Apparently this is the slowest express train in the world and the reason I am on my trip at all. I'd read about the Glacier Express during a few of my fruitless planning eurotrip sessions but I'd felt it would be difficult to incorporate - so I decided to make the whole trip about it. There are actually a number of scenic journeys within Switzerland but I got most of my information from the excellent seat61 (used for overland travel all over the world) website and from that it seemed the Glacier Express was the most interesting.
Starting from Zermatt, and I did manage to see the Matterhorn on a clear day, the train winds through some phenomenal scenery and showcases it through massive, panoramic windows. The windows were a mixed blessing as they let so much light in that taking photos is significantly trickier but the actual journey is beautiful as a result. I still took a massive number of photos and almost entirely drained my battery by the time I reached st Moritz. The trip is set up as an event in itself with carefully designed details such as the panoramic windows, an audio guide (headphones included) and an attentive set of attendants. Not something you get on every train. The audio guide was accompanied by a map showing where each numbered excerpt was relevant although they were automatically played - but it made it quite easy to see where you were. The train does stop (so not sure what the express designation really means other than not having to change trains...) so although the train was not full throughout the journey it did fill up a bit later on as we went through the centre of Switzerland.
Dining was also an option, and one that was taken, as the service was too good to miss. It was lovely to sit in a dining carriage, essentially, and I have to say the scenery and food were both of a very high quality.
Because of the massive changes in altitude over the trip, there was a lot of infrastructure that needed building and travelling over these was as amazing as some of the scenery. The Landwasser viaduct is particularly lovely.
Anyway, photos below:
Unfortunately, I had drained my camera battery by the time I got to St Moritz and the hostel did not have an adaptor (unlike every single other place) so I decided against taking pictures in St Moritz as I wanted some charge for the next day. St Moritz was not as nice as Zermatt though - it was far bigger and felt more like a shopping street.
Starting from Zermatt, and I did manage to see the Matterhorn on a clear day, the train winds through some phenomenal scenery and showcases it through massive, panoramic windows. The windows were a mixed blessing as they let so much light in that taking photos is significantly trickier but the actual journey is beautiful as a result. I still took a massive number of photos and almost entirely drained my battery by the time I reached st Moritz. The trip is set up as an event in itself with carefully designed details such as the panoramic windows, an audio guide (headphones included) and an attentive set of attendants. Not something you get on every train. The audio guide was accompanied by a map showing where each numbered excerpt was relevant although they were automatically played - but it made it quite easy to see where you were. The train does stop (so not sure what the express designation really means other than not having to change trains...) so although the train was not full throughout the journey it did fill up a bit later on as we went through the centre of Switzerland.
Dining was also an option, and one that was taken, as the service was too good to miss. It was lovely to sit in a dining carriage, essentially, and I have to say the scenery and food were both of a very high quality.
Because of the massive changes in altitude over the trip, there was a lot of infrastructure that needed building and travelling over these was as amazing as some of the scenery. The Landwasser viaduct is particularly lovely.
Anyway, photos below:
 |
| Glacier Express 2013 - click for photo album |
Unfortunately, I had drained my camera battery by the time I got to St Moritz and the hostel did not have an adaptor (unlike every single other place) so I decided against taking pictures in St Moritz as I wanted some charge for the next day. St Moritz was not as nice as Zermatt though - it was far bigger and felt more like a shopping street.
No comments:
Post a Comment