Auf Wiederschauen Salzburg, and a glorious, snowy train trip to Zurich
- Ian
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
As we depart Salzburg after 3 absolutely wonderful days, the fields have made way for hills, then mountains as they start to edge closer to the train lines, with villages edging them.
Kufstein our 1st stop, mountains to the south, fields still to the north, Worgl, our second, had plenty of snow either side of the tracks, forests, sprinkled on every bough, and mountain ledges have a more solid coating.
Our first tunnel was just outside of Worgl, with plenty more to come, one would assume.
The tunnel that took us to Milan 2 years ago from Switzerland was super long, it’s completion anniversary was when we went through it the second time on the way back to Zurich & home.
By the time we arrive at Innsbruck snow is everywhere, right up against the tracks, on all the house roofs, tops of fences, and both sides of the tracks. We must be getting higher.
Next stop is Otztal followed by Landeck-Zams & St.Anton am Arlberg.
Snow fields and mountain tops are hidden by cloud, really low to the ground, in valleys that our train goes. Sun is starting to peak through the clouds making the white slopes more vivid and giving further dimension to the landscape.
Villages are situated half way up steep cliffs, a unsighted road for access. Otztal is hemmed in by mountains with dappled white forests, Bludenz, (photos of the tops of mountains) has some really high peaks; Feldkirch snow is up higher as if it is lower than we’ve been.
Buchs: where Telstra can’t work out if you're in Liechtenstein (which is not an eligible International Roaming Day Pass destination) but where, luckily, they decide that you’re actually in Switzerland and send you an second message 10 seconds later saying it’s all okay, the International Roaming gremlins have found a suitable destination, you can make heaps of calls & they’ll charge you only $10 per day, to wit another text comes in with notification of said $10 each.
We’re winding & wending our way through narrow valleys, villages covered in snow, most things covered in snow, nearly too glarey to see. Clouds parting give us glimpse of the tips of mountains
The mountains are very one dimensional with snow on them, more like a painting, until an eagle swoops by, monochrome until houses display their bulk-buy yellowish exteriors, similar to the Germans white, the Czech off-yellow. Or until a bright red duel person helicopter flies past my window.
The last section of the trip between Sargans & Zurich is, without doubt, one of the most spectacular stretches of railway that I’ve witnessed. Enormous mountains covered with snow, crested & half hidden by cloud with lakes at their bases; absolutely breathtaking.
I’m sure there are more worthy railway trip than this but this one is right up there. We’ll just have to do the others; the Bernina Express & the Glacier Express (Switzerland), The Transalpin (from Graz (Austria) to Zurich (Switzerland) via Innsbruck (Austria), passing through Kitzbühel and the Swiss Alps) & maybe the Trans-Siberian Railway, (the world's longest railway, stretching over 9,300 km from Moscow to Vladivostok or visa verse).
Arriving and disembarking in Zurich we walk across the road to our home-like hotel, the Central Plaza Hotel, and unpack. It's nice to be back however it signifies that our European leg is coming to a close after 4 weeks.
We walk across the tram plaza and head to Chopsticks again for another great chinese feed, then walk further down the road to make a booking for Saturday night at the Spagetti Factory (which is full tonight) then off to bed.
Saturday was very wet and a bit of a non-day so other than dinner at the Spagetti Factory it was pretty relaxing.
Switzerland country side is incredibly beautiful, one of the reasons we return each trip, to try to take in a little more each time. Although a bleak day, we woke to 1 degree on Sunday and jumped on the train to Bern, our day-trip destination, which was to have a high of 7.
NOTE: In Switzerland & Austria nearly ALL shops are closed on Sundays, which makes it great for wandering around as there is literally no-one else there, though Vienna just has people everywhere. On the obverse side, there are hardy any shops for food or essentials other than those near a major railway station, so fast foods and limited chemists etc. except for Vienna where all restaurants are open.
Passing fields are really green & trees are a lot more evergreen than other places we've seen, snow is everywhere, on hills & mountains in the distance, and soon us.
Swiss railway leaves & arrives when they say, on the dot, so we disembark and head in the direction of the medieval centre. The capital city of Switzerland, Bern is built around a sharp bend in the Aare River & traces its origins back to the 12th century, with medieval architecture preserved in the UNESCO-listed Altstadt (Old Town).
We stop for a quick cuppa then made our way along the centre road of the river 'peninsula' in awe of the the Zytglogge (Clock Tower) and the medieval buildings stretching along both side of the road; stunning.
Once a city gate, the Zytglogge, the astronomical clock also known as the astrolabe, and the musical mechanism dating from 1530 have made the tower particularly famous, attracting people from all over the world.
We continue along this central street in wonder of the architecture, name retail outlets behind the arches and apartments above; it really is beautiful.
Veering off to the right, in order to get some bearing of our next destination, the Gurtenbahn, a funicular railway to take us to the top of the Gurten, a mountain situated just to the south of Bern. It is 858 metres high, and the summit has fantastic views of Bern, the Jura mountains and the Alps.
But other sights awaited us prior to this. Ambling above the Aare River, we came across houses perched on the side of the high river embankment, with terraced gardens and vegie patches making the most of the available land.
From the top of the river sides we could see the Gurtenbahn but it looked too far to walk, even if we could find our way. Deciding a taxi was the only way, we headed off but stumbled into an old church with an open door, and proceeded to have a look. Though being renovated outside, the interior was stunning.
Heading back to where we started today's tour, the railway station, we noticed a taxi rank on a side street. A VIP taxi driver was great, dropping us at the Grutenbahn, then he went home (2kms away) asking us to call him when we were ready to be collected, a lovely gesture. We acquired tickets and, unfortunately, just missed the train. Waiting 15 minutes, we boarded and headed upwards, noticing the people walking up to the top, while it snowed. It was a quick ride, only a couple of minutes and we disembarked to snow covered grounds, trees and any surface that we could see, including us. It was beautiful.
There are a couple of restaurants, a hotel & spa, some kids miniature railway rides & play things & plenty of walking and mountain bike riding trails available to anyone who wishes to amuse themselves. We had previously looked at the available menus and decided to head back down to ground level while joggers & bike riders raced down the mountain, riders absolutely coated in mud by the time we meet them at the bottom funicular station.
Our VIP driver collected us & dropped us back to the station where were boarded our train, this time solidly packed with passengers, and we made our way back to Zurich; a fantastic day all round.
Monday
It's wet and cold, we're packing as we fly to Singapore & Koh Samui tomorrow to warm up. There will be one last post soon, but thanks for following our travels, our thoughts and all your kind feedback. See you when we get home, unless you're Seb and we'll see you tomorrow. Luv yous all!!
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