Zurich and Lucerne

After hopping off the Bernina Express in Chur, still in awe, we looked for our fourth train of the day to Zurich. Initially we were spoilt with another scenic journey but before long tunnels and the departure of the sun limited our view. We set to some blogging and soon found ourselves in Zurich.

We were met at the platform by Laurel, Rob’s friend and our amazing host. It was great to hear an Australian accent (though our neighbours on the Bernina Express were from Melbourne!) and a friendly face. Laurel has called Zurich home for a decade and gave us a wealth of information on the city, what it is like living there and on the international school scene. We were also extremely lucky to be shown around Lucerne.

Rob & Laurel

Lucerne

In Lucerne we climbed up the battlements and the walls and went up the clock tower that was there, giving us a nice view of the city on one side, and, strangely, an athletics track on the other. Laurel took us to great lunch where Rob ordered the opposite of what he said he wanted! We were entertained by an Italian lady that tried to sit everywhere except where she was supposed to. Unfortunately the famous Chapel bridge of Lucerne was under repair so we couldn’t see its well-known paintings that depict Swiss life in the 12^th century and tell the history of the city and the story of William Tell. It was the oldest wooden bridge of Europe but was burned down in a 1993 fire and was then rebuilt. We loved the murals on many of the building in Lucerne.

Clock tower

Creepy man with a camera lurking behind a tree...

Inner workings of the clock and if you look closely you can see Ghost Rob

Lucerne city wall

Lunch venue and an amazing family tree

Public murals

Public murals

Chapel Bridge from afar

We missed this one on the way in!

You have to look UP in Lucerne

Travelling to and from Lucerne, Laurel took us to her favourite viewpoints, including a church with a bright pink interior. Unfortunately access to the church was blocked by one of the many cycling events that are following us around the world! It was lovely to see the colourful Autumn leaves as we drove between towns.

Autumn is upon us!

Zurich

I hadn’t realised that Zurich is a relatively small city with only around 400 thousand people in the city proper. The villages or suburbs of Zurich are spread out around the lake. It doesn’t feel like you are in the biggest city of a country, even though you are. The quaint little villages and the beautiful lake with views of the alps are what I think makes Zurich special.

Views across Zurich lake (unfortunately alp visibility is low in this shot)

On our walking tour of Zurich, our guide told us that though Berne is the government headquarters of Switzerland, it is not the capital. In fact, Switzerland is a confederation of Cantons without an official capital. In roman times Zurich was a tolling station along the Linmat river. One of the most historic parts of Zurich is Linderhoff, a central hill and viewpoint over the river and city and at one time a Roman fort. Whilst on the hill the guide told us an interesting story about Zurich in the 15^th century. There were no men left in the city as they were off fighting battles. With an army converging on the city, some women decided to dress in men’s battle gear and stand on the Linderhoff so approaching armies saw the town was protected and left without a fight.  This is supposedly the origin of the female national personification Helvetia, the woman in flowing robes bearing a spear.  Although, when we researched it, we couldn't find anything about this myth.

Helvetia

View from Linderhoff

View of Grossmünster from Linderhoff

A random fact that I learnt on the tour: Helvetica font was invented in Zurich. Maybe I should change the font of this post in honour of this discovery! (Changed!)

The walking tour took us by a number of churches and recommended eateries. One of the churches, St Peter’s, has the largest clock face in Europe. Another, Fraumünster, is an old gothic church with beautiful and unique window paintings by Marc Chagal. We went up the  Grossmünster ('great minister'), a Romanesque-style church, for some lovely views of the city and took the guide up on a recommended café. Despite being sick I could not resist the urge for a hot chocolate, or trying some new Lindt chocolate varieties. I was in Switzerland after all!

Fraumünster

Autumn at Linderhoff

Largest clockface in the world

Grossmünster

View from Grossmünster 

View from Grossmünster

Faces in-between clock faces

Traditional house around Zürich lake

Aside from exploring Zurich and its surrounds, the best part about our time with Laurel was chatting and watching no less than the three movies! The Zurich film festival was actually on whilst we were there but we opted for the comforts of Laurel’s home. Besides, what better place for a viewing of Chocolat than the neighbourhood of the Lindt factory? (Well, except maybe a small village in France!)

Provision of chocolate samples:
That's when good neighbours become good friends!

Aboard the Bernina Express!

We are BLOWN AWAY after travelling on the Bernina Express from Tirano, northern Italy to Chur, eastern Switzerland. On the journey you are immediately amongst beauty, surrounded by ice capped mountains, turquoise lakes, quaint villages and a fantastic glass roof to view it all through. (The roof is not entirely glass, much to the disappointment of the young girls in our carriage, “Dad, where’s the glass roof? You said it was glass!”) The train is a narrow gauge train run by the Rhätische Bahn.

Excited to board the Bernina!

On-board with the view-enabling windows

It was easily the most scenic train trip I have ever done. The journey had been a travel dream of mine since before my first trip to Europe in 2010. At that time, I had decided to skip Switzerland to concentrate on slower travel through France, Italy and Spain. It was well worth the wait and something I would highly recommend.

Along the way, Rob and I were entranced by the spectacular scenes outside our window as we rapidly climbed out of the valley near Tirano and up the steep track (at a rate of up to 70 metres per mile). We marveled at how clever it was to use the twists and turns to ascend the mountains (see the Brusio Spiral here). The railways architectural and civil engineering achievements are actually what made it find a place on the UNESCO World Heritage list. At one point early on in the trip we even “became a tram.” Across the route there were several tunnels and bridges (one is the longest in Europe.) We also went past a glacier, some castles, villages, a hydroelectric power plant and the highest airport in Europe! It was a beautiful area and one that you would be lovely to see via hiking, mountain biking, cycling or driving. Travelling by train was a brilliant way to experience it.

Rob’s favourite part of 122km journey was the steep ascent at the beginning. Even though we had some idea of the route we were still surprised as we watched the front of the train go up and up and up – it felt like a plane taking off! Not long after leaving Tirano, we encountered the Kreisviadukt Brusio, an amazing construction that sees the train spiral around on a 360 degree curve, allowing a rapid climb within very little space. During this part it was hard to know which way to look! 



Perhaps even harder was when we got closer to the highest point of the journey, Ospizio Bernina at 2253 metres above sea level. This was my favourite part. The sun was shining on the beautiful mountains and the contrasting mix of colours from the pine trees, rocks, grass and snow was stunning. Some people might prefer the journey in winter to see more snow, and no doubt it would be beautiful, but I rather liked the view with a little snow and lots of other colours.

Travelling through Alp Grüm our surrounds included Palü glacier and lake Palü and we had views of the Italian alps. Once at the highest altitude station on the railway network, Ospizio Bernina, we had crossed from Italian speaking areas in Italy and Switzerland into the Engadin region where Romansh and  German is spoken. From Ospizio Bernina you can see two neighbouring pools of water, one draining to the Adriatic Sea (Lago Blanco) and the other to the Black Sea (Leg Naire). The colour of the water in each was markedly different which was a strange sight.  Apparently we owe that difference to the fact that Lago Blanco is filled with glacial melt from Cambrena Glacier and Leg Naire is a peaty depression which collects murky brown water.

As well as a fantastically scenic ride, I can only imagine what this train route did for small villages once isolated by the Alps. It made me think about Mongolia and how influential further transport development could be for the country. 

Tips:

• If you can, INCLUDE THIS TRIP IN YOUR LIFE!
• Pack some snacks. There is not much choice on board. (No ice creams for the kids in our carriage as promised.)
• There are some spots where you can take photos without a window in the way, but you’ll have to stand up and might not be worth just enjoying the view.
• The Man at Seat 61 provides some great information. Including a cheaper means of riding on the Bernina. We did this and despite a bit of confusion in Tirano, it worked a treat.

Stunning Lago Blanco

Our neighbour enjoying the view over Lago Blanco

What a journey!

Look out the window!

Beautiful 

Going past Leg Naire

A barren landscape on part of the journey

A great place to stop apparently!