Didn’t sleep well, but woke up at 07:00 to a glorious day, bright sunshine and -6C.
Got the shuttle to Zermatt at 07:55 to catch the train at 08:52. We wanted to be early because if we missed it I didn’t know when the next one was, plus we had to reserve seats and I’m sure it would be endless hassle. It also gave us time to get a fridge magnet and a coffee.
Arrived in Zermatt with plenty of time, wandered around, turned a corner and saw the top of the Matterhorn bathed in sunlight, amazing. Got a couple of fridge magnets and boarded the train. The reason we got the First Class Eurail pass was specifically for this trip. The pass is valid on this train and the amount we paid for 10 trips is about the same price as first class on the Glacier Express. So we get to travel on one of the best train trips in the world as well as being able to use the pass on 9 other days.
We left Zermatt in bright sunshine, the train going back through Tasch, would have been nice if it had stopped there to save us a shuttle trip. It wasn’t long before we started to see some amazing scenery. I’m not going to be able to describe the views, I’ll post some pictures, the track passes through valleys between mountains hundreds of metres high covered in trees and snow, or sheer granite cliffs with little waterfalls every now and then.
We were so lucky with the weather, clear blue skies and bright sunshine, allowing us to see spectacular scenery.
Occasionally we’d see a small house halfway up a mountain perched on what looked like an impossibly steep slope. First – why? Second – how?
Carried on through the valleys, passing loads of small villages, full of the traditional Swiss chalets. We saw several people on skis, the most practical way of getting around, and they all looked pretty fit and it occurred to me that we didn’t see many fat skiers.
Lunch was served as we entered the longest tunnel on the route, might have been planned so we didn’t miss the scenery. Salad to start then chicken, rice and vegetables for main. When we booked the meal we’d decided not to get dessert. I did have a glass of wine though.
After lunch the train started to climb up into the mountain, then we came out of a tunnel to the most beautiful views of a small town covered in snow in a deep valley surrounded by snow covered mountains. Just incredible, it’s the picture at the top of the page.
Started to descend again and passed through what we were told was the Swiss Grand Canyon – there were sheer cliffs of a creamy colour. Hard to describe but interesting.
Eventually arrived at our stop for the night, Chur (pronounced Kuurrr). Walked 5 minutes to the hotel for a pit stop then a dash back to the station to get a train to Liechtenstein, one of the few places we haven’t been to in Europe and only 40 minutes away. It worked out that we had the opportunity to get there so decided to tick it off the list. Some may argue that popping into a country for a couple of hours doesn’t count, but I don’t care. I’ve been there, and even got our passports stamped in the tourist office.
We got off the train which is outside the main part of Vaduz, the capital, so hopped on a bus to the centre, got the passports stamped then went for a walk up and down the main street. 2 minutes later we were back where we started – Vaduz is not very big, so went for a longer walk around the centre. The castle on the hill is the dominant feature (actually the only feature) of the town, but it’s closed to the public. We thought about getting something to eat but options were limited so got on a bus to the train station to go back to Chur. There isn’t anything to do in Liechtenstein except to say you’ve been there.
Got the train back to Chur, then looked for somewhere to eat. Most of the restaurants were closed because it was Monday but we found a Thai place so gave it a go.
We had spring rolls to start, then shared a Pad Thai and a whole fish, and i had a beer. It was very nice and very expensive at 83 Swiss Francs ($147.65). I don’t know how people can afford to live here.
As we were eating I got a ping on my phone advising that there is a rail workers strike in Spain from today until April 3rd. We have booked a train on 26th March. Oh dear. Got back to the room and looked for alternative routes, we found some but it meant getting into San Sebastian at around 23:00 – not ideal. We were about to book a bus, train, bus trip, then I checked Google and there were articles saying that the strike had been called off at the last minute. Dodged a bullet there.
Tomorrow we go to Milan via Zurich, after a really incredible day today.