Andrea, in Austria I did ok with a crash course on cassette for a fairly basic vocabulary. Sure not everyone speaks English there, but there are a few here and there in the outlying areas, in Vienna you can get by in English. My husband got by with "ein tasse kaffe mit milch und zuker, bitte."
You can at least point to the fabulous pastries in the case and order them LOL, and now you know how to get a coffee, so what else do you need.
Do you know where you're going in Switzerland, I've been to many places there, though it's been a "few" years.