The Little Trains of Switzerland

About this blog

A self planned excursion to the Luzern and Vallais regions of Switzerland to check-out the smaller train rides that we hadn't seen on previous trips. We chose to fly Easyjet from Bristol and use the Swiss Transport system rather than renting a car or whatever.

On the 1st September 2010 my wife and I set out to visit Switzerland again. This time I thought I would arrange everything myself, including flying to Geneva from Bristol, train to Malters near Luzern, a Swiss Pass for a group of two, hotel at Malters and apartment rental at Riedersalp, in the Vallais canton.

Booking a hotel at Malters started out as a hotel at Sisikonplatte, beside the Lake Lucerne but just before we travelled I realised that the Hotel was miles from the nearest rail station and, rare for Switzerland, not on a bus route. I quickly reorganised a hotel which had to be outside the precinct of Luzern, otherwise it would be too pricey for our meagre pocket! The confusion happened because someone had planted the 'indicator' on the Google map in the wrong place! Sneaky or what?

The apartment in Riederalp suffered almost the same mistake, as, when we finally found it, it was nearer to Bettemalp than Riederalp, but only by a very small amount. However the distance to tow our suite-cases was very testing at such an altitude, for two 'oldies' more used to living at sea level!

Booking the apartment was easy as was paying for it, but transferring the capital added a chunk to the final costs. After arriving back home I found that the Final Amount was an inaccurate statement. The Swiss bank has added to the amount for exchange-rate differences! Confusing or what!

Buying our Swiss Pass was the easiest part of the planning. It arrived well before we were due to travel. All we had to do was validate it with passport information for us both.

The air tickets with Easyjet were fairly easy to arrange, as was the airport parking and pick-up arrangements. We chose the fast security option and speedy boarding option, plus on-line check-in and extra baggage stowage. Two bags (40 Kilos). So, as well as two unweighed bags of the size described on the Boarding Pass, we had sufficient to carry my breathing apparatus which I need for my Sleep Apnea problems.

Just before the departure date we were sent an email from Easyjet advising us that security arrangements at Bristol Airport had been tightened and advise we should get to the airport with two hours to spare for these formalities. We began to wish we had chosen to "Let the train take the strain"! With this advice in mind and with too little time to CANCEL without too many forfeitures we booked an overnight Bed&Breakfast in a guesthouse just 10 minutes ride from the airport. So now we were already to make the trip!