A January full of travel
Glacier Express, Switzerland
Our very first trip of 2008 was on the Glacier Express, one of Switzerland's most famous train excursions. It runs from Zermatt to St. Moritz, but we hopped on in Brig, which is much closer to Geneva than going all the way to Zermatt.
The Glacier Express has been operating since 1930 and is billed as "the world's slowest express train", averaging just 36 km/h (22 mph). Since we have moved to Switzerland this famous train journey has been one of the big things on our list of things to do. We decided to pull out all the stops and booked first class tickets on a panoramic car with windows that extend to the roof.
The trip did not disappoint… it was really quite elegant with first class service and delicious food. We traveled over historic bridges, through beautiful landscapes, mountain forests, Alpine meadows, and scenic valleys. We arrived in the posh resort town of St. Moritz in the evening and walked the snow lined streets to our very nice hotel. The next day there was time for a bit of shopping and a walk around town before we caught the regular train back to Geneva.
All aboard!
We arrived in St. Moritz!
City of San Marino, San Marino
The second week of January G was off to the US for work, so I decided to travel to little San Marino, which is completely surrounded by Italy and claims to be the oldest constitutional republic in the world. I actually didn’t realize it was a country until a few months ago. Being the third smallest country in Europe (only Vatican City and Monaco are smaller), it naturally went on my list of places to go!
I made the 7 hour train journey from Geneva and found myself in the Italian town of Rimini where I had to catch a bus to the capital city of San Marino. Little did I know there are only 5 bus trips a day and I narrowly made the last one! The trip took 1 1/2 hours and by the time we got the end of the line on the outside of the town wall, I was the only passenger left! It was dark, foggy, and completely deserted and I had no clue how to even get inside the town walls, let alone my hotel!
I wandered around for a while and was thinking this may not have been the best idea. But I got some help from the owner of another hotel in town and soon I found my way safe and sound to my hotel. The next day I explored this small hilltop capital city (still engulfed in fog) and even got my passport stamped (for 10 Euros!). Soon I was on my way back. I didn’t stay long, but there wasn’t much more to see. And while the town was really cute, I was keen to get out of the fog!
The cute town of San Marino
Burgundy, France
With G back form the US we decided to rent a car and spend a long weekend in the French region of Burgundy, a region rich in history, culture and geography. Our home base was the cute little town on Beaune, just outside Dijon. This area is known for its fine cuisine and wine, but on this trip I couldn’t indulge in the later (although I did have a few sips from G’s glass).
We wanted to explore the countryside and see some of the out of the way sights. We ended up visiting the isolated, medieval Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay, one of the oldest abbeys in France (it was founded in 1118). It was such an interesting and peaceful place to wander around and we had almost the whole place to ourselves.
Next we drove to the town of Vézelay to make the pilgrimage, like thousands of others before us, to the Basilica of Ste. Madeleine where the medieval masses came to see the relics of Mary Magdalene. The Basilica is also famous for the three Crusades that started from here. We ventured down to the crypt, which is actually the foundation of the original 9th century church and the location of the famous relics (there isn’t much to see of the relics, but they are there). What a great experience, I felt like we were traveling back in time!
Back in Beaune we ate like kings and found the town so cute! The biggest sight there is the medieval charity hospital, Hôtel-Dieu, which is now a museum. On our way back to Geneva we stopped in Dijon for a few hours to get a taste of the city… it was actually quite big and crowded, much different than the three days we spent in the quiet countryside. Overall we had a wonderful time and it was just the get away we needed.
Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay
Outside the Basilica of Ste. Madeleine
Hôtel-Dieu in Beaune
Our very first trip of 2008 was on the Glacier Express, one of Switzerland's most famous train excursions. It runs from Zermatt to St. Moritz, but we hopped on in Brig, which is much closer to Geneva than going all the way to Zermatt.
The Glacier Express has been operating since 1930 and is billed as "the world's slowest express train", averaging just 36 km/h (22 mph). Since we have moved to Switzerland this famous train journey has been one of the big things on our list of things to do. We decided to pull out all the stops and booked first class tickets on a panoramic car with windows that extend to the roof.
The trip did not disappoint… it was really quite elegant with first class service and delicious food. We traveled over historic bridges, through beautiful landscapes, mountain forests, Alpine meadows, and scenic valleys. We arrived in the posh resort town of St. Moritz in the evening and walked the snow lined streets to our very nice hotel. The next day there was time for a bit of shopping and a walk around town before we caught the regular train back to Geneva.
All aboard!
We arrived in St. Moritz!
City of San Marino, San Marino
The second week of January G was off to the US for work, so I decided to travel to little San Marino, which is completely surrounded by Italy and claims to be the oldest constitutional republic in the world. I actually didn’t realize it was a country until a few months ago. Being the third smallest country in Europe (only Vatican City and Monaco are smaller), it naturally went on my list of places to go!
I made the 7 hour train journey from Geneva and found myself in the Italian town of Rimini where I had to catch a bus to the capital city of San Marino. Little did I know there are only 5 bus trips a day and I narrowly made the last one! The trip took 1 1/2 hours and by the time we got the end of the line on the outside of the town wall, I was the only passenger left! It was dark, foggy, and completely deserted and I had no clue how to even get inside the town walls, let alone my hotel!
I wandered around for a while and was thinking this may not have been the best idea. But I got some help from the owner of another hotel in town and soon I found my way safe and sound to my hotel. The next day I explored this small hilltop capital city (still engulfed in fog) and even got my passport stamped (for 10 Euros!). Soon I was on my way back. I didn’t stay long, but there wasn’t much more to see. And while the town was really cute, I was keen to get out of the fog!
The cute town of San Marino
Self portrait in front of the Town Hall in Palazzo Publico
Burgundy, France
With G back form the US we decided to rent a car and spend a long weekend in the French region of Burgundy, a region rich in history, culture and geography. Our home base was the cute little town on Beaune, just outside Dijon. This area is known for its fine cuisine and wine, but on this trip I couldn’t indulge in the later (although I did have a few sips from G’s glass).
We wanted to explore the countryside and see some of the out of the way sights. We ended up visiting the isolated, medieval Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay, one of the oldest abbeys in France (it was founded in 1118). It was such an interesting and peaceful place to wander around and we had almost the whole place to ourselves.
Next we drove to the town of Vézelay to make the pilgrimage, like thousands of others before us, to the Basilica of Ste. Madeleine where the medieval masses came to see the relics of Mary Magdalene. The Basilica is also famous for the three Crusades that started from here. We ventured down to the crypt, which is actually the foundation of the original 9th century church and the location of the famous relics (there isn’t much to see of the relics, but they are there). What a great experience, I felt like we were traveling back in time!
Back in Beaune we ate like kings and found the town so cute! The biggest sight there is the medieval charity hospital, Hôtel-Dieu, which is now a museum. On our way back to Geneva we stopped in Dijon for a few hours to get a taste of the city… it was actually quite big and crowded, much different than the three days we spent in the quiet countryside. Overall we had a wonderful time and it was just the get away we needed.
Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay
Outside the Basilica of Ste. Madeleine
Hôtel-Dieu in Beaune
posted by Swiss Miss | 12:25
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