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By Marie Phillips
I was given the opportunity to take part in a familiarisation trip to Switzerland, the trip was hosted by the Swiss Travel Centre together with Mount Rigi Railways, Rhatische Bahn and Schilthorn.
The main regions we visited were central Switzerland, Engadine
Valley & Bernese Highlands, the language spoken is
mainly German but some still speak the canton language of Romansh.
Day 1 - I took the train from Stoke to Euston, walked to Kings Cross and took the tube to Heathrow T2&3, bus to the hotel and checked in for the evening.
Day 2 - A very early start, meeting the Swiss
Travel Centre rep and the rest of the FAM trip group at
Heathrow T2. After check-in we flew from Heathrow to Zurich with Swiss Air, which took 1
hour 40 minutes. After collecting our luggage we took the train
into Zurich main station and then the cogwheel railway to Arth Goldau, we were joined by Olivia Wang
sales manager for Mount Rigi Railways, we took the historical
carriage ascent from Arth Goldau to Rigi Kulm,
admiring the outstanding views as we climbed higher and higher
into the mountains. Queen Victoria is said to have visited
Mount Rigi and quoted as saying "we are amused"!
We had a short visit to Hotel Kulm and again took the
opportunity to take some photos after which we ascended to Rigi
Kaltbad, a small mountain village and the location of our
accommodation for the night, the Rigi Kaltbad Hotel and Spa,
here we took a horse and carriage ride to the Kanzeil view point, where there are endless
views of alpine mountains and lakes including Lake Lucerne, Lake Zug and Lake Zurich, we then we checked into the
hotel, some of the group used the hotels spa facilities including mineral
baths and outdoor pools, I took a walk around the area
to look at the stunning mountain flora. We later met for dinner
in the hotels sunset restaurant.
Day 3 - Today we checked out of the hotel
early and started our journey to the Schilthorn, we descended on the 07.20am
Rigi Bahn from Rigi Bahn First to Vitznau, the serenity of the
early morning was spectacular, on arrival at Vitznau we had a
short walk to the bus stop to catch the bus to Kussnacht am
Rigi, then the train to Luzern, Luzern to Interlaken Ost,
Interlaken Ost to Lauterbrunnen, a short walk to catch the bus
to Stechelberg (base of the Schilthorn), from here we took the
cable cars to Gimmelwald-Murren-Birg and finally the summit of the
Schilthorn aka James Bond mountain due to the film
'On Her Majesty's Sercret Service' being filmed here in
1969! We had a delicious "James Bond brunch" in the revolving
Piz
Gloria restaurant and then took in the glorious view
of the surrounding mountain peaks including the Jungfrau, Eiger and Monch and of course the inevitable
photo opportunities.
We then retraced our journey back down to Murren via cable car and checked into Hotel Blummental for the night. Murren is a beautiful mountain and car free village, once again surround with amazing view of Mountains and Meadows, in the winter months its popular ski resort. I really loved this village, so peaceful and tranquil, with the traditional Swiss style wooden chalets, a fairy tale village, we had some free time to explore after which we enjoyed a lovely evening meal in the hotels Italian restaurant.
Day 4 - After breakfast we took
the cable car back down to Gimmelwald and Stechlberg, onwards Via bus to
Lauterbrunnen station where we took the train to Interlaken Ost, then to Speiz and finally
Speiz to Brig. Today it was the 'Glacier Express', we departed from Brig
but you can enjoy the full journey from Zermatt,
we travelled 1st class and were served a fabulous 3
course lunch whilst admiring the most amazing view through the
panoramic windows, the train winds its way through remote
valleys, past sheer rock faces and through the impressive deep
Rhine Gorge, the Grand Canyon of
Switzerland, the highest point is the Oberal Pass 2033m above sea level, and
the iconic Landwasser Viaduct, after approximately
6.5 hrs we arrive in St Moritz, the famous winter ski resort of
the rich and famous, we then had a leisurely walk around the
Lake St Moritz to our hotel for the night, the Corvatsch, dinner was served at their
sister hotel the Laudinella.
Day 5 - Today we boarded the 'Bernina Express' from St Moritz to Tirano in Italy, again we had
1st class seat with panoramic windows, the train
departed at 09.17am and it is just over a 2 hr journey to
Tirano, once again the scenery was breath taking as we
travelled over bridges, viaducts, through galleries and switch
back tunnels hewn into the rock, past waterfalls, ravines and
rushing meadow streams, the highest point is the Ospizio
Bernina Pass and Alp Grum, this was my favourite part of
the journey, the melting Glacier lakes with the snowcapped
mountains were unforgettable, we stopped for a few minutes at
Alp Grum, another photo opportunity, then descended into the Engadine
Valley.
I was amazed how the railway line at times runs parallel with
the road and also the closeness of the train to homes, we
arrived in Tirano just in time for lunch at a
traditional Italian restaurant, and then the inevitable
"Gelato".
We boarded the Bernina for our return journey at 14.24pm, returning this time to Chur the end point of the Bernina Express which takes just under 4 hrs, on arrival at Chur we checked into our accommodation the Hotel Stern for our final night in Switzerland, here we were treated to a traditional Swiss cuisine from the Grison kitchen, consisting of Capuns, Maluns & Pizzoccheri pasta.
Day 6 - On our last day we had a guided tour of Chur old town, known as Switzerlands oldest city, it has a rich history and some beautiful building, with painted murals, after a site visit to Hotel Chur we had a welcome lunch of Barley soup and Capuns before collecting our luggage and making our way to the railway station to board the train to Zurich airport from our onward flights home.
I thoroughly enjoyed my first trip to Switzerland and would highly recommend it as a holiday destination, it appeals to all ages, for the adventurous, there are many activities and excursions from hiking, cycling, extreme sports or if you just want to admire the most spectacular scenery and landscapes from a train, or marvel at the ingenious mountain railways then Switzerland has it all.
Most of the excursions I experienced are featured in Railtrail's tours to Switzerland, for the rail enthusiast I would recommend the 'Swiss Glacier Express and Bernina'.
You can find our fabulous collection of Swiss Rail holidays by clicking here!
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