Your fearless host paragliding above Interlaken, Switzerland.
For more photos, click on link at bottom of the article.
MILAN — Air France via Paris to Milan — There is an 11pm departure out of JFK which along with AA’s flight to London makes it the last flight out at night to Europe. The advantage of Air France at Charles de Gaulle airport is that I was 5 hours late and missed 2 connections to Milan but there was another flight every 2 hours I could catch. With business class, I made the Paris transfer in about 30 minutes but otherwise allow 60-90 minutes to clear security and passport control. Taxi from Malpensa to a hotel in center of Milan is about 100 Euro and 35 minutes at off-peak hours. The lesson of this trip is that all the treats I like in Europe you can find in Manhattan just as good if you know where to look. Dinner at Bruno’s in Milan is something I like but Milos Café in Manhattan is as good or better for fish and vegetables. Lots of stores closed Monday mornings in Milan (at least during the summer) so being there at that time is a waste if you are there to shop. My room at the Grand Hotel Plaza Milano was a junior suite with a killer view of the Duomo but it had a hand-held shower, no plug for the shaver and dinky soap. I could have stayed at the Park Hyatt for an extra 75 Euro after getting a 100 Euro food credit via the Amex Platinum program and it probably pays to go there. Shopping was a bit tough at this time of year; you get the leftovers. If you take a train to Switzerland, remember to stop at customs at the border to get the VAT stamp as you are leaving the EU. The train usually stops for about 10 minutes to give you a chance to get off the train and do this. The train stations were sold out of the Herald Tribune by 4pm; get it in town if you want it on the train. I took a 3 ½ hour ride to Interlaken, Switzerland and I had some interesting conversations with people such as a translator at the Japanese arms control mission in Geneva, some collegiates from Singapore and a paraglider from Australia. Swiss trains have nice bathrooms with soap and dryers; cost was $80 one-way which is less than half the cost of Amtrak for similar service in the Northeast US. Huge tunnels in Switzerland that seem to go on for miles.
Switzerland (Interlaken, Berne, Thun and Zurich) — From the train station at Interlaken West, you can walk 7 minutes to the Victoria Jungfrau hotel (best in town) and skip the $12 taxi ride. Another hotel right by the Interlaken Central station is the Beau Rivage which is supposed to be decent at half the price. I couldn’t see a room there so I can’t tell you. At my hotel, there were lots of treats in the room and an upgrade via the Amex Platinum program. Still, I always am happy that I take my own pillow along. This hotel has good eating; the Brasserie in my opinion is better than the gourmet room. Breakfast is excellent with nice bakery and the spa is better than usual with some nice treatments. I was surprised at the lack of grounds at the hotel, meaning outdoor areas to sit and walk around. Cranberry juice is not popular here. A 50 minute train ride to Berne is the nation’s capitol and a decent day trip if the weather is lousy. That day the city was invaded by the orange-wearing Dutchmen due to the European soccer tournament; throngs of people were kicking soccer balls around the town square bouncing off apartment windows and the police just looked on hoping there was no violence. Thun is midway between Berne and Interlaken; it is a cute town in which to spend an hour with its covered bridges over the river and a castle overlooking the city featuring some nice doll houses for kids and it is also a good activity in bad weather. Some guy paraglided right in front of my window and landed in a field across the street; I was intrigued so I went the next morning after being told by the hotel’s concierge that it was more dangerous to walk to the train station and that a 2 year old kid went the day before with his grandmother. Definitely a fun thing to do and not as scary as I thought, they use electronic devices to assist in the flight and my tandem flight instructor was over 40 years old and this being Switzerland they don’t cut corners (literally). You really get a good view with nothing in your way and they say this is one of the best places in the world for this kind of thing. The instructor carries 60 pounds on his back with all the gear. The activity is about 90 minutes and the flight itself is about 15 from a height of about 4,000 feet. All for less than the cost of a massage at the spa. They even issue you a ticket since it is officially an airplane ride. Took a funicular ride up to the Harder observatory above the city; the funicular is a few minutes walk from the hotel. “Schuh” is a good choice restaurant in town with nice treats. Basically, a bit of a sleepy town with fair vistas and lots of Americans here. I never saw the Jungfrau although the weather was not great and I didn’t have the time to take the train rides to the top of the mountain which basically take a full day. St. Moritz is a much better destination to visit if you have to choose. Pity the folks from the town of Shpietz (Shpee-itz). In the morning, I got a recorded message calling me on my hotel phone “Due to technical difficulties, we ask you to leave the hotel immediately.” So not everything works here. It is a 2 hour train ride to Zurich with a change in Berne. The Swiss talk so sweetly; sometimes it is hard to tell who is a guy and who is a girl.
Zurich — I just love this town. In 30 minutes you can get off the train, get to your hotel, settle in and get back to the center of town to a café such as Springli. Your money also goes fast but at least Zurich works. Springli is famous for its macaroons but actually I think that Macaron on 36th Street and 7th Avenue in Manhattan is just as good. Grom’s gelato at 76th and Broadway is as good as any in Italy. The Dolder Grand Hotel has reopened and I think it is overrated unless you want Uber modern and total privacy on the edge of town with a golf course. Dinner was no big deal on the terrace and I was a bit peeved that I called a week in advance to get the dining room to be told it was sold out only to find it half empty when I arrived. Football fever here; there are Fan Zones everywhere with big screen TV’s and bars all over the place with a mile long alley of BBQ places along the lake. This is heaven if you are a football fan and I’d bet that even Super Bowls in the US don’t compare. In the evenings, the city streets have no cars on them as everyone is watching the games. The Eden Au Lac hotel is decent but a few minutes walk along the lake; the Widder is more interesting and right in town. The Bauer au Lac is also a good choice if you want the lake but closer to town. I’m surprised how many hotels don’t have BBC World; the one in Interlaken and here in Zurich don’t. At Swiss on departure from Zurich, use their lounge in Terminal E; the newspapers and Internet situation is much better. Nice nurseries in the airport for kids staffed with nannies. Lovely menu on Swiss to Tel Aviv; business class had sleeper seats on an A340. So far Lufthansa has not ruined this lovely airline which is regaining its former glory before it went bankrupt. Saw the Dolomites on the way toward Tel Aviv. Lots of Hassidic Jews on the flight and it is a bit of a party; there were 5 old women huddled over a seat trying to figure out the entertainment system and I wish I had taken their picture. On the monorail to Terminal E at Zurich airport, you hear cows mooing and cow bells and folk music — a nice sense of humor to send you off.
Jerusalem — Out of a new terminal with 40 stations, only 4 passport lanes were activated and there is no fast-track for business class travelers. I complained and they said they don’t have enough personnel but there is a fast-track service you can pay for where they meet you at the plane and walk you through. This paid because I had a 45 minute wait at the passport line. Call 03.973.1314 and reserve your place for $83. Israel might as well be in Iowa; Fox Channel is on all the hotels here and CNN is off. BBC you can get if you ask nicely. The Sheraton Plaza hotel is in the midst of renovating; it is still a lousy hotel unless you are on Starwood Points or demand the location. The air conditioning and food is poor and my room keys had to be reprogrammed daily; it took 15 minutes to get a taxi to the airport and 10 minutes to get someone to take me to my room when my door wouldn’t open. They are building a new Hilton and a Waldorf Astoria down the street so there will be more choices within 2 years. Taxis are more expensive; it costs about $3.50 just to get in; the taxi to the airport is about $80 but fuel here is $9 a gallon. We went to the Mahane Yehudah market on Friday; the best food in town is here at a good price. Lovely fruits and veges and bakery. The roads here are excellent and new; but in center city there are so many tourist buses and traffic is all tied up. It was better as a tourist when nobody else was around. Best meal I had this trip in Israel was Papagaio, a Brazilian-style steakhouse at the Herzliyah marina and shopping center where they bring you 8 types of meat at the table and all kinds of sides. Tel. 09.956.4000. Go for the business lunch before 5pm and it’s all you can eat for less than $30 and the quality of the meat is excellent. A real festive kind of place and great for a group party. Business lunch in this country offers the best deals. Lots of construction going on. Price of many goods here is not much more than Manhattan which probably means that Manhattan is really expensive. Lots of people carrying guns slung over their shoulders on the streets; sorta looks like Rambo City. I don’t like it but I was told that they are from settlements or on leave from army and are required to carry their arms on them and not to leave them at home. In the future, I would enter and depart this country at night as there is simply too much traffic during the day and I find myself doing nothing but sitting on the roads and streets during the day. The Herzl museum is basically a movie; call ahead for a reservation and to know which language is on at which hour. The Rockefeller Museum is closed Tuesday and Friday; call ahead as well.
France — Paris / Chateau D’Esclimont — Air France doesn’t take its business class too seriously on the TLV-CDG route. Add to the packing list an extra bag to stuff in a suitcase for all the shopping in case you need to check a 2nd bag. Au Printempts and Galleries Lafayette are the two big department stores and they both are worth a visit. They have greatly expanded during the past 5-7 years, especially the men’s stores. Baby clothes paradise here — the top floors are filled with 50 boutiques offering kids clothes. During the summer, I was getting 40% off, plus another 10% if you’re a foreigner and then another 12% VAT refund; at these prices, the strong Euro was much less of a factor. The Petite Bateau displays in the department stores makes it unnecessary to go to their chain stores. MikiHouse has boutiques here and it is on St. Honore street just before the Vendome Place. My hotel Brighton was very well located and appointed a few doors away from the Le Meurice and the Westin and along a very pretty garden adjoining the Louvre, Plaza Concorde and the Musee d’Orsay. Even though my room was over the street, there were double windows and it was quiet. No BBC though. Excellent value; the junior suite was about 300 Euro a night. Laduree is on Rue Royale and St. Honore and Fauchon is up by the Madeliene church; both are beautiful eateries. I had dinner at Le Meurice in the lobby and had two Frenchies next to me having foreplay throughout dinner. Quite a show with these frenchies. A walk along the river by the Louvre at twilight is always pleasant and I think it is more useful to be in a hotel in this area than by the Arch d’Triumph which is where the King George V and others are. A good kosher restaurant is Chateaubriand at 125 de Tocqueville Street but it was closed for private party when I got there. Always check to see if a museum is open; Musee d’Orsay is closed on Mondays. In Jerusalem, the Rockefeller Museum is closed on Tuesdays and Fridays and I didn’t know that. Places I didn’t get to try were Berthillon on Ile Saint Louis for ice cream and Marriage Feres in Le Marais which is a tea house. Museums I was told to check out as unique and off the beaten track were Musee Jacquemart-Andre and Nissim de Camondo which will have to be for next trip. Tip: Eat lunch at the food court in the Galleries Lafayette 2nd floor of the men’s store. Great food there. Eat lunch or Thursday dinner at the restaurant in the Musee d’Orsay. Prices are reasonable and it is a beautiful setting and nice food. If you get stuck in line at that museum, for 30 Euro you can bypass the line and go straight in by getting the 2 day pass at the kiosk entrance. Tip: When transferring to out of town location by car, call a service located at the destination city to send a car to you; you can save 20-30% this way and that mattered since it cost 125 Euro to transfer here. So for instance when I went from Paris to the Chateau, I had the Chateau recommend me a car service located in their location instead of calling for a taxi service in Paris. Same deal in London. It took me about 80 minutes to drive to the Chateau D’Esclimont, a castle with a luxury hotel inside in the lovely little hamlet of St. Symphorien, France, which I walked around. Dinner was a bit pricey but it was beautifully presented and quite tasty. The castle has a moat around it and it is a very romantic setting with hundreds of acres of land to walk through. Lots of people smooching within view of my room windows. Finally, this hotel had BBC World. No air conditioning and lots of buggies around but at night it cooled down and the bugs went to sleep. Window screens would be a nice idea here. 40 minutes drive to Orly airport, and another 40 to get to Charles de Gaulle (transfer from hotel was 150 Euro). Warning: VAT refund is BEFORE passport control, unlike any other airport I’ve been to in Europe. In the Air France business class lounge, you can even get a massage there. There is an ATM in the departure area. Lots of traffic here despite $9 a gallon fuel. Despite high air fares, business class is full on all my flights. France looks good and I forgot how much I liked Paris since I was last there 6 years ago. Things basically work but it is a bit warm in summer and it can be hot in the metro and air conditioning is not standard here either in hotels or metros although my hotel did have A/C. Air France uses 777’s across the pond; in business class that means you have 2-3-2 which is a bitch if you are in the center seat in the center pod. Not really my favorite airline and CDG airport has grown quite a bit; it is a lot of walking now.
