Switzerland By Train

10/05/2025 - 17/05/2025

Would you pay $10 (NZD) for a single shot of espresso? The answer is probably a resounding fuck no. This too was my answer standing in the train station in Lucerne in Switzerland waiting for my train to Interlaken. While I was aware of it, Switzerland was really damn expensive. I rationalised it in a way by thinking of it as tax to pay for the stunning landscapes you get to see in the landlocked multi-lingual country in the heart of Europe. 

My first foray into Switzerland began in the Italian speaking part, in the city of Lugano. Some mountains overlooking a beautiful lake was my background for relatively tasty supermarket lunch, mixed with some planning for my next few days, as I was still unsure as to where I would be sleeping the next day. The prospect of not knowing where you are going to be the next day can be pretty daunting for some, but something about it gives me a real sense of spontaneity and adventure that I really relish. My stay at the "Lugano Youth Hostel" that evening was a tad weird, a giant hybrid hostel/motel sorta vibe, but it was virtually empty. Also the bunk beds were pushed right next to each other so my bed on the top bunk was right next to the one adjacent to it. Thank god no one was in it, as I would have virtually been sleeping in the same bed as a random person. 

Interlaken was my next destination, saying Guten Tag to the German speaking part of Switzerland. I had sorted a stay in Balmer's Hostel, which was reviewed as being a great place to meet people, something I was in need of after a few solo days. This certainly turned out to be true, meeting two Americans, both called Justin, as well as one of my best connections on the trip so far, Adam from the mighty Waikato, a Hamilton native who had seen the light and moved to Auckland. Adam and I arranged to explore the local area with a walk and a few train rides up to the mountains the next day. We had a brilliant day sharing our travel stories, struggles with solo-travel and relationships and just in general treasuring speaking in our full kiwi accents and slang. Taking the train up to 1500+ metres in elevation, high up in the mountains was a unique experience. And a cheap one, all included in my Eurail train pass. Getting drenched to the bone walking back to the hostel was not on Adam and I's plans for the afternoon, but this was quickly fixed by a few beers back at the hostel. Very changeable weather in the alpine valleys of Switzerland! 

It transpired that Adam was also going in the same direction as me the following day, so we both decided to hang out in Bern, the capital of the country. We had some more great chats, and a wander around the streets of Bern, taking in the relaxed vibe of the relatively green city, as well as the bear sanctuary on the banks of the Aare River. A $25 kebab was for dinner after parting ways with Adam and realising I had no kitchen to cook at in the hostel. Did I mention Switzerland was expensive? I had a few brief chats with people at the hostel before getting a relatively early night. I had a bit of a mare in the early hours the next morning when I dropped my phone down the back of my top bunk onto the bloke sleeping below me. Having a train to catch early in the morning, I needed to wake up with my alarm, and to do that I needed to retrieve my phone. I lay there reading for a bit seeing if old mate below me would wake up so I could look for my phone. Fortunately he did soon and I easily found it. Anxiety calmed. A few more winks and I was awake again to get the train to St Gallen. 

In St Gallen I stored my bags in a locker at the train station for a cool 12 Swiss Francs ($25 NZD...) in a similar sized locker I had paid 2 Euros for in Vienna. Switzerland man. My next adventure was to one of the tiniest countries in the world, the double landlocked country, Lichtenstein. A couple of trains and I arrived in the country taking up a small valley between Switzerland and Austria, no bigger than the Auckland isthmus. No more than an hour was required here with me walking probably a third of the length of the entire country. A unique place to tick off the bucket list but I wouldn't recommend planning a long weekend here. A chill night in St Gallen in a private room was very much needed and the place even had washing machines and dryers to use for free - bonus! 

Some more staring out of the window at mountains from a train was on the cards the following day, a really enjoyable activity for me. My final destination that day was the funnily named city of Chur. Now for all you kiwis reading, I'm sure you would have a chuckle just like me at a place name like Chur. Honestly I picked Chur to stay mostly because of the name. Chur for that my bro. The hostel seemed promising from the reviews and pictures online but it was rather disappointing with a self-guided pub crawl supposedly "organised" by the hostel. They just gave us a list of pubs in the town. Oh and it was just me and this older American guy. We still had an enjoyable time and some good yarns about the NBA, American politics and life in general. 

An early train awaited me the next day, with my aim to get to Frankfurt for the night, with a few hours in Zurich to explore. Zurich turned out to be rather boring, albeit still quite pretty. It just wasn't really my vibe, and like the rest of Switzerland, expensive. My first (and most certainly not the last) experience with the very-unpunctual, often-delayed Deutsche Bahn (German State Railways) was a "joy", but I was only delayed an hour or so getting into Frankfurt. A kebab and a hotel room for the night was great ahead of an early train to Dresden for the next exciting chapter in my journey, seeing my best mate, Lance. 

Overall Switzerland was a welcomed chapter after an interesting time in Italy filled with lots of emotion. A beautiful country, great trains, expensive, but well worth a visit. Stayed tuned for the next episode of Callum's wandering adventures with some special guest characters. Chur.