WHITE CHRISTMAS IN GRINDELWALD

WHITE CHRISTMAS IN GRINDELWALD

A few years back, I watched a video that inspired me to take a trip to Grindelwald,Switzerland.I thought to myself this place looks like a fairytale and those who made it there must be lucky. Years passed by, I didn't even realize I was on the train to Grindelwald.I met this 78 years old lady who thought I was lucky to made it to Grindelwald.She said she has travelled around the world but nothing is like her home,Grindelwald. I laughed because I think she is lucky, she gets WHITE CHRISTMAS every year.

Everyone would say that it's dream to travel or have a white Christmas but how many of us are willing to sacrifice anything to fulfil our dream ? Dreams are always left behind. One day, I asked myself why am I working ? Why am I saving a lot of money ? What's the use of the money when you can't do what you always wanted to do ? Things changed when I found my answer. I hope this blog post will change your perspective about travel too.

I bought my tickets through sbb.ch.You can only buy your tickets maximum one month before your travel. My journey started from Zurich HB (Main station) to Grindelwald via Olten.This journey takes about 3 hours. Take note this ticket does not include reservations. If you are interested to know how to booked this journey,click here HOW I PLANNED MY EURO TRIP

I stayed in HOTEL LAUBERHORN.Its a budget hotel in Grindelwald so you will find it cheaper than any other hotels there. A budget hotel may not sound good but I'm very sure it will be an amazing stay.I booked a Eiger view room and look at the view for yourself.

First two days, the weather was clear. If it snows heavy they will close Top of Europe and The First. I bought the tickets online to Jungfraujoch, Top of Europe through the website Jungfrau.ch for CHF190/RM800. The price is including the train and the entrance. I know it's expensive, I thought the same but the train track to Top of Europe is built on the mountains so yeah. I was a bit disappointed with the one hour delay because they only have one track so when there's a train coming down, the one going up has to stop. A lot of people got irritated when they stopped twice. They gave us a coupon to redeem free drinks.

James bond was shot here. Isn't that cool ?

When leaving Jungfraujoch, the train was so crowded. I got a seat which look like a crew's seat on a plane , called the jump seat. I had to share the seat with another person and it was so uncomfortable. To avoid this, you can reserve the seat online when you are buying the ticket for 5CHF.

I wanted to do paragliding and sledding together so I could save on the cable car ticket but unfortunately,the weather was really bad. I really wish I could have done it.If you want to do it, its CHF180.

There is a trick for buying your The First cable car tickets. If you buy normal tickets, it would cost you about 60CHF return but if you buy the sledding ticket, it would be 33CHF.This sledding ticket has unlimited rides for that one day. I rented a sled nearby The First ticket counter and a few other accessories for sledding such as waterproof pants and goggles.

I know sledding looks fun but NO.It wasn't easy to sled especially at The First. The path to sled is very steep. I was told sledding at Kleine Scheidegg is much easier so if you want to try, I would recommend that.

When I was about to go down, it started snowing up there. I sat in a restaurant watching the snow. It was so beautiful and it felt so nice having a cup of hot wine while watching the mountains.

That night, it started snowing non stop heavily and I had to walk back from the town because the bus services stops at 7pm.

Though I missed home, I cannot deny that the view there is a paradise that has it’s unexplained magical spell on me. I could just stare at the mountains and be completely mesmerised by it for hours. This accompanied by the snow, is just heavenly.

Total expenses paid

Train return                                   RM458.40

Top of Europe                               RM798

The First cable car                        RM138.60

Accommodation                           RM2900

Sled,Pants,Goggles (sledding)    RM159.60

Food                                                  RM350 (Lunch & dinner excluding drinks p/day)

Chocolates & cheese                    RM84

What do you think of Grindelwald ? Share your comments with me.If you are planning to go to Grindelwald anytime soon, tag me in your pictures. I would love to see it.You can find me on Instagram as MOLLYONDER.

Jó Napot,Budapest !

              Jó Napot,Budapest !

There are so many places to visit in the world. Sometimes,I feel like my bucketlist is rather getting longer no matter how many places I visit each year. Especially when you see over- sharing of beautiful places on social media makes you keep adding to your bucketlist.

Among all the countries and of course my super long bucketlist,you might ask me why Budapest ?

Budapest is cheap or better to say it's cheaper than any other European country. Budapest's beauty is not all god given, mankind played a big role in shaping this pretty face too. Without further delay, here are some photos to convince you.

BUDAPEST CHRISTMAS MARKET

If you are visiting Budapest during Christmas, you are lucky.It's must to visit the beautiful Christmas markets in Budapest. The market is filled with people from all around the world. You can find homemade souvenirs and it's the best Christmas present you can give anyone.

Vorosmarty Christmas Market

THE CHAIN BRIDGE

The Chain Bridge is one of the best known landmarks of Budapest. It is the first permanent connection between Buda and Pest.The picturesque historic stone bridge straddles the Danube between Széchenyi Square on the Pest side and Clark Ádám Square in Buda.You can walk across it from Buda to Pest and back.An excellent way to absorb the world heritage and panorama and to take wonderful photos.Usually chain bridge gets crowded after sunrise. The best time to visit the chain bridge is before sunrise so you could get your perfect pictures.

  

THE HUNGARIAN PARLIMENT BULDING

The Parliament building, a magnificent example of Neo-Gothic architecture. It is over 100 years old.You can't miss one of Europe's most beautiful building with a great architectural works.

GELLERT THERMAL BATH

Budapest is known worldwide as the City of Baths.So, of course it is a m

ust to visit a thermal bath during your stay in Budapest. Budapest's thermal spring water possesses

 healing qualities. I will suggest visiting the thermal bath in the morning to avoid crowd.I had the pool for myself for like an hour. The entrance to this place is HUF4240/RM66.You will get a 20% discount with the Budapest card.

  BUDA CASTLE

Up on castle hill, Buda castle's history dates back all the way to the 13th century. Outside the palace you will see fountains,statues,gardens and beautiful architecture and incredible views overlooking Budapest.

THE FISHERMAN'S BASTION

Also located at the Castle Hill, Fisherman's bastion is known for it's spectacular lookout point view. The sunset from Fisherman's Bastion was so beautiful.

THE LOCAL FOOD/DESSERT

Hungarian food might not be the healthiest but it's definitely one of the most delicious. Goulash,Chicken Paprikash,Chimney cake,mulled wine,Hot lemon tea and Rosa Gelato is my favourite. You can find the hot mulled wine during winter everywhere and it's must to try.

Goulash

XXL chicken breast

Chimney cake with vanilla ice cream

Salted caramel Rosa gelato  

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CAFE IN THE WORLD

A look inside the most beautiful café in the world,New York Café.The famous historical New York café in Budapest is truly decadent dining experience,any time of the day.

Most of the attractions in Budapest are free. I would suggest you to get the Budapest card.

This 4 days card is 47 Euros and it offers you free transportation and free entrance to most of the museums. You can also get the 24 hours,48 hours and 72 hours card, it depends on how many days you are staying there. So make use of it. 

Total ALL IN Expenses for Budapest RM2500.

If you have no idea how to plan your trip to Europe, this may help

HOW I PLANNED MY EURO TRIP

HOW I PLANNED MY EURO TRIP

    HOW I PLANNED MY EURO TRIP

                                         


Coming from a middle class family, I never thought in my wildest dream I could travel. I think travelling is everyone's dream but most of us are stuck with commitments or maybe that's what we say to convince ourselves. If saving is your problem, then this might help 'HOW TO SAVE FOR YOUR TRIP' . If planning is your problem, You shall find your answers below.

Last year January, I started planning my Europe trip. My first choice was Prague-Vienna. Then a few other countries came in such as Dubai, Berlin and the final decision was Budapest - Zurich - Grindelwald - Prague. I started off with booking free cancellation hotels on booking.com because the dates weren't confirmed yet. I wanted to have a white Christmas and celebrate New years in Prague so I must make sure the dates fall right. You must also understand that most of the internal flights flies on certain days only. So choosing the dates was a bit tricky.

Once I got the dates right, I booked my flight ticket with Emirates KUL-BUD-PRG-KUL.The first thing you have to know before booking your flight is arrival and departure airport tax. For example, if you want to do Budapest and Prague together,You have to arrive at Budapest and depart from Prague because it's cheaper. So, if you are travelling to a few countries, this is important. As for internal flights, I used Cheapflights to find my options. There were a few cheap flights for BUP-ZRH-PRG but because of the dates I chose only Lufthansa (operated by Swiss Air) was available.

 The most difficult part of sorting out my transportation was when I needed to purchase return train tickets to Grindelwald.I used sbb.com to purchase my tickets.I wanted to avoid the risk of getting the tickets in Zurich because it was Christmas season. Grindelwald is a skiing village where people still go for skiing even during Christmas. The website offered too many different tickets to Grindelwald and I wasn't sure which one was suitable. If you are travelling around in Switzerland, I would suggest you to get the swiss pass which would cost you around RM700.This pass offers you free transportation around Swiss. Your second choice would be the half pass card.This card offers you half price for all the transportation. It would cost you around RM500. I did not buy any of this but I chose the Supersaver ticket instead. You get almost 50% discount but its only available for online purchase. I departed from Zurich HB (Zurich main station) and arrived at Zurich Airport so I could straight board my flight to Prague upon arrival. If your departure and arrival is going to be two different places then you have to buy single tickets instead of return.

Once you settle your transportation, your hotel comes next. I know I mentioned I booked the hotels earlier but this is the time,I really read all the review and compare the prices on booking.com with the hotel's official website. Always check the official website first because they might offer you lower price and other free services such as free airport transfer.Don't forget the prices shown is not always inclusive of tourist tax and service charge.If you think the hotels I booked are a bit too much for you then you can look at cheaper hotels or hostels. For me personally, I can't share bathroom so hostels are a big no to me.If you are a solo traveller, You can look at single rooms but not all hotels offer you that. Single rooms are also not cheap as you think it is,Its about RM100-200 cheaper than double room so why not stay in a room that is spacious. If you are interested to know more about the hotels I booked, you can find the videos on my Instagram (mollyonder).









You don't need a tour agency to plan your trip. Save your money on that and start planning your own trip.

TOTAL PRE EXPENSES PAID

KUL-BUD-PRG-KUL                 RM4100
BUD-ZRH                                    RM575 ( Economy classic with 23kg baggage allowance )
ZRH-PRG                                     RM725 (Economy Classic with 23kg baggage allowance )
ZRH HB-GRINDELWALD         RM222.43
GRINDELWALD-ZRH Airport   RM236.45

HOTELS

7 SEASON APARTMENT,BUDAPEST (4 NIGHTS)        RM1133.79
I booked a studio double room. The room was spacious with a kitchen. You can save money by cooking your own breakfast. Its just the room had a leakage in the middle of night, so they offered me a 2 room apartment for a night. Its perfect for family. The train station is 5 minutes walking distance. Great location.

SWISS NIGHT BY FISSBIND,ZURICH (2 NIGHTS)       RM1117.08
Beautiful hotel with beautiful interior.They offer breakfast for 11CHF.Tram station is 10 minutes walk from hotel but finding the hotel might be a bit difficult. Its located deep inside. I took a train to Zurich HB upon arrival and it was a 10 minute up hill walk to the hotel.

HOTEL LAUBERHORN,GRINDELWALD (4 NIGHTS)   RM2900
I booked the Eiger view room.One word, AMAZING.The hotel owners Conny and Beni are helpful and friendly,so is Anita and Petra who works there.The free breakfast had variety of choices. The hotel is located 15 minutes up hill walk from the town. After 7pm there's no bus services so you have to walk back after dinner. I thought it was a good idea to lose all the fat intake during my Europe trip. Hotel Lauberhorn is a budget hotel in Grindelwald so it's definitely cheaper than any other hotels there. Even though it is a budget hotel but I do not have any dissatisfaction and the view is definitely AMAZEBALLS.

ARISTON & ARISTON PATIO,PRAGUE (5 NIGHTS)    RM2200
I booked a double room but I asked for a room with window because this hotel doesn't provide air conditioner. Their double room have no windows so I got free upgrade to the patio side. The patio side is in a different building right opposite the main hotel building.The room is a bit small, I had no much space to place my luggage. The location is great,10 minutes tram ride to the
 centre but a up hill walk back from the tram stop to the hotel.