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Up and at ’em by 6:30 AM, it’s gonna be a long day. We leave Saint-Léonard VS [Saint-Léonard, Switzerland] with a teenagers-filled regional train back to Visp, where we already stopped yesterday.

Still no time to see around I’m affraid, as we get in the next train early: and it was a great decision.

Today, we’re going to do the famous Glacier Express. Well, the Budget Glacier Express: we’re actually going the exact same railway as the Glacier Express, but we’re using regional trains instead. Why? Because even with interrail, it would cost a whopping 50 € for a seat reservation. In a super-full train. Cons: We won’t have the panoramic cars, and we will need two days and no less than seven trains to reproduce its road.

But first, we need to reach Zermatt. And there we got our first good surprise: we got lucky enough to get a panoramic train on our way up! For free, thanks Interrail! And what a railway! Insane canyons and high peaks (most peaks over 4,000 m in Switzerland are in this area)… It was a great time. Funfact: part of this railway uses cogwheel, a type that I haven’t done before on this trip!

Once in Zermatt, we went to check the Gornegrat cogwheel train. This one goes to none other than the second highest railway station in the World, only second to Jungefrau, also in Switzerland! However, the absurd price of 130 € (!!!!!!!) for a return ticket detered us quite fast. Oh well…

Instead we walked in the town, and finally caught sight of the mighty Matterhorn, the emblematic horn-shaped summit of the region. We didn’t walk too far, as we had our bags and everything, even the gorges, were behind a massive paywall. Did I mention Switzerland was expensive? Under the shade of a tree, we laid on a perfectly shaped wooden chaise longue, facing the mighty Horn.

A couple hours later, we were back on the train to Visp for the first leg of our Budget Glacier Express. Sadly, no panoramic car this time. But it’s more than good enough!

Back to Visp, that we decidedly didn’t visit, and we were on our way for the longest leg for today, towards Andermatt. Again, the mountains got progressively crazy in the South, as we followed the Rhône river, which at this stage was nothing but a big stream. Crazy to think what it looks like in Lyon.

A fun thing during this part of the trip: we passed a couple of actual Glacier Express train. It turns out that the carraiges are as panoramic as the first train we got, and was packed full with old rich people. After all, only the manunkind can afford this trip. So all in all, a great decision!

In Andermatt, we changed for what was possibly the best part of the trip: climbing to the highest point of the line, at over 2,000 m! The ascension was fast, zigzaging along the mountainside, with a jaw-dropping view over the valley. Up there, we followed an half-frozen lake, full of blocks of ice like small icebergs. I haven’t seen that since Norway, three months ago.

Finally we took the last train of today between Disentis/Munstér and Chur. The peaks were lower, but the cliffs on the rivers’ bank were as great to look at.

We finally reached Chur and the hostel (which is a former prison btw) and went for a deserved early sleep.