Glacier Express
Trip Start
Unknown
1
4
Trip End
Ongoing
Zermatt, Swiss Alps, Switzerland
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Sitting in a large panorama car with 3 mature German citizens on vacation, I stared at the steam rising off the snow on either side of the river as we slowly zig zagged back to Visp. On each side of the train stood the same snow covered mountains that I had passed by a few days before. However, this train ride was much more suited to a curious tourist. We were given head phones which periodically provided us with interesting information regarding the sights we were passing by. Within the next few hours we passed by Switzerlands tallest mountains (standing over 4500 meters tall) and crossed its deepest valley. My favourite river, which I walked along most days during my time in Zermatt, seemed to follow our train like a loving puppy; first twisting and turning on my left and then disappearing to follow on the right. In some places the river was frozen still and covered with snow, but most of it was as lively as ever. The constant mountains holding us together sometimes seemed to disappear from one side, but never went very far away. As we slowly crept towards Chur I noticed that the amount of snow which coated all surfaces was slowly melting away. Apparently I was traveling into warmer temperatures. This allowed me to see what the mountains looked like both in the winter time as well as the spring.
I sat staring out the enormous windows all around me, day dreaming and appreciating the spectacular view. Soon my 5 hours of magical scenery had come to an end and I stepped off the train in Chur.
