Inter-rail 2025

Germany, Switzerland and Italy rail tour

Day 1:  Wednesday 23^rd April 2025

We had been looking forward to this trip for weeks and an early start was called for as we planned to travel from Truro to Wuppertal, north of Koln in Germany on our first day. David was very nervous regarding our transfer arrangements from home to Truro railway station, but we were totally confident that our pre booked taxi would be on time and indeed even early, showing up at our home before 5.00am to pick us up.  A huge thank you to our wonderful son, Jon, for being our heroic taxi driver!

It was absolutely chucking it down as we got out of the car and ran under cover on the platform.  An initial concern as to whether our interrail passes would open the gate on the upside of the station platforms was soon put to rest as it was open to all at this ridiculous time of the morning.  We boarded on time and were very surprised to discover that an in seat trolley facility was available, when we had expected it not to be so until we reached Plymouth.  I had prepared a flask of coffee and buttered hot cross buns for our breakfast, which we enjoyed despite the free offering of refreshments (the flask was later disposed of as it was an old one!).

It was a pretty dismal day until we ran alongside the Exe estuary as the sun gave a wonderful display over the water.  It deteriorated again as we continued, but as we were undercover in Paddington, and on the underground until we reached St Pancras we didn’t mind.  Geoff had arranged to meet an old friend, Reg, at a café in advance of our onward train, so while they all enjoyed a coffee and a transport chat, I walked up and down the concourse to maintain my daily steps total.  I was able to appreciate the beauty of this old station, with the addition of modern accessories and the statue of Sir John Betjeman.

We all went through the departures gate, which involved a complicated security check, me being quizzed on the possession of a knife! (brought to cut up and butter our baguettes for our daily picnics!) and then through passport control and the required stamps.  The waiting hall was packed with travellers waiting for the 1231 Eurostar to Paris as well as our train the 1301 to Brussels.  We saw a young German couple who had boarded our GWR train at Taunton, we think they were travelling on interrail tickets too.

After a long wait, Geoff in a seat specially reserved for the elderly (!) and me walking round and round the hall to up my steps we finally were allowed onto platform 6 and our carriage 15.  To our surprise the young Germans were in the seats next to us again!  within minutes of leaving St Pancras we were served lunch (included in our reservation), either salmon and couscous or mushrooms and pasta, neither dish appealed to Geoff or David but we enjoyed the wine!

When we arrived in Brussels, we knew that we had a fairly tight connection, but we were a little early so had enough time, despite the fact that it was not very clear where to go.  The station was smart, but the platform looked decidedly unkempt.  Our train came in just as we got onto the platform so we were lucky not to  be any later.  Our reserved seats were in carriage 28 (the numbering started at 20 for some obscure reason), and we discovered that some people were sitting in our seats, we had to point this out but fortunately the conductor came along and confirmed our reservation so they moved.  Our young German fellow travellers were continuing to Nurmberg via Frankfurt.

On arrival in Koln, the train was running about 20 minutes late, we think because some police got on the train just outside the city and then got off later at an unscheduled stop, not sure why.  We missed our planned train, but there was another only 15 minutes later, which was a faster train, arriving only 5 minutes later into Wuppertal than we had planned.  From the station it was a just a short walk across the river to the Holiday Inn Express, our base for 2 nights.  I was very excited to walk out of the station and see the sky train right in front of us, even better, we discovered that it ran right past the hotel!

After dumping our stuff, we went out for a short walk to find a light supper, this turned out to be in a Pizza restaurant sited right under the sky train!

An exhausting first day, but a good one.  The trains all ran to time except for the Brussels to Koln link, which was clearly affected by the police involvement.  We would highly recommend travelling first class – a real treat!

Key statistics for today:

• 965 kilometers travelled
• 4 trains
• 8h 47m time on trains

Day 2:  Thursday 24^th April 2025

After a good nights sleep for us both, we woke to see the sky train, or Danglebahn, as we have always referred to it, outside our bedroom window!  This is the sole reason we wanted to come to Wuppertal and it is indeed a sight to behold.

After a good breakfast we stepped out of the hotel into rain, we knew it was forecast for today and it was true to predictions and lasted all day, sometimes heavier than others.  We made our way to the tourist information office first, which was well stocked with skytrain (Schwebbebahn) souvenirs.  They did not sell the 24 hour travel tickets which we were looking for and we were directed to the station itself where we bought them from a machine on the platform.  I was so excited to board our first train!  It was packed with people and we stayed on to one end where we watched it turn round to do the return journey.  The 13.3km route is mostly built over the river Wupper, the framework of which straddles the river like a giant multi legged insect.  It was conceived and built at the end of the 19th century, finally opening in 1901 for public passenger traffic.

We travelled the full length of the route back to Vohwinkel, taking loads of photos along the way.  This end of the line was suspended over a roadway which gave a very different perspective with cars travelling underneath us.  Coffee time and we found an excellent café with an equally excellent cake to accompany it during which we checked out the local buses.  We decided to go to Solingen on a bendi trolley bus route, as it turned out the one we travelled on was an electric bus or a BOB (batterie operated bus).  Solingen is famous for its knife and stainless steel production, like Sheffield, but slightly more aesthetically pleasing.  The high spot of this bus journey was passing the Haribou factory!

On arrival in Solingen we looked to find somewhere undercover to avoid the rain and found the Hofgarten which was a large indoor shopping centre.  The bus back to Wuppertal was a very scenic route up and down hills, stopping at the charming village of Cronenberg, en route.  We got off the bus at the Stadthalle in order to walk back to the hotel, we walked part way but then boarded the skytrain to avoid the rain again. 

We split up for a couple of hours then, Geoff and I had another ride on the skytrain to return to one of the older traditional stations, Volklinger Strasse with striking black and white small symmetrical turrets. Back to the centre and we wandered around the very large indoor shopping centre with its many floors, enjoying an ice cream at one of its cafes before returning to the hotel.

David had done some research and we decided on a restaurant around the corner from the hotel.  At just after 6pm we thought it would be  empty and we could have a drink while choosing from the menu but it was full of locals!  We enjoyed a drink at the bar while we waited for a table to become available and then enjoyed an excellent meal with wine and beer, a very fitting end to a superb day in this unusual town.

Day 3:  Friday 25^th April 2025

When we woke up … it wasn’t raining …. hooray!  We enjoyed another good breakfast at this hotel, before walking to the station to catch our first train.  We bought some buns and bread for a picnic lunch, and boarded the ICE train bound for Munich, travelling as far as Stuttgart.  The train was very full but first class was very comfortable and we had plenty of room for our stuff which was just as well, when we stopped at Frankfurt airport, lots of people got on with huge suitcases.  We were quite excited as we recognized the main building  at the airport because we had driven past it on the motorway last year on our way to Croatia!

We arrived at Stuttgart and walked down the length of the train to walk to platform 2 where the second ICE train of the day, bound for Zurich had just arrived and hordes of people were walking away from the train, so we battled against the flow.  We were soon settled in our seats on the top deck of this double decker train as the first class accommodation was limited to one coach.    The scenery got better the further south we travelled, the forests changed from deciduous to conifer and the houses became more Bavarian in style.  We arrived on time into Singen in lovely sunshine and into a very smart station.

The town itself was full of life and very modern built on a grid pattern.  The main pedestrian thoroughfare was immediately opposite the station and led us straight to our hotel the MIA.  It was relatively new and the décor was very striking and modern, I think we must have been some of the first guests to use the rooms as they looked brand new.  A very helpful receptionist showed us around and invited us to help ourselves to free hot drinks.  We settled in quickly and decided to set off for a walk straight away, but by the time we got to the front door it was absolutely pouring with rain, so we decided to delay our walk and instead availed ourselves of the complimentary drinks.

Venturing out again, it was still raining so we found another posh indoor shopping centre, on three floors, as yesterday, which enabled me to achieve my steps for the day.  By the time we emerged from there it had stopped raining so I was able to explore some of the town centre which had some really attractive older buildings amidst the many modern. 

After a brief rest we headed out to find some supper and nowhere was more attractive than the brewery restaurant downstairs, the Barfusser, which owned the hotel above, to use the three free beer vouchers we had been given.  Not surprisingly, I had wine instead of beer, but the boys managed to down my beer for me and we enjoyed a very good supper.

An early night was called for after another travelling day, knowing that we have another long travelling day in front of us tomorrow, but a rather scenic one!

Key statistics for today:

• 484 kilometers travelled
• 2 trains
• 6h 21m time on trains

Day 4:  Saturday 26^th April 2025

Up early this morning and we had not booked breakfast at the hotel as we were catching another ICE train at 8.32am.  We bought coffee and croissants in a bakery next to the station and had breakfast on board.  No reservations today, so we were lucky to secure good seats on the top deck of the train again, this time to Zurich which was a 50 minute ride.  The weather was dry this morning but cloudy and a little dull to start with, but we were hoping for better further down the line, just after Schaffhausen we passed the Rhine falls, which looked out-of-focus in the hazy light.

In Zurich we had to go from the top level to the bottom level in the station, from platform 2 to platform 43!  This train was a regional train, originally scheduled to go as far as Rapperswil at the southern end of Lake Zurich, but extended today to Chur as the main line was closed for maintenance work.  Rapperswil looked very attractive with its castle and lakeside location, but that will be for another day to explore.  We pressed on to Chur where we were changing onto the Albula line to St Moritz.  We had half an hour here so had a quick look outside the station where a street market was in full swing and it was very warm in the sunshine, lots of people were sat outside cafes.

As we left Chur we were in a first class section of the train which was empty except for us so we were able to stand up and move from one side of the train to the other to take lots of photos and to enjoy our picnic lunch.  A little further on we left Thusis to start climbing which is where it got exciting as the views were spectacular and the weather matched the improvement in the scenery.  We, traversed the famous Landwasser viaduct, then, as we approached St Moritz David came up with one of his famous proposals, that we get off the train before St Moritz and catch two other trains to a station called Alp Gruem, 6,860 feet above sea level, where we could enjoy the views and spend some time in a café before rejoining the next train bound for Tirano, our ultimate destination, so of course we followed the advice of our train guru!  This route took us over the very top of the pass, through lots of snow, which was amazing, and we saw people skiing and enjoying a rather posh cable car at Diavolezza.

What we saw on both the Albula line and the route of the Bernina Express, albeit that we travelled on the regular regional service on the same route, was nothing short of spectacular.  Together they are UNESCO world heritage listed.  The climb up and down, through 55 tunnels and over 196 bridges was incredible, and we got confused at times as to which window gave us the best views across the valleys and the snow topped mountains.  The descent into Tirano included the famous circular Brusio viaduct followed by several sections where the train ran along the middle of the town!

We arrived at Tirano, the end of the line, and then crossed the square to our hotel for the night, the Hotel Bernina.  This very traditional hotel was perfect for an overnight, but I am hoping that those we stay in subsequently have better views from the windows!  Geoff and David went off to find supper and sat outside a restaurant festooned with pretty lights, while I bought a salad in the supermarket and retired to our room for some peace and quiet!  It has been a wonderful day, almost bordering on sensory overload in relation to the variety and extent of views we have experienced.

Key statistics for today:

• 208 kilometers travelled
• 6 trains
• 3h 57m time on trains

Day 5:  Sunday 27^th April 2025

Today was another travelling day but it was not another Inter rail day ….. I will explain.  We only have a 7 day Inter rail ticket, so in order to get an extra journey day, we bought tickets as we went along, because we didn’t travel far and used a ferry and a bus as part of our journey.

Breakfast at our hotel was good, and we were a little later getting up than yesterday as our first train was planned to leave at 10.08.  I went for a wander around Tirano town centre before breakfast and whilst there wasn’t a lot to see, it was an attractive town.  We had loads of space on the Italian train bound for Milan, confined as we were to second class travel today.  When we got to Verrana, on the shores of Lake Como, we walked down the hill to the lake where we boarded a ferry to Bellagio.  There were lots of people milling around on what looks to be a pleasant Sunday morning, much better weather than forecast.  The views from the ferry were brilliant, and reminded us very much of our experience of the Italian lakes last year, particularly Lake Maggiore.

Bellagio was absolutely beautiful, the promenade being fringed with trees just bursting into leaf.  We decided to have some lunch here but the first restaurant I liked the look of was fearfully expensive but we found another with a more reasonably priced menu and enjoyed a delicious fish dish (perch from the lake) and a bottle of wine.

We caught the C30 bus to Como which followed the lake edge and reminded us of a hair raising ride along the Amalfi coast several years ago.  The driver was manic!  Clearly he knew the route like the back of his hand, but the road was narrow and windy, with lots of blind bends which he took at breakneck speed.  The views however, were spectacular, and whilst not topped with a blue sky, we had glimpses of a watery sun. 

We arrived at Como station, thankfully, and bought our train tickets to Lugano, our final destination today.  We had a short wait at the station so grabbed a coffee while we did so.  Como looked worth a return visit one day, not sure we will have time this trip.  We arrived in Lugano just before 5pm and it was raining!  We cannot complain as we have had a really good dry day and the forecast going forward is excellent.

I spoke too soon!  Writing this last paragraph just 3 hours later….

We checked into the Colorado hotel having been greeted by the owner.  David had stayed here  before so he knew the drill.  We had been given an upgrade to rooms with a balcony and we were very pleased with the facilities on offer.  After a short rest and unpack, we collected our free travel tickets from reception (funded by the local tourist tax) and set off for a walk down to the lake and along the promenade into the main resort town.  As we were about to turn into the town to look for somewhere to stop for an ice cream the heavens opened and it absolutely poured down.  We found an excellent tea room serving enormous indulgent ice cream sundaes and dived in.  If anything the rain became harder the longer we were there and we realised we would just have to get wet.  We caught a funicular up to the station and then a bus back to the hotel, so soon dried off.

Day 6:  Monday 28^th April 2025

A much better sleep last night coupled with a blue sky morning bode well for a good day.  Our first breakfast of three in this hotel was also encouraging, with excellent coffee.  David had a plan for the day, so we set off at 10am to catch our first bus, a number 2 which took us directly to the foot of the Monte Bre funicular railway.

We were faced with a ticket machine which did not feature the sort of ticket we were expecting to buy, so we ended up with a slightly cheaper one, along with the hope that we were not quizzed by any ticket inspector on the way up or down!  The funicular was in two parts, the first just 4 minutes, the second taking 10 minutes with several intermediate stops.  The views on this beautiful morning were stunning.  We walked up from the top station thinking that would be where the best vantage points would be, but after expending all that energy, the vista was disappointing, but by going downhill from the top station we found the best views which coincidentally were from an excellent café!

We returned to the funicular, descended and then caught the 490 bus to Gandria, as recommended by Mr Philip Boorman – good call Phil!  The small bus, with no wing mirrors, just cameras, took us as far down the hill into the village as any vehicle could go, from there we walked down narrow windy pathways in between the houses to get down to the water.  We passed several attractive looking restaurants, but we only wanted a sandwich for lunch today, which we were lucky enough to find in a café right by the landing stage for the lake ferry, run by a local cooperative.

The ferry, which was very busy, took us across the lake to a few small settlements, which looked as though they could only be reached via the water, before returning to Lugano via Paradiso.  A stop at the Co-op to buy some fresh milk and wine was next on the agenda before returning to our hotel for a cup of tea and a doze on our respective balconies.

Drinks at 6 on Davids balcony, my goodness, we know how to live!  Unfortunately the bargain bottle of wine, was a case of ‘you get what you pay for’!!  Suitably mellow, I walked down to the promenade and Geoff and David took the bus and the town funicular and we met up, courtesy of our clever phones in the town centre.  We ate at a bistro called the Argentino, after which we strolled down to the lake before catching the number 4 bus home to our hotel.  Another lovely day, made even better by warm sunshine.

Day 7:  Tuesday 29^th April 2025

Breakfast on the terrace again this morning and it was much warmer than yesterday, with a cloudless blue sky above.  It was quite noisy sat out as there were extensive building works on both sides of the hotel, with what looks to be new apartments.

We had decided to do our own thing today, so David set off to catch a train and we took our time getting ready to go out and then walking down to the promenade.  We turned right this time and walked to Paradiso, an adjacent resort town.  The promenade was fringed with pollarded plane trees which looked architecturally elegant, as well as casting a very welcome shade.  We found some reclining chairs and enjoyed a sit in the sunshine watching the world go by before the need for coffee took us to a nearby café.

Next on our agenda was the San Salvatore funicular, which ascended a mountain on the opposite side of the bay from the Monte Bre funicular we went on yesterday.  The views from the top were equally breathtaking, this time affording a 360 degree view from the panoramic terrace on top of the Church.  We really were incredibly lucky with the weather, with crystal clear skies revealing mountains in all directions.

There was a very nice restaurant sited next to the top of the funicular and we liked the look of the menu so we chose a table on the terrace with views over the lake towards the causeway we traversed on the train when we arrived a couple of days ago, enjoying risotto and gnocchi!  For some reason the descent on both this and yesterdays funicular seemed much quicker than the ascent …. bizarre. 

We returned to the lakeside and found a shady seat to rest awhile, then I walked back into Lugano centre and Geoff caught the number 1 bus and met me there.  We caught the Citta funicular back to the station to catch the light railway link to Porte Tresa, as recommended by David, the outside temperature was showing as 27 degrees on the display screen.  We enjoyed the ride there and back but by this time we were tiring so returned to Lugarno where huge drops of rain were falling catching everyone out, but it was only short lived.   We returned to the hotel for a video chat with Jenni and the children and a cup of tea.

David’s day:  He caught the light rail to Porte Tresa, then a bus to Luino, on Lake Maggiore opposite Stresa, he was the only passenger!  He walked around the town, which was very quiet, stopping for a beer in a café with lots of free nibbles.  He then caught a train alongside the edge of the lake to a point where he got off!  (quote unquote!)  He thought there was bound to be a ferry so he walked to the landing stage at San Nazzaro for Locarno, there was one due but it arrived 15 minutes late when he and the other two people waiting were ready to give up.  Feeling hungry in Locarno he found some lunch in Macdonalds, a Big Mac did the trick, before catching a bus to Bellinzona followed by a train back to Lugarno.

After drinks on our balcony this evening we walked back to the town centre to revisit the tea room we found on our first night here to indulge in another ice cream sundae, they were worth it!

Only selfies of A&G today as D only took photos of buses, trains and boats!

Day 8:  Wednesday 30^th 2025

Last breakfast in this rather dated,  but perfect for us, hotel.  We caught the bus to the station and boarded our first train at 0855 to Bellinzona.  Our plans had changed completely in the last 24 hours as David discovered that part of our original  route was closed and we would have had to catch two buses.  With our luggage, that would have been a problem so he changed everything and what a great decision that turned out to be.

We caught the train from Bellinzona to Goeschenen and then on to Andermatt.  I recognised Goeschenen station from when we travelled on the Glacier Express with the children, some 25 years ago, on the occasion of Jonathan’s 10^th birthday when we all threw snowballs at each other!  Andermatt was in the midst of having lots of new apartment buildings put up, so looked like a building site.  We boarded our next train which was older than most, but the advantage was the opening windows, which allowed us to take photos and enjoy the warm breeze, even at the altitude of 4715 feet!  The temperatures were amazing, must have been in excess of 25 degrees!

We managed to annoy some locals as we kept the windows open for lots of photos – the  scenery was absolutely stunning … again! There was a very nice German man who was clearly on holiday like us, and he enjoyed having the window open too.

Arriving  in Brig we transferred to the train to Vevey and everything was going so well, until …. we stopped at Villeneuve and everyone got off!  We deduced that there was a problem on the line, but we had no idea what it was, so we just followed everyone else.  A very nice young Englishman offered to carry my case down the stairs and I asked him what was happening but he said he had no idea but he was stressing as he had to get to the airport!  We only had a short distance to travel to Vevey and when we got out of the station we saw a trolleybus with Vevey on the destination blind.  The bus was packed and we knew that there was another one along in 10 minutes so we let that one go and caught the next, securing good seats.

Our next stay was at the Vision apartments adjacent to the station in Vevey.  The bus stopped next to the station and we were soon keying in our access codes to our respective rooms.  We were delighted with our studio apartment, it was small, but the terrace, with phenomenal views was amazing, with views over the railway station, the mountains and the lake!

After settling in we all walked over to the Migros supermarket to buy provisions for breakfast in the apartment, indeed … on the terrace!  David went and bought the wine from Denners, a wine merchant (2 bottles of Swiss wine and 1 of Pino Grigio!).  Drinks on the terrace was amazing!  Views of the station, the snow topped mountains, the lake and the evening sun, bathing it all in a golden light.  We walked to the lake side and were lured by an outdoor restaurant which was evidently a popular venue.  The menu consisted of small plates, so we chose 5 between us, accompanied by beer for the boys and Swiss fizzy for me – delicious.

By the time we had finished our supper the sun had set leaving an orange glow on the horizon of Lake Geneva, so we walked down to the lakeside to just take in the atmosphere, oh and for me to have an ice cream cone for dessert!

Key statistics for today:

• 275 kilometers travelled
• 4 trains
• 6h time on trains

Day 9:  Thursday 1^st May 2025

Another beautiful day …. we can hardly believe how lucky we are.  We had decided to have breakfast on the terrace and David joined us having bought the bread from the Coop.  The boys had cornflakes (!) but the coffee was a bit of a disaster.  There were no instructions for the coffee machine and the resultant coffee was disappointing, wont bother with that again!  It was a real pleasure to sit on our terrace and watch the trains as well as the mountains and lake!

We caught the trolleybus this morning to the foot of the Mont Pelerin for the funicular.  It was more of a residential link than a tourist destination and when we got to the top the restaurant wasn’t open for coffee but we spied some people walking down the drive to a hotel, the Mirador Resort and Spa.  We followed and discovered a very grand, but fairly modern, 5 star hotel.  We walked in as though we had every right to be there and asked if we could have coffee on the terrace.  ‘Certainly Madam’ was the response and we enjoyed a very expensive, but worth every centime, cappuccino, with a drop dead gorgeous view across pretty much the whole of the eastern end of Lake Geneva!

We descended the funicular at which point we saw the boat Le Suisse, a beautiful paddlesteamer which tours the lake three times a day.  We decided there and then to do that tomorrow! Returning to the trolley bus, we caught it back towards Montreux, getting off at what we thought was the boarding point for the steamer, we walked along the lakeside to the correct point, but on the way enjoyed the abundance of flowers and shrubs which turned the edge of the lake into a rainbow of colours.  I took loads of photos of the lake with various floral foregrounds. 

We checked out the timings and cost of the boat for tomorrow before enjoying an ice cream sat in a café overlooking the lake in Montreux.  It was very busy with tourists and residents making the most of the fabulous weather, and we realised that we were lucky to be staying in Vevey which appeared to be less touristy.  After watching the steamer call in to drop off and pick up passengers we caught the trolleybus back to Vevey and our apartment.  Time to do some washing.

The washing took ages, because the tumble dryers were useless, same old story that we experienced in campsites everywhere!  David had been to the supermarket and bought pates and crisps for nibbles with our terrace drinks  – Swiss wine is not the best in our limited experience.  Before dinner, we walked up the road to view the beautiful gold topped Orthodox Church, one of the oldest in Western Europe, which was built in 1878.  Having had coffee in a 5 star hotel this morning, we had dinner in Macdonalds –  only fair to spread our custom evenly we thought.

A walk along the lake edge coincided with sunset and we found a park where lots of locals were barbecuing and generally enjoying the very warm evening, 25 degrees was showing on a building nearby.  It reminded us of sunset picnics at City Beach when we were in Perth, WA.  We sat and enjoyed the sun going down with fish jumping to catch the flies over the water and a heron showing off by swooping over us several times.  We walked back to our apartments through part of the old town of Vevey which was charming and worthy of more exploration tomorrow if we have time.

Day 10:  Friday 2^nd May 2025

We were all very excited about our plans for today, so after another home made breakfast on our terrace we headed to the landing stage.  Geoff and I had a walk through the old town to the lakeside where the headquarters of Nestle were located in a very grand building.  In the lake just a short distance from the shore was a striking modern sculpture of a fork! This was opposite another statue of Charlie Chaplin who lived the last 25 years of his life in a villa on the hills above Vevey.  I remembered that we had seen a statue of Charlie Chaplin before on a motorhome trip, turns out it was in July 2023 in a place called Waterville in southern Ireland where Charlie Chaplin had once visited.

We bought the tickets for the steamer at the ticket office adjacent to the landing stage and a very nice young lady said that we could use our Interrail tickets to achieve a 50% discount and when she saw our local travel card, said we could get a further 20% discount!  We couldn’t believe our luck, so first class tickets cost us 30.80 CHF instead of 71 CHF! A real bargain.

First class accommodation was on the top deck affording the best views and the best seats.  The very pleasant, and very efficient, lady ticket inspector, and probably Vice Captain judging by her involvement in every activity on the boat, wanted to see our interrail tickets and commented that the date was wrong as we didn’t want to use up a day for this, but she didn’t pursue it thank goodness.  We were soon settled in some good seats and we treated ourselves to Prosecco and Beer – this really is the life.

The first stop was Lausanne and we decided to disembark here and find some lunch, with the intention of rejoining the boat later in the afternoon to complete the circular tour back to Vevey.  Lunch was enjoyed at the Restaurant du Port, and very nice it was too, accompanied by rather a lot of very nice white wine.  Feeling suitably replete we enjoyed a walk along the lakeside, finding a shady seat to watch the world go by while we waited for La Suisse to return to pick us up.  Geoff and I had an ice cream for pudding!

The boat was a little late, but the turnaround was very slick and we were away in record time.  Fortunately it was the same ticket lady and she recognised us and smiled, so we were OK!  The trip back was long and very hot but lovely and worth every penny again. We stopped to pickup and set down at 5 places, included Chateau de Chillon, which looked majestic, built right on the edge of the lake.  This superior paddle steamer is really the thing to do and we have had a brilliant day.

We disembarked at Vevey and I was very tired, the heat really got to me I think, so I was relieved to get back to the apartment and relax.  David came round for drinks and nibbles again, but we gave up after one glass of the Swiss wine, definitely not to be recommended!

Day 11:  Saturday 3^rd May 2025

We woke to hear rain lashing the windows this morning and our lovely view of the mountains was obscured by cloud.  We really cannot complain as we have two amazing warm sunny days.  Moving on day today, so we made our way to the station for 8.30am, picking up some pastries on the way.  Our first train only took us as far as Montreux, just 4 minutes down the line, where we had time to have a coffee before boarding the Belle Epoque train to Zweisimmen on the Golden Pass route. 

This was the closest we will ever get to the Orient Express! Plush seats with decorative lighting and tables along with large windows to enjoy the views, even with rain and cloud, which actually added to the mystical atmosphere as we climbed up the mountain from Montreux then on to Gstaad.  We saw lots of cows today, many with the characteristic bells around their necks, as well as lots of Swiss chalets dotted all over the mountain sides.

From Zweisimmen we changed trains to Speiz, above Lake Thun and under the shadow of the Neissen.  We had all been here before on David’s holidays so it felt familiar.  We had time to buy a sandwich and a cake here before boarding the express train to Romanshorn via Bern and Zurich.  David had a beer with his sandwich on the train and I had some Swiss fizz!

We arrived in sunshine at Romanshorn, on the shore of Lake Constance (Konstanz) and there was some sort of event going on with lots of people eating outside the many cafes at the port, with the tour boats all lined up in front of them.  Our last train of the day was to Konstanz, which ran along the edge of the lake arriving at 16.50.  Our hotel, the Alte Post was right opposite the station, and it was a relief to check in and relax in a very posh room with the nicest bathroom we have had yet!

We went out for a walk around the waterfront, where the tourist boats depart from and were amazed by the numbers of people around, eating, drinking and just taking in the warm evening.  The forecast is pretty grim for tomorrow, so I expect like us they were making the most of the sunshine.  We walked out onto a pier which has the most unlikely revolving statue at the end called Imperia.  According to Google, it is a 30 foot statue on a rotating pedestal, depicting a woman holding Pope Martin V and Emperor Sigismund … now you know!

I went off for a longer walk out to the Alte Rheinbrucke and back through the Stadtgarten while Geoff and David found somewhere to eat, Wiener Schnitzel and chips!

Key statistics for today:

• 312 kilometers travelled
• 5 trains
• 5h 16m time on trains

Day 12:  Sunday 4^th May 2025

When you expect it to be pouring with rain and it isn’t, it feels like a win!  We woke to a blue sky so it encouraged us to want to get out and explore.  First, we enjoyed a very good breakfast, certainly the best of the holiday so far, even to the point Geoff could have some sort of cooked choices.  We made the most of it before we went our separate ways today.  Geoff and I had no plan, we just followed our noses, as has been our mantra, for the most part, on our motorhome and caravan adventures in the past.

We boarded the first bus we saw, the number 1 which took us past some large ornate old  houses, many with dates at the end of the 19^th century, and ended up in Staad which turned out to be the embarkation point for a car ferry.  A ferry was just about to depart so we walked onto it, not knowing at that point where it was going!  We climbed up to the top deck which had a very large café and lots of seating at the front and rear of the boat.  It operated like the King Harry ferry or the Torpoint ferry, so it did not turn around.  We were approached by the ticket man and showed our tourist tickets, more in hope than expectation that it would be valid, he said they were not, but return tickets for us both were only 15 euros, so we paid up and were instructed by the ticket man not to lose them!

We could see the town of Meersburg, just a short walk away from the ferry so we thought we would find a coffee then return.  We were blown away by this delightful medieval town, with its fortress, ornate gate and quaint buildings in both the main street and the lakeside promenade which was fringed with the pollarded trees we have seen everywhere on our holiday thus far.  We enjoyed our coffee looking over the lake in sunshine, then walked through the shopping street, which was bustling with tourist shops and restaurants. 

As we approached the ferry it started to rain, really rain with huge drops.  We managed to avoid the worst of it and watched from the café as it swept in horizontal swathes across the water on our return to Staad.  The bus was waiting to connect with the ferry and we caught it back to the Rhine bridge where we got off to get up close and personal with the river.  The heavens opened again and we got soaked walking back into the old town of Konstanz on the lookout for a bar and waiting for a train to cross in front of us.  We found an authentic German beer cellar and we both had a prosecco!  Having dried off, we wandered through the old town, including the cathedral, sadly clad in scaffolding, back to the hotel for a sandwich lunch and for Geoff to listen to Newcastle on the radio!

David’s day:  A train followed by a bus took David to Stein am Rhein via Radofzell where he had an hour for a walk round.  The intention was then to carry on to Uberlingen where he would then catch a ferry back to Konstanz via Meersburg where Geoff and I had visited, but sadly there had been a fatality on the route and he was unable to complete the circuit so headed back to Konstanz.

We all met up for drinks at 6 before heading to Brasserie Ignaz, a stones throw from our hotel, where we had an excellent meal.  To top it off, David and I stopped at Macdonalds and bought a Macflurry for our dessert which we smuggled back into our hotel!

Day 13:  Monday 5^th May 2025

Raining this morning, but we didn’t mind as we were moving north again, with the prospect of better weather by the end of the day.  We waved farewell to Lake Konstanz and our very good hotel, Alte Post (see old photo of when it was the main post office of the city), as our train took us over the Rhine Bridge and on through the Black Forest to Karlsruhe.  Sadly, we only glimpsed some potentially attractive views through the rain smeared windows, so I pinched a photo from Google which we think is what it would have looked like had the sun been shining.

Our train was running about half an hour late into Karlsruhe, so our planned connecting train had already left and we had some time to kill before the next.  Joy of joy, there was a Costa in the station!  We enjoyed a coffee together before I went off to have a walk around to top up my steps and I found trams! Lots of trams passing to and fro outside the front of the station, I was some excited!

Our next train took us to Mainz and that too was running a bit late, but we were all absorbed by watching the BBC News which featured the VE day celebrations including the Parade and Fly Past.  It did seem rather strange to be watching such an event as we travelled through Germany. We had a wander round Mainz station, up and down escalators, and found that this town had trams too, but I didn’t have time to photograph those!  

Our last train followed the Rhine all the way to Boppard and it looked lovely in some hazy afternoon sunshine, but we will explore it more tomorrow.  Our hotel, the Baudobriga, is situated right by the Rhine, and I had booked a room with a balcony overlooking the river, which is excellent, albeit it is much colder than we have become used to over the past 10 days, so we might not spend much time out there!  The views, however, both up and downstream are brilliant.

After settling in we set off for a walk along the promenade and through the very attractive town centre with its striking white Church.  We stopped at a bar and sat outside, Geoff and I had blankets over our knees, and Geoff and David had glasses of wine while I had a hot chocolate with cream, delicious.  We returned to the hotel and the boys went off to have some dinner downstairs.  I ate and drank too much yesterday so decided to miss dinner tonight.

Key statistics for today:

• 393 kilometers travelled
• 3 trains
• 6h 4m time on trains

Day 14:  Tuesday 6^th May 2025

Last day today and it promised to be a good one!  After a good nights sleep we enjoyed an excellent German breakfast with delicious bread and coffee.  It was a lovely morning so Geoff and I went for a walk along the river path downstream having arranged to meet David shortly before the tour boat arrived.

We boarded the Goethe promptly at 11am to head upstream.  It was a beautiful paddle steamer, very similar to that we had been in on Lake Geneva.  There were very few people on board at this stage and we had plenty of room to walk about and enjoy both the boat itself and the views from it.  There was a huge restaurant and a couple of cafes as well as the outside spaces at the front and rear, and large side seating areas above the paddles.

We had coffee and then later we had drinks and shared a plate of chips!  A large coach party had boarded a little further up river than us, and they enjoyed a full lunch which occupied most of the on board staff.

The high spots of the scenic tour were the Lorelei rock and the many castles, built high above the river on rocky promontories.  The gorge itself was fringed with deciduous forests which with their new greens looked stunning in the bright sunshine.  The sky wasn’t cloudless, and occasionally the sun was covered with a cloud, but when it reappeared, the scenery looked amazing.  Before we disembarked we treated ourselves to ice cream sundaes and Geoff had an apple cake and ice cream …. delicious.

Rudesheim was our destination, and indeed this was as far as the boat went on this trip, but whilst it returned to Koblenz via Boppard after an hour, we chose a different mode of transport home.  As we walked through the town I recognised the hotel that we had stayed in years ago with our children on the occasion of their first German Christmas Market holiday!  The Hotel Lindenwirt was where we stayed and it was a very traditional German hotel.

We looked first in the Christmas shop which was lovely but very expensive, then bought tickets for the Seilbahn, the cable car up to the Neiferwalddenkmal!  This amazing sculpted figure of Germania was built to commemorate Germany’s victory over France and the foundation of the German Empire in 1871! It was an enormous statue affording fabulous views over the Rhine valley.

By this time it was close on 5pm so we descended the cable car over the vines which cloaked the hillside, then walked to the station to catch the train back to Koblenz on the opposite side of the river to Boppard, then caught another train back to Boppard.   This journey was included in our Tourist ticket which we were given by the hotel courtesy of the tourist tax.  We got back to the hotel in time to enjoy drinks and nibbles on our balcony and watch the paddlesteamer drop off at the jetty in front of our hotel on its way back to Koblenz.

An excellent dinner in the hotel completed our day and indeed our holiday in style.  We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow to get home to Cornwall, so fingers crossed we do not experience any more delays.

Day 15:  Wednesday 7^th May 2025

Time to go home!  We were up and down in the dining room by 7.30am this morning and eating breakfast which was very kindly offered earlier than normal to us.  It was a dull day, but dry so we walked to the station leaving a very good hotel with a fabulous view behind us, including that of the Geoffrey Chaucer cruise boat sailing by!  Boppard station is very disappointing.  The underpass is full of graffiti and there is absolutely nothing to inspire tourists.  However, the 0812 train to Koblenz was on time, so that was our first concern alleviated!

From Koblenz we caught the train to Koln but not the main station, having travelled up the eastern side of the Rhine, apparently for operational reasons which David seemed to understand but we didn’t, we then had to catch another train to the Hauptbahnhof, over the Rhine bridge.  Fortunately we were in time to then catch the train to Brussels, albeit it endured a very long detour to Aachen due to track repairs which meant a late arrival into Brussels.  We had allowed a lot of time en route so we were in time to check in for the 1452 Eurostar to London.

The high spot of the Eurostar journey was the meal!  David wasn’t too keen, but Geoff and I ate everything on offer and enjoyed it!  Whilst it was running a little late into Lille, we were pretty much on time into St Pancras, and we made a speedy transit via the Hammersmith and City Line to Paddington arriving with nearly half an hour to spare.  This meant a trip to M&S and the purchase of a bottle of Prosecco along with appropriate nibbles to celebrate our successful return to the UK, and hassle free return to Cornwall.  As we crossed the Tamar the sun was setting, welcoming us home.  Many thanks to Val for meeting us and taking us all home, along with some milk for my much missed cup of tea!

What a fabulous trip we have had.  Some days have been very tiring, but there is no doubt we have seen some amazing sights from trains, paddle steamers, buses, trolley buses, schwebahn (danglebahn!), funiculars, cable cars, roof terraces and balconies – all memorable and worth all the effort of planning and travelling.

Key statistics for today:

• 1031 kilometers travelled
• 7 trains
• 10h 14m time on trains

Key statistics for the Inter rail trip: (excluding day trips)

• 3668 kilometers travelled
• 31 trains
• 46h 39m time on trains

And this was our route: