our train to the city, we decided not to purchase the train tickets in advance, as we had no idea how long immigration would take. I am glad we did not purchase train tickets in advance, as the immigration process in Geneva took longer than I planned for. We bought our tickets at the SBB counters for the 4.25 pm train to Bern. After getting the tickets, I realised the staff sold us a day ticket instead of a point-to-point ticket, which costs CHF 10 more, even with our Half Fare card. We should have used the machines or the app to get our point-to-point ticket. There was an hour before our ride, where we used the time to shop in the supermarket at the train station while waiting for our train.

Train to Bern

The uneventful train ride to Bern took about 1½ hours. Trains from Geneva Airport to Bern had only a small luggage rack, suitable only for cabin-sized luggage. We found seats on the lower floor of the double-decker train. Due to a lack of luggage space for larger bags, we had to place our luggage at our seats, trying not to obstruct the aisle. The train got crowded at Geneva, and it was becoming embarrassing that we were taking up additional space and partly obstructing the walkway. Fortunately, the Swiss were accommodating and understanding. Instead of making noise, they seem to understand our situation and work around our issues. As it was getting dark, we could not see much of the scenery between Geneva Airport and Bern.

Arrival at Bern

As guests of Bern, we were given unlimited rides on local public transport via the Bern app (available for download here). As we did not receive any codes before our arrival, I read that we could get free transport to our hotel using our hotel booking and prepared it in case of an inspection on the tram. Swiss public transport uses the honour system, where drivers do not check for tickets. It is easy to find the tram station coming out from the underground Bern Bahnhof, but we were confused about the direction the tram would travel. We initially stood at the tram stop, only to find that the trams were going in the opposite direction. Upon realising that we were on the wrong side, we hurried to the opposite stop and hopped onto the tram on the other side of the road. The tram ride from Bern train station to our hotel took about 6 minutes, with very frequent trams running between the two stops. At our hotel, the staff gave us a code to activate our guest card in the Bern App, which officially granted us complimentary transport within the city.

After settling down in our rooms, we headed out to the edge of the old town for dinner, which is only one stop across the river near our hotel. Walking on the Kornhausbrücke bridge over the River Aare in the northern part of Bern, we were treated to the night skyline of the city, spotting the Berner Munster towering over the city. Incidentally, we walked past the Bern Opera House, at the edge of the city, by the River Aare. As we waited for our dinner, I spotted the Zytgloggeturm right outside the McDonald’s where we were having dinner. I told my friends this was one of the world’s oldest working astronomical clocks, a sight we will see tomorrow when we officially tour the city.

The clock, despite being built in the early 13th century, still shines with its colourful facade even at night. There are two faces to the clock: one that tells time, facing Main Street, and the other, with both the clock and the astronomical face, showing the day of the year and aligning with the star signs. We were fortunate to witness the striking of the bell at the hour, during which we spotted the mechanical movements of the puppets installed on the astronomical side of the clock. As it was getting late and we were tired after a full day of travelling, we headed back to the hotel and rested for the night. We will see more of the clock (and the city) tomorrow before heading to Luzern.

[Airline Review] – Singapore Airlines B787-10 (SQ895) – Economy Class, HKG-SIN (28 Dec 25)

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Singapore Airlines HKG – SIN Flightpath
The Singapore Airlines B787-10 that flew us to Singapore up close

Hong Kong Chek Lap Airport

Check-in

Singapore Airlines check-in counters at Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok Airport are located in Row F of Terminal 1, in the central part of the terminal. However, as we were coming from Macau, the Macau-Hong Kong bus dropped us off at the Sky Pier instead of the main airport terminal. Singapore Airlines did not operate any dedicated check-in counters at the Sky Pier Terminal. After asking the staff at the Cathay Pacific counter, we were directed to the last three counters on the extreme right of the terminal. Singapore Airlines, like many other airlines, uses the three generic check-in counters to check in its passengers. All passengers checking in here, regardless of travel class or membership status, must use a single queue. Fortunately, the number of passengers from Macau was low, and there was no queue upon our arrival. The check-in process took a while because the counter staff had to confirm the bus’s arrival time before she could pull up our information from the airline list. The staff had to check our airlines and then our flight to pull out our information. However, once the information was obtained, our check-in was processed quickly. After checking our luggage, the staff gave us vital information like where to obtain the airport tax refund (apparently, as long as we did not enter Hong Kong, we were refunded HKD120 per adult), our boarding gate and timing, and the lounge location.

The Aircraft

Singapore Airlines operates several aircraft between Singapore and Hong Kong, from the superjumbo A380-800 (operational seasonally) to the B777-300ER, B787-10, and A350-900. We flew on their B787-10 on this trip.

Singapore Airlines B787-10 safety card
Singapore Airlines livery up close

The Cabin

The light blue and grey tones used in the seats on board Singapore Airlines made the Economy Class cabin look vibrant and relaxing at the same time. The colour tones used also conveyed a cheerful vibe, which was a great start for passengers embarking on their holidays with the airline. While the light tones on the seats give off a cheerful vibe, the charcoal colour used on the seat backs exudes a classy vibe. The dark and light colour schemes used in the Economy Class cabin complement each other very well. The 301 Economy Class seats on Singapore Airlines’ B787-10 are split into two sections: 150 in the forward cabin and 151 in the aft cabin. Despite the large number of seats in both cabins, the Singapore Airlines Economy Class cabin felt cosy and well-spaced.

There are a total of five lavatories for all 301 Economy Class passengers, two in the front of the Economy Class cabin, two at the back of the cabin and one between the two sections of Economy Class. The white lighting, used in conjunction with the large mirrors, made these lavatories feel larger than they actually are. I like the footpaddle design of the trash bin cover, which makes it easier to use and more hygienic. I reckon more airlines should adopt this design. A single small bottle of Singapore Airlines-branded hand lotion sits on the small rack at the sink with dental kits underneath, alongside the hand wash. Singapore Airlines is one of the few airlines in the world to provide its Economy Class passengers with dental kits.

The Seat

Seats onboard Singapore Airlines’ B787-10 are arranged in a 3-3-3 configuration with a 32″ seat pitch and a width of 17″. These Economy Class seats are capable of reclining up to 5″, giving us a way to feel relaxed on these seats. The Economy Class seats are pretty comfortable, well-padded, and offer good legroom. I had lots of space between my knees and the seat in front of me. Storage is always an issue in Economy Class seats. Due to the limited space allotted to each passenger, Economy Class passengers often have only the seat pocket in front of them for storage. Singapore Airlines increases storage space in its seat pockets through design. On top of the large compartment, Singapore Airlines also included two smaller pockets in front of the larger seat pocket, perfect for storing smaller items. There is also a somewhat useless pocket underneath the personal TV, which can only be used to stow very small items such as the provided earplugs, AirPods or charging wires.

When it comes to charging, passengers in Economy Class seats on Singapore Airlines B787-10 aircraft can charge their phones and lifestyle devices using the USB-A outlet under the personal TV. However, I find the charging speed a tad slow in these USB-A ports. There is also an international power outlet beneath every two seats for those who want faster charging. Singapore Airlines uses a bi-fold tray table in every Economy Class seat. These tray tables fold out to quite a size, sufficient for working on a laptop. Like all aircraft, Singapore Airlines only fitted an overhead reading light in every Economy Class seat.

Inflight Entertainment

Each Economy Class seat onboard Singapore Airlines B787-10 is fitted with an 11.1″ touchscreen personal TV. The responsive touchscreen function on these TVs somewhat made the IFE controllers redundant, which is why I did not find any IFE controllers on this aircraft. Singapore Airlines provides take-home earbuds to all Economy Class passengers, available at the door or from cabin crew. I felt these earbuds were rather comfortable to use. Singapore Airlines’ KrisWorld entertainment system is packed with tons of entertainment options —from the latest Hollywood Blockbusters to TV series and games. I like how Singapore Airlines has a separate menu for junior flyers, which contains mostly cartoons and games. KrisWorld is organised in a very easy-to-navigate menu, where entertainment is catalogued in an initiative menu. With a massive library of entertainment options, the four hours seem to zip past quickly. Singapore Airlines also offers unlimited complimentary Wi-Fi to its KrisFlyer members, even when flying in Economy Class. The onboard Wi-Fi connection is only good for social media browsing and messaging, but it took forever to stream or upload videos to our social media sites.

Meal

Meal service begins about 1 hour after takeoff. We were able to see the menu six weeks before our flight. As I was looking through the menu, the food on offer on this flight was not to my liking, hence I pre-booked the Hindu non-vegetarian meal from the special order menu. Before departure, the cabin crew came around to confirm our pre-booked meals. Since I pre-ordered the special meal, I was served about 30 minutes before the main service. For the Hindu non-vegetarian meal, I was served curry lamb as the main course, with a salad, potato mash, and a bun. The curry lamb was tasty and flavourful, without the lamb smell, and the rice served with it was fluffy. I was also given a Häagen-Dazs ice cream, along with the rest of the passengers, after the meal service. For an Economy Class meal, I found it tasty and filling.

Service

The service onboard this flight, despite being in Economy Class, was awesome. The initial experience of the service felt a little scripted with the mandatory greeting at the door and the crew directing us to the correct aisle for our seat. During the flight, I found the crew to be friendly and enthusiastic. Despite having flown a 4-hour flight from Singapore to Hong Kong earlier and the hectic meal service in full Economy Class, the cabin crew still wore smiles and ensured passengers were quickly served their meals. The cabin crew did not seem to rest as they were constantly seen patrolling the cabin. When one of the cabin crew was confirming my meal order, I was pleasantly surprised that she addressed me by my first name. She also got back to me relatively quickly when I checked with her about what was in the Western Child meal I pre-ordered for my nephew. We were pleasantly surprised when the cabin crew came by after dessert with a birthday cake for my sibling. Overall, I thought the service on board in Economy Class was great.

The birthday cake surprise that the cabin crew prepared for my sibling, despite his birthday being 3 days ago

Afterthought

It was a pleasant flight in Economy Class from Hong Kong to Singapore. The legroom was good, and the seat pocket design increased storage capacity. The seat was comfortable thanks to its thick padding. The huge library curated in KrisWorld kept me entertained throughout the 4-hour flight. The food served was tasty and the service was great.

Taxiing to the runway for takeoff

[Accommodation Review] – Sofitel Macau At Ponte 16 (1-Bedroom Mansion – Black Galaxy Theme), Macau, China (25 – 28 Dec 25)

/ kktong76 / 3 Comments

Location

Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16 is located on the Eastern part of the main Macau Peninsula, on the banks of the Pearl River Delta, facing the Chinese city of Zhuhai. The hotel is about 30 minutes from the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Immigration Building and 1 hour from Macau International Airport. Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16 is situated in the historic district of Macau and is conveniently located near the city centre, where sights such as Senado Square and the Ruins of St. Paul are within 7 minutes on foot. Sights located on the other islands of Macau can be accessed by bus from the bus stop directly in front of the hotel, which links to other parts of Macau, such as Taipa, Cotai, and Coloane. There are numerous local restaurants within a 5-minute walk from the hotel, where we were able to find food. The hotel is also conveniently located near 24-hour convenience stores and a supermarket.

The Mansion

Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16 offers a wide range of room types, including superior rooms, suite rooms, and mansions, which are unique to this Sofitel. We stayed in the massive 120㎡ 1-Bedroom mansion, which the hotel offers in several configurations, both single-storey and duplex layouts. We were assigned the single-storey 1-Bedroom Mansion.

Layout of the 1-Bedroom Mansion we stayed in (not drawn to scale)

Entryway

The moment we entered the 1-Bedroom mansion, we could immediately see the Black Galaxy theme of the mansion. The entire mansion is decked in black marble, exuding a sense of class and sophistication. The first thing that caught my eye was the artwork hanging on the wall opposite the double-leaf door entrance to the suite, giving the mansion a sense of classiness. The entryway to the mansion is a relatively large space, but it lacks furnishings. I thought it was a waste that the hotel did not at least furnish this area with shoe cabinets or shoe-changing benches. Here is also where we find the entry to the pantry, the powder room and the karaoke room (yes, there is a karaoke room in this mansion).

Pantry

Immediately after the entrance, the first door on the left leads to a small pantry in the mansion. The pantry has a relatively simple layout, a single kitchen countertop fitted, a small kitchen sink, and mostly empty cabinets in the pantry, except for some glasses and champagne flutes. Mugs are laid out on the kitchen countertop, next to the Nespresso machine and the filter water dispenser. There is a mini fridge tucked inside the cabinet underneath the coffee machine, where we found complementary drinks and snacks, restocked daily. There is another door inside the pantry that seems to lead outside the mansion. However, it was constantly under lock, and there was no way for us to confirm where it led. I can only assume this was a service entrance for the hotel’s catering staff.

Powder Room

The powder room is also located in the entryway, next to the pantry, with the same Black Galaxy decor. The gold trimmings used on parts of the open cabinet and the mirror above the sink did not feel excessive and added a certain luxury to the room. The use of warm lighting also contributed to the powder room’s elegant look. Despite only being furnished with a toilet and a large sink countertop, the space afforded to the powder room was rather generous. I guess this is necessary to prevent guests from feeling claustrophobic because of the black colour theme here.

Karaoke Room

I was pleasantly surprised to find a karaoke room next to the powder room in the entryway, just shy of the living room. The karaoke room, having the same black theme, is furnished with a six-seater couch and a large coffee table. While most of the room is decked in black, the purple in the couch cushions adds some colour without contradicting the overall theme. The karaoke room’s sound system was good, and the soundproofing was excellent. We did not hear any music when the door was closed, even with the sound system blasting. The karaoke system was well curated with a song library, with oldies to recent hits in multiple languages. With the door closed, we did not feel like being in a hotel room’s karaoke room.

Living Room

The living room occupies the largest real estate in the Black Galaxy themed 1-Bedroom Mansion at Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16. The space was divided equally between the lounging and dining areas.

The living room of our 1-Bedroom Mansion

Lounging Area

The lounging area occupies the left side of the living room, and the Black Galaxy theme is most pronounced there. Furnished with two large three-seater European-style sofas and two oversized armchairs, the living room felt very cosy. With the large windows behind both sofas, the living room was a space we could sit and relax while either receiving entertainment from the 55″ flatscreen TV, which is loaded with local and international channels, or simply relax and gaze into the old Macau neighbourhood or the neighbouring Zhuhai. The use of turquoise in the sofa cushions complemented the Black Galaxy theme well without compromising on the overall theme of elegance and luxury. The three chairside tables, fitted with muted red lamps, made the lounging area feel cosier and more classy. The large coffee table in the centre of the seating area gave us ample space to place our drinks and snacks while watching TV. There is a gold-painted cabinet beneath the TV, which greatly expands the already enormous storage space we had in the mansion.

Dining Area

On the other side of the lounging area sits the dining area. Furnished with a large, gold-trimmed, round, black glass-top dining table and six comfortable fabric chairs, the dining area is a great space for us to dine, with my family occupying the 2-Bedroom mansion next door. The choice of furniture, along with the crystal chandelier hanging above the dining table, complements the Black Galaxy theme, adding a sense of luxury to the mansion. At the end of the dining area are two additional dining chairs and a table placed against the wall.

Bedroom

The bedroom in the 1-Bedroom Mansion at Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16

The entrance to the bedroom in the Mansion is also found in the entryway, opposite the entrance to the Karaoke Room. Compared to the rest of the mansion, the bedroom feels much brighter in its colour scheme, mainly thanks to the beige carpeting. Despite a slight colour change, elements of the Black Galaxy are still visible in the walls. The beige carpet, together with the black walls, makes the bedroom feel cosy and comfortable. Right beside the entrance to the bedroom is the workdesk, which is quite sizeable for us to get some work on our laptops and iPads. The work chair at the desk was comfortable to sit in for hours. The only thing I did not like about the study desk is the placement of the power outlet. The deep, narrow power outlet meant we were unable to use our international adaptors, which have USB power outlets at the bottom. I like how Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16 furnishes the wall space behind the work desk with an ornamental shelf. Despite serving no other purpose than display, the shelf not only adds a sense of luxury but also makes this space feel more like a study room.

The sleeping area in the bedroom is farther into the room, next to the window. Furnished with an oversized king bed with an elaborate European-style headboard, the sleeping area is very inviting. We had an excellent sleep on the king bed with its firm mattress and the choice of pillows that suited our preference. The mansion’s opulence was also evident in the king bed. The hotel installed slim chandeliers as bedside lamps that hang above the bedside tables, which not only frees up space on these already large bedside tables, but also reinforces the luxury theme that is seen in the mansion. The bedside tables were generous with the space afforded to us. Other than the large table top, the two drawers offered us tons of space to put away our stuff. Regarding charging, the power outlet’s design suffers from the same poor design as the one on the work desk. We had the same issues with fitting our international power adaptor and had to request an extension cord from the hotel. The bench the hotel provided at the end of the bed gave us the flexibility to stow our backpacks or sit to watch the TV mounted on the false wall opposite the king bed. The TV in the bedroom had the same entertainment options as the rest of the mansion (yes, there are more TVs in the mansion).

The false wall that the hotel installed in the bedroom not only provides a space for the hotel to mount the 55″ flatscreen TV, but it also creates a pseudo walk-in wardrobe in the bedroom. Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16 fitted two sets of two large wardrobes in the closet area of the room, with the wardrobes on the left side having more space. Two of these wardrobes are fitted with two four-tier drawers, giving us a total of eight drawers for smaller clothing items, while one is fitted with a smaller four-tier drawer. This is also where the in-room safe is tucked away. With the combination of the wardrobes, we were able to fit at least two weeks of clothing. Sitting between the two sets of wardrobes is the vanity area. An European-style mirror hangs above the vanity table, accompanied by a dark purple European-style vanity chair. The area at the vanity table is sufficient to lay out one’s entire set of skin care products and cosmetics.

Bathroom

The bathroom in our 1-Bedroom Mansion

The bathroom is situated inside the bedroom. Like the rest of the 1-Bedroom Mansion, the Black Galaxy theme extends into the large bathroom, which is mainly tiled in black marble for walls and floors. A large sink countertop with dual sinks runs the entire length of the bathroom wall, with a generous amount of countertop space for placing our toiletries. Behind the sink area are not one but two toilet cubicles, but only the one closest to the bedroom is equipped with a Japanese-style bidet. I am pleasantly surprised to find a small TV in both toilets to keep guests occupied while using these toilets. Equally surprising is the three-seater leather sofa in the bathroom, in front of the sink area. While weird it might be, I thought having this sofa gave us space to place our clothes.

Behind the sofa, and occupying â…” of the real estate in the bathroom, is the jacuzzi. Sitting on a raised platform and facing the large windows that looked out into Zhuhai, the jacuzzi is large enough for two to three people to enjoy the powerful massage jets in the tub while taking in the scenery of the river and Zhuhai. Due to its size, it can take quite a while to fill the tub with water. As the flooring was all black, I felt one could easily trip on the steps leading to the jacuzzi area, despite the hotel’s best efforts to lay down toilet mats on the stairs. A generously sized walk-in shower with a large rainfall showerhead mounted to the ceiling and a separate regular showerhead is installed next to the Jacuzzi. There is so much space in the walk-in shower that the hotel even fit a bench inside, doubling the shower as a steam room. Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16 supplies its guests with the luxurious Lanvin shower amenities, which not only smell great, but also keep our skin feeling soft after every shower.

Massage Area & Sauna

I was quite surprised to find a massage corner at the end of the bathroom. The massage corner is equipped with a massage table, a sink countertop, and a privacy curtain, which seem to cater to guests who want to order an in-room massage. I am equally surprised to find our private sauna sitting in the corner of the massage area, though we never used the in-suite sauna room throughout our three-night stay in this 1-Bedroom Mansion at Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16.

Service

The service at Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16 is good, but the service seems to stop at the hotel’s main reception. The reception staff were very friendly and helpful. As we had booked the mansion and will be checked into at the Club Millésime Lounge, like guests staying in the executive rooms and suites. When we approached a staff member at the reception, instead of shuffling us to the main queue, the staff member put down what he was doing and attended to us immediately. He arranged for his colleague, Sam, to bring us to the lounge to check in. Sam was very helpful and welcoming. He immediately jumped in to help us with our luggage and kept insisting even after we repeatedly declined. Throughout the journey to the lounge, Sam took the time to orientate us to the hotel’s facilities, pointing out where the breakfast restaurant was and the breakfast timing. Upon arriving at the lounge check-in area, instead of leaving us there, Sam waited around to escort us to our mansions. We bumped into Sam the next evening, and despite having worked the whole day, Sam was still as enthusiastic and friendly, and carrying a warm smile.

The other person who had displayed warmth at the hotel was our housekeeping staff, Bonnie. Despite the late night, Bonnie helped us arrange for our connecting doors to be opened. Before she left, she even checked if we required turndown service and if there were any items we would like to top up. The next day, we bumped into Bonnie along the corridor one floor below us. Upon spotting us, Bonnie immediately greeted us with a good morning and asked when it would be convenient for her to make up our mansions. Our mansions were always kept spick and span after Bonnie did her magic.

The great service that we had experienced at Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16 seemed to stop with the reception staff, Sam and Bonnie. The rest of the staff came across as if they couldn’t be bothered. Firstly, the male staff at the lounge check-in was rather rude. He also came across as impatient when we asked him some questions regarding the lounge. Fortunately, most of our check-in was processed by his female colleague sitting next to him, who was quite polite and welcoming. The male staff, instead of helping her to hasten our check-in process, just sat in front of his computer, seemingly staring at the blank screen and doing nothing. He only interrupted with a rude response when we asked his female colleague if the lounge would see a shorter line during breakfast. The staff at Mistral Restaurant were equally bad. We checked with one of the female staff members at around dinner time on the buffet, who seemed unwilling to answer our questions by replying with short, unrelated answers.

Having said that, when we requested to speak to the duty manager the night before our departure to share our displeasure that my sister’s mansion was not made up when we returned. Instead of being defensive, the duty manager listened with much empathy. I even spotted his female staff, Laura, checking on our mansions and taking down notes on the points we raised.

Facilities around the Hotel

Breakfast @ Mistral Restaurant

Breakfast was served at the Mistral Restaurant, located on the 6th floor of the hotel. The restaurant could accommodate a large number of guests for breakfast, thanks to its size and plentiful seating. The food served was tasty, with a good mix of local and Western options, ranging from salads to bacon to fresh-cut fruits. There is even a small selection of Indian food, catering for the hotel’s Indian guests. In terms of the spread, I’d say the restaurant offers a huge breakfast menu, with its signature croissants placed on the table just inside the entrance. There is a made-to-order noodle bar where we could pick the type of noodles and the vegetables to pair with them. However, the menu stayed the same throughout our three-night stay at the hotel. Despite the repetitive menu, I thought the breakfast served was quite hearty and filled us up with energy to explore Macau.

Club Millésime Lounge

The Club Millésime Lounge, perched on the 17th floor in the hotel wing, is the hotel’s Executive Lounge. The lounge’s decor feels a bit tacky, with overuse of marble on the walls and fixtures that create a sense of luxury. The dark wooden wall cabinets at either end of the lounge, along with the dark brown carpet laid throughout most of it, create an old-school, luxurious vibe. Most parts of the lounge are furnished with dining tables for four, with those placed next to the large window that looks out into Old District Macau only accommodating two. A couple of sets of sofas occupied the ends of the lounge, catering to larger groups. An orange marble bar table was placed in the centre of the lounge for large groups to mingle. The lounge offers a great space for guests to relax, serving finger food during afternoon tea and evening cocktail hours, in addition to the smaller breakfast menu served in the mornings. Outside these hours, guests can visit the lounge to enjoy a drink, where cookies and nuts are also available. We were at the Club Millésime Lounge only for one evening cocktail; the food spread was rather limited. As the evening cocktail approached its end, the staff did not bother to top up the food (despite assuring us the chef would keep it flowing).

Swimming Pool

Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16 boasts not one but two swimming pools: the larger main pool, open to all hotel guests, and another located in the mansion wing, exclusively for mansion guests. The free-form main pool, located on the 6th floor of the main hotel building, appears to be designed primarily for families, making it somewhat challenging to complete decent laps. There is a small area in the pool, curved out as a jacuzzi, which makes relaxing here ideal. There are also a limited number of sundeck chairs around the main pool, which means only a small number of guests can use them at any one time.

The private mansion wing pool sits on the 8th floor of the mansion wing, catering to guests staying in the mansion. The mansion wing pool features an elongated design, ideal for swimming laps and for families to spend quality time together. There is a separate, dedicated jacuzzi pool at this pool. There seem to be more sundeck chairs at this pool facing the river than at the main pool.

Gym

Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16 features a spacious gym, located on the 6th floor of the main hotel building. The gym consists of two parts: a smaller room located next to the reception and the main gym floor. The smaller room beside the reception features free weights for guests to perform strength training. There are gym balls at the end of this room for guests to use for core training. The main gym floor is equipped with mainly cardio equipment like treadmills and stationary bikes positioned to face the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the main swimming pool. There are only three strength training machines, which work out only the arms and back muscles, placed in the centre of the gym floor and arranged to face the swimming pool.

Overall

The location of the hotel was good, as it was close to the historic centre of Macau, making visiting these sights very convenient. The 24-hour supermarket within a stone’s throw of the hotel made it convenient for us to get stuff even late at night. However, due to no casinos operating at the hotel, there are no free shuttle buses that run here. Fortunately, the bus stop in front of the hotel connects us to the major attractions in Macau, making exploring here a breeze. The 1-Bedroom Mansion that was assigned to us was very well-appointed. The large floor area allowed the hotel to fit many facilities, such as a Karaoke Room and a Sauna, within the room. The mansion’s decor was classy and luxurious, and the king bed provided excellent sleep quality. The breakfast menu was huge, and despite staying the same, it kept us fueled for the day of exploring Macau. It seems the reception staff were the only ones (as well as Bonnie) who were interested in providing good service. The rest of the staff, including those in the restaurant and lounge, and especially the male staff at the lounge’s check-in desks, do not seem to be providing good service to its guests.

Macau Day 4 (28 Dec 25): Last Minute Shopping & Departing Macau

/ kktong76 / 1 Comment

This is our final day in Macau, and since our flight departs from Hong Kong International Airport in the evening, we had the flexibility to relax in the hotel or head out for some last-minute shopping. Since our pre-booked bus to Hong Kong is at 3.30 pm, we had a good 3 hours before we needed to leave for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) border to catch our bus to Hong Kong International Airport.

Last Minute Shopping at Senado Square

After breakfast, my sister wanted to head out for some last-minute shopping. To make the most of the time we had, we went to Senado Square, which is a stone’s throw from our hotel. Senado Square seemed to be more crowded than on the second day we were here. We spent the remaining 3 hours we had shopping for souvenirs and clothing in Senado Square, making it a great spot for both shopping and sightseeing.

Macau to Hong Kong Airport

As we flew out of Hong Kong International Airport, we added an additional hour to the airport from Macau. Departing from Macau via bus, only a few airlines allow check-in at the HZMB border. As the airline we are flying is not on this list, we were required to bring our luggage to Hong Kong International Airport and check in at the Sky Pier Terminal (Click here for more information on the airlines eligible for check-in at the HZMB border). Like our entry to Macau, we cleared immigration at the HZMB border relatively fast. Soon, we found ourselves in the immigration area of the border control building, looking for the bus to Hong Kong International Airport. However, after we had found our bus, we were told we were late for check-in. Turns out that we needed to check in for our bus ride 45 minutes before our scheduled departure (we were at the bus at 3.15 pm for our 3.30 pm departure). Fortunately, the next bus departs at 4 pm, 30 minutes after our original bus departs. The helpful staff quickly helped us change our bus tickets and took our luggage. At the Hong Kong International Airport Sky Pier Terminal, check-in was a breeze. After we checked in for our flight and obtained our boarding pass, we were given instructions on where to clear immigration and where to collect our airport tax refund since we technically did not enter Hong Kong.

Afterthought

Macau can be an easy day trip from Hong Kong, provided one leaves early and returns late at night. Given our two full days, there are still areas that we planned for but did not cover. For a slower pace and fuller Macau experience, I thought three full days would be ideal. There are activities such as Go-karting and the Panda conservation centre that are suitable for families. In terms of where to stay, I thought Cotai is suitable for those who are attracted to the glitz and glamour, as well as luxury shopping and casino gaming. For those who want a more authentic Macau experience that is close to the historical attractions, the Macau Peninsula is a great option. In terms of food, I thought Macau’s was not as good as Hong Kong’s. Half the time, we had trouble finding decent food. Perhaps we limited ourselves to Macau Peninsula, where the food is more influenced by Mainland China, or perhaps we did not bother Googling for better restaurants.