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Published: July 17th 2023
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Panoramic journey part 1 ๐
https://www.travelblog.org/Admin/Blog/plupload.php?blog_id=1077902 This will be a condensed blog ( hurrah I hear you cry ๐ญ) as weโve been busy negotiating buses, cable cars and trains; eating lots of local delicacies like rรถsti and apple strรผdel and hiking down mountains ๐ฎ
On Wednesday morning we had a lovely breakfast at our hostel with honey from their own ๐; chestnut cake; rice biscuits and a warm liquid claiming to be tea ๐ A bus journey to the station followed by a local train to Lugano where we started The Bernina Express, the first of our panoramic journeys. The first part was by bus which took us along the shores of Lake Lugano crossing the border into Italy where we drove alongside Lake Como with views of The Alps. The bus journey finished In Tirano where we had a few hours to kill so we left our luggage at the station and went for a wander. We had lunch and found a supermarket to stock up on supplies as we were not sure when we get a chance to eat again ๐ Unfortunately, when we got back to the station we were told that there had been a derailment only a kilometre away so a
delay was inevitable. We bumped into a lovely couple from Australia on the platform and between us we managed to keep ourselves amused until the rail company came up with a solution. Incredibly within an hour, buses were supplied to take us to the station over the border just past the derailment so we could board a regional train. Despite not being the official Bernina Express train, we found a first class carriage and amused ourselves with Karen&Peter by running from window to window to take pictures of the ever changing landscape as we climbed higher going over bridges and through tunnels. Our new Aussie friends departed a few stops before us to head off to Chur. We ventured on to St Moritz where we stayed in another hostel this time with the bonus of a sink in our room. More thunderstorms overnight โฆ.
Thursday13th and a special day โฆโฆyes time to board The Glacier Express ๐ A taxi to the station and we made our way to our first class carriage where we were very fortunate to have 4 seats to ourselves for the trip halfway along the route to Andematt. Unfortunately, because it was quite
windy, we could not keep the windows open in the panorama carriage but we were allowed to open the windows in the doors at the end of the carriage. I had read that you needed to take pictures from the open windows to avoid the glare/reflection from the glass, a great piece of advice. We went over the famous Landwasser viaduct and then through valleys dotted with lovely Alpine villages with typical Swiss Chalets, past waterfalls and over rivers. Our stay at the Radisson Blu meant we had an en-suite with a bath ๐ We had a walk around the town after watching some Wimbledon tennis ๐พ and found somewhere to eat. The clouds descended so ๐ค
Friday 14th and after a sumptuous breakfast in the hotel we went in the cable car ๐ก up the Gรผtsch mountain opposite the railway station. We went all the way to the top and hiked to Lutersee lake before getting the cable car midway down to get pictures of the trains above the town.A quick trip back to the hotel to collect our luggage and we were offered a lift to the station which we gratefully accepted ๐ Slumming it
in 2nd class we still managed to get a table and 4 seats to ourselves ๐ Similar views but no issue with the windows as the weather was gorgeous. We arrived in Zermatt just in time to see a herd of mountain sheep being led through the main street, a twice daily occurrence so our timing was impeccable. We checked into our lovely hotel, just up from the main square, and then went out to dinner. We found a restaurant serving traditional rรถsti on a balcony overlooking the main street. The Matterhorn was visible at sunset from the rooftop of our hotel. We booked tickets to go up to the summit of the Gornergrat mountain on the first electrically powered railway in Switzerland which is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. ๐คagain for good weather.
Blue skies and sun greeted us yesterday morning ๐We had breakfast and picked up supplies en route to the Gornergrat station. We had booked priority passes which enabled us to board the cog operated train first and get the recommended right side window seats.The station in the heart of Zermatt is 1604m above sea level and the train took us to the
summit at 3089m. The visibility was great so we had a fantastic 360degree view of several glaciers and over 20 4000m high peaks. We had a short walk around the summit then hiked - yes folks you read that correctly ๐- down to the near the next station where we enjoyed lunch overlooking a lake. Another shorter hike down to the next station where we got the train down to the penultimate stop to walk back through the forest and the northern residential part of Zermatt. As luck would have it we arrived back to our room just in time to watch the Wimbledon Ladies Final with a much needed cup of tea. To prevent seizing up ๐we had a walk around town then had an early dinner. An amazing day with almost 9 miles walked/hiked and incredible views of The Matterhorn to enjoy. The clouds descended from mid morning and by early evening it rained so the decision to get up early is was a wise one ๐
( Itโs now Monday so publishing this now and more photos to follow )
Questions about tomorrow- will the weather continue to be kind โ๏ธ ; will there be
enough food to eat or more importantly will either of us be able to walk ๐
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Sarah Adams
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Wow!
Looks incredible! ๐