Switzerland
Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 11:35 pmI promised to post some pictures of Alps and trains and things and, at last, here they are!
The first day of our Swiss holiday, we went on a scenic rail excursion halfway across the country - well, it seemed like that at the time - into the Bernese Oberland. When the clouds lifted, the scenery was superb. This is Lake Geneva, taken while the train was just leaving Montreux, shortly before 8am:
The station name-boards at Saanen made us smile. The area is famous for the breeding and sale of Saanen goats, the principal local industry, so the creatures are celebrated on the station!
The clouds did eventually begin to lift:
This is Grindelwald, a pretty little town and major rail junction.
I love the way so many of the houses we passed looked exactly like the little model Swiss chalet I had as a child!
The view across Lake Geneva on a misty morning from the Montreux ferry pontoon.
The former paddle-steamer, 'Vevey' approaching Le Bouveret. Built in (I think) 1912, Vevey was converted to diesel-electric power in 1955. She was thoroughly restored and overhauled iin the 1990s and much of the original appearance has been retained.
A vintage steam train from the Blonay-Chamby Heritage Railway about to depart from Blonay station:
The view towards Vevey from the very top of the preserved railway line at Choulin - shame about the haze!
On our last day, we took a slightly scary and near-vertical train ride to the summit of Rochers-de-Naye, over 2000m above sea-level. The views were superb until the clouds once again engulfed us!
The first day of our Swiss holiday, we went on a scenic rail excursion halfway across the country - well, it seemed like that at the time - into the Bernese Oberland. When the clouds lifted, the scenery was superb. This is Lake Geneva, taken while the train was just leaving Montreux, shortly before 8am:
The station name-boards at Saanen made us smile. The area is famous for the breeding and sale of Saanen goats, the principal local industry, so the creatures are celebrated on the station!
The clouds did eventually begin to lift:
This is Grindelwald, a pretty little town and major rail junction.
I love the way so many of the houses we passed looked exactly like the little model Swiss chalet I had as a child!
The view across Lake Geneva on a misty morning from the Montreux ferry pontoon.
The former paddle-steamer, 'Vevey' approaching Le Bouveret. Built in (I think) 1912, Vevey was converted to diesel-electric power in 1955. She was thoroughly restored and overhauled iin the 1990s and much of the original appearance has been retained.
A vintage steam train from the Blonay-Chamby Heritage Railway about to depart from Blonay station:
The view towards Vevey from the very top of the preserved railway line at Choulin - shame about the haze!
On our last day, we took a slightly scary and near-vertical train ride to the summit of Rochers-de-Naye, over 2000m above sea-level. The views were superb until the clouds once again engulfed us!
