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Covered Bridge in Lucern

Travelling by Train Across Switzerland

A couple of months ago, I unexpectedly found myself in Switzerland. How does one unexpectedly end up in Switzerland, you might ask? Well, while I thought it might be a few years before I found myself in Europe again, a cousin of mine announced she was getting married and the next thing I knew, I was meeting my dad and two sisters in Geneva. Though the wedding was in Zurich, we started in Geneva to explore the beautiful country on our way to Zurich.

With limited time, we decided to spend one day travelling from Geneva to Zurich while making stops along the way. My sister, a cheese fanatic, insisted we stop in the town of Gruyère (yes, of the cheese). We also chose to stop in Lucerne before arriving in Zurich that evening.

We caught an early morning train out of Geneva, transferring in Montreaux to catch the scenic GoldenPass train, a train with overhead windows for maximum scenery. As it was my first time in Switzerland, it was the perfect way to catch some panoramic views of the beautiful Swiss countryside. The hills and mountains were so picturesque that all I wanted to do was run out and yodel.

 

Train to Gruyères

 

We transferred to another train, this time a smaller one, and arrived at the Gruyères train station. The medieval town, surrounded by a castle wall, was up on a hill so we had to hike up from the train station to reach it. We were rewarded with a charming little town and beautiful scenery of the surrounding area.

 

Town of Gruyères

 

We visited the Castle (Chateau Gruyère) first, wandering around the various rooms and admiring the armour of knights long ago. However, my favourite part was the gardens, which were blooming with colour, and the views looking out, which were like a pastoral heaven.

 

View of the gardens from inside the Castle

 

By the time we finished at the Castle, our bellies were rumbling so we stopped for lunch at Chalet de Gruyères. When in Gruyères, what else do you get but cheese fondue? We helped ourselves to bread, potatoes, shallots and gherkins dipped in melted Gruyère cheese. For dessert, we enjoyed Gruyère cream over meringues and fruit – I confess, we may have had meringues and cream almost every day we were in Switzerland.

 

Fondue
Dessert

 

Before leaving Gruyères, we stopped, of course, at the cheese factory. A short tour took us through an informational exhibition and to the production area where we watched raw milk swirling around in copper vats. Afterwards, we were able to view the many wheels of cheese aging in the storerooms. More than one mouth may have begun to water at that point. Despite our fondue lunch, I admit my favourite part of the tour was the complimentary Gruyère cheese samples.

 

Cheese Factory

 

Following the tour, we hopped onto a train to Lucerne. We knew nothing about Lucerne; a woman at the train station in Geneva had recommended the city for a visit. Luckily, we found a tourism office which produced a wonderful self-guided tour map. The walking tour took one through the city with suggested stops and sights along the way. Since we were only there for a few hours, it was the perfect way to acquaint ourselves with the city.

 

Crossing the Kapellbrücke

 

We started off by crossing the Kapellbrücke, or Chapel Bridge, a covered footbridge across the Reuss River. I was most keen on seeing the Lion of Lucerne, a memorial to Swiss mercenaries who were killed at Tuileries during the French Revolution. Mark Twain called the cliff face sculpture “the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world,” and when I saw it I couldn’t help but agree. It brought to my mind The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and the scene where Aslan sacrifices himself on the Stone Table.

 

Lion of Lucerne

 

We continued to walk around Lucerne, visiting the Old Town as the sun went down. We were all smitten with Lucerne and its lovely river and beautiful buildings. “If I were to live in Switzerland, Lucerne is where I would want to live,” my sister said. We all concurred. There was a romantic feeling to the city we couldn’t deny.

 

Buildings in Old Town

 

We finished the day off with dinner along the river where I had the best beet soup of my life. Months later, my sister and I are still drooling over the memory of it. It was the perfect end to our time in Lucerne. After dinner, we strolled back along the Kapellbrücke to catch our train to Zurich. Though Zurich and my cousin’s wedding were always our destination, I think it’s the memory of the day we spent travelling through Gruyères and Lucerne that will stay in our hearts the most.

 

Lucerne at night

 

Disclaimer: A train pass was provided by Swiss Tourism. However, my opinions on travelling through the country are my own.

Things To Do
Gruyeres
Things To Do
Lucerne

October 20, 2012 By Megan 15 Comments

Filed Under: All Aboard!, Around the World, Europe, Megan Ho, Our Travelers, Planes, Trains ..., Switzerland, Train Travel Tagged With: cheese, Geneva, Gruyere, Kapellbrücke, lucerne, Reuss River, Switzerland, train, Zurich

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Scarlett

    October 29, 2012 at 9:07 am

    Fab post, and I LOVE the pictures! Switzerland is so beautiful!! xx

    Reply
    • Megan

      October 29, 2012 at 3:00 pm

      Thank you! I couldn’t agree more, it really was gorgeous!

      Reply
  2. Tiny Girl with Big Bag

    December 27, 2012 at 4:22 am

    wow, and you did it in one day? it looks like a day full of with adventures 🙂

    Reply
    • Megan

      December 31, 2012 at 2:31 pm

      Yup, all in one day! It was definitely one of my favourite days out of the whole trip.

      Reply
  3. Courtney Mroch

    December 27, 2012 at 7:23 am

    I agree with the others who said AWESOME pics!!! Would love to go to Switzerland some day and via the train like this? Wonderful. Thanks for sharing your adventure!

    Reply
    • Megan

      December 31, 2012 at 2:35 pm

      Thank you! Though I must credit my sister for taking some of the photos, even if we can’t remember which ones at this point!

      Reply
  4. Marysia @ My Travel Affairs

    May 21, 2013 at 1:55 pm

    After Spain Switzerland is my favourite country in Europe 🙂 I’m so lucky to be there so often! Great pictures!

    Reply
    • Erica Hargreave

      May 22, 2013 at 4:36 pm

      Jealous of you Marysia, as I know my taste of Switzerland just has me wanting more of it!

      Reply
  5. Elal | The Shades of Grey Travels

    February 16, 2014 at 11:08 pm

    Oh my anywhere in Europe makes my heart flutter! I was extra delighted to see those yummy desserts. Wish one day I could step on a european land!

    Reply
    • Erica Hargreave

      February 17, 2014 at 4:37 pm

      I know Elal! I was recently in Switzerland and was looking for those deserts that Megan enjoyed, the entire time.

      Reply
  6. Suki F

    July 16, 2014 at 6:19 pm

    It sounds as long as it sounds fun! I wish to get the chance to do something like that.

    Reply
    • Emme Rogers

      July 17, 2014 at 12:36 pm

      A great days adventure Suki!

      Reply
  7. John

    November 29, 2014 at 5:22 am

    Big adventure and enjoyment.Wonderful. Thanks for sharing this kind of top adventure! I have a chance to go Switzerland next year.

    Reply
    • Erica Hargreave

      December 7, 2014 at 2:03 pm

      Oh enjoy John! Especially all the tasty eats there!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Roamancing Liechtenstein says:
    January 16, 2013 at 9:38 am

    […] we were going to Liechtenstein for a day. We were only in Switzerland for a few days, and after exploring the Swiss countryside my sister had the idea to go to the nearby principality of Liechtenstein, a small country between […]

    Reply

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