Magical Swiss train ride
PULLING out of Montreux Railway Station, the romance of rail had me all aglow. The rising sun was gilding the rooftops of the Belle Epoque hotels and the snowdusted peaks of the French
Alps, backdropping Lake Geneva’s eternal blue waters.
Riding Switzerland’s rails is my idea of European holiday bliss; its breathtakingly efficient and terraindefying train network constantly impresses. It’s a stressfree way to hopscotch between destinations, and the kaleidoscopic scenery transforms even the most jaded of travellers into snaphappy gluttons.
It was a crisp, clear November morning as my train chugged out of Montreux, climbing the thicklywreathed slopes of the Lavaux vineyard terraces, set against glinting peaks and a millpondsmooth lake. I virtually had the entire firstclass carriage to myself, with just Tom and Sharon, a charming couple from Melbourne, sharing my journey.
Spaciously seated within our glassed cocoon of comfort, we oohed and aahed like school children on a sugar hit, all the way to Interlaken.
Gloriously clear weather sans the crowds — there’s a lot to be said for offpeak travel!
The climb out of Montreux was strikingly steep, with the first 10km rising to 1110m, as those Unescoprotected vineyards, medieval watchtowers and ravishing country estates glided by the curving cogwheel track.
A fresh coating of snow carpeted the verdant green valleys, adding to the cinematic spectacle, as we delved deeper into the alpine hinterland. Spruce, fir and pine forests were mantled in snow, as we whizzed by plump dairy cows and weathered wooden chalets, half expecting Heidi to come skipping into view.
Rather surreally, the GoldenPass train threads its way through the heart of villages, right down the main street, bringing all vehicular traffic to a stop, as we peered intimately into the yards and homes flanking the track.
The elaborate carvings of the chalets seemed to get ever more impressive and ornate, as we tootled through Les Avants.
Noel Coward was so enchanted by this town when he visited in 1959 that he bought a chalet and spent the rest of his life here.
Clinging to the steep mountainside and crossing a multitude of bridges, we entered the long summit tunnel of Jaman, before soaking up more scenic spoils through Montbovon, the cheese region of Gruyere, Saanen, and Chateau d’Oex — which hosts the International Ballooning Festival every January.
Beautifully decorated chalets and the piercing spires of alpine church steeples abound in these parts. In picturesque Rossiniere, I swooned at the sight of the Grand Chalet — Switzerland’s largest, a fivestorey intricately carved and painted masterpiece constructed in the 1700s to produce cheese, complete with 113 windows.
This palatial construction, which became the home of the worldfamous artist Balthus, has hosted a rollcall of distinguished guests, from the Dalai Lama to David Bowie.
Further down the line, the enchantment factor meets all star glamour, glitz and Gucci in the highend alpine resort town of Gstaad.
As you pass from Frenchspeaking to Germanspeaking Switzerland, put the woodpile theory to the test. I’m convinced that while the Frenchspeaking residents stack their wood in freeform style, the Germanspeaking folk tidily pile wood with absolute precision.
The route’s highest point is at nearly 1300m at Saanenmoser, before changing trains on the wide valley floor at Zweisimmen.
Purring through the Simmen Valley to Spiez, halftimbered houses, sighinducing chalets and forested mountains studded this quintessential pastoral pocket of Switzerland. The stately 15thcentury Wimmis Castle lorded over us, like a valley sentinel, as we neared Spiez and Lake Thun.
One of nature’s own guards, the pyramidshaped might of Mt Niesen, shimmered in the early winter sun, casting its towering triangular shadow over the lake.
Interlaken beckoned ever closer, as we breezed by a host of seductive lakefront hamlets, like Faulensee and Leissigen. So many places, so little time.
For daytrippers on the GoldenPass line, a carefully choreographed change in trains at Interlaken leads you on to Luzern, but I had places to see and people to meet in
Interlaken first.
In the great alpine cradle of the Bernese Oberland region, Jungfraujoch and Schilthorn were calling me.
The full journey between Montreux and Luzern is just 210km, taking under four hours to complete. Interlaken is the halfway point.
Blessed with jawdropping topography, nature sets the stage for Switzerland’s fabled collection of scenic train journeys, including the Glacier Express, Bernina Express, Gotthard Panorama and the GoldenPass.
Do one of these legendary routes and you’ll be hooked, panging for your next hit.
The climb out of Montreux was strikingly steep, with the first 10km rising to 1110m, as those Unescoprotected vineyards, medieval watchtowers and ravishing country estates glided by the curving cogwheel
track