A surprise trip to visit a small country in Western Europe. We would ascend and descend its mountainous landscape by train rather than the more extreme methods employed by the outdoor thrill seekers.
Swiss air has a direct flight from Dublin to Zurich, so in a little over 2 hours you land in Switzerland’s largest city located at the Northern end of lake Zurich, and only 24Km from the southern German border. As you would expect in a modern European city, the public transport systems are efficient, we seamlessly jumped onto the train to Zermatt, home to the Matterhorn boasting a pyramid like shape nudging 15,000 ft into the Alpine air.
In calmer waters the small town is a mecca for mountaineers and ski enthusiasts, and a tourist town catering for those looking for some Alpine hospitality. We stayed at Hotel Walliserhof on the main car free thoroughfare ( see link 1 )
The town is very traditional with the goat pride march coinciding with our visit.
It’s an early night for most, so after a late dinner we called it a night as the revelers and goats turned out the lights.
An early start as we make our way to catch the Glacier Express taking us the 180 miles to St Moritz in around 7.5 hours. ( See link 2)
We invested in the 1st class tickets to ensure the best panoramic views aboard and avail of the 4-course lunch, at an average speed of 40 km /hour, you can really appreciate the stunning scenery through which the train gently meanders.
Lunch finished; we steam towards St Moritz.
We were staying at the Schweizerhof hotel, overlooking the lake in the centre of the town.( See link 3)
Nothing happens at pace in these Alpine towns, and the locals are shy
Back to the normal commuter trains we headed to explore Zurich and with civilization and new era culture–enjoy a curry.( See link 4)
We stayed at the Marriot, conveniently situated close to the main train station. Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and known for finance and banking. Its small enough to navigate on foot the picturesque lanes of the central Altstadt (Old Town), on either side of the Limmat River, reflect its pre-medieval history. Waterfront promenades like the Limmatquai follow the river toward the 17th-century Rathaus (town hall).
Useful Links
- Hotel Walliserhof Zermatt | Since 1896 (walliserhof-zermatt.ch)
- Glacier Express – BVZ Holding
- Hotel Schweizerhof St. Moritz – Hotel Schweizerhof St. Moritz (schweizerhofstmoritz.ch)
- Indian Restaurant in Zurich – New Bombay Restaurant (newbombay-zurich.ch)
- Zurich Marriott Hotel – 5-Star Hotel Near Bahnhofstrasse Shops
