PhotoLink-O
4/18/18
We leave the tour and strike off on our own. Yay!!
We had our last Viking breakfast at the Renaissance. Pat made arrangements for two taxis to take us to the Hofbahn. Of course, one driver delivered to the west side and the other to the east side, so it took a while to get together.
Then we made our BIG mistake. We had noted that the train to Chur would depart from platform 7. So we hopped on the train just arriving at platform 7, which soon departed for someplace else.
Helpful passengers showed us how to change at Thalwil and get back onto our train which was following (thank goodness) on the same track. Then they helped us unload our luggage from the train.
We boarded the correct train to Chur (with help again) without further event. The ride along the Zurichsee was nice, and we started seeing hills to the south, and finally mountains to the southeast.
Then the Viking gang with whom we are no longer associated came along and clogged the platform making it hard for us to get to the right coach. But with station men and others helping, we ascended the beast and proceeded on the famous Glacier Express (the slowest express in Europe) to see the scenery at a leisurely pace.
We went from 2,000' to 6,000' to 2,000' to 6,000' in six hours Chur-to-Zermatt. We had our three-course dinner of soup, pork with plums and spaetzle, and cherry cake with a glass or two of red. We took many pictures of the beautiful mountain scenery and the Swiss buildings but had to discard many due to the strong reflections from the glass windows.
It continued cautiously down to the valley floor. There were then stops a Brig and Visp. From Visp it was all uphill to Zermatt, with the gradiant being as large as 12.5%. Wonderful scenery all along the route. At one point we saw a deer navigating across a snow field.
We pulled into the Zermatt station in great weather and decided to walk to the hotel - 200 meters or so. It's a funky Best Western named Butterfly. Checked in without problem and ascended to our floor in a two-person plus luggage elevator without a safety door on the inside. Spooky at first. The room, though, is huge. It has a small deck and large bath with all the usual amenities. This will be good.
D & I went to the bar for a glass and seated ourselves in a little corner bench around behind the bar. Great little nook for the two of us. The others came along soon. We decided to eat in the dining room here.
We were the only group in the place until we ordered at which time a Cosmos tour group and some others came in. The staff was hard-pressed for a while but we got our food quickly enough and it was more than filling. D had swordfish & I took penne a la arrabiata that was very spicy. We waddled out and down to the main street for a breath of air. Then we realized it was getting chilly and went back in to go to the room and settle in.
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PhotoLink-D
4/19/18
We lazed the early hours away since it was cool outside. Finally we took breakfast in the hotel and returned to the room. I was feeling less than well.
The others returned from their wandering so we established 1045 as the start-doing-it-hour.
We hiked the short distance from the hotel to the Gornergratbahn railway station to take the cog-wheel train to the 3100 meter level on the mountain Gornergrat. The claim is that you can see twenty-some peaks of 4000 meters or more from this vantage point. It gains 1500 meters of altitude in 10 km for an average gradient of 15% in 33 minutes time (same time both up and down).
The weather was beautiful. Temperature in the high 50's; the sun made it feel warmer. Little wind, no clouds, just perfect for us and the other viewers and the hundreds of skiers for whom this place is Mecca.
We took our places and the train took off. Well, stirred itself into motion. I don't think it ever did more than 15mph but that's ok on the gradients that must have been 20% or more in places.
There was a lot to see on the trip. First the Matterhorn became clearly visible as we rose out of the city. Later we saw all the things that let people have fun here - hang gliders, ski lifts & slopes, toboggans and whatever. There are four stops en route to the top where people can get off the train to gain access to these facilities.
On reaching the end of the railway you can do several things. The arrival level has WC's and a souvenir shop as well as the start of a ski run. You can walk to the next level up, or take an elevator, to the main building which contains a restaurant, a hotel, and another souvenir shop. And you can hike to the 3131 meter point that allows you to see all these mountains.
We took a mess of pictures at the arrival point then elevated to the main building. We then (except Val, treating her wounded knee) hiked up the muddy trail to the view point where we took many more pictures.
Noting would do then but to go to the souvenir shop near the train platform. More things were acquired. Then with all our goodies we got back on the train. This time we sat at the front end so we could be properly aware of the slope this thing descends. Rather amazing, really. We viewed more of the same things on the way down and took more pictures.
Back in Zermatt we lazed for a bit, then wandered for a bit. During our wander we checked the rail people to see if our ticket to Visp could be used on an earlier train - yes.
We then got together for dinner for the last time, so I called it the Last Supper to groans from the others. We ate at the Walliserkanne and very much enjoyed it. We chatted for a long time and then left. Some went to wander some more but D & I retired to our room to settle in.
Friday Zurich to Milan
4/20/18
We had breakfast and met our companions. They went off to get ready to depart while I did chores. I took a poster and a postcard to the post office for mailing to the states. Then I found a replacement case for my iPhone 5s in a shop and bought that.
The companions came down so we said our good-byes and watched them go. We found out later they made it to their hotels next to the Zurich airport. A little later we moved to the lobby, checked out and waited comfortably until the electric vehicle took us to the Zermatt station.
We went down from Zermatt to Visp nicely on a local train and changed platform. Great weather. The EuroCity 57 came along 10 minutes late. We had nice seats on the one-seat side across a table from each other. Nice train, comfortable & speedy.
We got to Brig in only a few minutes. Departing Brig we immediately went into the 19km Simplon tunnel and popped out in Italy. The tracks paralleled Lake Como for a long ways - very beautiful. We had a small bottle of wine to celebrate.
Then we got to Milano Centrale around 1630 on Friday afternoon in gorgeous weather. I’ve never seen a mess of people like that. Never again will I use Milano Centrale like this.
We got directions to taxis (down two floors, right) and went there. A small Fiat picked us up. I showed him the address & he fluttered positively so away we went.
Traffic. Honk. Motorcycles. Cars. Buses. Trams. Really tricky turning right across the parallel service road. Wow. Our driver was the perfect Italian - he held his phone to his ear with his left hand. With his right hand he gestured mightily in conversation, occasionally shifting, and steering when required to miss something.
But we got there, some 8km for 18 Euro, not bad. We will continue to use taxis in this place.
We checked in, stowed some stuff and went down for a glass. We sat in the open courtyard and congratulated ourselves on making it.
After conversation, we looked at shirts in a sales area, then went to a light dinner in the dining room. The food was good and just enough not to overwhelm us. Tiramisu and coffee ended it.
Back to the sales area to get a shirt. Checked with the desk to find out how to time our start tomorrow. Then we settled in for the night. It was a good day.
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