Last year July 13th, 2025, we made a 6 day trip to Switzerland. Our entry to European Union was through Netherlands because we had to fulfill other responsibilities. But when one travels to Europe from Singapore, in order to make it cost-efficient, one has to visit other places, states as well. Entering European Union with even a valid visa is lot more complicated now. For visa application, one needs to book confirmed return ticket and accommodation.
When all of these documents along with ID proof, residence permit of country of boarding and of course bank statements to prove that one has the proper funds to sustain there for even a week. Once the visa arrives, one can proceed for permanent tour plans that consists of domestic air travel or train tickets from one state to another. Now a days, these are lot more easier due to Internet but one needs to be cautious about online fraud.
After touching down at Amsterdam, one can take trains that are widely connected and with good frequency. So one can take train from Amsterdam to Brussels, Paris, Luxemberg or Geneva, all matters of a few hours to overnight travel in sleeper cars. Our journey to Switzerland was ultimate as we were to end our trip on a flight from Zurich back to Amsterdam.
When we reached Geneva from Gare de Lyon, we already felt something special. Whole Europe charges for public toilets except Switzerland. As the country fully depends on tourism, it has made sure that tourists who come there to spend in Swiss Francs do not have any complaint regarding amenities.
We changed train at Visp and took Matterhorn Bahn, a term coined for their railways. So they have routes for different destinations that ends with "Bahn". When we reached Tasch it was already afternoon. We got into our hotel room and freshened up after a 7-8 hour train ride and had some tea and coffee while looking outside towards the snowy peaks from our verendah. As the afternoon Sun was melting on the snow, it was an altogether different mesmerizing view.
After dinner at a nearby Turkish cafe, we went to sleep to rejuvenate ourselves for the next day trip to Gornergrat, a station located at a height of 3,089 meters from sea level. Even in the month of July, there was a lot of cold till the Sun came up. There were a lot of tourists from Japan and other parts of Europe and everyone was busy in taking selfies and group photos, looking at the mountains and glaciers nearby as Mount Matterhorn was still under a veil of cloud.
Finally after a while, the Sun came up strong and the veil lifted, making all of us looking at the peak that was covered with ice only at its bottom. The upper part was black and steep, probably making it losing snow due to high winds. As we moved a little higher, we saw alpine trails going towards other face of Alps towards further South to Italy. For us, it was simply getting closer to a snowy mountain area that we were missing as 4000 kilometers away from Indian Himalayas.
We took a small hike down to a glacial lake Riffelsee, that has been formed from melting glaciers due to rising temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere. It reflects Mt. Matterhorn on a clear day during Spring and Autumn. As we trekked down, we met a lot of different size and colours of Alpine flowers, all over the slopes and by the sides of the tracks. We went further down to the next train stop Rotenboden as it was easier to climb down than going up. Adventure cyclists were carrying their bicycles up in the mountain while we were passing by them.
We had a light lunch and took the next train to Zermatt, the base station for Gornergrat Bahn. As we were winding down the mountain railways, Matterhorn went under cloud for the day that evening. Later, we had a little stroll in the Zermatt town that is laden with lots of Swiss watch and Chocolate factory showrooms along with restaurants. We had our dinner and went back to Tasch, one stop down from Zermatt, for the latter half of the journey.
Next morning, after a quick shower and breakfast, we got ready by 8:15 to reach Zermatt for boarding Glacier Express for St. Moritz, another picturesque ski town. The 8 hour long train route is more than 100 year old and it passes through Rhine river valley and Landwasser Viaduct, an UNESCO World Heritage site. As the train ascends through mountain slopes, green grassy meadows with beautiful Swiss mountain villages came to sight. We never noticed how quickly the long trip came to an end at 4:40 in the afternoon.
St Moritz, a beautiful ski town and resort, located at Eastern part of Switzerland, at 1856 meters altitude. People say it was set for tourism and winter sports in 1860s. There is an absolutely clear and large lake in the middle with a lot of water birds, nestling and huddling together in Spring time. This place can also be reached by Rhaetian Bahn or railways.
As our trip was coming towards the end, there were even more exciting places and attractions waiting for us. So we packed up for new destination Lucerne or Luzern and set off next morning. After almost 4 and half hours, we reached Lucerne but as it is expensive, we booked our stay at an Airbnb located at Horw, 4 stops ride on local train. Reaching there, finding room, unlocking through an app and then finding how to get our clothes washed at washing machines at their basement, consumed a lot of our time.
We managed to cook pasta in our Airbnb kitchen with certain raw materials purchased from nearby supermarket. It tasted awesome without a pinch of salt available. But we survived. Next morning, we started for Interlaken, another beautiful resort town in between lake Thun and Brienz, famous for our Hindi film industry producer Yash Chopra as he has shot extensive part of his films in this town and they have his statue in his remembrance.
Interlaken is surrounded by mountains like the Jungfraujoch and others, offering paragliding, hiking, canoeing in river, skiing in winter and boat cruising all the year round. Since it was a day trip, we took a funicular ride to the top known as Harder Kulm from where one can see the whole mountain range, town and lake down the valley, a short 8 minutes steep climb and a viewpoint for everyone to take pictures and tell their stories on Instagram and Facebook.
We took 1 and half hour boat ride from a point at Interlaken West and got down at Spietz. The boat stopped at villages where some passengers deboarded while new ones came in. We took train back to Interlaken East via West where we had our dinner at a Swiss restaurant. Part of the train journey to and from Sarnen where the train had to ascend steep gradient, was assisted by cog wheel. Over all, Swiss Rail System offers a very sustainable and peaceful way of visiting those many places that are there.
Next morning, we took the same railway route and got down at Alpsnachstad and took world's steepest cog wheel train to Pilatus Kulm, a 22 minute steep uphill climb. The top of the mountain was covered with mists that were being blown from other mountains nearby. There is a viewpoint as always at such scenic spots from where one can look at different peaks and lake Lucerne, with all its magnificence.
It was too chilly due to the wind and cloudy atmosphere. We took refuge inside a restaurant to have our lunch which took a while as most people were back inside to protect themselves from the biting cold. Soon after, we took the downhill train and reached Lucerne town. It is another very beautiful town with the lake dotted by hotels and resorts, with the old Chappel bridge and town with heritage mansions are worth visiting. At that hour, Mt. Pilatus was shining under the gorgeous warm Sun. There was a music festival and food carnival going on by the lake.
Next morning, we had to leave for Basel to take our flight back to Amsterdam. So we took 9:30 AM train and reached Zurich in 2 hours. We had enough time to spend by the lake and see people from so many countries and regions to flock together, taking pictures or just sitting idly looking at the deep blue colour of the lake amidst blue green mountains at its backdrop. After 2 hours spending with beautiful Swiss capital, it was time to say goodbye to Switzerland. We spent some time in the market road, bought some chocolates and boarded the train to Basel Central and from there a bus for the airport.
Our memorable trip might have ended there but what we observed and experienced would never fade as long as our body and mind are healthy and still recall the amazing moments of those places, captured by our cameras and our eyes.
