Train of Thought: A Guide to Travelling by Train through Switzerland by Clive Tully
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We’ve been climbing higher and higher, through successive layers of vegetation. As we emerge from the Grätli tunnel, suddenly the view from my tiny carriage is filled with the Bernese Oberland’s dramatic trio of mountains, the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. My eye is drawn irresistibly towards the outline of the Eiger and its formidable north wall, whose fearsome challenge makes it much sought after by hardened mountaineers.
But my mountaineering excursion is altogether easier. I’m on the Schynige Platte cog railway, one of Switzerland’s many classic rail journeys. For over 100 years, tourists have been coming here to take the small train from Wilderswil near Interlaken to the plateau at some 6,500 feet.
Trundle through Tunnels
Sitting on the wooden bench seat in my little red carriage, I find myself peering through gaps in the trees to look down towards Interlaken, trying to make out the strange shapes of the buildings of a one-time theme park. Erich von Dänniken, author of the controversial book “Chariots of the Gods”, lived here, and the defunct theme park was intended to bring his theories to life.
We trundle through several tunnels, cross Alpine meadows and pass peaceful cows, their bells clanging as they graze. You can tell the difference in temperature when you get out, but then again, it’s probably a lot chillier on the snow and ice-clad slopes facing us.
You might think of a ride on a mountain railway as an interesting add-on to a holiday, but I’m trying out a short break where the train is the main event. In fact, it starts the moment I leave home. Instead of a tortuous journey to the airport, and all of the stressful aggravation of flying, I do the whole thing by rail. For me it promises to be a journey back to my youth. I lived for two years in Switzerland as a boy, and travelling there and back from England involved an overnight ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland, and then by train to Switzerland.
Smoothly and Swiftly
But in 2007, it’s no less an adventure, and I have the promise of being rather more carbon-friendly into the bargain. So I hop onto One Railway’s intercity service from Norwich to London Liverpool Street, and then catch a tube to Waterloo. Through security and it’s on to a Eurostar to Paris, where a one-stop metro ride takes me from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, and a TGV Lyria waiting to whisk me smoothly and swiftly to Geneva.
At around 15 hours of travelling including a wait in Paris, it makes for a long day, but nowhere near as tiring as it would have been had I flown. I’ve not had the annoyance of queuing at airport check-ins and security, or the mind-numbing boredom of claustrophobic departure lounges. Instead I’ve had room to relax and enjoy my journey, with scenery passing all the way (OK, so there’s half an hour in the Channel Tunnel). It’s travel in the old fashion – where the journey itself is part of the enjoyment.
From Geneva, I head for Montreux, strangely, with Deep Purple’s classic “Smoke on the Water” running through my head. The song tells the story of the band’s attempt to record an album in Montreux, and what happened after their hotel burned down. For me, Swiss time isn’t running out, but this is where I change trains, hopping onto the Golden Panoramic train for a luxury ride through the mountains, soaking up the views through enormous picture windows.
Don’t Lose Your Bread
Nestling between two lakes, and surrounded by stunning mountains, Interlaken is a perfect place to stay, whether you want to do your sightseeing the easy way with the Schynige Platte railway, or something a little more active. There are lots of walks you can do, or if you’re feeling really adventurous, you can take a tandem parachute ride from a nearby mountain ridge, coming into land back in the town. You could say it’s the ultimate let-down!
If Switzerland is all about cuckoo clocks and fabulous chocolate, there are one or two other things, no less clichéd, which you have to try. They do melted cheese in a big way, whether as raclette – cheese melted on a hot plate, and scraped off – or mixed with wine in the traditional “don’t lose your bread” cheese fondue.
My cheesy experience comes complete with yodelling, flag throwing and alphorn blowing in Lucerne’s Swiss Folklore restaurant Stadtkeller. It must be said it’s not the kind of place you’re likely to bump into many locals, and the night I visit, it seems to be jam-packed with a lively crowd of Aussies. National pride is at stake as I attempt a decent blast on the alphorn, then I manage to persuade the management to let me take over the resident jazz band’s upright bass for a quick jam.
I’m used to playing classic rock on an electric bass, so perhaps it comes as no surprise when the band’s regular bass player reclaims his instrument afterwards with a wry smile and “that was interesting…” But I’m rather more heartened by the tumultuous applause from the punters as I head back to my table for a restorative stein of beer. Or was that two?
A Favourite with the Locals
From Lucerne, equally memorable for its famous covered wooden bridge, I head south on the Wilhelm Tell Express. It starts off not with a train, but a cruise along Lake Lucerne to Flüelen on a vintage paddle steamer. It’s a relaxing journey, with mountains and small quaint hamlets slipping by, not to mention places associated with Switzerland’s crossbow-toting national hero.
It’s a Sunday, and while there are plenty of tourists, I get the impression that it’s also a favourite with the locals, coming for a leisurely cruise on the lake while tucking into a Sunday lunch in one of the boat’s two restaurants.
At Flüelen it’s just a few steps from the paddle steamer straight onto the slightly more express part of the journey. The train takes us through the famous 125 year-old St Gotthard tunnel, finishing the day a few degrees warmer in Locarno, in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland.
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