Traveling with Jack and Theresa

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Introduction

Letters
and Postcards...

August 3, Wengen

August 4, Wengen

August 6, Grachen

August 7, Matterhorn

August 8, Zermatt

August 11, Mondsee

August 11, Sils-Maria

August 13, Grunau

August 18,  West Berlin

August 18, East Berlin

August 23, London

Stories...

Swiss Rail

Up and Down The Alps

East Berlin & The Wall

Swiss Rail

Other than fabulous salad bars, our first and most lasting impressions on a 1986 trip to Switzerland was the Swiss Railway system. Here is a short description of the Swiss trains quoted from Google entry by Caroline Jackson.

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"Switzerland is truly a train lover’s paradise. Like a giant spider’s web, the integrated rail network crisscrosses 5,000 km (3,100 miles) of tracks. This system is interlinked with synchronized connections to lake steamers, gondolas and buses. Many alpine areas are so steep that the only way up is by rack and pinion (cogwheel) tracks. The railway/cableway lines total 1,000 km (620 miles) and the bus framework encompasses 140,000 km (87,000 miles). This complex labyrinth is offered by 300 different companies, combined into the Swiss Pass transportation ticket. Amazingly, the whole network runs like clockwork.”

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On a prior trip we wound around and through the Swiss Alps via automobile, which is a seventh wonder trip itself. The trains provide different and more direct experience featuring the vast differences in elevation as you travel the valleys and mountains of the Alps.

One of the most famous Swiss train journeys is The Glacier Express, which in seven and a half hours crosses 291 bridges and passes through 91 tunnels between the famous mountain resorts of Zermatt and St. Moritz. The Glacier Express was somewhat of a stretch in those days because in actuality it was slow as molasses but it did provide a slow moving panorama of some world class scenery.  To sample a flavor of the journey, consider these shots.

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One outstanding highlight is of course the mighty sphinx-like Matterhorn, which stands at 4,477m (14,688 ft.).

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With the many miles of rails, it is only natural to expect Rail Road Stations frequently, some serving very small towns. The Wengen station. It is particularly interesting  because it serves a rural hotel outside of town, meaning you park the car at the Wengen station and a bus fetches you to the hotel up the mountain.

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Not all is so serious with Swiss Rail. There is even something for the kids.

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Nor are creature comforts ignored, such as a cozy home away from home high in the Alps.


For those of you who would like to see all of the pictures from this trip please click here.



© 2014 Theresa Ripley