I had a brief weekend a few years back in the Alps after landing in Basil, Switzerland from a river cruise on the Rhine River. I could not imagine being in Switzerland and not at least trying to see a few things so my friend and I extended our vacation a few days and headed to Zurich. One of our excursions was to take a trip up to the base of the Alps and I fell in love. I knew I had to return for an extended time and that I wanted to spend it in the Alps. I returned from Switzerland last Saturday from a nine day trip riding the Swiss rails through the Alps. To say this was an amazing trip would be an under statement as the beauty of the Alps is hard to describe and pictures don't seem to do them justice.
Here is some wisdom from riding the rails for a week:
The rail systems in Switzerland are top of the line and so very easy to utilize, if we had that type of system in the states I would never fly. I recommend the Swiss Rail Pass and to splurge for first class. With this pass you simply walk on and off all your train connections and simply show your papers to the purser when they come through. This also allows you to travel on all of the transportation types free of charge. So all the boats, trains, trams and buses were free for us to utilize and we never had to stop for a ticket. Having a first class rail ticket also allows you to travel first class on all the boats/ferries which offer the best views. First class is very roomy and comfortable which is a welcome site after the long flight over. There are also sections that are noise free which means no cell phone or conversations.
Trains arrive and leave on time so you need to be prepared to enter and exit as they do not wait for you to gather your items. The monitors display the stops and times so it is easy to know when to exit. Most of the trains you have to hit the button to open the doors as they do not always open automatically. On the topic of train doors this became interesting as each train was different in how the doors inside the cars opened. Some were motion censored, some you had to wave your hand at the top, some you hit a yellow button in the center and then others you hit a green button on the side. We became pros by the end of the week with at least 3 train connections per day for our 9 days.
The train cars are mostly a simply step on but there are some that you have to climb up a few steps, so ensure your arm and luggage are ready for this. Be aware that like most train platforms there may be a gap from the train to the platform. Luggage for trains need to be lightweight and have some flexibility as the cars are random on which ones have luggage racks. City trains are mostly for commuters so they do not have luggage racks but you are not on them long so most simply stand by the doors with the luggage. Locks on your luggage will give you peace of mind as your seats may not be within eyesight of your luggage.
Services on most trains include a café car and WC (wash closets) which come in handy for trips lasting more than a few hours.
The people are very accommodating to English as they very quickly switch over to respond to your question and all of the trains we were on (which were many) had the announcements in several languages including English. The country has four main languages French, German, Italian and Romansh. The area of the Alps we were in was mostly German speaking but everyone spoke English.
The 9 days in Switzerland only made my love and appreciation for this country grow stronger. If I was to ever consider living in another country this would be at the top of the list.