The Ball & Woisnet FamiliesOur motley group of six loves traveling together. Rick and Jody bring along their children, Justin and Elyse, and Jody's sister and brother-in-law, Jill and Lex.
Over the past decades, we've been everywhere together - from busy central London to the beaches of South Carolina, and from the Swiss Alps to the U.S. Open. And we've loved every minute of it! |
"We are on an adventure,and an adventure deserves chocolate."
- Fabian Rueger, our Rick Steves tour guide
- Fabian Rueger, our Rick Steves tour guide
Why Switzerland?To quote one of our favorite films, Pride and Prejudice, "What are men compared to rocks and mountains?"
One of the highlights of our previous trips to Europe was a brief stop in the Swiss Alps, as part of a Germany, Austria and Switzerland tour. Naturally, we jumped at the opportunity to visit Europe's most spectacular scenery again and to learn about Switzerland's culture and history in more detail. As an additional bonus, Justin recently moved to Switzerland to work at the Swiss Plasma Center in Lausanne. (Learn more about that on the "About Us" page.) |
Why Rick Steves?
Rick Steves’ Tours are fun and flexible while remaining extremely organized. Tour members show up on time, the group departs and everyone arrives at the prime attraction at the least busy time. Tickets are waiting when you arrive, you glide inside, meet with a top-notch guide for that museum or castle, get the royal tour and then are on your way to enjoy the rest of the day. Things work like a finely tuned Swiss watch. The tour groups are filled with interesting and fun people. Everyone seems to be having a good time. This year, I heard four members from our group telling the millennials at the Youth Hostel in Murren what a great experience the Rick Steves’ Tours were and recommending that they try one. It is really that good.
Pre-Tour: LausanneBefore we joined up with our Rick Steves tour group, we spent a few days celebrating in Justin's home town of Lausanne. We toasted two birthdays with espresso and ice cream, and enjoyed the ultimate picnic lunch high up in the mountains. Plus, we visited Justin at work in the Swiss Plasma Center, then discovered where you can get Mom a truly limitless supply of chocolate for Mother's Day... or any other day.
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LucerneOur first tour stop was a lesson in Swiss history, including strolls through a well-preserved Medieval city and side trips to the site where the first Swiss Confederation was founded, a monument marking the end of Switzerland's mercenary tradition, and a secret World War II fortress. It was a great place to enjoy the delight that is handmade Swiss chocolate, and to learn the perils of trying to hike in indoor soccer shoes.
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EngelbergSitting at the base of the "mountain of the angel," the tiny town of Engelberg showed us the delights of rural Swiss life. We visited a beautifully decorated Benedictine monastery and rode a revolving cable car to the snowy summit of Mount Titlis. We had some fun in the snow, slipping through ice caves and Bollywood dancing in a snowstorm.
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LuganoAs the largest city in Switzerland's Italian speaking southern region, Lugano was a relaxing vacation-within-a-vacation. We drank wine, strolled along an olive tree lined trail, sipped cappuccino on the waterfront, and climbed a mountain to see the Italian city of Milan in the distance. Our risotto cooking class brought out a particularly competitive streak in some of our tour group members.
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MurrenHanging out high up in the Alps in tiny towns like Murren and Gimmelwald, we were surrounded on all sides by Switzerland's natural beauty. It was also a great place to take some risks: we tackled an epic hike that was not for the faint of heart (but was probably completed by Swiss grannies), took a thrill walk over an open crevasse near the mountain summit, and Justin had a first hand encounter with the Grim Reaper.
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LausanneOur stop in Lausanne - a perfect, French-speaking seaside retreat - featured the most varied activities of the trip. We cruised along Lake Geneva beside lazy sailboats, toured a castle turned prison that was made notorious by Lord Byron, and settled in to sip wine in the Lauveaux Vineyards. Lausanne is a paradise for Olympic Games fanatics like us - we got to geek-out at the massive collection of medals, torches and competitive uniforms at the Olympic Museum.
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BernSwitzerland's capital city is fun, colorful and infinitely stroll-able. We particularly enjoyed our walking tour with a local guide, Miriam, who explained Bern's history, how Switzerland's government reflects the values of its people, and even answered questions about Swiss bank accounts over a beer. Another treat was gawking at Bern's historic (and sometimes disturbing) fountains, which have stood since the 1500s.
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On the RoadWith our superb bus driver Joe at the wheel, our tour group got to make short stops in places we would otherwise never visit. Some of the highlights included running along the ramparts of Milanese fortresses in Bellinzona, learning how Alp cheese is made at the family-run Baeder Farm, standing among Roman ruins in Avenches, and attempting to glimpse the fickle beauty that is the Matterhorn.
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Post-Tour: ZurichWe wrapped up our visit to Switzerland with a whirlwind day in its largest city, Zurich. The day had two major themes: climbing tall things and eating as many Swiss delicacies as we could find. We hiked up to the highest park in town and climbed spiral stairs to the top of the Grossmunster, then rewarded ourselves with fruit-stuffed bread and legendary macarons. We also celebrated Lex and Jill's anniversary with a trio of Swiss delights: raclette, cheese fondue and meat fondue.
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