We came back to Switzerland to one of the oldest towns, Chur (pronounced core as in apple core), after travelling the length of Italy, to meet up with friends then catch the Glacier Express to Zermatt.
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| Chur |
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| Chur |
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| Chur |
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| Gate to the old centre of Chur |
On the Sunday our friends Jane and Smon came out from Zurich so we could spend the day exploring the Ruinaulta Rhine Gorge. This was accessed by bus to Flim then a 10km hike to catch the bus again back towards Chur.
Europe is blessed with many walking trails and conveniently placed restaurants along the way as we were to discover when the rain started - heavily at times!
One of the first hints of Switzerland's glacial past is this lovely little glacial lake.
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| Lag lu Cauma |
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| Lag lu Cauma |
Further along the track we came to The Viewing Platfrom II Spir. This afforded a magnificent view of the Ruinaulta Rhine Gorge.
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| Viewing platform |
We were to see this platform again the next day but from the train this time.
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| The Glacier Express |
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| The Glacier Express |
Next day we had our appointment with the Glacier Express through to Zermatt.
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| The Glacier Express at Chur |
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| Ruinaulta Rhine Gorge |
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| The top of the pass |
Descending from the pass, the route does not follow any main roads and passes through some nice countryside and small villages. The track is only for passenger services, vital in winter.
The train stops at Disentis/Muster and is split in two so that cog locomotives can be attached for the remainder of the journey. The descent into Andermatt is quite spectacular and slow. The Glacier Express is said to be the world's slowest express train. I wouldn't want it to be any faster.
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| Andermatt |
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| On the way from Visp up to Zermatt. |
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| The Matterhorn from Zermatt. |
Zermatt is car free but well served by frequent train services. Four Glacier Expresses each each way per day plus several local services per hour, down to Visp and Brig to link up with rest of the network.
More photos of the Matterhorn can be found here.
Being a premier ski resort there are many cable cars to choose from as well as the train up to Gornegrat to get out into the mountains.
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| The head for the valley from Gornegrat |
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| Retreating glaciers seen from Gornegrat |
From Gornegrat there are 29 peaks over 4,000 m high. The Matterhorn stands at 4478m but is not the highest mountain in Switzerland. In fact it is the tenth highest peak. (Monte Rosa at 4,634m is the highest in Switzerland.)
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| Gail at Gornegrat |
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| John at Gornegrat |
From Gornegrat is an easy walk down to Rifflesee and then to catch the train again at Rotenboden.
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| The Matterhorn near Rotenboden |
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| The Matterhorn from Riffelsee |
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| Riffelsee and the mountains at the head of the valley at Gornegrat |
From Rotenboden it is a short ride on the train down to Riffelberg where more alpine wonders await.
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| The Matterhorn from Riffelberg |
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| Zermatt from Riffelberg |
After a very pleasant day in the mountains we went back to Zermatt to recharge and get ready for another full day going all the way up to Klein Matterhorn and the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise at 3,883 m. This will come later in the next blog but will have to wait until September at least as we get ready for a month around China starting tomorrow.
The next day's adventures can be found here.
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