If you're new here, you may want to get an email notice of new posts on this blog - just subscribe to these emails at left! Alternatively sign up for our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
SWERJK Trip – Days 13, 14, and 15
(Shary, Wendy, in Europe with Ruth, Judy, Kate)
Day 13 – Into the Alps by Rail
On Saturday October 3, we followed some of my favorite train routes including a significant part of the Glacier Express.
After a good breakfast at our Tirano hotel, we crossed the street to board the little red train to take us up through the spectacular Bernina Mountain Pass. We had the whole 1st class car to ourselves and we jumped from one side to the other, taking photos from the open windows. It was a joyous ride!
Wendy and Judy with cameras! || Under the avalanche protection shed, over the chasm || Shary and Ruth with cameras!
So joyous that when we changed trains at Pontresina shortly after 10 am, I mistakenly left behind an envelope that contained all of our paid reservations for the next ride (the Glacier Express) along with Kate’s and my Eurail Pass! What a sinking feeling!
After our next 6 minute ride to Samedan, I jumped off and ran to the stationmaster’s office to explain my problems, while the rest of the girls waited trackside for our next train. He got on the phone right away to try to locate my envelope, but our next train arrived within minutes. He instructed me to run and board the train and explain the problem to the Train Chief. As I got to the train, the girls had already been explaining our predicament. After listening, he invited us to wait in a 2nd class car while he worked on the problem. A short time later he returned to say that our envelope had been found on the other train, and that he would now escort us to our seats on the Glacier Express! In addition, Swiss Rail would try to have our papers for us at the Interlaken station for us to pick up on Sunday. Martin, the Train Chief, was my new best friend!
We greatly enjoyed the meal and the scenery on the Glacier Express after we settled down from our little scare. At first the narrow gauge train follows by a delightful sparkling river. Our 4 hour portion of the Glacier express began in Chur (elev = nearly 2000 ft) and 2 hours later reached our highest point at Oberalppass (elev = 6700 ft) and then descended to Brig where we got off to head north to Spiez. In Spiez we enjoyed the beautiful overlook of Lake Thun before changing trains again to Interlaken and then to Lauterbrunen where we arrived at 6:30. It was a day of 7 different trains and bridges, tunnels, lakes, rivers, and vistas beyond imagination. Just awesome.
Above the tree line, Kate looks out the window || Lunch on board the Glacier Express || Typical view: Alpine lake and glacier up behind
We settled into the Valley Hostel in Lauterbrunen, and then went out for a quick meal. While strolling afterward, we could hear Swiss cow bells ringing all around – - and then we came upon a barn where they were shearing sheep. It was amazing how quickly each sheep was shorn. After watching a while, we walked on in the fresh and cool mountain air, and then back to the hostel to sleep.
Day 14 – Hiking and Cable Cars
After breakfast, Shary and Wendy hiked up behind Staubbach Falls which drops over a sheer cliff, seemingly into the village. They continued to hike for a long while along the valley floor which they greatly enjoyed.
Meanwhile, Kate, Judy, and I took a cable car and short train ride to Murren, a virtually car-less village hugging the mountainside, and then 2 more cable cars up to the Schilthorn peak. From there we could see a spectacular panorama of the Mönch, Eiger, and Jungfrau peaks. (The “monk” stands between the “ogre” to protect the “young girl.”)
Kate riding the cable car... At the Schilthorn (scene of James Bond movie... Standing by panorama of the Alps at 9,944 ft elevation!
Later, down below, we all met up and scrounged for lunch – as everything was closed for Sunday. Then, back on the train for Interlaken where we found that our Eurail passes had not arrived after all. Fortunately, we were blessed with understanding conductors and our trip back to Zürich was not a problem.
At our hotel in Zürich, no more than a 10 minute walk from the station, we rested and washed for dinner. We then walked about 15 minutes down Bahnhofstrasse where we met my sister-in-law’s daughter Jane and her husband Chris for dinner. We ate at the Zeughauskeller, a traditional Swiss beer hall with yummy food. Jane and Chris have been living and working in Zurich for about 5 years. We enjoyed visiting with them and getting all of their tips for souvenir shopping for the next morning!
Day 15 – End of the Trip
The last day came and we were all pretty much ready to go home. Our plane was scheduled to leave at 5:30 so we still had time for a bit more fun. We packed and stored our bags at the hotel and had a great breakfast (Hotel Bristol). An amusing hotel worker told us about her own
Fraumünster Church
travel experiences – she just loved getting her money, passport, and credit cards stolen in Rome! Why? Because the Italian policemen are so cute!!?? I think that’s called sweet lemons. Anyway, after breakfast, we set out on a small tour of Zurich and got in some last minute shopping.
We stopped by the Fraumünster church and enjoyed the stained glass designed by Marc Chagall not to some of the original wall paintings and other stained glass work.
We had our best-good-deal-lunch at the cafeteria of the Manor department store on the 5th floor. There was a beautiful assortment of fresh food. And, of course, to end our Gelato Tour of Europe, we had a “Swiss Choco” cone – best yet!
Kate stopped at the Apple Store in Zürich, looking for a job (he he) while the rest of us stocked up on chocolates at the Coop to take home.
It was a mad dash back to the hotel to grab our bags and head over to the train station. We made the exact train I had scheduled and ten minutes later we were at the airport. The European transportation system is so efficient and easy to use!
After an 8 hour flight we were all happy to land, safe and sound. My wonderful nieces -Judy, Shary, and Wendy- went right to bed and were up at 5 am for their drive back to Moncton NB Canada on Tuesday. I miss them!
All in all, the many hours of careful planning paid off. It was a great trip to Europe.
Just finished reading the last leg of your trip and was just awed by how much you crammed into 3 weeks (on the last leg-3 days). For those of us who will never get to go there it was fun to read the details and great descriptions and pretend I was there too. I have taken a few trips over the years and know that it is all in the planning but in this case it seemed like a monumental task. Congratulations Ruth on a super job!! Also, I am sure the “young ‘uns” will always be thankful for all your great, and probably tedious and time consuming, preparation.
LET IT BE KNOWN THAT RUTH AND THE GIRLS HAVE SEEN “ALL” OF EUROPE!!!!!