My friend and I decided that to break up a dreary January we would take a trip to Austria and take a ride on the Swiss Glacier Express. A local coach firm offered a 7 day tour so at 2 am on a cold January morning we were the first to be picked up. After some 3 hours all the passengers were onboard and we headed off to Dover. The coach was marketed as luxury and had comfortable seats, plenty of legroom and individual screens on which to watch films or listen to music.
All went well until we neared Canterbury when there was an almighty bang – a van had hit the coach door which was completely ripped off and landed on the driver’s foot. It had broken his toe but luckily he was the only one hurt. The second driver directed the traffic around us until a local coach picked us up and we were taken to Folkstone Services. We were there for over3 hours. What a dreary place that was!
Eventually a replacement coach arrived, a standard one with no frills. We finally boarded the ferry and arrived in Calais in the evening and embarked on our drive to our overnight stop in Metz at about 11 pm.
After a good Continental breakfast we set off through Switzerland arriving at our hotel just over the Swiss border in Austria .This was the Hotel Weisses Kreuz in the pretty town of Feldkirch and the owner made us all feel very welcome. The bedrooms were quite spacious, the beds comfortable and the bathroom immaculate. Dinner was good and free wine flowed so we all cheered up a little. The view from our window was of the mountains.
Breakfast was one of the best I have had abroad with a vast selection of bread, whole cheeses and cold meats.
Our first outing was to Davos and Klosters in Switzerland. As it was a Sunday most shops were closed but it was interesting to walk on the snow and see all the skiers heading for the slopes. In Klosters my friend took a short trip on a ski lift but was unable to linger as time was limited. We also visited Vaduz, the capital of Liechenstein which is a 25km-long principality between Switzerland and Austria. It’s architecture was surprisingly modern.
On Monday we were taken up the mountains for a sleigh ride in the snow. The sleigh was very traditional and for about an hour we were pulled along snowy paths, snuggling under warm blankets and taking the odd snifter! It was most enjoyable.
In the afternoon we visited the Rolls Royce Museum at Dorbirn and it was unexpectedly interesting.
Tuesday was the day we had been waiting for and we boarded the Swiss Glacier Express at Chur. The train was luxurious, even in standard class seats with waitress service, delicious (but expensive) food and “infotainment”. We passed numerous mountain villages which nestle in the Rhine Gorge also known as The Swiss Grand Canyon .The views were breathtaking and we all took numerous photos. As we passed along the Oberalpasss the engine could be heard pulling the train up to a height of 2033 metres above sea level, with the help of a cog wheel, making this the highest point of our journey in Andermatt. Alas we had to end our train ride there and were met by the driver who had driven up from Chur.
The roads down were incredibly twisting but the scenery was still impressive with frozen waterfalls, snow laden trees and pretty chalets.
To end our day we stopped at Burglen where William Tell was born. and then back for a last evening meal at the hotel.
We had an early start on Wednesday driving through Switzerland again to reach our overnight hotel in Rheims where we ventured into Carrefour to buy snacks.
Thursday was our final day and all went well until we were unable to use the motorways as the French farmers were staging a protest , driving their tractors very slowly along the motorways. The upside of this was that we drove through lots of rural towns and villages where our driver pointed out the WW2 cemeteries and memorials.
Eventually we crossed the Channel and had a surprisingly easy drive home. As we were the first to be picked up we were the last to be dropped off and we reached home at midnight.
So to sum up, the 3 days in the middle were great but it really was a lot of travelling for such a short time. I would be happy to go again if the bit in the middle was longer as there is so much more to see in Feldkirch and nearby.
