Luzern and the Glacier Express

Wednesday we were up at the crack of dawn...we were on our way to Andermatt to pick up the Glacier Express. But first we stopped in Luzern, another trip down memory lane for Gretchen and me. Things have certainly changed in the 21 years since we last saw this quaint little city. See video of Luzern.  The beautiful Chapel Bridge was as dramatic as ever, with very colorful flowers adorning it's entire length. We worked our way up to the medieval fortification wall, which gave a beautiful view of the city of Luzern and the lake.  Gretchen waited below while Brian, Pam and I climbed the tower and scampered along the ramparts. We completed our tour by crossing the quaint Spreuerbrucke covered bridge at the western end of Old Town.  While some things in Luzern seemed familiar to us, there were many more chi chi shops there than before, which were in stark contrast to their medieval surroundings.  See Luzern slide show.

From Luzern we took the train into the Alps to Goschenen, where we transferred to a cog railway up to Andermatt. There we met the famed Glacier Express on its way from Zermatt. A group had left the train at Andermatt, so we were fortunate to get seated together and had a good section of the car to ourselves. The weather was fantastic, and our glass-topped car afforded us spectacular views as we traversed the Oberalppass (the highest point on the Glacier Express at 2033 meters) and wended our way to St. Moritz. 

For details of the sights along the way, check out Brian and Pam's blog from April 4. However, much has changed since their trip in April, when everything was still snow covered. Now, we encountered lush green scenery with only occasional patches of snow on the highest peaks. To try to single out one or two highlights would not do justice to the rest of the trip. The steep climb from Bergen to Preda took us over several viaducts and through numerous switchbacks, as well as U-shaped and spiral tunnels, to climb 400 meters in just 10 km. See video of us going over the Landwasser viaduct (funny ending). Suffice it to say, the four and a half hour trip provided us with enough beautiful scenery to last us a lifetime.  See Glacier Express slide show.
 
Once in St. Moritz, we checked into the Crystal Hotel, in the center of the village. After a leisurely stroll around the village, we treated ourselves to a sumptuous repast of traditional Swiss fondue and raclette. Yummm! Stuffed to the gills with cheese, we relaxed in the hotel lounge with wine and cigars (Cuban of course), and then retired for the night.