To ride on the Glacier Express, we are required to purchase two things: a seat reservation (only on the Glacier Express website) and train tickets. Seat reservations for the Glacier Express usually go on sale 93 days before the trip. As our trip booking falls within the closure period of the train service (the train service closes every year between Early October and early December), we were not able to make seat reservations 93 days before our trip. When the reservations went on sale, the website was cranky for one week. The original First Class experience we wanted was snapped up before we could book. Worried that we might not get our reservations on the day that we wanted to travel (as our schedule is pretty much inflexible), I had to call the company in Switzerland to purchase seat reservations for Second Class. It would cost more if we were to make the seat reservation and purchase the required tickets together on the Glacier Express website. I chanced upon a YouTube video where the creator shared some very good tips for saving money. The trick is only to make seat reservations on the Glacier Express website (which is mandatory at CHF 54 regardless of First or Second Class), and purchase the train tickets on the SBB website, which offers a saver day pass for CHF 44 for Second Class (compared to the CHF 76 on the Glacier Express website.
Our Three-Course Meal
We also find the three-course meal (costs CHF49 per pax) on board to be exceptional value (given how expensive food is in Switzerland), but drinks are expensive on board. We pre-booked our meal when booking the train tickets and brought our own drinks. At the start of the journey, shortly after departing from Zermatt, a train staff member came around the train carriage to confirm our booking for the three-course meal. Meals were in a standard set, as I am allergic to mushrooms, the staff was happy to swap out my mains for any of the mains (basically, there were only two, vegetarian and non-vegetarian options) in the menu. Another staff member came around 10.45 am to set up the table for all passengers who ordered food; the setting up of the table rivals those in Business Class flights. The first course, Pumpkin and chestnut soup, was served at 11.15 am. The soup was hearty with a strong hint of pumpkin taste, especially in a cold winter. As I swapped out my mains to the Chicken Tikka Masala, my mains were served earlier than my friends who stuck with the mains from the fixed menu. The chicken was tasty and tender, and the curry was not too spicy. My friends’ mains, Chicken fricassée in morel-mushroom cream sauce, came around noon. A staff first laid the table with a plate, and another went around serving fries, and yet another came around serving the chicken with the sauce. My friends commented that the chicken was tender and the sauce was flavourful. Desserts, mango and passion fruit cake, came around 12.30 pm. Rather than calling it a cake, the dessert felt more like a moose cake. The cake was smooth, and the taste of mango was strong. We enjoyed the three-course meal and thought it was extremely value for money.
The Journey
Section 1: Zermatt to Brig
Our train ride started from the alpine village of Zermatt, with this train station as either the start or the end of the Glacier Express ride. There are staff at the platform checking our seat reservation and pointing out where our train car is. Despite our train leaving at 8.52 am, we arrived at Zermatt Bahnhof at 8.15 am so that we could find places for our luggage. The Glacier Express has a small compartment behind each carriage for passengers to stow their luggage. The luggage compartment wasn’t large, and we were glad we arrived early, so we managed to find spaces for our luggage. So it pays to get early to the train station for those of us who brought our big luggage along for the ride.
The first section of the ride was relatively flat as we pulled out from Zermatt Bahnhof, but little did we realise that we were actually descending the mountain as Zermatt sits on a higher plain. Along the way, the scenery felt familiar. The scene of an occasional river that flows alongside the snowy mountainscape, decorated by trees that grew beside the railway track with snowcapped mountains as the backdrop, reminded me of the scenes that we had seen for the past few days in Switzerland.
Section 2: Brig to Andermatt
The second section of the ride is where the scenery shifted to mountainous. The train slowly climbed up the mountains after Brig, and the train stations seemed further apart, with built-up areas giving way to mountains and ski slopes. Accompanying us at the side of the tracks were more pine trees and highways, with the occasional appearance of rivers alongside the tracks. Relatively large towns became small villages that are spread further from each other. This is the section where the train started climbing up the mountains, starting from 670m in Brig to 1,350m in Andermatt. Out of the windows, we can see the entire village resting at the foot of the mountains. Occasionally, villages with a handful of houses appear beside the train either at a distance or next to the track. 3 hours into the ride, we arrived at Andermatt. This is where the Glacier Express make a brief stop with most passengers in the other second-class carriage alighted (we got to know from the train staff that they were part of the tour group).
Section 3: Andermatt to Chur
After the brief stop at Andermatt for the tour group to alight, we continued our journey towards St. Moritz. At this point, the train will continue to climb to the highest elevation at 2,033m. As we continue to climb up the mountains, we can see the entire city of Andermatt sitting between two mountains, donning white apparel made of snow. The scenery was beautiful, and it was what we had imagined we would see. We could see cable car stations afar, sitting on top of the mountain, catering for skiers to hit the slopes. Andermatt was the last city we saw on the leg as we climbed up the mountains. Our sight was filled with snowy mountains that seemed to get shorter as we ascended the mountains. It was a surreal experience, sitting in the train looking out the large windows of the Glacier Express, witnessing how the train travels to be on the same level as the mountain peaks afar. Other than an occasional hut sitting on the side of the mountain, it was white snow all around us.
We arrived at the peak station with a cableway situated right next to the train station. This is the highest point in our entire 8-hour Glacier Express ride. At first, I thought the train would stop here for us to get off and take pictures (at least this was what I saw on YouTube), but I was disappointed that the train merely passed through the station. The mountainscape continued to entertain us as the train started its descent. Other than the pine trees that lined the side of the railway track, occasionally we would ride past a town that was perched at the foot of the mountains. The train made a 15-minute stop at Disentis, where we got off the carriage to stretch our legs and enjoy the winter climate. After leaving Disentis, we saw more wintery scenery along the ride, with civilisations appearing more frequently. The mountain ranges that were so close to us earlier on now took a back seat, and rivers came to the foreground. Just before we enter Chur, our next stop since Disentis, we saw mountain cliffs presiding over the river as the train snakes next to the river on the side of the mountains. We have entered the Rhine gorge, where a dramatic landscape dominated our sight. This region is also known as the “Swiss Grand Canyon” due to the stone cliffs sitting at the side of the river. We rode beside the river until we arrived at Chur.
Section 4: Chur to St. Moritz
The train made a brief 10-minute stop at Chur, mainly to connect the locomotive. This is where we started to travel in the opposite direction towards St. Moritz. The Chur to St. Moritz leg would be our final leg, where we will be passing over the valley on the iconic Landwasser Viaduct. I was looking forward to this leg of the ride. As the train pulled out of Chur, we were once again treated to the views of the city slowly giving way to the gorgeous Rhine Gorge. At this point, I was busy taking pictures that I had missed out on earlier on our way into Chur. Due to the reflection on the windows of the Glacier Express, I spent most of the time in the train exit area, where the windows can be lowered for me to take non-reflective pictures. When not taking pictures, I was back at my seat staring at Google Maps to track where we were, ensuring I was ready at the train exit area to take pictures of the Landwasser Viaduct. It was about 1 hour after leaving Chur, and we were about to arrive at the bridge. I hurried to the train exit area to take pictures of the train making its way onto the bridge. However, my excitement was soon diminished. The actual journey on the viaduct was only 1 minute. From the train, it is difficult for us to appreciate the beauty of the bridge. To make things worse, the views on the bridge weren’t spectacular, and the absence of snow made it feel like an ordinary bridge. After passing the Landwasser Viaduct, the train went through a series of tunnels, where at the end of the tunnel, we were once again seeing similar mountain and village scenes that we had seen earlier in the ride. The Glacier Express ended the journey some 1½ hours later at St. Moritz.
St. Moritz to Zurich
The whole purpose of coming all the way to St. Moritz was to see the Glacier Express steaming past the Landwasser Viaduct. However, this part was so short that it zoomed past before we knew it. While the views along sections of the train ride were scenic, they weren’t particularly eye-catching. Most of the other passengers were either busy chatting or eating. To a certain extent, I find it a little underwhelming. Would I do the Glacier Express again? Probably not. As we did not plan to stay in St. Moritz, we got onto the next train with the shortest time to Zurich, where we will stay for the next two nights. The train ride to Zurich was rather uneventful; due to the darkness outside, we couldn’t really appreciate the scenery. We arrived at Zurich some 2 hours later and checked into our hotel, where we retired and rested for the night. After all, we would need the energy to explore the city of Zurich tomorrow.
