Getting There – The Hague, Netherlands to Bern, Switzerland

Our trip to Switzerland was a bit of a last minute choice. We only decided we were going to go a few days before we left for Europe, and as such it was a spur-of-the-moment type of trip. Since it was a short planning time, we knew we wouldn’t get a deal on transportation, so we settled on taking a nice scenic train ride. We bought our tickets, 2nd class tickets, in The Hague from the NS International ticket booth at the Central station. The one deal we did get was that after the first traveler paid full price, $97.40 EUR ($146.10 CAD) each way, the 2nd and 3rd passengers only paid $49.80 EUR ($74.70 CAD) each way. So the total return fare for the three of us, from The Hague, Netherlands to Basel, Switzerland was $394 EUR ($591 CAD). That works out to $131.33 EUR ($197 CAD) per person is you average the costs. The part of the trip was a short train ride from Den Haag Centraal station to Utrecht Centraal station. From there we took was an InterCity Express train; we were on the ICE 105 route (this train begins at Amsterdam Centraal in the Netherlands and ends at Interlaken Ost in Switzerland). The train left Utrecht at 8:30 and we arrived in Basel at 14:46 (2:46 pm), so the entire trip was about 6 hours and 16 minutes. After leaving the Netherlands, the train made most of its journey through Germany (stopping in Arnhem, Koln, Frankfurt, Mannheim and Karlsruhe) before entering into Switzerland.

I must admit I thought it was a very good train ride. The train was clean, the seats were fairly comfortable, and the scenery was amazing. The ICE high speed trains can really rip along, and they even have a display that shows the current speed. The way back from Basel to The Hague was very similar to the way there. We took the ICE 106 (reverse route of the ICE 105) from Basel to Utrecht, which left at 13:13 (1:13 pm) and arrived at 19:21 (7:21).

You may be a little confused now, since I said we took the train to Basel, but we spent our trip in Bern. When we got to Basel SBB train station, we went to the nearby Hilton hotel and rented a car. We used the car to get to Bern and back, and also from Bern to Lauterbrunnen. I must confess, renting the car in Basel was not the best idea. We didn’t need it in Bern at all, and we would have saved money by just renting a car for the day we went to Lauterbrunnen.

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Destinations - Bern, Switzerland

This outlines a side trip to Switzerland I made during a European vacation in November, 2004. We took a train from The Hague, Netherlands to Basel, Switzerland and then rented a car from there. Most of the trip was spent in Bern, Switzerland along with a daytrip into the mountains (stopping at Lauterbrunnen, Murren and Gimmelwald). I will post some of my experiences there as well as information about how I got there and what I did.

• Getting There – The Hague, Netherlands to Bern, Switzerland
• Accommodations - Bern, Switzerland
• Attractions – SC Bern Hockey
• Attractions – Bern: What a city
• Off the Beaten Path – The Alps: Lauterbrunnen, Murren and Gimmelwald
  
  

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Travel Rewards - Aeroplan at Futureshop

Futureshop is a big box store that offers movies, electronics, and appliances. Not only can you find some neat gadgets there, but you can also earn Aeroplan points. If you spend $200 or more (before tax), then you get one point for every dollar spent, excluding tax. This offer doesn’t count for computers and laptops; you only get 500 points for each of those. Like with most of the partner offers, it will take a load of shopping to get you anywhere.

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Travel Tips - Currency Conversion

So you are going on your dream vacation. You have booked your tickets, saved up some spending money and even got a few new pieces of clothing. There is only one detail left to hammer out – “What is my spending money worth”. If you are leaving your home country, you will no doubt need to convert your national currency to the local currency. Also, when on vacation you need to know how much you are spending. Something that costs 10 British Pounds is a great deal more expensive that something that costs 10 Mexican Pesos. My favorite site for up-to-date, easy to navigate currency conversion rates is http://www.xe.com . Give it a try, and don’t get surprised and confused by using other currencies.

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Travel Attractions – Ottawa Sporting Events

My favorite sport is back in business after a lengthy labor lockout, so I will tell you about some of the great sporting events you can catch in Ottawa, Ontario. I am Canadian, and as you may expect my favorite sport is hockey. In Ottawa you can see the best professional and the best youth hockey in the entire world. The Senators are Ottawa’s National Hockey League team. If you want to see the best hockey on earth, this is definitely for you. They play out of the Corel Center, located on the western outskirts of town and easily accessible by car (down highway 417) or by bus on game nights, and tickets will run you between $35 and $200 CAD. So where do the NHL stars play when they are teenagers? The Canadian Hockey League. The Ottawa 67s play in the Ontario division of the CHL (there is also a Western Canada division and Quebec division). These games are a great chance to see the NHL stars of tomorrow, since most NHL players play junior hockey in the CHL. The arena, located at Lansdown Park, is just a few minutes from downtown and easy to get to with public transit. Tickets are less than $20, and well worth the price. Also at Lansdown Park is Frank Clair Stadium, home of the Canadian Football League’s Ottawa Renegades. CFL football has slightly different rules than the NFL, but will be very entertaining for any football fan. Tickets are between $20 and $70. Last, Ottawa has the Ottawa Lynx, a MLB farm team. This is the perfect sport to bring the family to, because tickets are only $7-$11! Games are played at Lynx Stadium, which is also very easy to get to by bus and car. All you sports fans have nothing to worry about when coming to Ottawa, there are plenty of great sports year round. Game on!

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Travel News - Cell Phone Travel Updates

For those of you who are big into technology, a number of airports and airlines are offering the ability to check flight schedules and details with your cell phone. All you have to do is send a SMS message to a special number and the flight time, delays, and gate calls will be sent back to you. I think this could be a pretty neat feature. Let’s say you are out shopping, and you need to pick up your friend at the airport. Before you leave the mall you can use your cell phone to see if there are any delays, so if there is a delay you can keep shopping instead of sitting around an airport. This service is currently available at several international airports including Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta and London’s Heathrow and Gatwick. More about this is available at the following article.

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Travel Rewards – Aeroplan from Car Rentals

Whenever you travel, you need transportation once you get to there, right? Well if you are planning to rent a car, then you can earn Aeroplan points. Aeroplan is partners with some big name car rental companies so we get an excellent selection of cars to choose from. Alamo, AVIS, Budget, Hertz, National and Thrifty are all part of the team. Every car rental will land you a cool 500 points. Since you will get 500 points no matter which of the companies you rent from, the real trick is to shop around so you spend the fewest dollars to get your points. So just 120 car rentals and you are on your way to Europe!

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