The Glacier Express

It is said that the Glacier Express is the slowest express train in the world, and whilst our journey on this legendary train was only from Visp to Chur, a total time of four and a half hours, we were delighted that it took so long to cover the distance.

Good things start to happen the minute the train leaves the station. A linen table cloth and cutlery are laid out and your lunch order is confirmed, drink orders are taken, and the mountain scenery rolls past the panoramic windows of your carriage.

An interesting feature of the journey is the audio commentary provided all along the route via the complimentary earphones. Not only do you come away from the trip full of new images of fabulous Swiss mountain scenery, you actually get to learn something about the countryside that you are travelling through.

All the food served on the train is prepared by the kitchen staff in the dining carriage, and it is served to you at your table, and, they even come back after a respectful period of time and offer seconds to any passengers with room for more. Needless to say two hands went up on our side of the table when the question was asked of us.

Whilst we did see some snow on the higher peaks today, I am sure that this journey could only be enhanced by a carpet of snow throughout the valleys. We had a fair bit of rain and low cloud to contend with, but that did not detract in any way from what was a great experience.

We eventually arrived at Chur and changed from speaking French to German (both languages are second nature to me, so I had no problem...) and quickly found our hotel and the location of the nearest food and beverage establishment.

Chur is a pretty little town of about 30,000 people and sits in a valley with mountains to the left and mountains to the right. Again the rain has limited our activity a little, so we decided to have morning tea, lunch and a nana-nap to pass the time...

Next stop Lucerne.

D2