A Taste of Europe – by Train

Arrivederci Italy…….Guten Tag Switzerland!

After spending 2 enchanting nights at the magnificent Villa D’este in Italy and exploring the sights of beautiful Lake Como, we headed off to Amsterdam, over 1,000km away, for a date with Tulip Time 🌷

As we only had 3 days to get there, we decided to make the most of our limited time by overnighting in Lucerne in Switzerland and Freiburg in Germany along the way. The result was a speedy but picturesque 3 day train journey on well appointed trains in first class. It was relaxing, interesting and intense (at times), and we enjoyed every minute! 🚝

After an early breakfast at Villa D’este, we took a quick 10 minute car ride from Cernobbio, across the Italian border into Switzerland.

At Lugano station we boarded the Gotthard Panorama Express (previously known as the Wilhelm Tell Express) which took us on a scenic 182km route (by train and steamboat) to Lucerne in Central Switzerland via the Swiss Alps, the famous Gotthard Tunnel and the little town of Flüelen on the southern shores of Lake Lucerne.

The train’s well-appointed first class seating made the 2.5 hour rail journey super comfortable, and with snacks and drinks included it was just like flying, but with views.

Panoramic windows, a photography car (with opening windows) and a multi lingual guide explaining highlights along the route were an added bonus.

As we were travelling in May, we also enjoyed beautiful Spring scenery, quaint Swiss chalets, snow capped peaks and the 57km Gotthard Tunnel with it’s illuminated wall displays telling the story of it’s birth in 1882.

We passed the Church of Wassen three times during the journey thanks to the Gotthard’s ingenious looping tunnel system, and reached our final stop in Flüelen, where we boarded our steamboat to cross Lake Lucerne.

The journey across the lake took another 2.5 hours due to the lake’s unusual shape, many complicated bends and four spreading arms. (If short on time, you could drive the distance instead in only 30min by car via the A2).

The scenery from the boat however was breathtaking, and especially magical due to the low hanging clouds shrouding the surrounding limestone peaks of Mt Rigi and Mt Pilatus.

We enjoyed a hearty lunch onboard with beer and wine and happily sat back and watched as the medieval storybook city of Lucerne drew ever closer 🏰

ONite: Hotel Krone Luzern 👑

Our home on our first night was the Hotel Krone Luzern, situated in Lucerne’s delightful Old Town. From our room we enjoyed views down into the quaintest little medieval square which was made even more fairytale-like by a trickling fountain and in the distance, a delightful chiming clock tower.

Lucerne’s Old Town is connected to the New Town by two covered wooden bridges dating back to 1360 and 1408, which were part of the city’s original defences along with the city wall, gates and watch tower 🕍

We walked Famous Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke) with it’s Water Tower (Wasserturm) which is 250m long and built around 1360. It’s cycle of religious triangular paintings in the gables are unique to Lucerne and luckily 62 (out 158) survived the fire of 1993 which nearly destroyed the entire bridge.

Crossing the nearby and much more modern Rathaussteg footbridge (built in 1961) gave us another view of the medieval Chapel Bridge and took us over the Reuss River on our exploration of the Old Town.

As we roamed we discovered the Swiss penchant for colourful buildings adorned with murals, met Swiss/German speaking locals, and found some great fresh produce, lots of tourists and a little blue City Tour Train down by the lake.

We decided not to take the City Tour Train on its 40min guided tour of the city highlights, preferring to walk and wander instead, but for reference, it operates several times a day from April to October 🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋

After an afternoon of exploring, we had dinner that night at Pfistern Zunfthausrestarant with a swiss style menu including the obligatory cheesey fondue, steins of German beer and lovely wines to sip. Prost! 🍷🥘🍺

Our stay in Lucerne was very brief, hardly enough time to take the make up off let alone unpack, but still plenty of time to explore the city, eat fondue and walk Chapel Bridge….and have a good night’s sleep at the very comfortable Hotel Krone Luzern 🌙

Day 2: Lucerne to Freiburg (111km – 2 hr)

Aufedersein Switzerland…….Guten Tag Germany

The next morning, after coffee and croissants at the hotel, we took the 9.54 train to Basel where we changed trains for our next stop, Freiburg, the vibrant university city of southwest Germany’s Black Forest region.

ONite: Hotel Röten Bären 🐻

Freiburg is also known for its temperate climate and reconstructed medieval old town which is where we stayed, at the Hotel Röten Bären (Red Bear Hotel) – the oldest guest house in Germany and Europe (established 1120), situated between the Schwabentor (Swabian gate) and Freiburg Cathedral.

Once again, as soon as we had checked in, we went for an explore and found, towering over the old town’s central square (Munsterplatz), the imposing Gothic cathedral – Freiburg Minster with its 91 gargoyles (protecting the cathedral’s walls from evil demons and too much rainwater), and it’s dramatic 116m open lattice spire which we later spotted on many occasions from other locations all over the city.

With free entry, a look inside this beautiful cathedral was a must!

Back out in the Spring sunshine, under the gaze of the cathedral’s gargoyles, we explored the Münstermarkt (in the Munsterplatz) a farmer’s market dotted with fresh produce and flower stalls, outdoor cafes and happily, the all important Metzger Schuler….our ‘gourmet’ hotdog lunch destination! 🌭

Next we walked Freiburg’s University district, where we noticed a passion for intensive graffiti tagging on buildings, even the beautiful old ones…… 😮

We did lots of people watching as we wandered the cobbled streets and finished our exploration of this vibrant city with a visit to the sight of the first guesthouse brewery in Freiburg…Martin’s Brau, for a Pils. Now, it’s a modern brewery bar with their signature home-brewed, naturally cloudy beers, craft beers on tap as well as regional, homestyle, rustic pub food like pork knuckle & schnitzel.

German beer drinking done, we wandered back to Zum Röten Bären’s restaurant for a classic German feast paired with a variety of German wines and desserts 🧆🍮🥂🍷

Day 3: Freiburg to Amsterdam (682km – 7 hr)

Aufedersein Germany…….Guten Tag Holland

At this stage we had travelled from Italy into Switzerland and then into South West Germany. These were short journeys of no more than 1 – 2.5 hours.

Today however, we did the long haul and trained 2.5hr from Freiburg to Frankfurt, followed by a 4.5hr trip across Germany to Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

It was a long day but our first class seats and the excellent service made it a comfortable way to get there.

Tip: Keep in mind the physical challenges of train travel when planning such a trip. The moving of luggage on and off a train, finding a spot for it if there are no luggage areas available and the challenge of meeting tight connections need to be considered. In other words, travel light! 😉

CRAZY Amsterdam!

Our first impressions on arrival….

If you like traffic chaos, dodging cyclists, passive smoking and tourist crowds then this Netherlands city is for you.

We arrived at Amsterdam Central, jumped in a cab and immediately came to a grinding halt, sandwiched between a bus, a tram and a coach, all trying to navigate an intersection overflowing with cyclists. We’d never seen so many bikes in one place before! 🚲🚲🚲🚲

ONite: The Ambassade Hotel (2 nights)

We eventually made it to our hotel, The Ambassade on Herengracht, an oasis of calm created by combining a row of terrace houses overlooking the canal into a boutique hotel filled with modern art and an elegant Louis XVI style.

We dumped our bags and jumped on a canal cruise to take in the sights of Amsterdam and view this interesting 17th century city from its elaborate network of waterways.

In and around Amsterdam…….

It’s not just all bicycles, tourists and tulips here though. There are also great museums, restaurants, renewable energy initiatives, agriculture and horticultural farming to name a few.

The name Amsterdam came from the city’s origin – built around a dam in the river Amstel.

It started out as a small fishing village in the late 12th century, and then became one of the most important ports in the world during the Dutch Golden Age (17th century) when the city was the leading centre for finance and diamonds.

Today it is the commercial and cultural capital of the Netherlands as well as it’s capital city.

Amsterdam is also considered an alpha world city and in 2012 was ranked as the second best city to live in.

Dinner tonight was a traditional Dutch feast at Restaurant Haesje Claes, situated between Dam Square and the Spui. Named after Lady Haesje Claes, founder of the “Amsterdam Burgerweeshuis” (orphanage), this warm and inviting restaurant was adorned with authentic Dutch fixtures and offered up a plethora of authentic, delicious dishes such as Stamppott, hotchpotch, beefsteak, herring, Old Amsterdam cheese, smoked Ijsselmeer eel, shrimp cocktail and pea soup.

Sadly, this iconic Amsterdam restaurant closed it’s doors for the last time in November 2020.

Day 4: Keukenhof….

Keukenhof was the main reason for our mad dash across Europe, and we were so glad we made it! An hour South of Amsterdam, it is one of the world’s largest flower gardens renowned for its Spring displays of flowering bulbs, especially tulips 🌷🌷🌷 Every year the 32 hectare gardens are hand planted with over 7 million flowers such as tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, orchids, roses, carnations, irises, lilies and more.

The gardens are only open to the public for 8 weeks of the year, from mid March to mid May and approximately 800,000 people visit during this time. We reckon at least 100,000 were there the day we visited!!! 👫🧑‍🤝‍🧑👭👫👬

We jumped on a coach tour from Amsterdam which included entry to the gardens and 5 hours of free time to explore before returning home.

The gardens were sensational, as were the displays, activities and the weather 🌞

It was a feast for the senses – vibrant, colourful, patterned plantings, heady floral scents accompanied by the sounds of music, chatter and laughter throughout – it was a truly happy place 🌸

After a big day exploring the gardens we arrived back in Amsterdam and on our last night, enjoyed an authentic ‘Rijsttafel’ feast at Sampuran Indonesian Restaurant right in the heart of the city.

Rijsttafel literally means Rice Table, an elaborate meal adapted by the Dutch, consisting of many (up to forty or more) side dishes served in small portions and accompanied by rice prepared in several different ways.

Rijsttafel found it’s way into Dutch culture as a result of many centuries of the Dutch East Indies’ presence in Indonesia. When Indonesia finally gained independence in 1945, Rijsttafel was brought back to the Netherlands by former colonials and exiled Indonesians.

We enjoyed a tasty, spicy feast of dishes and slept soundly afterwards in our beautifully appointed rooms at The Ambassade 🌙

Day 5: Amsterdam to London

After a whirlwind but exciting 4 days on the hop, our final train journey took us to London via the Eurostar which flies along under the English Channel from Brussels. What an easy way to get from Europe to the UK – it’s smooth and comfortable, and with food and drinks provided, a very civilised way to go. 🥂