An Unforgettable Trip with SOB
With the Family Pass the Wenger family goes on an adventurous two-day trip through southeast Switzerland.
Our four daughters, Ellen, Lynn, Amy, and Katie, my wife and I go on a discovery tour with the Schweizerische Südostbahn (SOB). The Family Pass allows us to combine our train ride with activities. We are looking forward to two days full of adventures and fun.
Animal friendships
Our trip starts early in the morning. In Thun, we take the train that brings us via Bern to Pfäffikon, where we embark on the SOB train. After a short ride over the “Seedamm”, that connects the two lakesides, we arrive at our first destination: Knies Kinderzoo, the zoo for children operated by Circus Knie. Already from the entrance, our daughters see the long necks of the giraffes and hear the horse’s whicker.
The tour starts and the girls are excited to finally see the animals. There are nearly 500 wild and domestic creatures living in the zoo. Our daughters can ride on ponies, camels, and even elephants. They can pet the small animals and watch the feeding. It’s nearly noon and we too start to be hungry. So, we go to the zoo restaurant for a lovely meal.
With SOB to the fairytale castle
With our bellies full, we embark on our next leg of the journey. The train brings us via Ziegelbrücke to Linthal, where we take the funicular to the Braunwald fairytale hotel. After the children’s story time, our girls hop onto “Aunt Emma’s Train” that brings them to the dining room, where they enjoy a yummy kids’ menu. A highlight for the four of them.
My wife Corinne and I are delighted. This family hotel really thought of everything. A huge indoor play corner, a petting zoo, and so much more entertain our girls while we enjoy our four-course dinner in peace.
After the first day of our trip filled with new impressions, we go to bed, tired and happy. Just before falling asleep, Ellen says: “This is the most beautiful hotel in the whole entire world.”
We are being woken up by happy cow bells. Below our window, we see beautiful cows making their way past the hotel up to alpine pastures. What an incredible way to wake up! After a hearty breakfast our girls are having fun on the playground with diggers and a huge slide. And then it’s time to say goodbye to the hotel and go on to our next adventure.
An adventure with a view and dashing down Flumserberg
The train brings us to Unterterzen, where we take the chair lift to Flumserberg Tannenboden, the starting point of the toboggan run “Floomzer”. On our summer sleds, we dash down the two-kilometer-long track at a speed of up to 40km/h – what a blast! And the mountain landscape is simply a dream.
After our daredevil endeavor, we go on an unhurried walk over Flumserberg. We breathe in the fresh mountain air, enjoy the view, and look for a nice place for our picnic. At the fireplace we unpack our lunch – we brought bread on a stick and various snacks, but not enough water. We always forget something. But somehow, we always make it work anyways :-).
On our way home to Thun, we resume the last two days: It was an absolute success. We only met friendly people, the weather was lovely, and the activities were fun and interesting for both our daughters and us grown-ups. We arrive home our heart filled with joy and unforgettable memories.
An article by Phil Wenger
Phil Wenger is a photographer and passionate traveler – for the Children’s Region he and his family embarked on a two-day trip through southeast Switzerland.
Tips and Links Kinderregion
- Family Pass and other travel tips and special offers
- Family-friendly and sustainable travels with the Schweizerische Südostbahn
- En route in the Children’s Region by train, bus, tram or boat
Winter Wonderland Winterthur
Cracking the Baden Source Code
A Delightful Stay in Braunwald
Where is Ringo’s dream house?
