The Swiss Family Wallace.
12 amazing Wallaces romp about the Alps. August 09-19, 2025.
In Montreux, we’ll meet up with the Wallaces, watch an incredible sunrise, and walk by the water.
Travel Weekend
Fly to Zurich, then train it to Montreux. Meet up with the fam.
Friday, August 08, 2025 - Saturday, August 09, 2025 (Montreux)
Flight: Swiss Air LX41. Departs LAX at 7:35pm (August 08, 2025). Arrives ZRH at 3:45pm (August 09, 2025).
Take the first of many gorgeous trains, this one from Zurich to Montreux. Ignore the sketchy dude doing drugs in the next row.
Meet up with the Wallaces for dinner at La Rouvenaz, suitcase in hand!
Hotel: Royal Plaza, with an unforgettable view of Lake Geneva.
Day 01
Experience Montreux.
Sunday, August 10, 2025
Start the day with an incredible buffet breakfast at the Royal Plaza hotel.
Take the cogwheel train from Montreux to Rochers-de-Naye.
Explore Château de Chillon, a completely intact medieval castle complete with a winemaking operation and dungeon.
End the day with an incredible dinner at La Terrasse du Petit Palais.
In Murren, our jaws will drop as we gaze at the Alps, and we’ll channel our best James Bond.
Day 02
Head to Murren, with an adventure along the way.
Monday, August 11, 2025 (Murren)
Discover the joy of train station lockers. Take the train from Montreux to Interlaken. Attempt to find 12 lockers so we can have a midday adventure. Fail. Laugh. Hop on over to Murren.
Hotel Eiger. The hills are alive with the views of the Alps here. This hotel is iconic, traditional, and you can’t beat those views. That’s probably why the 007 James Bond crew stayed here while shooting On Her Majesty's Secret Service!
Walk down the lovely hill to the town of Gimmelwald. Sit amidst the chickens and enjoy a traditional dark beer (Schwarz Mönch) before having one of the most memorable dinners of the trip.
Dinner at Stägerstübli, where Lydia will not only make us laugh, but be the best sport about our insane calendar photo shoot demands. Also, the food will be amazing, esp the curry. And the spaetzle. And the kraut. And the wine.
Day 03
007 with a side of paragliding.
Tuesday, August 12, 2025 (Murren)
Enjoy the large buffet breakfast at Hotel Eiger. Be sure to let the hostess know you’re there, don’t just sit! They get very mad. Don’t sleep on the muesli.
Check out Schilthorn - Piz Gloria. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in all her glory.
Happy Birg thrill walk! Don’t look down.
Finally, jump off a cliff. Hike an entire damn mountain to get to the jumping off spot. Meet your guide, say your prayers, and 1, 2, 3 you’re over the Alps. Enjoy the peace, the trees, the valley, the impossibly breathtaking view, and be proud of tackling your mild fear of heights. Also, be so happy when you land as an alive human.
After paragliding, hike to Trümmelbach Waterfalls to view some of the most powerful falls you’ll ever see.
Dinner at Hotel Eiger, where Spice will show off her hair pinning prowess and Nicky will share her secret fondu skills. Who lived in Berlin, eh?!
Day 04
Cows, flowers, and oh so much hiking.
Wednesday, August 13th, 2025 (Murren)
Today, we’ll head to Schynige Plattewalk, where we’ll visit the Alpine Gardens. We’ll walk amongst the happiest cows outside of California, explore native flowers, and listen to the Alphorn players over lunch. There will also be a giant Swiss Mountain Dog a few tables over.
Head to Lauterbrunnen, where we’ll walk around the town, check out the falls, and wind our way through town to dinner.
Dinner at Restaurant Weidstübli, which is incredibly fun and delicious but not quite “under the falls,” as promised.
Last night at Hotel Eiger.
In Lucerne, we’ll jump in the water, have a magical dinner, and find a charming wine bar by the lake.
Day 05
Roo’s favorite day: Ballenberg Open Air Museum
Thursday, August 14th, 2025 (Lucerne)
Sleep in! Enjoy a relaxed breakfast. Pack, head out, and make your way by trains and a bus to a truly wonderful experience. Some of the Wallaces, meanwhile, are brave enough to hike the Via Ferrata.
Explore Ballenberg Open Air Museum. “Experience true Swissness. Our homes, stables and barns are open for you daily.” From Google: The main open-air museum in Switzerland that showcases traditional life, located in the Bernese Oberland. It features over 100 original historical buildings from across the country, which have been carefully reconstructed to show rural life from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Visitors can also experience traditional crafts, see farm animals, and learn about historical agricultural practices.
Around mid-afternoon, take the (bus and) train to Lucerne.
Check into Hotel Beau Sejour, with a beautiful view of the lake and some tres hipster hotel room stuffed animal props.
Enjoy a special dinner at Rathaus by the water. We’ll have a private room and delicious food. And of course, beer, at the restaurant that pipes it underground to other nearby establishments.
After dinner, we’ll walk as a family across the bridge. Shep and I will continue walking along the lake, and stop for a glass of wine at La Bonne Cave Weinbar Luzern.
Day 06
Explore Lucerne, swim in the lake, and have a truly special meal.
Friday, August 15th, 2025 (Lucerne)
Stoos Ridge hike. Half the fam hikes while the other half explores Lucerne.
It’s a national holiday, but we manage to find a spot for breakfast and then enjoy wandering through Altstadt, the Old Town. Afterwards, we head across the Lake to the other side, where we visit an historical church. We try to stop by Kunstmuseum Luzern (Museum), but it’s closed. Just as well, it’s a beautiful walk.
In the afternoon, we swim in Lake Lucerne and relax.
Towards evening, we try to see a concert at the church. It turns out to be more of a service, so we quietly leave. We walk to the famous Lion Monument, then have a pre-dinner glass of wine at “Hanky Panky Bar & Lounge.” Don’t knock it, it was amazing and the popcorn was fiiiiire. Don’t eat too much, because—
Tonight’s dinner is at Grottino. A 5-course, prix-fixe menu at a spectacular Swiss restaurant. No menu. Just incredible local food. And then, I’ll forget my sunglasses.
Day 07
Explore the morning markets, then say goodbye to the fam.
Saturday, August 16th, 2025 (Ticino)
Farmer’s Market. In Lucerne, both sides of the lake bustle on Saturday mornings with stalls and booths selling fresh food, cheese, bread, and prepared meals. The Wallaces find each other in the markets and we all enjoy some food. Shep and I have some pretty legit mediterranean wraps.
After lunch, we check out of our hotel and say our goodbyes.
The Wallaces head to Zurich, and Shep and I train it down to Ticino. We arrive, and get a wild hair to Uber to Lake Como, which is only 15 minutes away. There, we watch the sunset at Terrazo 241, the rooftop bar on top of the Hilton.
Where we stay: Locanda San Silvestro, a well-appointed bed and breakfast with incredible food…and just a tiny (surprise!) population of hornets.
Ticino is all about merlot. We’ll drink good wine, eat traditional Italian regional food, relax by the water, and have a few very special days with Spice and Tom.
Day 08
Meet Spice & Tom, ride a boat, try Ticino pizza, and have a beautiful dinner at the hotel.
Sunday, August 17, 2025
The Wallaces fly home to G’Vegas.
In Ticino, Shep and I eat a delicious breakfast at the hotel, then head to Lugano. We wander from the train station to Parco Ciani, a beautiful park by the water. We sit, people watch, then walk to Staglio - La Pizza al Taglio nearby. It is excellent.
Spice and Tom arrive and meet us at the park. We get gelato, walk by the water, and buy tickets for a boat ride around Lake Lugano.
When we get back to the hotel, we enjoy a prix-fixe meal. It’s unrushed, delicious, and one of my favorite meals of the trip.
Day 09
Taste your way through Ticino wine.
Monday, August 18, 2025
Another fantastic breakfast at Locanda San Silvestro.
10am. We head to our first tasting, at Castello di Cantone. Our host is Vivianna, and we also meet her husband, kid, family, and rambunctious winery dog. We tour the operation, learn about the Ticino wine industry, and sit for a tasting. They bring out cheese and slice fresh ham on a shiny red vintage meat slicer.
We walk to a nearby lake, sit, feed the ducks, and hang out until it’s time for our next tasting.
2pm. Our next tasting is with Nero at Gialdi, owned by
Feliciano Gialdi, who makes an appearance midway through our tasting. We learn about Guido Brivio, the winemaker, who sources wine from a number of vineyards in Mendrisio and the region. Nero talks about why they only sell in Switzerland, and how the cost makes it impossible for Swiss wines to export to the US and elsewhere.6:30pm. We wind through the hills to Osteria Lanterna, a small, local restaurant serving “country and traditional cuisine with locally sourced, seasonal ingredients,” (Source: Michelin guide). We wait a while for the restaurant to open, then enjoy a wonderful dinner with great wine and local food.
We crack open a special bottle back at the hotel and spend time together on our last night.
Day 10
Time to head home.
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
By the time Spice & Tom are enjoying their delicious hotel breakfast, Shep & I are on the bus to the train to Zurich. Even the morning commute to the airport is gorgeous.
We arrive home, kiss the pups, and reflect on the time we had together as a family in one of the most beautiful countries in the world.
