We arrived in Zurich on time and got off the plane in a matter of just a couple of minutes. We think that's the fastest we were ever able to exit the plane. It only took us another minute or two to clear the passport control and by the time we walked to the baggage area the first batch of luggage from our flight was already there. That's Swiss efficiency! We walked to the train station which is adjacent to the airport, purchased Swiss Pass and sent our suitcases via "Fast baggage" service to Geneva. We planned on taking scenic route called "Golden Pass" to Geneva and carrying luggage with us would not have made it easy.
Swiss Pass is all-in-one ticket that allows unlimited travel by train, bus, boat, and gondolas throughout Switzerland, except some mountain top trains and gondolas where it offers 50% discount. It also covers city transportation and even some museums. The pass is rather expensive but is still a bargain for anyone who plans to do fair amount of travel. And it saved us a good deal of time and hassle by not having to buy tickets for each trip. Last but not least, it allows almost complete freedom of movement. The Swiss Travel System website states that Switzerland offers 5000 km (3125 miles) of train tracks, 1000 km (625 miles) of mountain trains, 13000 km (8125 miles) of bus lines (yellow postal cars, etc), and 23000 public transport stations. And Switzerland is only about the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined. Swiss trains are clean, comfortable and as of December 2005 smoke-free (YES!).
Tourist information center at the train station provided us with the printed itinerary for our trip since Golden Pass tour includes changing trains along the way; 4 changes to be exact.
First leg of the trip took us to Lucerne where the scenic portion of the "Golden Pass" route starts. On this leg we had our first taste of the Swiss trains, tunnels and direction changes. The train was a double-decker and we opted for riding on top since we didn't have to schlep the luggage upstairs. There weren't many passengers so we almost had the whole area to ourselves. We settled in our seats and prepared to take in the scenery and then we entered the tunnel. We emerged from the tunnel just long enough to pull into Zurich main train station (the Hauptbanhoff) and when we left there we were going the opposite direction. Trains in Switzerland have locomotive in front and the back (and sometimes in the middle) so that they could change directions as needed without loosing any time. We ran into that on a few trips.
In Lucerne we transferred to the scenic train to Interlaken via Brünig line. It is the only narrow-gauge line of the Swiss Federal Railways (there are several other narrow-gauge lines in Switzerland but they are run by private companies) and becomes a cog railway in the hilly sections. We all agreed that this section of this trip was the highlight of the day. It runs thru the beautiful valleys alongside several pristine alpine lakes and as travel brochure puts it "past flower-bedecked age-old chalets". At times the train hugged the water's edge and as we went up we rode along the very edge of the rocks, the curves giving us fine views of the mountains, valley and the lakes.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day and from the top of Brünig Pass we could see the snow-capped mountains including the Jungfrau. After crossing the Brünig pass train arrived at the town of Meiringen. It is famous throughout Europe for its meringue which was supposedly invented here when Napoleon visited the town. It lies near Reichenbach falls where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle sent Sherlock Holmes plunging to his death while battling Professor Moriarty. Needless to say, the town has Sherlock Holmes museum and he is an honorary citizen of Meiringen. While we were stopped at the train station the locomotive was attached to the end of the train and the train once again reversed direction and went out the same valley. The train skirted Lake Brienz as it approached Interlaken.
Interlaken means "between the lakes" and it is located between two lakes, Brienz and Thun. It is a tourist capital of Bernese Oberland and a major transportation hub. Interlaken has also acquired a reputation as an adventure sports capital. There is hardly any great outdoor activity that is not being offered here. We saw several paragliders and sails from the train.
We had a little time between the trains in Interlaken so we ventured to the plaza outside the train stations to grab lunch. The COOP store was closed but its cafeteria-style restaurant was open. That day's selection included roast beef with plum, fish, bernese style potatoes (with cream sauce) and various veggies. We asked for "take away" plates so we can eat on the train. The food was very good and not just because we were hungry. The restaurant also had a very tempting display of deserts but time was at the premium so we passed on it.
From Interlaken we took the train to Zweissimen and then to Montreux where "Golden Pass" proper ends. For both of those stretches we were on Golden Pass Panoramic trains. They had huge windows and even part of the ceiling was made of glass.
The train started along Lake Thun and then turned southwest and thru the Simmental valley passing some beautiful scenery.
It stopped at Gstaad, the favorite resort of the rich and famous, and shortly after that we left the German part of Switzerland and entered the French speaking part. The architecture started to change as well; we started to see more grey stone and less timber. We also passed by a couple of the mountain airstrips and were wondering about their use. Travel guide says that they were made for the Swiss Air Force during World War II and now are being used for sightseeing flights around the Alps. Another noteworthy stop on our route was Chateux d'Oex which is known for Hot Air Ballooning. The first hot air balloon to circumnavigate the earth took off from here on March 1, 1999.
We were getting very tired by this time or we would have been tempted to get off the train as we entered Gruyere region, the home of one of the best-known Swiss cheeses. The train went thru a series of curves and tunnels and started "electrifying descent" to the Lake Geneva.
We caught a glimpse of a beautiful castle on the lake, Château de Chillon, which we planned to visit next day.
We made our last train change in Montreux and an hour later arrived in Geneva. We collected our luggage at the train station and took a taxi to the hotel. Hotel Central where we were staying for the next three nights is indeed very centrally located and is a good value for very expensive Geneva. We were expecting rooms to be rather small but they were really tiny and the shower in particular was barely big enough for the average size person to fit in but not to raise the arms. But at the same time, the hotel offered free breakfast and free fast wireless internet access in the room. We grabbed the dinner at the nearby restaurant and settled in for the night. Some time late in the evening a storm rolled in. The thunder was echoing between the buildings and it took us a minute to figure out what that was.
