8-Hours Train Ride from Zermatt to St Moritz With Glacier Express

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Though a trip to Zermatt might seems unrewarding one as we're unable to peek a single glimpse of the notable mountain of Matterhorn, but we'll love to return to this lovely village again someday. After spending 3 days 2 nights in Zermatt, we then on board with Glacier Express's journey, the world's slowest express train where it takes more than 8 hours to travel between Zermatt and St. Moritz.  

BASIC INFORMATION FOR TAKING GLACIER EXPRESS 

1) Advance Booking Is Required 

Glacier Express is quite popular, especially among the foreign visitors. Hence, it is advisable to purchase the tickets up to two months in advance. Thankfully, this Glacier Express journey is included in the Swiss Travel Pass, or else it's will break your wallet. However do take note that, the seat reservation is mandatory and you need to pay additional fee for it. 

You can select your preferred seat from this website. 

2) Which Side of Train Seat Is Better?

Oh well, this is kinda a tough question and it's really hard for me to justify which is better cause I personally think, both side offer exceptionally beautiful view as Glacier Express features enormous panoramic side windows with glass skylight. 

The seat configuration for 2nd Class is arranged 2+2 with a table in between whereas 1st Class car seats are 2+1. Therefore, try to grab the window seat immediately once the reservation is opened to the public for booking.    

3) Pack Food and Drinks On Board

Unless you don't mind paying the hefty price for the food and drinks served in the train, then don't forget to pack and bring some food, snacks and drinks (including beers too) before getting on board for the long journey train ride. 

4) Board The Train Early

This is because the luggage space is pretty limited and if you have huge luggages, you might find difficulty in putting your luggages if everyone is ahead you. Another perk of getting on the train early is where you can shamelessly take hundreds, or even thousands of photos of yourself without anyone photobombing it. 

5) Glacier Express Doesn't Run All Year Round

There is no Glacier Express service at all from mid of October to early of December. Fret not, you still enjoy the exact same view from normal regular regional train - just that you can't experience in the 180-degree glass view. 

TRAIN RIDE ON GLACIER EXPRESS

Now, come and join me on board together on this magical train ride across over 290 bridges and through 91 tunnels. With fascinating glimpses of idyllic mountain ranges, the train winds its way through remote valleys, past sheer rock faces and through the deep Rhine Gorge, the Grand Canyon of Switzerland. 

Details of the train display board 

Glacier Express Second Class

Free headphone is given for each passenger for audio guide and radio too

Audio guide is available in different languages such as German, French, Italian, English, Chinese and Japanese

Finally after 7 and half hours, we have reach St. Moritz but we didn't intend to overnight here. We then continue our train ride to Zurich.  

Commemorative certificate for complete the almost 8-hours train ride

(You can get this for free from the sales counter in Zermatt and St. Moritz)

My next post is about Zurich as both of us decided to skip St. Moritz. 

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Zermatt, A Car-Free Village in Switzerland

<< Previous Post: Lake Blausee, One of The Most Beautiful Lakes in Switzerland << 

From Interlaken, we proceeded to the next popular place of Switzerland which is Zermatt where my husband and I are going to spend 2 nights here. Besides being well-known for a car-free village, the most impressive mountain of Matterhorn is situated here in Zermatt. 

HOW TO GET TO ZERMATT

Probably the best way to get in Zermatt is by taking train since one is not allowed to drive the car around Zermatt. It takes 2 and half hours from Interlaken or Basel and more than 3 hours from Zurich or Geneva. Do take note that there is no direct train and it requires a change at Vsip. All these routes are covered under Swiss Travel Pass. In case you are driving with car, you need to park at Täsch.

#1: Zermatt, a car free village 

GET AROUND ZERMATT

The village of Zermatt is practically very small with three main streets that run along the banks of the river Vispa. Generally, it takes roughly 20 minutes walk to wander around the village. 

But if you are not fit enough, you can opt for the small solar-powered buses that will take you from one end of town to another at every 8-10 minutes. 

#2: If you are not fit to walk around Zermatt, you can take small solar-powered bus

#3: Many high-end hotels provide shuttle services using small electric cars. 

EXPLORING AROUND ZERMATT

Our main purpose of visiting Zermatt is to take the train to Gornergrat to admire the magnificent mountain view of Matterhorn. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't on our side where the mountain was so shy hiding behind the cotton cloud and it was snowing heavily throughout our visit there. And because of that, we just leisurely wandered around the main street (Bahnhofstrasse) in order to kill our time in Zermatt. 

#4: Too bad that the weather wasn't on our side and we're unable to view Matterhorn 

#5

#6: Souvenir stores 

#7: Zermatt's main street (Bahnhofstrasse)

#8: Finally we managed to try the famous Cheese Fondue 

#9: We dined-in at this Walliserkanne restaurant

#10: There are some shops and restaurants in Switzerland only accept cash 

#11: Zermatt at night 

OUR STAY IN ZERMATT

Zermatt-Residence Patricia 

Date Stayed: 2 May - 4 May 2022 (2 nights)

Room Rate: RM1,190 for Studio with Matterhorn view (Booked from Booking.com)

There is no reception and all hotel guests need to do self check-in at the machine near the main entrance. You need to pay the city tax by using card only (debit and credit cards are acceptable) and therefore, cards are very crucial when travelling to Switzerland. In other word, it's wise to bring both cash and cards cause there are some restaurants only accept cash. 

#12: The hotel guest need to pay the city tax before getting the room key 

#13: Less than 10 minutes walk from Zermatt main train station 

#14: Love the balcony with marvelous view 

Things I Like About This Accommodation: 

• A kitchenette well-equipped with basic utensils and kettle. 
• There is a coffee machine and also balcony with a scenic views of the mountain 
• A seating area with a sofa bed

Things I Dislike:

• Because there is no reception, you can't left your luggage within the property. 
• The bathroom is pretty small and there's no bathtub as advertised on the website. 

#15: If I have the chance to return to Switzerland, definitely will come back to Zermatt again for Matterhorn. 

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Lake Blausee, One of The Most Beautiful Lakes in Switzerland

 << Previous Post: Day Trip To Vevey and Geneva <<

We packed our bags after staying in Interlaken for 3 nights. Before heading to the next stay, I decided to dropby and visit Lake Blausse, one of the most renowned and stunning alpine lakes in Switzerland. At first, my husband was quite reluctant to go but he has no choice as I'm tour planner for the entire trip. 

HOW TO GET TO LAKE BLAUSSE

From Interlaken (Ost/West), it takes nearly 1.5 hours to reach Lake Blausse by both trains and bus. Do take note that there is no direct train and it requires transfer at Spienz before reaching at Frutigen. And after arriving at Frutigen, catch the bus 230 towards Kandersteg and after 10-12 minutes of the bus ride, you will see Blausse on the right side of the bus. And that's where you need to alight. If you have the Swiss Travel Pass, all of these are covered under the pass. 

The entrance fee is CHF10 for adult and CHF6 for children age between 6-15. It's free for children below 6 years old. You can purchase the tickets at the main entrace (don't have to worry about buying in advance or pre-book).  

Opening Hours: 9am to 9pm all year-round 

#1: Catch bus 230 from Frutigen Train Station to reach Lake Blausse 

#2

#3

#4: The boat ride is included in the admission fee. Hence, don't miss it when you are visiting this lake. 

#5: Crystal clear turquoise-blue colour lake  

According to the legend, there was a once a young maiden who fell in love with a young shepherd. However, the young shepherd tragically passed away while out in the mountains. The maiden rowed out onto the lake by herself to mourn everyday. One night, her boat sank and from that moment on, legend goes that the lake had changed its color to turquoise-blue due to the tears from the maiden’s blue eyes. You can spot a statue of a maiden in the middle of the lake.  

#6: Statue of a maiden in the water

#7: The beauty about Blausee goes beyond its looks

#8: Cost-saving tips - Bring your own lunch and you can have a picnic there 

#9: Do check the bus timetable in advance as the bus only departs every hourly. 

After spending approximately less than 2 hours exploring and wandering around Lake Blausee, we then went back to Interlaken in order to get our luggage bags where we left them in the accommodation we stayed. And then, we're heading to Zermatt where we'll going to spend another 2 nights there. 

>> Next Post: Zermatt, A Car-Free Village in Switzerland >>

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Panorama Bridge Sigriswil

 << Previous Post: Bernese Oberland - Lauterbrunnen, Mürren and Grindelwald <<

Right after we have done with our trip visiting Lauterbrunnen, Mürren and Grindelwald in Bernese Oberland, we didn't straight go back to our stay in Interlaken. This is because my husband suddenly came up with another impromptu plan (again!) which I didn't list in my tentative itinerary. If you are a big fan of K-dramas, I bet that you will know Switzerland is well-known for "Crash Landing On You (CLOY)" and both of us had been and bumped into few of the filming locations such as the one in Interlaken and Iseltwald. And now, my husband was on his way to catch another filming spot which is the Panorama Bridge Sigriswil (locally known as Panoramabrücke Sigriswil). 

HOW TO GET TO PANORAMA BRIDGE SIGRISWIL FROM INTERLAKEN

The journey from Interlaken West to Panorama Bridge Sigriswil will takes at least 40 minutes ride by bus. From Interlaken West, take bus 21 towards Thun, Bahnhof and alight at Gunten, Bahnhof. Then, continue by hopping on bus 25 towards Sigriswil, Dorf and get down on the last stop. You can see the bridge by then. All these are covered under Swiss Travel Pass.    

Unless you are 16 or below, it's actually not free for the public to crossover this suspension bridge. A visitor need to pay CHF8 (approx. to RM32) but if you are staying in Interlaken and the host provides you with an Interlaken Visitor's Card, then you can use it to get a discount of CHF1. 

Despite the cloudy weather in the morning when we're in Bernese Oberland, we're truly blessed with a clear-far-reaching views overlooking the spectacular Lake Thun with the backdrop of the Bernese Alps during our time in Sigriswil.  

Credit to KKday

Credit to Klook

Thanks to CLOY, Panorama Bridge Sigriswil has becoming the latest and top attraction among the foreign visitors where the local don't even understand the hype behind this. 

This suspension bridge is pretty strong and stable and if you are not afraid of height just like me, challenge yourself to cross over it to another town. However for the faint of heart, I will advise not to do so. 

Is it worth to go and visit Panorama Bridge Sigriswil? Only if you have plenty of time and nothing to do, then you may go for it. Do take note that the bus rides takes more than 40 minutes from Interlaken to get there. Or else, you may skip this, frankly speaking.  

Finally, we had our first gelato in Switzerland (exact location: Interlaken)

>> Next Post: Day Trip To Vevey & Geneva >>

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