A stop between two scenic railway journeys
Trip Start
Jan 08, 2012
1
4
13
Trip End
Feb 02, 2012
Chur, Swiss Alps, Switzerland
Friday, January 13, 2012
Glacier Express
The world's slowest express train runs from Zermatt to St. Moritz via 291 bridges and 91 tunnels and takes 7 1/2 hours. The Rhaetian Railway first opened in 1889 and continued to progress to 1930 when the Glacier Express ran between St. Moritz to Zermatt in summer for the first time, but it was 1982 before the Furka basis tunnel opened connecting St. Moritz and Zermatt all year round. The entire line is narrow guage railway, and large portions of it use a rack and pinion system both for ascending steep grades and to control the descent of the train on the back side of those grades.
The train is very quiet with two first class, two second class carriages and a buffet car in the middle. Our carriage is only a quarter full and across the aisle is a couple from Cork.
The Glacier Express runs daily each way during the winter and more frequently in the summer. The carriages have panoramic views, are extremely comfortable and offer travel information in several languages, we were all given a set of headphones and an information booklet.
The scenery is awesome and especially beautiful at this time of year with all the snow. The first section of the railway between Zermatt and Visp was opened in 1891 after two and half years of construction. We travel along the Oberalpass when the engine pulls the train up to a height of 2,033 metres above sea-level with the help of the cog wheel making this the highest part of the journey. Snow, snow and more snow and in places where the snow has been pushed off the track it is nearly 6 feet high stacked by the side of the track. In places we have a snow blizzard with the engine churning up the snow and making visibility difficult and in other places there is very low cloud again making visibility poor! But the sun shines with a blue sky making taking photographs diificult due to the reflection.
Cross country skiers are out in force as well as skiers using cable cars to get up high, and in the towns we pass through roads are clear and transport in full flow. Village roads remain snow covered but cars are still able to manoeuvre around. Snow chains for vehicles are very much in use.
Many parts of the railway track are single making passing places a necessity and causing several stops waiting for trains to pass us.
Having left Zermatt at 09.52 (to be precise) we arrive at Chur at about 15.53. This is our stopping point for two nights before we catch the next scenic train – Bernina Express into Italy.
Saturday 14th January
Chur
Chur is the oldest town in Switzerland, with a history of settlement spanning approximately 5,000 years. Today Chur is a modern town with a wealth of historical architecture. The historical quarter, which is where we are staying, has winding alleys and tucked away squares.
Our hotel is also a restaurant and bar. The rooms are very spacious and our bedroom is on the third floor in part of the roof and a view over one of the many squares as well as the mountains. It has been tastefully renovated recently, the building is very old.
There are many what appear to be tram lines in the road and overhead wires but we don't see any trams running at all.
As we walked back to the hotel as it was getting quite cold, we pass a bridal couple in the park having photographs. Awaiting outside the park is a horse drawn carriage. I was cold so they must have been freezing!
