Day 14

The Matterhorn looked pretty impressive this morning on my walk down to the station

Switzerland had private rail companies as well as the SSB and most of the private companies don't take the interail pass. Zermatt - Visp us one if those. However it was only about £20. Form Visp I had two other trains to catch that took me to Inter lake.  Fron here to Grindelwald was around £8
I think I saved the best til last.
Walking from the station I was surrounded by mountainted,  including the Eiger

I quickly checked in and went for a hike, catching the lift

The scenery. ....!

Absolutely breathtaking.  The hotel is one of the best as well. I have tried to stay in hotels within a 15 min walk from the station in the mid-budget range, around £60 (this is quite tricky in Switzerland! ! ). This one has a south facing balcony : if only I were here for more than one night!

Tea was eaten under the mountains and also reflected in the windows

I only booked Grindelwald because all the mud budget hotels in Interlaken were taken: what a blessing in disguise. I would love to return; maybe in the winter!

Day 13

Wherever you look on Zermatt you can see the mighty Matterhorn

I had read that the 5 See walk was meant to be very good so I caught the funicular and cable to Blauherd  2571 mt
The pathways were a bit thin, rocky and some very steep drops

 But stunning scenery

The mounations reflected in the lake

The walk continued down through the woods: more step thin paths!

Eventually 9 miles later bringing me back to the village

Day 12

The day I've been waiting for

It seems like ages since I booked the Glacier express
I had the coach to myself for the first 30 mins. I had pre-ordered lunch. You could also have chosen a 3 course meal, or order off the menu. I took along my own little bottle of wine

The prices on board weren't cheap! I travelled all the way to Zermatt : 7 hours, but you can get on later and get off earlier so it doesn't have to be a long journey. The train went to a height of 2033mt, just above Andermatt .  The views were just amazing 

 Another day of fabulous weather

 I

I chose to travel first class. There wasn't a huge amount of differencebetween 1st and 2nd: you still had the panoramic windows

But there was definitely more room in first and the tour companies tend to take over a lot of the 2nd class compartments so some of them were really noisy. If you are thinking of doing this trip - book it! It was amazing.

Zermatt is a totally different place to St Moritz : it has a pulse! The might Matterhorn towers over the village 

And the place is bustling with people and personality. A total contrast!

Unfortunately the weather is forecast for rain and storms tomorrow, my good weather luck may have just run out!!

Day 11

I have been so lucky with the weather - another fabulous day
Took the early lifts and cable cars and went up to Piz Nair  (3057 mt)

The snow up here was pretty solid

I spent the rest of the day walking. My first walk came to a dead end because the snow hadn't cleared. I felt like the only person in the world and as I sat and worked out a new route a fox crossed my oath - thankfully not too close!  The walk down was a long one with more amazing views

 10 miles in all.  I shall be glad to sit down on the train tomorrow!

St Moritz is expensive. The scenery and the walking was amazing but the place itself seemed a bit souless.  There were no bustling streets or people eating outside. I don't know if it's different in the winter, I  suspect not

Day 10

I spent a lot of yesterday eveing trying to plan where I wanted to walk today. I was still pretty undecided and de idea to head for the train. This is the same line as the Bernina Express to Tirano but you can do the same route on a normal train. I sat opposite a couple who told me some of the best walks
So I got off at Alp Grum

Had 10 minutes and caught the train back to the previous stop and had a walk around the lake

Caught the next train to the cable car up Diavolezza. A priest got on at the last minute and proceeded to get out his rosary beads....We all shared nervous smiles! Anyway we got there safely

Glaciers and snow!

Took the cable car back down and walked - what a walk. There was every kind of scenery

 Fields and rivers

 Walking through the woods...the smell of the pine!

 Waterfalls

And (mostly) all in the glorious sunshine. 10 miles walked: I think I will sleep well tonight!

Day 9

Today was spent mostly on the train.  I had 2 changes to make.  The inter rail planner app has been indispensable. You type in where you are and where you want to go and it brings up your options. Plus so much more
The journey from Chur (Switzerland ) to St Moritz was amazing

 Lush green fields and rivers

 The same route that the Glacier Express takes

It was a long trip, just over 5 hours in total. The weather wasn't brilliant so a good day to be on a train. However we went through a long tunnel and came out in brilliant sunshine to St Moritz

Another beautiful location but very expensive. However, if you stay for more than one night you get a card that gives you free transport on the busses, all the local cable cars and lifts and some of the trains.  I will be putting this to use!

Day 8

Zell am See to Innsbruck
Another fabulous day. Sat and knitted by the lake whilst waiting for the train. Had two different ladies come and talk to me about knitting.  I can get by with my German and understand more than I can talk, so I got the gist of what they were saying

There's definitely worse places to knit!
I continued with this shawl on the train. I had to change trains to get to Innsbruck : no problems everything is so well signposted.
I've been to Innsbruck before. It's a lovely place. You need to remember that when you get off the train, in the majority of places, you won't be getting a good first impression. When I've booked my hotels Ive made sure they are close to the centre rather than the station

It was crazy hot again today but storms were forecast. I had enough time to look around

Before the rain came

So obviously I had a great excuse to finish off the sock I'd been working on!