SWISS SENSATION! For thrilling Alpine scenery, hop aboard the Glacier Express, says Tony Hazell
STuCk in the middle of one of our drab, drearily mild winters I became desperate to see some real snow. Not a short sleety shower, but mountains of it, gleaming under clear blue skies. The Alps were calling and one trip had been beckoning for years — the Glacier Express, which climbs through the heart of Switzerland. Armed with two compact suitcases and an experienced tour guide, my wife and I set off with three dozen other travellers from the Eurostar terminal at St Pancras.
Now, I’ve been nervous about group holidays ever since taking a safari where I was squeezed into a Jeep with a woman who provided a booming commentary of everything we saw.
‘That lion’s so cute! Ooo, look at the little elephant swing his darling trunk!’ After two days, I was ready to eject her in front of a herd of stampeding buffalo.
Fortunately there have been no recorded sightings of elephants on the Alps since Hannibal crossed them 1,800 years ago.
So I felt reasonably safe embarking on this nine-night trip with Great Rail Journeys. And what a journey it was.
After an overnight stop in the picturesque Alsace town of Colmar, we headed to our base for four nights, Brig in south-west Switzerland.
Our first expedition was to fashionable Zermatt. We bypassed the clanking jewellery for the altogether more alluring prospect of a trip on the Gornergrat rack railway.
At the 3,120-metre summit we ate lunch while looking out towards the Matterhorn — that intimidating white shard which has claimed the lives of more than 500 climbers.
The next day it was Interlaken and then, via three trains which wended up through and beyond the clouds, to Jungfraujoch — at 3,454 metres the highest railway station in Europe.
We stepped on to the viewing platform to be battered by bitter winds. The temperature was minus 12c and wind chill pushed that down to minus 24.
Foolishly, I removed my gloves to take a couple of photographs and my hands began to go numb; my wife’s phone shut down in protest at the cold.
BuT nothing could take away the thrill of seeing snow-covered mountains peaking through the tops of the candyfloss layer of cloud to stand proud against the deep blue skies. The air was pure, the views breathtaking.
Sensibly, the trips up Jungfraujoch and Gornergrat are optional extras, as with less favourable conditions there would be nothing to see.
And so on to the highlight of our holiday — a first-class trip on the Glacier Express.
The full length of this line takes you from Zermatt in the west to St Moritz or Davos in the east in a leisurely seven hours crossing 291 bridges and entering 91 tunnels on the way.
Our journey on the world’s slowest express train would take four-and-ahalf hours from Brig to Switzerland’s oldest town, Chur.
The train is built for viewing the full panorama of the Alps scenery through extensive and beautifully clean windows (this is Swiss Railways, after all).
As we rose through the mountains our carriage was permeated by sighs of joy as fresh sights unfolded each time we turned a corner or emerged from a tunnel.
We were, our guide assured us, experiencing this journey at its very best. After weeks of overcast and dull weather, the clouds had cleared to cast the snow in stark relief against the blue skies.
Blown snow crystals floated in the breeze twinkling magically in the bright sunlight. In the distance we could see huge icicles hanging precariously from rocks. It was over all too soon.
The following morning we were off again, this time on the equally spectacular Bernina Express southwards to Poschiavo. The route took us over the Landwasser viaduct which stands 65 metres high and runs for 136 metres. Then up to more than 2,100 metres over the Bernina Pass. Here our guide alerted us to the watershed, where the Rhone heads in one direction towards France and the Rhine in the other towards Germany.
Cue a cacophony of camera shutters as we sought to capture the exact moment our carriage passed the landmark.
At this point, seeing the clear frozen lake Mrs Hazell squealed excitedly: ‘Look! There’s liquid ice!’ Bemused glances were cast in our direction.
Our holiday came to a perfect conclusion when snow arrived allowing us to use our free final day to trek through Christmascard woodland scenery.
I not only survived a group holiday, I found it a sheer delight. We were blessed with experienced travellers and were not held up once by a straggler.
From my fellow passengers I learned about photography and the dangers of taking a massage to alleviate skiing pains when you don’t share the language of your host — think hot cups, acupuncture and cultural misunderstandings.
A couple of tips. If you’re a keen photographer, it’s worth investing in a polarising filter to avoid reflections from the train windows.
And pack light. You’ll be hauling your case on and off trains to Switzerland. Once there, you’ll have casual dinners with laidback people so can do without that party dress and dinner suit. Lastly, enjoy every minute.