The French novelist Jules Verne made literary history with his “Around the World in 80 Days” novel. My spring travel plan was decidedly less ambitious. I had four days, a limited budget and an everlasting obsession to explore places I’ve never been to. Happily, Christina, a good friend of mine, shared my obsession. And that’s how we both ended up in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
We booked tickets with one of the budget airlines that got us to the small Bavarian town of Memmingen, Germany, 100 kilometers south of Munich.
We didn’t plan to stay for longer than one night, so we booked a hotel in the downtown area, close to restaurants and bars. The town was tiny and it took us only a half-hour to walk around it.
We easily found a great place to have dinner, since most of the local restaurants and cafeterias are open until 11 p.m. “When in Bavaria, do as Bavarians do,” we thought and ordered a huge bratwurst platter with potatoes, grilled veggies and wonderful house-brewed beer, followed by more beer and calvados (smooth apple brandy) in a sports bar. The jumping-off point of our journey was a real success.
We were off to Zurich next. The train tickets cost half the price of our air fare, and so this route proved much cheaper for us than a direct flight from Kyiv to Zurich.
The scene in Schaan, Liechtenstein features cows, churches, mountains, wealthy households – and Kyiv Post staff writer Olesia Oleshko (Courtesy)
Zurich welcomed us with almost summer-like weather and striking beauty. It also combined the best features of European cities: light-colored Parisian buildings, coffee shops like those on Unter der Linden Street in the heart of Berlin and a Budapest-like landscape. It even added a small touch of the United States, represented by numerous Starbucks shops and American Apparel outlets.
The agenda for our first day in Zurich was packed: sightseeing, dinner – and buying Swiss francs, which proved challenging. Too lazy to go back to the railway station, we dropped into a bank to find an ATM. We walked eight blocks and, to our surprise, still couldn’t find one.
“Great, we are at Europe’s financial capital and can’t find a bank branch,” giggled Christina, as I watched two guys in ultra-expensive suits walk by. “They look like people who know money,” I joked. “Let’s follow them.”
Luckily, we saw an ATM right around the corner. I withdrew 100 francs (slightly less than $100), feeling certain it would be enough to buy meals for the two of us for two days. Big illusion. The cheapest place we could find in the tourist area was a Mexican restaurant where two meals and four beers cost us $75. “We live only once,” said Christina, sipping her Corona with lime, as I agreed.
The next day, we decided to cut our expenses. The first step was to grab some sandwiches from the breakfast table, but we faced a big disappointment. The breakfast consisted of two croissants, cheese spread and jam. We then discovered a nearby grocery with a great selection of home-style food, such as pasta, quiches and soups at affordable prices. This discovery made our lives much better, so we bought snacks and went for a boat cruise on the Lake of Zurich. For 8 francs ($7) we got the boat tickets, 1.5 hours of watching waterfront houses and distant mountains and took tons of pictures. Christina got a raccoon-eyes sunburn as a bonus.
The next stop on our frugal agenda was a picnic at the lake. The lakeshore is a top late-afternoon hangout: People bring food and drinks and they have dinner while watching swans and sunset and listening to live music. Our wine, cheese and strawberry picnic was accompanied by a cool breeze much better than any fancy restaurant dinner. Zurich knows how to relax. Downtown restaurants and bars are packed after 7 p.m. and it’s difficult to make your way through the parked Boxters, Maseratis and BMWs.
The Lake of Zurich is one of the top local getaways, especially when the weather is warm. (Courtesy)
The next destination: Schaan, Liechtenstein. This destination is not popular among Eastern European or American tourists, but must be heaven for winter sports fans. This place impressed us with its neat houses, laidback people and cows. Seriously, lots of cows. Prices at the local restaurants cheered us up – lunch cost us $15 each, cheap compared to Swiss prices. Having explored everything around, we said goodbye to Liechtenstein and headed to Munich.
On that day I made my personal record: touching down in four countries in one day. We had breakfast in Switzerland, lunch in Liechtenstein, changed trains in Austria and had dinner in Germany.
Munich was a culinary paradise. We quickly found an Asian place that offered a 6.80-euro Chinese food buffet and a 7-euro sushi set. After indulging in great food and German beer, we went for a walk and more beer. The last day of our trip coincided with two important-for-Bavaria events – May Labor Day and a big soccer game. The game was scheduled for 3 p.m., but preparations started early, with people donning their national outfits and going to congested downtown cafes, pubs and outdoor beer stalls. Christina and I happily joined them, but faced a dilemma at the first beer: What size beer to buy? Liter or half-liter mug?
“I would go for the liter one, but I can’t hold it,” complained Christina. So, half-liter it was. By the end of the day, our stomachs were full of beer and our wallets were empty. We scraped up the last cash we had to buy bus tickets from Munich to Memmingen airport (18 euros each) and spent the rest on chocolates for family and friends. We silently and calmly calculated the total trip cost on the bus. Oh, well, we live only once after all.
Total cost per person for a four-day trip to Germany, Liechtenstein and Switzerland: 700 euros.
Flight
Kyiv – Memmingen, Germany – Kyiv, 115 euros
Train tickets
Memmingen – Zurich, Switzerland, 50 euros
Zurich – Buchs, Switzerland, 28 euros (city bus from Buchs to Schaan, Liechtenstein, 1 euros)
Buchs – Munich, Germany 70 euros
Bus tickets
Munich railway station – Memmingen Airport, 18 euros
Where to stay and what to eat:
Memmingen, Germany
Drexel’s Park Hotel; double room starts at 100 euros per night. Lunches in Memmingen cost 10-15 euros per person, with dinner at 15-20 euros; beer costs 2-3 euros.
Zurich, Switzerland:
Hotel Limmathof; double room starts at 130 euros per night; lunch at a restaurant is 30 euros per person, with dinner costing 40 euros and up per person.
Munich, Germany:
Arthotel Munich has double rooms starting at 100 euros per night; the city has a big variety of cheap eateries, with Chinese buffets costing 7 euros per person, street stalls offering sausages and potato salads at 4.8 euro and 0.5 liters of beer for approximately 3 euros.
