Portfolio - Special Edition Switzerland

48 Special Edition Switzerland Swiss Travel System “A seven-hour trip that begins and ends in Switzerland? No thanks!” exclaimed my Swiss friend in Zurich. But for rail enthusiasts and tourists in search of Alpine heights, it’s a good match. The train’s zig-zag route traverses from Zermatt to St Moritz and glides over and through 291 bridges and 91 tunnels. It runs on the same tracks that the regular trains operate on, but it’s an uncommon route because of its high elevation. There are glaciers, lakes, vineyards, a river and waterfalls, even a lighthouse, all of which are pointed out by the Ipad audio system. But what isn’t on the iPad was even better. I spy a pair of deer that is munching grass in a meadow surrounded by arven trees, and later the elegant chocolate striped-faced of a chamois standing quietly on a fog-cloaked ridge. I’ve hiked these alps for a decade, so I felt I knew this Swiss landscape well, but the audio guide teaches me a lot more than I thought it would. As my train glides past the weathered Walliser mountain huts, I learn how hardscrabble sixth- century immigrants from the Allemani tribe of celts across the Rhine settled the landscape and became Wallisers. As we pass the village of Ritzingen, I discover that the Swiss culinary and hospital hero Cesar Ritz hails from the village. All the while, I tucked into pea mint soup topped with a dollop of double cream sprinkled with colorful wildflowers, and for a main dish, tender Swiss beef with fluffy mashed potatoes. The wines — Swiss, of course — were excellent too. A mineral white from Domaine de Chevaliers in Canton Valais makes a great aperitif, while a slightly oaked Lux Vina assemblage rouge is an ideal pairing for the beef. GOTTHARD PANORAMA EXPRESS In 2016, the Gotthard Base tunnel opened after 17 years of engineering. 57 kilometres long, it remains the world’s longest tunnel and connects Swiss German-speaking Canton Uri to Italian speaking Canton Ticino, from Göschenen to Airolo. This is also one of the fastest north south axis points in Europe, so it’s but somehow it looks slightly different each time. This train also dwells in the realm of Switzerland’s birthplace. It passes Altdorf and Bürglen, hometowns to demi-mythical Swiss hero William Tell and his son whose head he famously shot an apple off in exchange for freedom from the tyrannical Habsburg henchman, Albrecht Gessler. When Gessler refused the promised release, Tell allegedly assassinated him, kickstarting the Four Founding Forest Cantons, which led to the creation of the Confoederatio Helvetica and eventually the nation of Switzerland. The train recounts some of this and provides access points to the region’s historical sites like Tell hiking trail, the Schiller Stone, Tell’s Chapel, and the lakeside Rütli meadow where the oath was allegedly taken and today a favourite of tourists and classroom field trips alike. If making the full trip, you will complete it with a portion on a steamboat from Lucerne to Flüelen coursing over dazzling blue Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Lucerne) surrounded by a pastoral cow and hut- strewn mountains rich with green pasture and wildflower meadows. This is the storybook Alpine Switzerland that so many dream about and it delivers on every single count, even for locals like me who’ve seen it all a hundred times. Central Switzerland never fails to inspire and dazzle. GOLDEN PASS LINE Another scenic train line is the GoldenPass, running from Montreux to Zweisimmen (under Gstaad) and also on to Lucerne for 189 kilometres in just under five fours. used by many in northern and southern Europe to cross the Alps. The new tunnel cut down the journey time by over 45 minutes, and the subsequent Ceneri Tunnel opened in 2020, reducing the journey by another 30 minutes. But nostalgic train enthusiasts soon lamented the loss of alpine views and famous sights from the former tracks. Hence, the birth of the Gotthard Panorama Express, a heritage tourist train running on the existing tracks. No other train in Switzerland crosses such a magical threshold leading from the grey skies of the German-speaking Urner alps to the palm trees and sun-kissed steep- sloped hillsides ripe with merlot grapes in Switzerland’s Italian-speaking Ticino. These seams of Europe are a delight for geographers and travellers who like to study the nuances on each side, and the train offers several intimate views of mountain life, wild encounters, and audio calling out the highlights as you go. One such lamented loss was the Wassen Church in the village of Wassen. For southbound travellers over the last century, its oxidized onion-domed topped campanile was long a hint of what’s to come after the pass. Outside, the baroque church dating from the 18th century is a subdued mountain sanctuary. Inside, it’s a riot of gold leaf and catholic iconography few have witnessed. But nearly everyone in Switzerland has seen the outside multiple times because of the old double loop of the twisting track design. This makes the church visible three separate times on a single passing,