I woke before the alarm this morning and went onto the balcony to see a clear pale blue sky with with a sheer curtain of mist revealing a great big snow covered Mont Blanc and her friends. Rushes of gutted, thrilled, and feelings of awe passed over me. Typical – the day we leave it looks perfect. When Vern got up later he said that it could change really quickly as we seriously debated cancelling out Luzern, and extending our day here and going straight to Milan early. The weather for Chamonix is still forecast for the same as yesterday, with thunder this afternoon, and Luzern and our scenic rail trip from Montreaux to Luzern is forecast for rain all the way, and for tomorrow. We are beginning to feel unfortunate as far as weather is concerned this holiday – or we have been very fortunate on our other trips. Decision to continue on, and just hope for another opportunity in the future.
We checked out bang on time and tried to grab some takeaway breakfast downstairs. Despite breakfast not being open until 7:30 the Chinese contingent were in full swing and there was not a baguette or yoghurt in sight! It was such a pig trough. I quickly got a chunk of cheese, a slice of ham and a couple of small pastries which we wrapped in a serviette and stepped outside into the beautiful crisp morning air to make our way to the train station. Determined not to miss this connection as we had lots of changes and a scenic leg to catch we set a good pace for our 12 minute walk to the station.
The mist keep rolling around the valley and rising in whisps to curl around the peaks above. The lack of people and traffic made the morning even more refreshing. We got our train in good time and commenced one of the most scenic journeys we have been on. The train called the Mont Blanc Express is a small electric that takes you from Chamonix to Martigny with changes at Vallorcine. We will change again at Martigny for Montreau and there for the Golden Pass to Luzern.
Total journey time for the Mont Blanc express is a slow 2.5 hours winding gently and slowly along valleys and then climbing up and along the sides of gorges. We passed through wooded areas of graceful pine with their curving branches and golden green morning light and mist filtering through creating a painting of dreamy hazy light and dappled shadows. Spectacular tall rugged mountains with varying coverings of snow punctuate the sky line with particularly dramatic appearances as we emerge from frequent tunnels. I have taken little spots of video, but words and description I am finding difficult to articulate as I type this as I travel – as its just so wow. This rail line was such a delightful surprise and experience it has helped ease the disappointment of not having a clear day up in the mountains yesterday.
Chamonix I believe is more Swis than French looking, but lacks the tidiness of a pure Swiss alpine town. As you leave Chamonix, it becomes increasingly Swiss and arriving in Martigny there is no doubt you are on the Swiss side. Set in a valley it looks a nice place to visit – waterfalls, and walks, lots of mixed agriculture and horticulture and some bigger industry – certainly more affluent than the French side.
We had about 45 minutes to pick up our tickets that we had ‘reserved’ the other night. The lady at the ticket office at Montreux was very friendly and efficient and was able to issue our Gotthard express tickets as well and book us through to Milan. On top of that excellent service she offered to print out our reservation sheet which we needed to show to the train attendant when she saw we were having some issues connecting to wifi, and there is no wifi on the Golden express. She also printed our Gotthard reservation sheet. Quiet frankly I doubt we would have got half that level of help or a smile in France! We used the free time to have a coffee and snack (vegan wrap) and a quick walk to a supermarket around the corner (where we shopped last time) to grab some pre-made salads and drinks for the trip.
Montreaux is also a show off town but on a far grander scale than Annecy – the beautiful lake Geneva is also nestled inside mountainous ranges. Grand 18th century buildings line the lake and flower pots and displays are in abundance with an accent on glorious pink and red geraniums. We remembered fondly our visit here in 2013 and walk along the lake to Chinnon castle, it is a very classy and wealthy town. The golden pass trip lasts 5 hours and will take us through chocolate box scenery. We are on a panorama carriage, first class – but not the special front carriage like our last trip as that only runs at 9 am and 3pm – neither of those times suited our connection from Chamonix this time. Whilst we have done this trip in grand style before, we only went as far as Lauterbrunnen – which was a little over half of the way; this time we go all the way to Luzern so there will be plenty of new scenery – not that we mind seeing the first leg again at all.
When I describe the journey as chocolate box or perhaps typical jig saw puzzle Swiss scenery I see – soft green meadows and hills, declarative dark wooden houses with large single gabled roofs and carved window boxes and balconies, some with red wooden window shutters, all with flower boxes dominating in red. Fat brown cows with bells around their necks, alps, tall woodland trees, blue and green clear lakes and fast flowing light grey-green alpine rivers with big boulders creating white water. Onion dome churches with dark grey roofs and white washed bodies mark each village like a flag on a map. Rugged glacial mountains continue their appearance, no longer capped with snow, but spring green moss like down. Fir trees their arms drapes in dark green lace and joined by chestnut and poplar standing together in tall groups.
The first half of the Golden Pass from Montreaux to Interlaken went quickly and was still enjoyable second time around. There was less snow about, and higher green grass up the mountains. The Thun lake which is on then east of Interlaken was bluer this time and looked so inviting from the train window. I managed to click off just as many photos as last time, enjoying the Swiss-ness of it all. The second half of the journey from Interlaken to Luzern was all new and interesting. The lake on the other sideof Interlaken is called the Brienz and it looked greener than its sister Thun to the east side of the town, and as we got further along it seemed to turn into a beautiful turquoise despite the sky starting to get a bit cloudy. The valley also had some magnificent waterfalls spilling down into the lake and rivers which reminded me of the Lauterbrunnen valley where we stayed before not far away over a hill or two.
After passing through Brienz, the train started to climb alongside and up a decent hill to then pass through some idyllic towns in valleys and another couple of small lakes. I spent a good deal of the day from 7:50am when we left Chamonix to when we arrived in Luzern at 5pm going oh my gosh, oh my goodness, and jumping up going back and forth between sides of the train (we had plenty of room to do so) – taking pictures and video – flicking between camera and iPad. It was almost too much – constant eye candy to feast on all day long.
The tickets for the Golden pass were 175 CH each – so times that by 1.5 for NZD. Is it good value? Well that depends – no – in respect of you don’t even get a bottle of water free, and the royal in me does not like to share my first class backside with a second class toilet seat in another carriage; no separate toilet facilities, no wifi. I would expect more for first class seats. Experience wise? Yes – you would not get to see such scenery in comfort and as much in one day in all those inaccessible places. The price is high, but you have no other choice – unless you have a lot of time to do it yourself. Yes they are milking the tourist but I guess they can so they do? We were happy to do it twice and accept that it is what it is.
Arriving in Luzern the weather started to rumble with thunder as forecast and a light rain started just as we got to our hotel – a easy 1km walk from the station. First impressions are of a pretty and clean city and we are looking forward to a little explore tomorrow and a later start and easy day. The Ibis Styles like the Holiday Inn Express in Rotterdam is a semi budget business hotel but we got an upgrade and the check in service was really efficient and friendly. I hope breakfast is half as good as Rotterdam!
First thing we notices about Luzern is how expensive it is – a currywurst at the station was 7.50 and a pee in the toilet was 2 CH verses say 50 cents in other countries! So that’s 3.50 NZ to take a pee in a public facility – pity there is no woodland around LOL. We took ourselves out for dinner a short walk from the hotel as our days travel was great – but quite tiring with all the excitement and long hours on trains. It was mid range prices but still cost us 100 CH for a main course each and a shared dessert, bottle of water and one drink each. OUCH. The good news was it was very good – beautiful chicken and lamb dishes.
Well that’s me for tonight – over and out and ready for a nice big sleep.
Travels with Valrock 