INTRODUCTION

Pam had not been OS for some years, nor seen the HIGH Alps in Switzerland. Therefore, while we could still drive & cope at our age, we decided to do a Self Drive tour as per the map

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Our plans were badly altered by the "incredible floods" in Dubai. This closed all flights in and out for 4 days and stuffed our PLANS and incurred Extra costs for no-shows. We managed with some difficulties and extra costs. We had to make up for the 4 lost days, to fit in with booked airlines, so we decided to eliminate all sections west of Italy, and head straight back to Zurich.

Now let the text and photos tell our voyage,

Original map, before 4 day FLOOD delays in Dubai.

Airlines

We chose Emirates from Brisbane to Dubai, overnite, then fly to Zurich Switzerland. However the MASSIVE 4 day floods changed our plans and increased our COSTS. Flying home, Zurich to Dubai, overnite, then Dubai to Brisbane. Our "forced stay for 4 days in Dubai" was quite an ordeal ! The queues for Taxis to get to alternative accommodation were 300 to 400 metres long and accommodation was hard to find.
Car Hire

We had chosen an AVIS VW Golf, hybrid from Australia. On pickup at Zurich, were NOT given any help or assistance with a NEW and unfamiliar car ! Parj had to use Trial & Error to figure out all the NEW features and the Sat Nav. NO spare tyre was provided ??
Sat Nav's

We took our tried & tested Garmin Nuvi with pre-loaded Cities we were to visit. This however gave up the GHOST about 1/2 way around and it was VERY FORTUNATE that Parj could make the VW Sat Nav., work, by trial and error. If not, we were in BAD trouble. Often in the past, I took 2 Garmin Sat Navs, to avoid disaster. Navigating by MAP is VERY difficult.

Toll Roads

As in the past, these proved troublesome. Some wanted Credit cards, some wanted cash. Some charged on entry, some on exit, few booths were manned by Humans, very difficult !
Accommodations

We had pre-booked some "essential accommodations" with Flt. Centre, to reduce Airline costs, This however cost us by the 4 day delays by Dubai Floods. Some accommodations in The Swiss Alps, were happy to allow our pre-payments for the delayed dates, but most others, including Ferries, charged us twice. See how we go with Travel Insurance ? We had claims of over $5,000 AUD. Other accommodations we found with Garmin Sat Nav or the VW Golf Sat Nav….which was difficult to use !

Now the Photos and Text tell the story.

Flying Brisbane to Dubai, then overniting in Dubai before Flying on to Zurich, Switzerland. After a 14 hr flight, we were happy to Overnite at the Dubai airport Holiday Inn express. Next morning, we found EXTREMLY heavy rains and floods, forcing us to stay in Dubai for 4 extra days, disrupting our plans.

Holiday Inn Dubai….1 nite then 4 days of flood

 

The BURJ KHALIFA, Dubai, tallest on Earth

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Has to be on your bucket LIST. Couldn't get the train there for 2 days, because of the floods on the tracks ?? Would you believe this ?

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Pam ontop of the Tallest tower on Earth, Dubai.

 

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Even though it was HAZY, view was amazing

Pam & Parj investigating Alternative transport !

ZAIN hotel in Dubai, lucky to get a room for 4 days while stranded !

When we finally got to Zurich, Switzerland, after 4 days delays, we promptly went to AVIS to pick up our Hire Car, a VW GOLF hybrid. Was a good car but needed "trial & error" to make it work properly. We were scheduled to stay at the Zurich Townhouse Hotel, but a HEAVY snowstorm made this too hard. We used our Garmin Sat Nav to head out of town, for Grindelwald, a famous Ski Resort. Parj had skied there often when younger. Grindelwald is near the famous Eiger Mountain, which we visited, by Cog Train and Gondolas and Cablecars. The weather was very POOR for photos….big disappointment.

Parked at Hotel Steinbock, Grindelwald. They allowed us to use "late arrival OK", thanks

Front of Steinbock, 50 m from "FIRST" lifts. Great skiing here in winter.

Up the Eiger, by Cog Rail & Gondolas, WOW ! Could NOT see/photograph Eiger Nth Face, pity.

At Kleine Scheidegg, just below Eiger Nth Face. Visibility very poor for photos.

From Grindelwald we drove the short distance to Tasch/Zermatt. We had to stay in Tasch as one could not park a car in Zermatt. Short train commute from Tasch to Zermatt. Zermatt is the home of the famous Matterhorn mountain, which has claimed many climbers lives. Cannot see how anyone can climb this ??

Up the Matterhorn express, to Kleine M'Horn. On RHS looking uphill. Great skiing here.

Up the Gornergrat Cog Rail, on LHS. Does it get any better than this for views ??

Another great view of Matterhorn, good Eh?

We stopped at Gornergrat station for views.

After Zermatt, we headed South East to Italy and Croatia, via Padua, Zadar and Split. We had wanted to visit Dubrovnik, in Croatia, but had to settle for Split due to delays. After a GREAT stay in Croatia, it's good hotels and people, we took the ferry over the Adriatic Sea, to Anacona, ITALY. Ferry was a bit of a disappointment, and we HAD to pay twice, for 1st missed booking.

Hotel Miramare, in Zadar, Croatia. Excellent venue, location, food, booze, staff.

Hotel PARK, in Split, Croatia. Again excellent. Great town, great Hotel with top views etc/

Hotel PARK gardens, view, and great service.

Hotel PARK, Split, as good as they get, Eh?

Entrance to Croatia/Italy Ferry, paid twice.

Ferry was "average" poor service and staff.

From SPLIT, Croatia, great town, we got the overnite ferry to Anacona, ITALY. Not the best Ferry service we had experienced…..BAD service in Bars, Restaurants and Information re:- Boarding & Parking ??

From Anacona, ITALY, after the overnite Ferry, we drove straight towards Sorrento, Amalfi Coast, ITALY. Near Sorrento, the traffic and narrow roads made driving a nightmare. At one point, an Italian walker jumped into my mirrors, bunging on that I had run into him. Several Italians started talking/threatening me but when they found out I was an Ozzie, they walked away. Probably thought it too difficult to sue me ?? We were disappointed that on the "magnificent Amalfi Coast" on the narrow winding roads, we could NOT stop to take photos of the MAGNIFICENT scenery. We were lucky to escape without car damage. We headed North, past ROME to a beautiful town on the Mediterranean sea, Follonica, where we stayed at one of our best HOTELS, the LIDO. Had great views, parking, and good room. 2 nites spent to plan the remainder of our trip. Since we had lost 4 days from the Dubai Flood, we decided to Head North via MILAN, then Grindelwald again and back to Zurich. This allowed us to make our scheduled return flights home. We found ITALY quite unpleasant. The citizens, hotel staff, Petrol Station staff, were very un-helpful. (if not offensive?) Also we had a few BAD moments near a ROME petrol station where we had thought we had LOST our car keys. After an hour or so, to our great relief, they were found. Also, our TRUSTY Garmin Sat Nav failed. Thank goodness Parj was able to get the VW rental Sat Nav working well enough to get us back to Zurich. Would have been VERY difficult, or impossible without a Sat Nav. I suppose MOST rentals now have an inbuilt Sat Nav. I used to take 2 of my own, just in case. The Hotel we had booked on Parj's tablet, in MILAN, using Booking.com, was VERY difficult to find. Turned out it was on the 3rd floor of a "mixed use building", with NO sign outside identifying it. Also, it was VERY difficult to get into the parking area, via a VERY narrow lane. Parj needed CLOSE guidance !!

One of the FEW places we could STOP, above, on AMALFI Coast, to take photos. The original hotel we had booked, La Meridiana in Sorrento had already debited us during delays and had NO vacancies. Therefore we headed North, past ROME, along the Coast, to a beautiful hotel LIDO in Follonica.

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View from our Hotel, LIDO, Follonica, great.

 

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Lido hotel in Follonica, Italy, on coast. One of the MOST pleasant 2 days we had in ITALY. Planned our last few days of trip to Zurich, via MILAN and Grindelwald.

Entering MILAN, Italy. Busy town, bad drivers ! VERY hard to find our Hotel, not labelled ?

Relaxing in Mall, opposite our Hotel. Poor Parj may have gotten an infection here ?

Mall opposite our Hotel in Milan, ITALY. Busy.

Heading North, out of Italy to Grindelwald, Switzerland. Seemed more friendly there ?

We were very happy to get back into Switzerland. The people and staff were MORE helpful, could speak reasonable English, and Parj's German was good enough if/when needed. We headed back to the Steinbock hotel in Grindelwald, as they had honoured our recent "late arrival" without penalty. They also negotiated a similar deal for us at Zermatt ! They certainly treat their visitors with understanding, Eh ? Out hotel was located only 50 odd metres from the "FIRST Gondola" which is a MUST do. All sorts of adventure activities, like cable flying, karting and suchlike were available. (not for us) WE had to do the FAMOUS Skywalk at the top, and were blessed with reasonable views. Parj had to do some persuasion for Lady Pamela, that the SKYWALK structure was SAFE to walk on. These usually have a factor of safety of about 5, against failure. Parj had designed similar stuff for Thredbo, Australia, many years ago.

Parj climbing stairs to "FIRST" Gondola, only 50 m from our Steinbock hotel

Lady Pamela "swanning it up" in the "First" gondola. Natural actor, Eh ?

Lady Pamela STILL swanning it. Why not here?

Lady Pamela swanning it at "First" boozer.

Two "oldies" on "FIRST SKYWALK". Didn't even shake around with MANY people on it.

Parj ready for a BEER, Eh ?

"FIRST" skywalk from side on. Lady Pamela was finally persuaded to walk on it, to the end.

Well earned drinks after SKYWALK.

Going down FIRST gondola to Grindelwald.

From Grindelwald, we motored back to Zurich Airport, to return our RENTAL car. Parj had started feeling a bit poorly, and this got quite worse at our hotel at Zurich airport. Luckily, Pamela had some ideas of what could be wrong, and it turned out to be "Urinary tract Infection." Was extremely painful and needed immediate medical service. Pamela arranged some treatment at Zurich Airport Medical centre, which cured this infection over a period of 3 visits. Hoping some costs can be recovered by Travel Insurance ?

After Parj was feeling better (and safe to travel ?), we did a Cruise on Lake Zurich and made preparations to fly home, via Dubai, then Brisbane.

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After Parj's medicals, we moved to Zurich Hotel Townhouse. Expensive but ordinary

 

Poor Parj, in Zurich Medical Centre, 3 times ! arrow_back

Our Zurich Cruise boat. Very uncivilized as we had to bring our own Booze with us. Some enterprising guy had set up a BOOTH right beside the Boat Ramp….well done son !

 

 

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Parj back on dry land, feeling OK again.

Lady Pamela had to visit a ZURICH shop for chocolates. The Factory was inconvenient !

This trip, and our getting OLDER, reinforced the need for meticulous organization of ALL personal items, such as:- Car Keys, Hotel keys, Credit Cards, Mobile Phones, Passports and Travel documents etc. One has to be able to find ALL these quickly and reliably, all the time. Be consistent with regular routine & fixed places to store these VITAL items, used daily.

The Airline travel times and Airport procedures are becoming tiresome. Too much waiting in queues and dealing with over officious staff, exerting their power. Just about had enough of this ? Will concentrate on Travel in Australia (or nearby) in future, unless a "cannot be missed OS trip bekons". (Maybe China ?)

The distances we travelled by car, place to place, were quite comfortable. However, paying tolls, finding accommodations and rest breaks, took up more time than expected.

Our HIGHLIGHTS were off course the Swiss Alps, most of Croatia and parts of Italy. (Amalfi Coast)

We dealt with whatever problems we encountered, including :- Dubai Floods, 4 days delays, Losing Car keys for 2 hours, our Garmin Sat Nav failing 1/2 way, BAD traffic and NARROW roads in ITALY, Amalfi Coast and Parj's illness ++. Neither of us panicked, & did what was required to overcome any problems.

We BOTH felt that "Self driving Overseas" is becoming more and more difficult. Perhaps do more in Australia or go on "Guided, organized tours, overseas ?"

However, we BOTH enjoyed the experience, thoroughly, and have GREAT memories of this trip.