Focal point capturing travel images - travel to Switzerland

Photographing the Alps from train, bus

(First of two parts)

Ever since my engineer grandfather gave me a ride in the cab of his diesel locomotive more than 55 years ago, I have yearned to see railroads from that vantage point again.

When I read Jay Brunhouse's "All Aboard" column on Switzerland's Golden Pass Panoramic train (March '02, pg. 140), it tied in perfectly with our plans for an Alpine tour.

We had talked Pete and Judy Lindell (Judy is my wife, Betty's, cousin, from Minnesota) into joining us on the tour "Treasures of Alpine Europe" from Go Ahead Vacations (Boston, MA; phone 800/590-1170). We proposed an early departure and the Golden Pass trip to Montreux as a way of beating the tour's first-day grogginess.

I contacted the Montreux-Oberland Bernois railroad (MOB) five months before our departure and began making preparations for the cherished seats in the nose of the Golden Pass train. We would meet the Lindells in Atlanta and depart for Zurich on a Friday afternoon.

Arriving Saturday, we would catch the express train for Lucerne at Zurich airport and spend the night in that city, catching the Golden Pass train for Montreux on Sunday morning, On Monday, we would return via Golden Pass to Interlaken and join our tour group.

There was one fly in the planning ointment. I used an Italian calendar bought in Tuscany a year before -- its week started on Monday, with Sunday on the far right instead of Saturday. Not noting that, and wanting to leave on a Friday, I picked the wrong date off the calendar and gave that to the MOB people. Consequently, we were given reservations for one day ahead of our arrival, a fact I wouldn't notice until it was too late.

This is, indeed, a photography column and I was fortunate enough to make the Switzerland trip with a test single lens reflex camera, the digital D100 from Nikon.

We arrived in Zurich and maneuvered our luggage to the airport Bahnhof (train station). Those saw-toothed baggage carts and escalators do work, but what a thrill! Right on schedule, our 10:35 express for Lucerne left the station and two hours later we arrived in Lucerne.

Jet lag vanished as we dragged our luggage from the station to Hotel des Alpes, overlooking the famed Chapel Bridge. On the Seebrucke Bridge, a dance troupe passed us, their bodies wriggling in time with the techno rock coming from their boom box.

The crowds along the Rathausquai included some folks in the strangest costumes, and as we checked in we discovered we'd arrived on one of the most important days of the month-long Lucerne Fringe Festival.

After a quick lunch and short nap, the four of us hit the streets to join the festival activities. The combination of techno music blaring from many venues and the chiming of Lucerne's church bells created an unreal soundtrack for a spectacular visual event.

Kornmarkt (place) in the Old Town was filled with spectators watching a hairdresser in silver lame and purple chromed hair create punk "do's" for volunteers from the crowd. In a nearby clothing store, a dance troupe gyrated to their boom box. With my ISO set to 800, I shot everything with enthusiasm.

A troupe of costumed people of all sexes, shapes, ages and sizes marched back and forth across the pedestrian bridge in a mock fashion show, their dresses a splash of bright color against the gray-brown backdrop of the old town.

By nightfall, I was satisfied I could return home with a successful photo shoot, even after the first day.

The pre-dawn sky lightened the silhouette of Mount Pilatus and spurred me to attempt a 3-image panorama from my hotel balcony. Since my lightweight tripod was packed deep and ready for the train, I hand-held the camera and shot carefully at 1/30 of a second.

We bought our first-class tickets and boarded the narrow-gauge Brunig train, the first leg of our Golden Pass journey. Our coach sported giant windows arching to the roof, making photography of the glorious scenery a snap. The train eases by lakes Lucerne, Wichel, Sarnen and Lungern before attaching itself to the cog rail for the climb over 3,000-foot Brunig Pass and down into Meiringen.

Then it's a quick run along the north shore of Lake Brienz before pulling into the major station at Interlaken Ost. I found that holding my lens very close to the window glass eliminated most reflections from the train's interior.

Betty had worried for months about the 7-minute span we were allotted to transfer trains, but we made it with two minutes to spare and took our seats in an official Golden Pass coach. With club-style swiveling seats, this was truly a luxurious train.

We sped west and south from Interlaken into the Simmental Valley past green, rolling pastures and tiny villages. In Zweisimmen, we had another 7-minute change to the panoramic train, but this involved just a short walk down the platform.

We loaded our bags into an empty seat (the meager baggage area was full) and made our way to the long-awaited seats in the nose of the train. I felt like the baby bear when I discovered someone sitting in my seat!

After studying my reservation, the conductor pointed out that we should actually be coming back from Montreux on that day's train. Fortunately, there was one nose seat empty and we took turns riding in it.

After a quick stop in Gstaad, we pulled into a siding to meet the northbound Golden Pass train. My photo shows the smiling people sitting in "our" reserved seats. As the line slowly climbed, we passed through Chateau d' Oex with its private schools, then plunged into a very long tunnel.

The rails emerged high above Lake Leman, then wound down the steep mountain on a series of hairpin curves through vineyards and suburbs, ultimately to the station at Montreux.

At the MOB desk I discovered my calendar error but found that nose-car seats were available for our return the next day. The helpful agent printed out our tickets and we headed for Hotel Helvetie.

The Helvetie is a fine relic of fin de siecle grandeur and thoroughly charmed us on our first stay six years before. We were given our same huge room and the Lindells were put in a 2-room suite. We explored the vast lobby and took the 4-person cage elevator to the roof terrace.

After a lakeshore lunch, we caught the number-four bus to Chateau Chillon, one of our tourist goals for the Montreux stay. Unfortunately, our second goal, the Restaurant 'au Museum, was closed on Sunday and we made do with the Helvetie's dining room that night.

Having cocktails on the Helvetie's roof garden was a glorious experience. The sun was setting. on the shore of the massive lake while, to the east, snow-covered peaks turned to dark shapes against the night sky. We were two days away from home and jet lag seemed far away.

Armed with our reserved seat tickets, we confidently approached the Montreux station the next day. Drizzle and fog were not a promising start. Surely, when our train poked through the long tunnel, we would discover a sunny Swiss day.

It was not to be. A uniformed functionary announced in very bad English, "Train is sick. You will ride bus." It was a disgruntled crowd that trudged down the platform, loading bags into the hold and packing into a tour bus that had seen better days.

We were too many for the one bus, so the last six passengers were put on a modern, double-decker bus and off we went. Clutching my Golden Pass tickets, I watched with I envy, as the lucky six in the second bus waved from their front window seats.

The ride was about 45 miles, north to Bulle, then south past Gruyeres to the tiny town of Montbovon where a Swiss train, certainly not the Golden Pass, awaited. On the bus, we were given a refund of $17 per couple and told that we would ride the Golden Pass from Zweisimmen to Interlaken.

Alas, our local train made every stop and arrived in Zweisimmen seven minutes late. Our party was resigned,. but several of the passengers were outraged that the Golden Pass line did not wait for us. Swiss trains do run on time.

Our return to Interlaken involved catching a regular train north to Spiez, then transferring to another train for the 12-mile ride to Interlaken. As our Swiss rail adventure came to an end, we debated whether to leave the train at Interlaken West or the big terminal at Interlaken Ost. We chose the east terminal and after a cab ride across town discovered our tour hotel, the Continental Central, a half block away and overlooking the west station.

Next time: we join our tour group and start to shoot through bus windows.

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