DESTINATION REPORTS SCENIC SWISS TRAIN RIDES
I recently traveled to Switzerland, where I rode many of the scenic trains. The first two days were spent in Lucerne, the highlight there being a half-day excursion to the summit of Mt. Pilatus. I used the cable car to go up the mountain, a cog railway to descend the other side, and a lake steamer to get back to Lucerne.
The next day I traveled on the William Tell Express, which uses a 1920's era paddlewheel steamer to traverse the length of Lake Lucerne, and then took a two-and-a-half hour train trip to Lugano. This city in the Italian-speaking area of Switzerland has a beautiful lake front setting and is somewhat reminiscent of the Mediterranean. From there I traveled to St. Moritz using the Bernina Express. The first part of this trip is a three-hour bus ride along Lakes Lugano and Como in northern Italy to the charming village of Tirano, Italy. During my one-hour stopover there I enjoyed on of the best pizzas I have ever eaten. The second half of the trip is a spectacular journey by rail, in observation cars with panoramic windows, over the Bernina Pass to St. Moritz.
The highlight of the trip for me was the following day when I traveled on the Glacier Express, a seven-hour train trip from St. Moritz to Zermatt. The route on this narrow-gauge railroad wends its way through mountain passes and villages which appear to hang on the side of the mountains. The dining car of the train was built in the 1930's and looks like it could have been on the Orient Express. The meal was delicious and not too expensive. On my last night in Zermatt, while the town was in twilight, I saw the Matterhorn brilliantly illuminated by the setting sun.
I traveled on a Swiss Railpass, which allows unlimited travel on the trains, lake steamers, the postal coaches, and the city buses. It also allows substantial discounts on the aerial cable cars. I stayed in reasonably priced independently owned hotels which were part of the Best Western association. English is spoken by almost everyone in the hotels, restaurants, and train stations, so the language was not a problem. The US dollar is fairly strong now against the Swiss franc, so this is a great time to visit what historically has been an expensive destination for Americans.
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