To give credit where it is due... Swiss railways is synonymous with perfection. The days spent in Switzerland began with their website , we marked our journey plan and it gave us the options of trains available including the changes required if any, the platform number onto which one train would arrive and also the platform number from which the connecting train would leave a particular station. The time that was put on this website for each train and even for the inter city buses did not vary by even a second. With that plan in hand and a back pack we started our day and even ended it. "We don't wait for any body even if you are Barrack Obama..we will leave as per schedule..We keep the Swiss time" The pride was palpable as the guard spoke these lines to me.
The one flat ticket namely the Swiss pass, which is given out for tourists and can be bought at any of the railway counters or even the airport from where we bought ours is the ticket for any surface transport throughout this country.. be it rail, tram, road, or boats.
The trains that travel through the cities, the villages, the bridges, the snow and up the incline of mountains..the steepest cogwheel train that took us to Mount Pilatus is at an incline of 46degrees. Certainly for a person like me, for whom maintaining time is meditational.. Swiss Rails were Demi God.
A few pictures...
Zurich Haufbahnhoff or Zurich Rail Station
The Glacier Express on a Bridge
The World's steepest cogwheel to Mount Pilatus
Carrying us through the snow to Mount Jungfrau Hoch
Drizzling..but anything for a snap!!
With friends! Less people, cleaner trains..
All pictures courtesy Husband..who is always the official camera man! This is part of a short series on picture perfect postcards from the Alps!!The one flat ticket namely the Swiss pass, which is given out for tourists and can be bought at any of the railway counters or even the airport from where we bought ours is the ticket for any surface transport throughout this country.. be it rail, tram, road, or boats.
The trains that travel through the cities, the villages, the bridges, the snow and up the incline of mountains..the steepest cogwheel train that took us to Mount Pilatus is at an incline of 46degrees. Certainly for a person like me, for whom maintaining time is meditational.. Swiss Rails were Demi God.
A few pictures...
Zurich Haufbahnhoff or Zurich Rail Station
The Glacier Express on a Bridge
The World's steepest cogwheel to Mount Pilatus
Carrying us through the snow to Mount Jungfrau Hoch
Drizzling..but anything for a snap!!
With friends! Less people, cleaner trains..
34 comments:
Sujata....seems like it was a lot of fun,your official photographer is very good...does full justice to your beautiful description......can't wait for more
beautiful, looks like you had royal fun...Thanks for sharing...Like you i too am a person for whom maintaining time is meditational...i am darn punctual....:)
And how does it feel to be from SNOW to +40 degree C?...:)
Beautiful snaps....
Wasn't the three-tiered Zurich bahnhof awesome?
भैये फोटो देख के तो बहुत मजा आ गवा....छुटका और छुटकी तो बड़े मजे ले रहे हैं :):)
Thanks to you and your official Photographer.
You seemed to have a great time :)
nice pics, hope u enjoy more!
following u, nice blog, see u around!
Cheers,
Amit
Wao! Amazing....thanks for us through the Swiss world...!
The cogwheel looks dangerously exciting.
Looks interesting...though am sure weather in Alps will be much different from Oman
great..thanks 4 taking us around sland...cheers friend
Nice pictures! Yes, they do not wait even if you are Barack Obama!
I spent 4 months in Switzerland till the winter set in just before the snow appeared. I commuted from Bern to Luzern everyday! The train was delayed by 15 minutes one day. The Swiss colleagues did not believe us! But this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. :) Don't know if I should take pride in it!
"The Swiss did not keep time! And I witnessed it!"
pics are just awesome...ur little boy is mommies replica?aint it?
hubby is the offical photographer..good for u!!
You are lovely Sujata...beautiful! Nice pics too! I am glad you had a lovely trip!
Lovely pictures ! Glad that you had such fun !
:)
beautiful place! Thanks for sharing :-) Would love to go there some day...
Lovely..looks like u had a lot of fun..great.
The pics were amazing...hope someday Indian Railways too runs like the swiss railways..lol!!
I agree with you .It is beautiful.I have experienced a train travel there.Due to heavy rain in Milan,the flight was cancelled and i had to take the train to Swiss.Superb
Mannnn...for this country me think, Beauty and Punctuality are understated words...and thanks for sharing such beautiful glimpse.. :D..the pics and the punctuality are simply to be 'WOW-ed" upon... :D
i wanna go swiz..NOW !!
@Kavita thanks am yet not fully into the grip of the routine..plus schools opening for the kids from tmrw..lots of blog reading to be done
@ZB I take a bit of time to agree to a time that is set, but once the time is set..I keep it always have never failed even by a minute..and I hate to wait!! snow is fine but 20 degrees plus without a fan is quite unbearable and summer in the house without a fan was a bit hot..here it may be 40+ but we have ac so I would say 40+ with ac is much better than 20+ without a fan
@BhavyaB thanks
@Ajit it was quite mind boggling!
@Anil Kant thanks the kids did enjoy a lot esp the snowfall on the mountains
Thanks Pradipda will convey the message to the photographer as well
Thanks @Survivor
@Hopeless Romantic Welcome on board hope to see you regularly
@Imagination thanks
@Aparna the Ice flyer was dangerous..an open seat with a strap running like cable cars on the glacier peaks...phew!!
@Pesto Sauce yes the weather was good..we got rains the sun as well as snow..
@Ramesh thanks
@Nona that must have been a moment am sure..You must blog on it..the swiss fail to keep time!!
@Rush thanks..yes the little boy looks like me completely
@Nikki thanks dear
@Kavi thanks, the trains were worth all the praise
@eye-in-sty-in thanks next time go via zurich.
@NR i hope so too..but so many people and so many different administrations and then the railways in swiss are privately owned..maybe thats what works
@BK Chowla I agree completely to see that whole gigantic network running so well oiled was worth all the appreciation
@priya thanks
@extremity i would love to read the poetry you churn out sitting in the alps...
Sujata,We don't have to be a Barack Obama.Even an ordinary third grade politico can hold a plane leave alone the train for thirty minutes.Can India aspire to be that punctulaity conscious even in my grand child's time?I doubt.
Fabulous pictures
Great landscape! Great Pictures!
those train seats has seen so many of our on screen Bollywood couples :)
Marvellous photos. I feel like visiting Switzerland. Absolutely mind-blowing place.
Interesting photos and a beautiful place. Should visit before it is too late.
The pictures are perfectly beautiful. I am especially fond of the one on the train with the snow in the background. It took me on a beautiful trip, full of imagery and excitement. I detect your happiness to be back home. There is no place like it, for sure.
kaash mein bhi switzerland jaa saktha..!! kaash my wife also becomes a terrific camerawoman..kaash i could get on those trains...kaash i could watch baracks face if he ever missed a swiss train :D :D :D
luvly pics su :)
luv
amith
Ooo I would LOVE to go on that roller coaster I mean train ;) Wah, you must one of the few I know u likes snow. I hate hate hate snow, ice and everything associated with winter ;(
Waiting for the next part !
Pak Karamu reading your blog
yes. The official photographer is very very good:)
I've moved from emgisempire.blogspot.com to happyhoursbeginhere.wordpress.com. Pls update.
@K Parthasarathi..I wish we didnt have democracy, If India was ruled by a single person maybe we would be more disciplined, if not, maybe privatisation is the key.
@SumanDebRay yes the locales are frequented not only by bollywood but a lot of recent tollywood pics have been shot here as well..so I think I parked myself on seats which have been taken up by the likes of Prosenjit!!What say to that??
Thanks @Babli
@Nsiyer yesterday I had a major fight with my husband who was starting to plan another trip during the upcoming eid holidays..my point being if we take the kids to all these places what urge will be left in them to visit any place on their own ever?I think he got it..soi eid holidays we are going to be home..am pleased as a pie..and its better to be a little late than too early..will my kids remember any of these? I doubt..
@Sandy surely no place like home..
@Amith you will do it all and get it all..i would have loved to see mulayam singh's face if the swiss trains didnt stop for him!! it would have more expression and some choicest cuss words than Barrack could ever conjure!!
@SJ this was my first snow experience, I was ok with it but my face muscles got a bit numb..and i found it a bit hard to move my lips the way I wanted too...the kids loved it!
@Pakkaramu thanks
@meira I have your new address updated
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