Switzerland

If there is heaven on earth then it has to be in Switzerland. The most scenic country in the entire Europe that I saw was this. Being very close to Germany I had an opportunity to visit this country about 4 times during my exchange. If you go to Switzerland then do not waste time in seeing the cities. There is a hell lot to explore other than those here. A country with make beautiful lakes surrounded by snow capped mountains and grasslands is what defines it. Since I had a residence permit so I could visit Switzerland. People with Schengen visa, please please please take a separate Swiss visa or else there is a lacuna in your Euro trip.
Coming from Germany, Basel is the most favorable entry point. It is about 5 hours from Cologne and best way is to take a night train and reach there Basel in the morning. There are many scenic route trains that run through Switzerland whose information is given in the Eurail booklet.

I started my trip with Zurich but was a bit disappointed. I felt if this is Switzerland then I don't want to see it. Apart from a free cruise in the Zurich lake and a Dom there is nothing exciting here. Its a business city with no cheap food outlets. We couldn't even find a McDonalds outlet here. The city is very costly and full of luxurious cafes and eateries. The best exchange rate for Swiss Francs can be availed at the railway station itself. People staying in Italy or Germany, exchange many Euros in Switzerland as you would go there again and again.

About 1 hour from Zurich is a city called Luzern. At the foothills of many snow capped peaks and a tremendous lake it was the first city worth visit in Switzerland for me. The cruise in the Luzern lake is free . Do make it a point to take a long 3 hour cruise to Brunne from Luzern. It was the best cruise I had taken in Central Europe. They take you along various mountains and scenic beauty. In Luzern city there is few monuments and historical bridges. The bridges were painted in a specific manner and each bridge has a relation with the painting on it. The cruise on Luzern lake is free and worth every moment of it. From Brunne one can take a train back to Luzern which takes around 45 minutes.
There is a scenic train called "The Golden Pass"" between Luzern and Interlaken which is very nice and a complete treat.

On the route to Golden pass there is a small village called Meiringen where stands the tall Alpen tower. Alpen tower is a platform at a height of about 4000 meters from where you can see the entire Swiss Alps. The temperatures on the Alpen tower are sub zero throughout the year. To reach to the Alpen tower one has to change 3 ropeways on 3 stations in between. The journey on the ropeway is about 30 minutes and the views are ecstatic. The Alpen tower is not very well known and doesnt find a mention in books like Lonely Planet, however the entire experience was not only beautiful but economical too. Meiringen town has a Sherlock Holmes museum too which can be explored if one wants to. The journey from Meiringen to Interlaken is along the Interlaken lake and is very beautiful.

Interlaken is known as the city of excitement. One can do sky diving, bungee jumping and other such adventure sports here. But the cost is extremely high. For a sky dive one needs to shell around 300 Euros here. There are good Indian food outlets in the town and this was the place where I saw the maximum Indian citizens at a single time together. Near Interlaken is the "Top of Europe" i.e. Jungfrau Joch (pronounced as Yungfrow Yok). There is a train that goes from the Interlaken Ost railway station to Jungfrau for 85 euros after discount on Eurail pass. Jungfrau is the highest railway station in the world which makes the entire trip unique. One has to change 2 trains from Interlaken to reach there as the elevation increases. There are 2 routes to reach there. One is via Grindenwald and one is via Lauterbrunnen. The route via Lauterbrunnen is more scenic. The entire journey is along the snow capped peaks of Swiss Alps and every minute of it is something one can die for. At the Jungfrau Joch there are 3 things to look out for. A glacier, Sphinx Tower and ice museum. There is a 10 floor lift from Jungfrau station to Sphinx tower. From sphinx tower once can go to the glacier walking in the ice for about 3 kilometers. The wind speed can b very high and it can get very cold out there. It is advisable to take good warm clothing with you. There are dog sledges there which one can enjoy, but I personally believe walking in snow is much better :-) The Ice museum is also good fun and is a very nice concept that has been developed there. Please carry a good camera if you happen to visit Jungfrau.

About 2 hours from Stuttgart there is a beautiful Rhine falls. There falls are the culmination point of river Rhine and are the highest flow waterfalls in the entire Europe. One can go as close as 3 meters to the roaring falls from the view points. Since the falls lie in the Black Forest a nice train continues along the river Rhine from there on through the jungle. It is a good experience overall. One can also go in a cruise through the waterfalls but its time consuming and there was a mad rush to do the cruise amongst the visitors that day.

Bern and Basel are both business cities and are rather boring. 2 hours in each of the cities is more than sufficient for anybody.