We spent a quick night in Pontresina before heading back on our next train journey: the Glacier Express that effectively traverses Switzerland from East to West.
The Glacier Express panoramic windows
Now the Glacier Express is a bit of a misnomer, for you don’t see many glaciers, and it certainly isn’t an express. In fact, they dub it the “slowest fast train in the world.” But we didn’t let that dichotomy ruin our day, for it was a fantastic eight hour epic through the Swiss Alps.
One of the tallest bridges on this excellent train journey; picture spoiled somewhat by the Mickey mouse silhouette…
Now the main feature of this train was panoramic windows, which allow you to have a wider view and makes the surroundings seem more grand. The downside of these large panoramic windows is that (unlike our train on the Bernina pass), they do not open, so picture-taking is problematic because of the glare. I did take a few pictures here and there, but in the end I gave up mainly because so many of the pictures contained the reflective glare of Heidi’s minion shirt and/or Mickey Mouse hat. The nice thing is that you can just sit back and enjoy the day without feeling like you need to pull out your camera every two minutes.
The highest point on our journey, the Oberall Pass. The train going the opposite direction is in the distance
Another big bonus for our day was the lovely sunny weather. When you book these trips you are really at the mercy of the weather, and thankfully we had lots of sunshine to enjoy the scenic views.
The Glacier Express goes all the way to the town of Zermatt, home of the Matterhorn. But we opted to get off early and head to Montreux on Lake Geneva, where we’re staying for the next couple of days. Skipping the Matterhorn felt like a bit of a mistake, especially with the weather being as nice as it was. I suspect we might have changed our plans, had we not already paid for our hostel in Montreux. Still, we’ve seen the Matterhorn at Disneyland already, so this one can’t be that much better, can it?
Beautiful Swiss countryside
Coming into the valley town of Andermatt
You could purchase a meal on the train for some $60 per person, or you could do like us and pay a fraction of that for a picnic feast at your table
Leaving the train at Visp, before boarding our onward train to Montreux