On the rails between Chur and Zürich.
We started the day exploring the lovely Altstadt (Old Town) of Chur. They were setting up for what looked like a very impressive city-wide festival, too bad we can’t stay.
Then back on the train for a short, hour and a half, trip to Zürich. The scenery was exactly what you would expect to see in the Swiss countryside, pastoral green hills, cows, small quaint villages, clear lakes and the occasional castle. In fact, this is Heidi territory.
Once at the Hauptbahnhof in Zürich, we made a quick transfer to an airport train and checked into our hotel to drop off our bags. We are leaving for England at dawn tomorrow so we wanted to be on-site to make things as easy as possible at that inhuman time of the day. Then back into central Zürich.
There was no real agenda today, just walking around and taking it easy after the last few hectic days. We enjoy the Old Towns in European cities, and this one was no exception. Larger than many such districts, we found its sister cobbled-street neighborhood of Niederdorf across the River Limmat even more charming and definitely more upscale. Being ever-minded of equal opportunity, we visited cafes on both sides.
It was fun to walk along the beautiful high-end shops on the Bahnhofstrasse, and to hang out in the park at Bürkliplatz and watch the people, boats and swans on the sparkling glacial lake Zürichsee.
Prost!
Kirche St. Martin in Old Town, Chur.
The Rhine River in Chur, Switzerland’s oldest city, was inhabited since the Neolithic era in 2500 BC and settled by the Romans in the 1st century BC.
Along the Zurichsee.
The Fraumunster Church, one of the four major churches in Zürich.
It’s no secret my husband loves trains; while I may not share his passion for Lionel trains, model train displays, or being in the engineer’s cab, I do love riding trains; especially in Europe.
So, riding the Swiss Glacier Express was naturally at the top of our list. This morning we left Zermatt before 7AM and headed east to St. Moritz. We went back along the route from the day prior, to Visp, bypassing it for a quick stop in Brig. Other scheduled stops included Andermatt, Disentis, Chur and Filisur.
At times, I felt like I had been miniaturized and dropped into the magnificent Swiss model train display at Hamburg’s Miniatur Wunderland; I expected at any minute to see a naked couple in a field of sunflowers, or a team of detectives investigating a body in a river.
The “slowest express train in the world” (at an average 22 mph), covers 291 kilometers (181 miles) in about eight hours and every minute is riveting.
The scenery is nothing less than spectacular and I will try to let the few pictures here tell the story. Unlike the Rocky Mountaineer, these cars have no option to stand at an open window for photos, so you cope with windows getting progressively dustier, awful reflection, lots of electrical wires and the fact you are in a moving train, to try to get any shots at all. Mostly, you just have to sit back and enjoy the experience.
From snow-covered peaks, glaciers, bright green pastures, cows collared with giant bells, expansive evergreen forests, workers building new spiral tunnels, a helicopter flying buckets of cement to a mountain top, sheer limestone cliffs, deep gorges, raging rivers and towering waterfalls, we crossed 291 bridges and viaducts and travelled through 91 tunnels. At our highest point, at the Oberalppass near Andermatt, we were 6,670’ high. The segment between Chur and St. Moritz is also part of the Bernina Express; one area, known as the Rhaetian Railway in the Albula/Bernina Landscapes, has been a World Heritage Site since 2008.
Once in St. Moritz, we jumped right back on another train and headed back to Chur, Switzerland’s oldest city, for the night. My lesson for the day – you pronounce Chur, “Kor”.
My new friend, Valanga (Italian for avalanche) . We shared a first class car heading back to Chur.
Tips for anyone thinking of going:
There are 3 trains a day, just before 8, 9 and 10 am, from each direction. Reservations are required (there is first and second class) and all food and beverages are additional, and served at your seat (the dining car was discontinued years ago). Commentary is skimpy and by headphone, and the guy reading the English script could put sheep to sleep. Thankfully, we read a good description in a book prior to going. Most of the souvenirs available on the train are not much to brag about and better off skipped. If you have room in your suitcase, the angle-bottom wine glass they formerly used in the dining car (to keep liquid even), is a conversation piece.
The Swiss Rail/Travel Pass, www.sbb.ch, is a good way to go, but keep in mind, you still need to pay a bit more for a reservation on any Swiss scenic route like the Glacier Express. www.glacierexpress.ch
Zermatt.
The route from Geneva took us through the Swiss towns of Nyon, Morges, Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux, Aigle, Bex, St.Maurice, Martigny, Sion, Sierre and Leuk before arrival in Visp.
Zermatt is the most popular vacation spot within Switzerland for the Swiss. It’s a huge ski resort and a perfect spot for summer hiking.
We had a really nice train ride to get here. Two and half hours to Visp, much of the ride around the Swiss boundary of Lake Geneva, a brief change and then another hour along an incredibly beautiful mountain route into Zermatt. We saw beautiful, green pastoral views with vineyard after vineyard during the first leg of the trip. It seems like homes here have vineyards in their yards along with their flowers.
Zermatt is a pedestrian village, with the exception of the hotel trolleys (and horse-drawn carriages) that transport visitors and their baggage to and from hotels.
We were lucky the forecast changed and the 90% rain predicted did not happen. Our first mission was to take the Gornergrat Bahn, known as the Matterhorn Railway, straight up to see the peaks of the Swiss Alps. We took the train to the highest open-air station in Europe, and got to experience sleet and snow during our visit. Unfortunately, dense fog settled over the peaks, obliterating any long-range views.
The station is 10,134’ high, and I was light-headed immediately upon arrival. Because of this, we had to report directly to the restaurant on top for lunch consisting entirely of a dark chocolate torte covered in powdered sugar. I figured stimulants could only help . . .
At the top of Europe’s highest open-air station.
They say the best views of the Matterhorn are from the center of Zermatt, so we have one more chance to see it tomorrow.
The village of Zermatt is charming and very walkable, with temps in the high 50s. We spent a few hours wandering around and exploring. Lots of shops, but nothing I wanted to buy. Loads of restaurants, one of which we returned to for dinner, during which I enjoyed traditional cheese fondue.
Tomorrow we set off early for the Glacier Express scenic train from here to St. Moritz. Fingers crossed, we see the Matterhorn.
At Gornergrat with “Wolli” an adventurous black-nosed sheep who is the mascot of Zermatt.
The route from Geneva took us through the Swiss towns of Nyon, Morges, Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux, Aigle, Bex, St.Maurice, Martigny, Sion, Sierre and Leuk before arrival in Visp.
