Glacier Express to Zermatt

Day five, and I’m travelling first class on the Glacier Express from St Moritz to Zermatt. Once again, panoramic windows give the feeling of weightlessness as we glide through awe-inducing scenes. A delicious two-course lunch is served; the waiter tells me I’m on the ‘slowest express train in the world’. ‘How much more slowly do we have to travel,’ I ask, ‘so that it never ends?’ He smiles politely, ‘Aah,’ he says, ‘for this we have an excellent, sparkling Riesling.’ Close enough. Day six, Zermatt to the summit of the Gornergrat (10,134ft) aboard the highest open-air cogwheel railway in Europe. As we approach the summit, we pass above the clouds – catching sight of the crook-peaked Matterhorn against a perfect blue sky. No words.