SWITZERLAND ON A RAIL PASS

....a further two hours train travel took us beyond Zurich almost to Switzerland’s eastern border. In four days we had crossed the country from West to East and now it seemed that in as many hours we could be in four different countries.

I flew into Geneva and by the time we had taken off from Zurich five days later I had sampled more of Switzerland than I thought possible.

The magic ingredient that made it all happen was the Swiss Travel Card that you can use on train, bus and boat.

You don't really need a car. Actually Geneva is a city where parking is difficult and a car is more of a nuisance than a help.

Fortunately you can move around easily and get a flavour of the city by travelling on the articulated trams that bend their way around the streets. You can ride on any of them for three Swiss francs an hour.

A good trip might be to take a number 13 or a 12 tram which runs all the way from “United Nations” area, through the town.

The big attraction in summer is Lake Geneva where the fountain spouts up to 122 metres high.

If you want to enjoy the lake you can travel on one of the ships that crisscross it or, if you have lots of energy, you can cycle round the lake (or part of it) on a borrowed bicycle. You leave a 50 SF deposit.

Following a fun evening spent yodeling with a large party of Japanese tourists at the Edelweiss Restaurant I we set out to find a more authentic Switzerland.

La Chaux-de-Fonds.
More or less sticking a pin in the little map that came with my Swiss travel pass we boarded our first Swiss train and watched the countryside slip by until near Lake Neuchâtel we came to the “Valley of the Watches” and La Chaux-de-Fonds. The name means “The fountain in the pastures.” Now if that tag has a rural feel to it let me explain that things have moved on. It is now the highest city in Switzerland.

Close to the watch making factories in the industrial estate we visited an old farmhouse museum. Entry to the “Musée Paysan et Artisannal” costs 6 SF A peat fire burns and a pleasant aroma permeates the wooden building.

Craft work is on display and on the upper floor in addition to children’s toys from an earlier age you find a watchmaker’s workshop. Light from the largest windows in the house enabled the precise and delicate work.

Watch making became a major occupation during the winter the snow blanketed the ground and most farming activates were not possible

.

In town we found one of the best designed museums in Switzerland.

The Musé International D’Horlogerie contains over 3000 time pieces, from sand clocks and sundials to the most modern chronometers.

To get the best out of it, make sure that you join a guided tour.

You can easily become hooked on the history of time measurement and marvel at the ingenuity of our ancestors

La Chaux-de-Fonds is laid out in a Manhattan style grid pattern.

Well most of it is, take the lift to the viewing platform on fourteenth floor and beyond the Grande Fountaine you look out over the roofs of the old town.

Interesting shops there included Gre des Saveurs in the Place du Marche where you could sample different bottles of locally produced alcohol, the once banned Absinthe.

The label says it’s from "the land of the fairies." Drink too much of it and you will undoubtedly go there! The place also sells over 30 different cheeses “Tete de Moine” being one of the strongest.

Solothurn

Flexing our Swiss Travel Card we boarded a gleaming express train and left behind the French speaking part of Switzerland.

Early the next morning our footsteps echoed on the narrow cobbled streets in the ancient walled town of Solothurn.

Apart from the occasional buzz from the Bridget the post lady’s little motorbike, all was quiet and we seemed to be alone.

 

Then wandering through the narrow alleys we suddenly found ourselves amid the colour and clamor of the morning market.


We were awash with the sound of the German tongue as hausfraus filled their shopping bags with vegetables and folk sipped coffee at the outdoor cafes surrounded by a plants and flowers.

Above our heads an ancient astronomical clock chimed and the figures of a skeleton and a knight turned on the hour.


The "Zeitglockenturm, " as it is called, was just one of the attractions amid the ornate fountains, towers, and chapels.

 

Around the corner was the Arsenal which is now a museum but once supplied all that was once needed for war. It currently contains armour for 400 men.

The city’s wealth was founded on supplying mercenary soldiers, guns and cannons.

The whole walled town seemed like a set for a period film and just as we were leaving there was an added splash of colour as a bridal party stepped out on to the imposing stairway of the St Urs Cathedral.

It sparkled in the sun like a white and gold wedding cake.

 

 

St Gallans & Lake Constance.

A further two hours train travel took us beyond Zurich almost to Switzerland’s eastern border, to St Gallans near Lake Constance.

In four days we had crossed the country from East to West now it seemed that in as many hours we could be in four different countries.


Austrian, German, Swiss flags flew on the boats that crossed the lake and there was a connection with the post bus to Liechtenstein.

Europe’s largest lake looked almost like an inland sea.

Between us and the distant shores there were hundreds of yachts and people waved from speed boats or dived from pedal boats.

St Gallans would have made a good base for further travel within Switzerland. One of the most beautiful rail trips you could make would take you to Saint Moritz on the Glacier express.

You could see the mountains, visit the French part of Switzerland and come back via Berne and Zurich. There are very many good connections and in only 1 hr 20 minutes you could be in the Italian part of Switzerland, so all sorts of day trips are possible.

Of course you would have to leave time to explore St Gallans itself.

In the city centre a hundred ornate balconies adorn the houses and businesses of the former merchants. 1900 to 1907 was the blooming period of the textile industry and more than 50 per cent of all embroidered material was produced there.

It was exported to the whole world, from New York to Moscow and because of the bustling commerce the post office and the railway station remain as rather grand buildings.

It was an euphoric period with some 42 millionaires in the town.

Nowadays the textile industry still exists but has been over taken electronics, banking and by high-tech endeavors.

The textile museum has a wonderful collection. There are some 2 million patterns in the library. It is not just a question of looking back, but of seeing what is to come. They have what is being produced today so you can see which fabric the top fashion designers will be using for the next season.

To Zurich Airport via the mountains

One bonus that takes some of the pain out of travel is being able to do your airport check-in at the railway station.

At 9.30am I got the boarding card, selected my seat for the plane, and handed in my luggage

If you are using the Swiss Travel Card you can plan an interesting route to the Airport. Before my flight home from Zurich Airport (18.15) and no longer the prisoner of my baggage I took the little red train from the front of St Gallan's station up to Appenzell.

From the wide picture windows I watched as we climbed steeply up and passed through little villages.
At one point the train ran long the main street passing people sitting out at cafe table. On the speaker a dulcet toned voice announced the station and halts that were about to approach.

At first we passed smart houses with neat trimmed lawns and shiny cars, then we climbed up into the hills. Sheep with bells watched us pass and the train hooted as it approached remote stops. Every few minute a fresh halt was called out. At one, a local got up and pressed the button by the door and the train stopped for him.

Creamy, dreamy, brown cows contemplated our passing. Wood stacked high beside the houses gave a hint of the change that the snows of winter would bring, but now, in the summer sun all was lush and bright.

At Appenzell there was time to stroll the streets of wooden houses before catching another train that took us a few minutes up the line to Jakosbad.

The friendly driver slid down his windows and confirmed, "Yes the trains run every 30 minutes and you can travel to Gossau and pick up an express to Zurich Airport"

Once his train had glided onwards and upwards I crossed the line and showing my coveted Swiss Travel Card got a 50 per cent reduction on the cable car up to Kronberg.


It runs every half hour and by 11 am I was swinging skywards with a collection of walkers and potential para-gliders who carried their chutes in massive back packs.

We were an international bunch and enjoyed the trip as we looked down on diminutive farms and trees.

Decanting the summit we viewed a panorama of peaks, it felt like the top of the world.

One of the walkers, the friendly wife of an hotelier from Dubai consulted their map and we learned that we were five and a half thousand feet above sea level. It felt good.

I envied them their walk down though the trees and also the hang glider's flight looked exciting but I had to leave before they prized themselves away from the cafe and launched themselves off the peak.



An alternative thrill was available at the foot of the mountain where a toboggan ride on steep twisting metal rails attracted a few brave customers.

I had to forego that too and within minutes I was on the train and on schedule to make the connection. The fast double decker express had me gliding in arm chair comfort, swiftly and peacefully towards the airport and the end of the visit.

I wanted to stay, my appetite had been whetted and there was so much more to see.

Yes it all worked like clockwork, but then it was Swiss.

Report & pictures by Allan Rogers

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FACT FILE

Switzerland Travel Centre Ltd:
International Freephone (00800 100 200 30), Freefax (00800 100 200 31)
or standard BT Line: 020 7420 4900

Email: info.uk@myswitzerland.com Internet: www.MySwitzerland.com
Switzerland Travel Centre Ltd. 1st floor, 30 Bedford Street, London, WC2E 9ED

Geneva celebrates Lake Parade - July 15, 2006 / Geneva Summer Festival - August 3-13, 2006
http://www.geneva-tourism.ch/

Watch Valley & La Chaux-de-Fonds
http://www.neuchateltourisme.ch


Solothurn
http://www.solothurn-city.ch

St Gallen
http//:www.st.gallen-bodensee.ch

Swiss International Air Lines
SWISS operates daily flights from London City to Geneva, Basel and Zurich. Fares start from £85 return, including all airport taxes. For reservations call 0845 601 0956 or visit www.swiss.com/uk