The Best Things in Life Are Free: Switzerland, a Real Life Fairy Tale

Swiss Alps

With nearly HALF of all Americans having either never traveled outside of the United States or having only traveled to one foreign country in their lifetime, it's clear that many, for one reason or another, are afraid to travel.

Perhaps the most common of those reasons, most assuredly, is money.

Well, here's something to think about:

Could the oft-used adage, "the best things in life are free," apply to indelibly spectacular travels to the most beautiful places on planet Earth?

For freeeeeeeee?!

In Disney's Bedtime Stories, Skeeter (played by Adam Sandler) discovers that certain details of the bedtime stories he tells to his young nephews later come true in real life—a real life fairy tale.  When he tries to take advantage and tell a story about him receiving an exotic sports car, he realizes that only his nephews' contributions to the stories actually come true.  Sometimes it works out for his benefit—the kids tell of him winning a date with "the fairest maiden of the land."  Sometimes it doesn't—when, for example, they randomly add in at the end of a story the detail that he gets killed by an inexplicable fireball.  Ouch!

The moral of the story is as old as time: life doesn't always have happy endings.  It's not a fairy tale.  It's not for freeeeeeeee.  Or is it?

Having been blessed with the circumstances to visit/live in a variety of foreign places all over the world, I sense a connection between fact and fiction, a relationship between fantasy and freedom—a mystique within cost and culture.

So many real places on the planet, in part for novelty, but really for being just so undeniably cool, resemble the dream of a fairy tale.

Let's kick things off with a trip to Switzerland.

Some truly confused souls will literally try to scare you from visiting Switzerland for how expensive it can be, but you just have to have a clue and know what you are doing:

The best things in life (and Switzerland) are free.

Iseltwald

Iseltwald is a fairy tale village in the Swiss Alps, less than an hour and half from Zurich and easily accessible by public train.  You can rent kayaks from Lake Lodge Hostel or enjoy a lake cruise.  You may recognize Iseltwald from the incredibly popular Korean drama on Netflix Crash Landing on You.  The beauty of the lake is stunning but unique.  It makes you nostalgic for something unrelated to memory.  As with much of Switzerland, Iseltwald seems to exist outside of time.

And, yes, the beauty of all its surreality is completely free.

Ok, you got me—locals are now charging 10 francs to actually get on this specific part of the pier because of the popularity of the famous Crash Landing On You piano scene.  But, you can walk just a few feet and see the same beauty without the extra 10 franc fee 😅.

A ten-minute drive or a beautiful 2-hour hike away lies Giessbach Falls.

Giessbach Falls

This breathtaking break from reality is literally an easy walk in a forest mountain overlooking Lake Brienz.  In the background you can spot Grandhotel Geissbach, a historic house constructed during the golden age of tourism in 1873.  The whole experience, including access to the hotel/restaurant grounds, is free.  Bring a snack and enjoy the fairy tale.

Restaurant grounds

Now if you stay at a place like Grandhotel Geissbach, you will be set back a pretty penny.  Instead, there are Swiss chalets available for reservation on Airbnb that will leave you speechless, both for the views and the affordable price.

View from our Airbnb over Lake Thun

View at sunset

Breakfast from private balcony

With natural beauty like that, you don't need to spend an arm and leg out at expensive restaurants (we did splurge once for some fondue 😋).  We went to the local grocery store, stocked up on authentic, delicious Swiss delicacies, and focused on what was free.

One such thing, Sigriswil Panoramic Bridge, was just a few minutes away.  Also a Korea drama filming location, a 10 franc or so fee is now charged to relive the moments.

Sigriswil Panoramic Bridge

Thun, a more developed castle town not far from Iseltwald, was right next to our Airbnb.

Normal plaza in Thun

Walking around as if in a medieval wonderland didn't cost a thing.  And 20 minutes away was Bern, the capital of Switzerland.

A random park in Bern

Tightrope walker takes a break

Now in the heart of Switzerland—this is the capital city.  Yet, no trash, no mayhem.  Acrobats in the park and tightrope walking over the river as normal occurrences make you ponder your inherited reality of city life.

We did pay about 100 francs a person to visit Grindelwald First, an adventure park on the top of a mountain in the middle of the Swiss Alps.

Lookout point at Grindelwald First

First Mountain Cart

View from First Mountain Cart

First Flyer

But, honestly, the views you get from simply strolling the town of Grindelwald below are what I'll most remember.  I remember thinking, 'Is this for real?  People actually live here.  Like, this is their life.'

Grindelwald, filming location of many movies

On a regular street in Grindelwald

Obviously, it costs some money to get, stay and eat there.  But that cost of the temporary taste of Switzerland doesn't have to be all that different from this normal thing called life back in reality.  Maybe a fairy tale is worth the cost of admission.  Maybe a trip around time can reaffirm a need for happy endings.

Don't be afraid to climb a mountain, take in the view

Peasants in the castle, just me and you

In a land of hills, chocolate, lakes and cheese

Enjoy the best of what's left in life ...

 For free