Europe - Final Alpine Adventures
From Zermatt we spent our morning on the famous Glacier Express. Despite its name the Glacier Express proclaims to be slowest express train in the world.
It takes a full day to travel from Zermatt to St Moritz, crossing 291 bridges and through 91 tunnels. Our tour was a short, packed program, so we were on board for a short section from Zermatt to Andermatt, missing some of the best sections of this rail journey.
We were sorry to miss the Albula Line with its 6 viaducts and at least 3 spiral tunnels (some making it possible to scale a 400m height difference), and the Oberalpass - the highest point at 2,033m above sea level.
We’ve enjoyed so many awesome alpine vistas and after seeing the Matterhorn so clearly the previous day, anything else was a hard act to follow.
Our journey was still picturesque, we’d already taken many photos, so it was relaxing to sit back and appreciate the scenery - passing over bridges, through tunnels, across forests of larch, fields of wild flowers and along rocky ravines and mountain lakes, not to mention views of the ever-present alps.
Rather than 8 hours and the cost of an airfare, sit back for just 7 mins and enjoy this video which provides an excellent overview of the entire journey, with a bonus at the end - a glimpse of the Matterhorn and the snow covered town of Zermatt.
We spent our lunch break in the quaint Swiss town of Stans, where some of the group travelled up to Mount Stanserhorn on a cable car and funicular. We were content to explore this pretty town and linger over a relaxed lunch in the main square.
In the early evening, we arrived in Lucerne, located in the heart of Switzerland, situated on Lake Lucern and surrounded by an impressive mountainous panorama. Wonderful to return to this beautiful city, which is much the same as I remembered from 40 years ago.
The famous Chapel Bridge (Kapel Brücke), draws a crowd: at 204m long, this wooden bridge was originally built in 1333, the oldest covered bridge in Europe; much of it replaced after a fire in 1993, allegedly caused by a discarded cigarette.
Another landmark I remembered was the Lion Monument - this time the Carrara marble was shiny and clean. Created by Bertel Thorvaldsen - it commemorates the hundreds of Swiss Guards massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, when an armed mob stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris.
The artist was not paid - a little-known fact - apparently in retribution he carved the grotto around the lion in the shape of a pig!
On Saturday morning we had time to stroll around the city again. The farmers market bustling, the nearby Jesuit Church of Lucerne a quiet reprieve. We found the famous bakery selling cheese pies - delicious and only 2 Swiss Francs each (around $AU3.30) - a bargain - as Switzerland is very expensive.
Then it was off to Interlaken for lunch - such picturesque landscapes along the way as you can see below.
The town of Internlaken is aptly named, nestled between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz - the gateway to three mighty mountains, Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau - a paradise for skiers, hikers and paragliders with over 45 mountain railways, aerial cableways, chair and ski lifts to transport athletes and holiday makers to 200 kilometres of ski runs.
This was the last day of our tour and quite rushed as we spent the afternoon in Bern, the capital of Switzerland, which will be the next post in this series of my European adventure.