This will be a short blog update as we are very tired and sleep beckons. All five train trips successfully completed. The overnight train from Duisburg to Basel was booked out for bike places so we got the last two – which took quite a bit of manoeuvring. Unfortunately no sleeper berths = night spent trying to sleep sitting up = little sleep.
It was all worth it, though, for the very attractive views from Basel to Brig and the absolutely stunning views from Brig to Andermatt – so I will add several photos today which don’t really do it justice but might give you some idea.
I have raved before about the level of organisation of Swiss and German railways. Everything runs to time, to the extent that a five minute delay is a big deal. The platforms are announced in advance and printed in the timetables. Best of all, there are diagrams on the platforms showing the sections of the train (like bikes spaces, pram spaces, first and second class, the restaurant and so on) and markings on the platform to tell you where to stand for each. This makes the whole bikes-and-luggage boogie an order of magnitude easier, even if you do then have to manhandle the bike up several steps onto the train.
Now that we have made it to Andermatt, the cycling in earnest starts tomorrow, although with more of a walking than a cycling day as we are keen to hike up to the source of the Rhine on the way. Fingers crossed!
eleanor.scot 