DATE: Sunday, September 28, 1997            TAG: 9709260107

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E9   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: IMPERFECT NAVIGATOR

SOURCE: ALEXANDRIA BERGER

                                            LENGTH:   75 lines

SWISS VACATION GOES LIKE CLOCKWORK, ALMOST

THE TOURIST SEASON is supposed to be over in Europe, but if you're part of the more mature set or physically disabled set, your time is just beginning. Prices are right for deals, including the free breakfast buffet. The fruit of the month . . . stewed prunes.

We opted for Switzerland. Swiss Air is offering SwissPak, which includes round-trip air fare, free rental car and hotel accommodations at Minhotels anywhere in the country for six nights.

Swiss Air is outstanding for the handicapped traveler. They blocked four seats across for added comfort because of my oxygen use. There was no problem putting my wheelchair on board or refrigerating my drugs. However, you must let them know in advance of your special needs. Need for oxygen requires a physician form, which Swiss Air will send you.

Minhotels are clean and functional. However, reservations are not reliable. Vouchers sent to you are good for any Minhotel in Switzerland. Do not leave the United States without confirmation in writing from every travel agency-booked Minhotel. As well, make sure your handicapped needs are noted on the confirmation.

Otherwise, like us, on arrival in Zurich, you may find your reservations have been canceled.

Not informed of this before departure, we had to drive another hour to a Minhotel in Lucerne. After calling ahead and being guaranteed a room, we arrived exhausted to discover there was no room in the inn. We were relegated to a tiny apartment, two flights up.

You can request rental cars with hand controls. We chose a station wagon to accommodate my wheelchair. Driving is a breeze, and the roads are well marked.

If driving scares you, don't forget Swiss trains, which are on time and clean. A word of caution: Don't take a tour bus if you're unable to climb stairs. Tour bus steps are steep and difficult to maneuver.

This is the perfect time to travel Switzerland. It's still shirtsleeve weather. You'll need a jacket or sweater at night.

Flowers are still everywhere, hanging from balconies, luxuriating in huge pots at sidewalk cafes. Restaurants and stores housed in historic buildings have masterfully painted fronts depicting plays, historic events, or trompe l'oeil decorations and sculptures. Chalets have carvings over the front doors, bearing the date they were built, the owner's name, and German or French prose.

The Alps are still snowcapped from the remnants of winter, their melted ice gushing from waterfalls, that jut out and tumble hundreds of feet. If you suffer from asthma, this place is for you. The air is clean, the food safe.

Sitting smack on the teal-colored Lake of the Four Forest States (Vierwald Stattersee), is Lucerne, which looks up at Pilatus Mountain. Its beauty is surpassed only by the quaint architecture and laid-back atmosphere. Free handicapped parking is available in the old city. Take your U.S. handicapped car tag, which is honored anywhere in Switzerland.

To prevent constant hotel changes, stay here and take day trips to Interlaken, Bern and Grindelwald. An hour's drive from Lucerne, I sat in an outdoor cafe drinking my cappuccino and watching mountain climbers scale the snow-covered Eiger, one of Europe's three highest peaks. It was spectacular.

Bern, the Swiss capital, is a financial center on the Aare River. As you enter this striking city, which sits below the distant Alps, the red roofs, precise architecture and church steeples are intertwined with the meandering river.

Parliament is here, as are galleries and flea markets, which sell the old and new. Shops hidden behind Moroccan-type stone arches line cobblestone streets. The pathways are smooth, making wheelchair access easy. Parking is plentiful, yet there are only two handicapped-marked spaces in the whole city.

While known for its banking and medicine, Switzerland is one place you shouldn't forget when planning a vacation. Its beauty astounds. MEMO: Write to Alexandria Berger, c/o The Virginian-Pilot, 150 W.

Brambleton Avenue, Norfolk, Va. 23510. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

UPI

Bern's citizens have told time by the city's clock tower since the

1500s.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu