Switzerland by Rail

In late May - early June 2026 I traveled to Switzerland for a two-weeks tour with Great Rail Journeys. What a terrific trip, and what a wonderful country to visit. Clean, scenically beautiful, a model for efficiency and a high quality of life, and a country with excellent rail service and spectacularly scenic trail journeys. I arrived in Zurich several days early and explored the city, walking the narrow streets of the Old Town (Altstad), going to the opera, and enjoying sipping water from the 1200 public fountains in the city, all providing cool, refreshing, potable water. I joined the tour in Winterthur and our rail journeys began, a different journey each day. From Wintherthur we travelled to Grindelwald, one of the lovliest towns I saw on the trip, located in a valley surrounded by mountains. I took the gondola ride up First Mountain to do the Cliff Walk and view the gorgeous scenery. From Grindelwald I travelled to Kleine Scheldeeg then took the Jungfrau Railroad to the world's highest rail station (at 11,332 feet). The train traveled through a 6 mile tunnel (which took 14 years to build) inside the mountain. When I arrived at Jungfraujoch, the world's highest rail station, i viewed the Aletsch Glacier (the largest and longest glacier in Switzerland). I travelled up to the Sphinx Tower to view the Eiger, the Jungfrau, and other alp peaks. I walked through the Ice Palace with walkways and chambers cut inside a glacier, and then explored the Glacier Plateau (yet more glorious mountain scenery). The next day I travelled on the Golden Pass Express to Vevey on Lake Geneva. There I visited the ancient Chateau (Castle) de Chillon. The following day I took the train through the pretty Matter Valley to Zermatt, a resort known for skiin, climbing, and hiking. It is located near the Matterhorn, one of Switzerland's highest mountains at 13,435 feet. At Zermatt I took the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise cable car to the highest observatory in all of Europe. The next day I took the Gornergrat Mountain Railway to the second highest railway station in Europe. It was a gorgeous day and I saw some of the tallest mountains in the Swiss Alps (Monte Rosa and Liskamm) and had wonderful views of the Matterhorn free of cloud cover. On the following day I boarded the famous Glacier Express for a spectacular 5+ hour train ride to Chur. The train went through 91 tunnels and over 291 bridges!. At Chur I travelled by bus to the spa town of Bad Ragaz where I hiked halfway up the Tamina Gorge. The next day I travelled on the Bernina Express from Chur to Tirano, Italy, then got on the Bernina Express Bus for a 3-hour bus ride across N. Italy and by Lake Como, to the Swiss resort town of Lugano on Lake Lugano. The Glacier Express and the Bernina Express are rated as two of the five most scenic rail journeys in the world. The next day I went by boat on Lake Lugano to the quaint coastal village of Gandria. The lovely village is perched on a hillside, is car free, and has narrow streets with lots of steps. From Gandria I hiked on the Olive Trail (Sentiero dell Olivo) to the town of Castagnola, and then on to Lugano. The next day I took another spectacular train ride with views of beautiful Swiss countryside, the Gotthard Panorama Express, from Lugano to Fluelen. At Fluelen I boarded a vintage paddle steamer for a 3-hour boat trip across Lake Lucerne to the beautiful city of Luzern. Then, I returned to Zurich for another day of exploring, before heading home. What a trip! What a scenically gorgeous country! What imposing mountains! What a great destination for those who enjoy travelling by train! Here are just a few photos of a very memorable trip.

Ice Age Trail (Chippewa Moraine segment)

In April 2026 I travelled to N. Wisconsin and checked into an airbnb for a week ("Lucy's Loft") in the small town of Bloomer, north of Chippewa Falls. I spent 5 days hiking sections of the Ice Age Trail (Chippewa Moraine segment and Harwood Lakes segment) in addition to other trails that start from the Ice Age Center. I spent one day resting and the other day indoors because of heavy rain. I had hiked another section of the Ice Age Trail (in the Kettle Moraine State Forest in SE Wisconsin) but this experience was very different. There were many kettle lakes formed when huge chunks of ice broke off from the retreating ice of the last ice age (the Wisconsin glaciation) and as I hiked the trails I passed one lovely lake after another -- over 25 different lakes in all. The trails were lovely and I had them almost all to myself as I encountered very few other hikers.

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Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

I had been thinking about this trip for some time and had booked months in advance an airbnb, and in October 2025 I drove from Cedar Rapids to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and checked into a house in Munising, on the shores of Lake Superior, for a week. It was a long round trip from Iowa up to Munising and back and I put about 900 miles on the car, but the trip was well worth it. I experienced great Fall weather and lovely scenery, as the leaves were turning but not yet at their peak colors. I spent 5 wonderful days hiking the trails, visiting several different waterfalls, and taking the Pictured Rocks Cruise on Lake Superior. The U.S. has 3 National Lakeshores, all of which are located on the Great Lakes. Pictured Rocks is the oldest national lakeshore, designated by the U.S. Congress in 1966. It is governed by the National Park Service and has over one million visitors each year. It extends for 42 miles along the shore of Lake Superior and is 114 square miles in size. There is much to see and explore there, especially for someone interested in hiking like myself. Munising is located very close to PRNL and is a convenient base for exploring all that the area has to offer. The area is named for the unique colorful sandstone cliffs that reach up to 200 feet above lake level. The cliffs extend for a distance of 13 miles. The upper layers of rock are harder than the layers below and so over time the actions of water and wind have naturally sculpted the rocks into lovely shapes, including shallow caves, arches, and pillars. The rocks are "pictured" because they are vibrant with mineral-stained color. Minerals from groundwater seeping through the sandstone cliffs and then dripping down the rock face, have created streaks of different colors. Streaks of red or orange colors are due to minerals of iron. Other colors are caused by other minerals such as copper or manganese. When the water carrying the dissolved minerals evaporates, the minerals are deposited in the sandstone, appearing as colorful streaks or stains. Here are some of sights I witnessed during my visit

National Parks of the Colorado Plateau

In September 2025 I joined a Journeys by Rail tour of the National Parks of the Colorado Plateau. I left Union Station in Chicago and traveled on Amtrak's California Zephyr to Grand Junction, Colorado, where I left the train and boarded a tour bus with a tour guide, a very no-nonsense bus driver, and 34 other people. We were to explore many places on the Colorado Plateau, a vast uplifted high desert area with stunning canyons, mesas, buttes and dramatic rock formations. The area consists of many layers of sedimentary rock sculpted over millenia by the Colorado River and many other natural forces.  The area is arid (10 inches of rain or less annually) and makes up parts of 4 states: CO, AZ, NM, and UT.  It also is the site of some of the best National Parks in the U.S. In order, this is what we witnessed and explored during the next 9 days: Arches NP, a boat trip up the Colorado River, Capitol Reef NP, ancient petroglyphs representative of Fremont Rock Art (450 - 1300 AD), Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument, Bryce National Park, Zion National Park, a visit to Glen Canyon Dam (one of the largest of the 15 dams on the main route of the Colorado River) and a boat ride on Lake Powell, and then lastly two wonderful days at one of the natural wonders of the world -- Grand Canyon National Park.  Here are some photos of what was a wonderful trip.

The Zephyr passing through the Rocky Mts 
alongside the Colorado River

Double Arch at Arches NP

Capitol Reef NP

Castle Rock at Capitol Reef NP

 
Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument

Bryce Canyon (actually an amphitheater) National Park

Uinta chipmunk at Bryce

Bryce

Zion NP

Zion NP

Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River

Tour Boat for the cruise on Lake Powell

Grand Canyon NP

The start of the Bright Angel Trail at Grand Canyou

Visiting one of England's stately homes

 Whenever I visit the UK I usually manage to visit one or more of the many stately homes and manors that were once lived in (and in some cases still are) by England's rich and famous. Over the years I have visited many, and during a recent visit to England in October 2024 I was able to visit 3 more of the many stately homes in the country. Many of these homes are now owned or managed by the National Trust and many are not easily accessible by train or other forms of public transport. Usually they are visited by people with their private cars and thanks to a good English friend, Clive Renton, I was able to visit 3 of these opulent homes during my recent visit.                                                                         Welcome to Dyrham House, a baroque English country house in an ancient deer park near the village of Dyrham in county Gloucestershire, England. The house has an attached orangery and stable block and is listed on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. The house and grounds have been the location of many BBC productions and movies, includng "The Remains of the Day", "Sanditon", "Sense and Sensibility", "Tess of the d'Urbavilles" and others.                                                                 In terms of a very brief history, in 1689 a man by the name of William Blathwayt inherited a run-down Tudor house at the same time that he married an heiress. He then began transforming the house into a late 17th Century stately home. Blathwayt amassed a fortune from his involvement with the slave trade in the Caribbean. He was well known by the reigning monarchs of his time and held the post of Secretary of War for Queen Anne. The home and grounds are magnificent to witness. Blathwayt once anticipated a visit by Queen Anne and made a special bed for her, but she changed her mind and never came. He built a "best" staircase leading to the best rooms on the second floor that was made entirely of red cedar from North America, an extraordinary and unusual use of American wood in an English home and an evidence of his influence and connections with America.  Another staircase in the home -- the Old Staircase -- is made of black walnut from Virginia.  The Balcony Room, a luxurious upstairs reception room, has two painted stands depicting enchained African slaves.  In the downstairs "Bells Passage" there are 30 bells connected to 30 different rooms in the home. Each bell rang with a different tome that the servants were able to recognize. The bells are more than 150 years old.

Dyrham House

17th Century Greenhouse

View of house from the Water Gardens

Portrait of William Blathwayt

Bed Chamber made specifically for Queen Anne's visit, but she never showed up.

 "Best" Staircase

Old Staircase

Balcony Room

"Bells" Passage