I love traveling by rail. Even though it’s much slower and not always necessarily cheaper than air travel, given a choice between the two, I will almost always choose to take the train. It may be because I grew up on the west coast of the US, where taking the train is generally uncommon, but trains have always felt romantic and kind of old-world glamorous to me–even a short, low-rate Amtrak ride from Seattle to Portland.
Because of this love of travel by rail, I was really excited to take a day-long trip through the Alps on the Glacier Express on my recent trip to Switzerland. The Glacier express is a famous railway that goes from St. Moritz to Zermatt. I hopped on in Chur (one of Switzerland’s oldest towns), and spent the following five hours moving slowly across Switzerland, gazing out at breathtaking views of the mountains through the huge windows.
Though the GE isn’t necessarily a regular part of Switzerland’s train system (you wouldn’t want to commute on it, it’s quite slow), if you’ve purchased a Swiss Pass, it’s valid on the GE, so you can ride for free! You can bring your own lunch, or order a delicious three-course lunch to be served to you on the train. This was my big splurge on this trip, so I went for the three-course lunch (CHF 43), which included soup, a beef roast entree with veggies, and some pie for dessert, all served to you at your seat, so you don’t have to miss out on any of the beautiful views.
The Glacier Express was one of the highlights of my trip, and if you have time to go I’d very highly recommend it.
I’m Katy, a Seattleite quitting my normal life to pursue my two greatest passions: travel and music. I’m documenting my general travel adventures, as well as great record stores, labels, festivals, and music I find around the world.
Wow, this is an absolutely stunning trip – especially if it comes free!
Thanks Polly! It was a lot of fun. I didn’t do enough research before my trip, and by the time I realized I should have purchased a Swiss Pass, it was too late, I had to pay full price! It was worth it, but lesson learned about doing a lot of research about rail passes, I suppose!