{"id":3052,"date":"2016-05-18T08:31:12","date_gmt":"2016-05-18T16:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/?p=3052"},"modified":"2019-08-22T14:40:53","modified_gmt":"2019-08-22T22:40:53","slug":"glacier-express","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/?p=3052","title":{"rendered":"Glacier Express"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Glacier Express\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZnlqNIIy2zc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption>Glacier express ride overview<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When we boarded the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.glacierexpress.ch\/en\/Pages\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Glacier Express<\/a> panorama train in St. Moritz we shared the car with only one other couple. This made the first few hours an enjoyable experience of gliding down from the &#8220;Top of the World&#8221; while jumping from side to side shooting hundreds of photos pressed against the high windows.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=9qrO7yj0sFI\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=DR_LVPPnMU8\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=U0IgEiKz8r0\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-flickr wp-block-embed is-type-photo is-provider-flickr\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/HSW6C9\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/7419\/27487007252_f713213fd1_z.jpg\" alt=\"_DSC2616\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When we got a bit lower to Chur things took a turn (pun intended). A group of retired-but no less rowdy-German tourists, complete with barking guide, filled up the rest of the car and started downing shots of (they were German so I&#8217;ll assume) Jagermeister. That was the end of our moving about in the cabin, or sliding through the countryside in peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=WGNmAojSy98\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-flickr wp-block-embed is-type-photo is-provider-flickr\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/HBcSq9\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/7688\/27309020680_138597ee2b_z.jpg\" alt=\"_DSC3117\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-flickr wp-block-embed is-type-photo is-provider-flickr\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/HSWyRs\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/7238\/27487098852_93cfe2154c_z.jpg\" alt=\"_DSC3182\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the views were still dramatic as we ate a surprisingly delicious lunch next to the &#8220;Grand Canyon of Europe,&#8221; the Verdon Gorge. It was nice, but the Swiss part is just a little grey gorge with a blue stream, reminded me of Colorado. The grander parts must be on the western&nbsp;side in France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=Ry_leQTEcis\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=_mJkOqy19yE\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>With lunch all done we headed up to the snowy peaks of the <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Oberalp_Pass\" target=\"_blank\">Oberalp Pass<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-flickr wp-block-embed is-type-photo is-provider-flickr\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/HSWAF9\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/7455\/27487104982_cf4214a482_z.jpg\" alt=\"_DSC3210\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We&#8217;d driven Mount Evans, which tops out at 14,000 feet, but somehow the nearly 7,000 feet of Oberalp Pass felt higher.\u00a0The reason is that, unlike the roads through the Rockies, the ascent and descent\u00a0are very swift and you can often see all the way to the bottom from the top by looking down instead of far out. In Colorado, you have to drive for hours to go all the way to the summit. In Switzerland, they whisk you up in minutes on twisty train tracks or a vertical funicular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=XsRXF3ywkAA\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>After crossing through the snowcaps we surged down into <a href=\"http:\/\/www.andermatt.ch\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andermatt<\/a>, where most of our German friends stumbled out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-flickr wp-block-embed is-type-photo is-provider-flickr\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/HSWE9w\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/7180\/27487116662_4ea43f434a_z.jpg\" alt=\"_DSC3248\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=_mJkOqy19yE\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=ztWKfWyUYYU\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The next few hours were spent in a wide (by Swiss alps standards, which means maybe a mile or two at most) green valley with farmlands fed by the visible glacial waterfalls tumbling from the snowy peaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=qRlsoo_bTc4\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=a5F5X0jp-Wg\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-flickr wp-block-embed is-type-photo is-provider-flickr\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/HSWKMW\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/7301\/27487135652_89727eeba2_z.jpg\" alt=\"_DSC3279\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Eventually, we headed up again, climbing to a little town clinging to the cliffs called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.myswitzerland.com\/en-us\/brig.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brig<\/a> and then eventually lifting through tighter canyons until we reached the end of the line (and farthest west we&#8217;d go on this trip): <a href=\"http:\/\/www.zermatt.ch\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zermatt<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When we boarded the Glacier Express panorama train in St. Moritz we shared the car with only one other couple. This made the first few hours an enjoyable experience of gliding down from the &#8220;Top of the World&#8221; while jumping from side to side shooting hundreds of photos pressed against the high windows. When we [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":4137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3052"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4465,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3052\/revisions\/4465"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}