Blogs from Switzerland, Europe - page 2

My mum and I had booked a journey on panoramic trains in Switzerland. We had started our trip in Basel, travelled to Chur, from there to St. Moritz on Glacier Express, and had spent a (rainy) day in St. Moritz. On Monday (28th of August), another rainy morning, the bus picked our travel group up before 9 and took us back to St. Moritz Station. From there, we caught Bernina Express, the train that runs from St. Moritz to Tirano in Italy. The train goes through Pontresina, where the electric current changes from alternating current to direct current (probably the only train in the world running on DC?), and then climbs up to Bernina Pass at an altitude of 2,253 metres ASL. Piz Bernina, the peak of the mountain, is 4,048 metres tall and the only ... read more

My mum had given me a very special birthday present: a trip with Glacier Express and other panoramic trains in Switzerland. Two days prior to our departure, I caught a train to Stuttgart and spent two nights at my mum’s place. The train trip would start from Basel on the 26th of August. Since Deutsche Bahn, the German train company, has become so notoriously unreliable, my mum and I had decided to travel to Basel a day in advance and spend one night there. So, in the morning of the 25thof August, a friend of my mum’s drove us to the train station in Stuttgart and from there we caught a train to Karlsruhe and then to Basel SBB Station. Our hotel was just a 15-minute walk from the station. We checked in and were given ... read more

We checked out of our lovely hotel in Spiez then caught a post bus to the station before catching a train to Lucerne. Yet another scenic journey and the train station in Lucerne is impressive. We walked to our last nights accommodation which was in a former prison. We were given the library cell complete with barred windows, en-suite and shelves full of books. Handily located in the old town we set off for a wander but the heavens opened so we found a bar. The rain didn't last long so we were able to do a circular walk which included the two beautiful wooden bridges over the river Reuss; the historic city walls with 9 towers ( some you can enter and climb to the top for a great view) ; the Lion Monument and ... read more

Mainly pictures today - hooray I hear you cry 😂 Main attraction - The Matterhorn 🗻... read more

So forget planes, trains and automobiles- today has been a story of an executive car at 05:15 😮then a ✈️to Milan ; a bus to Milano Centrale train station to board a train and sit in it for over an hour with no air con in 34 degree heat before being told to get off; bought 2 more tickets for the next train to then be told the original one was leaving 2 hours late! Boarded train again and managed to get over the border into 🇨🇭where a bizarre customs check took place ( we didn’t even show our passports) and then a TrenItalia employee told us there was a fault with the train and we needed to get off 😉 Thankfully we only waited 10 minutes before a new train arrived and the conductor told ... read more