{"id":17812,"date":"2018-03-19T07:39:01","date_gmt":"2018-03-19T07:39:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/?p=17812"},"modified":"2018-03-22T10:08:37","modified_gmt":"2018-03-22T10:08:37","slug":"swiss-railing-bliss-with-inntravel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/swiss-railing-bliss-with-inntravel\/","title":{"rendered":"Swiss Railing Bliss with Inntravel"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Andermatt Church<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Switzerland is definitely one of those countries that looks exactly as it does in your mind’s eye before<\/em>\u00a0you visit, which is quite a rare thing nowadays come to think of it…\u00a0 \u00a0Vietnam looked nothing like I imagined, Sarajevo looked more like Istanbul than I ever expected, Denmark was much flatter and had more bikes than I ever envisaged, Slovenia looked more like a cross between Italy and Austria than I thought it ever could, but Switzerland?\u00a0 For once my brain got that 100% right.<\/p>\n

Real is the spellbinding scenery full of impressive and infamous mountains such as the Matterhorn, the Jungfrau and the Eiger.\u00a0 The lakes really are as crystal clear as you pictured them to be, and many (and extremely pretty!) are the wooden alpine chalets you might have dreamed of in the past.\u00a0 \u00a0 As for the immaculate and extensive travel network you might well expect a country like Switzerland to have given its reputation for luxury and efficiency, well that’s very real too – making it one of those destinations that’s both stunningly beautiful, and relatively straight forward to navigate.<\/p>\n

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Photo Credit –Mattias Milos – via Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Up to now, we have only explored a tiny percentage of Switzerland (also famous for its chocolate and cheese, which should probably make it one of my absolute favourites of all time), but apart from a very fondue-tastic ski week spent in glorious Andermatt<\/a> a couple of years ago, driving across it from Munich to get to France, or cutting down through Liechtenstein then navigating our way through impressive Swiss Mountain passes on the way down to Italy has been the extent we have seen of it.\u00a0 Not exactly relaxing journeys mind you (especially with me map reading!), but memorably beautiful nonetheless, which is why Switzerland is somewhere we have book marked for a lengthier sojourn in the next year or so.\u00a0 \u00a0And, what better way to see it than via its rail network?\u00a0 After all, this is a journey I think our absolutely train bonkers toddler would be spellbound by, and our older two should be fully enchanted with (once we had gotten over any “who’s sitting by the window” arguments of course).<\/p>\n

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Swiss Roof Tops – Andermatt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Swiss Railway Journeys<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We have undertaken one big family trip by rail through Japan<\/a> in the past, which was jam packed full of iconic scenery and of course incredibly fast and famous trains.\u00a0 \u00a0Whilst it was a brilliant adventure, it wasn’t perhaps the most relaxing trip at times.\u00a0 \u00a0This was mostly thanks to relatively mediocre planning on our part, not to mention the few stressful incidents that included one child traumatised for life having almost been left behind on a Tokyo platform, various ticket misunderstandings, and total confusion as to whether we were on the correct train or not at one point (thankfully Mount Fuji graciously confirmed that we were!), and that was all with a husband who can speak quite a bit of\u00a0 Japanese. Since then, I have always said that any future “holiday by rail” would be a 100% stress free experience as I would choose a country a little bit closer to home,\u00a0 AND get someone else to do all the planning for me to ensure the whole thing is hassle free.<\/p>\n

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Swiss Cow – Photo Credit – Florian Van Duyn via Unsplash <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And this is where Switzerland comes in, as it’s equally famous for its trains and with just as beautiful scenery.\u00a0 \u00a0Whilst Japan has its bullet trains and famous peaks, Switzerland has truly mighty mountains and trains that are the total opposite of bullet, like the Glacier Express – described as the slowest express train in the world – which is just as well, as it takes you on what could possibly be the most beautiful 8 hour train journey in the entire world between Zermatt and St Moritz so you absolutely don’t want it to hurry past…<\/p>\n

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Photo Credit – Jonathan Bean via Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thanks to my good friend\u00a0Trish of Mum’s Gone To, and her recent travels to Austria<\/a> and Finland<\/a> and Portugal<\/a>, I know exactly which company I will use to take all the hassle out of planning such a trip through as well – Inntravel,\u00a0 an English company who have specialised in slow travel since 1984 (by which they mean taking the time to celebrate the places, events, folklore, traditions and food that help define an area).\u00a0 In that time have built a pretty good reputation, and I have heard nothing but good things about them in terms of looking after their customers well, and planning every single aspect of an itinerary meticulously for a perfectly tailored holiday (there are a few of us who won’t write for, or about any old travel company you know!).<\/p>\n

Many of the destinations Inntravel specialise in (25 to be precise) are in Europe, but a few countries slightly further afield also make the list, such as India, Nepal, Morocco and Turkey.\u00a0 Whilst a few of the countries might sound overly familiar to a lot of us, this company often choose to take the less trodden route as it were, for a more unique trip.\u00a0 \u00a0As for the type of holiday, well that’s completely up to you!\u00a0 Inntravel sort the accommodation, and craft self guided itineraries to take all the hard work out of it for you.\u00a0 \u00a0There are walking or cycling adventures to choose from, adventures by car, or family holidays at a pace that suits everyone.\u00a0 Then there are snow holidays, or holidays with private guides, holidays by boat, or holidays that see you travelling extensively by train (or both!), which brings me right back to Switzerland again…<\/p>\n

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Photo Credit – Rucksack Magazine<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Inntravel offers a couple of brilliant options when it comes to Swiss Rail breaks<\/a> thankfully (which will make my job far easier when pleading my case for such a trip before Mr R)…\u00a0 From their “Journey ‘Across the Roof of Europe<\/a>‘ which incidentally allows you to bypass any kind of plane journey if you opt to leave London via Eurostar in the morning, change at Paris and arrive in Switzerland by the evening!\u00a0 Then the next chapter of your adventure begins with days packed full of all manner of locomotive travel across Switzerland, including funicular journeys, cog trains, a trip to Europe’s highest station, and all whilst taking in some spectacular views of iconic mountains, lakes and fairy tale scenery along the way (and with some pretty lovely hotels to stay in too!), and all with absolutely no travel detail to worry about (apart from who’s sitting next to the window!!).\u00a0 \u00a0 I am pretty much sold I think…<\/p>\n

*post in collaboration with Inntravel.\u00a0 \u00a0All words and opinions very much my own<\/em>!<\/p>\n

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