GoldenPass Line 金色山口快车 — Journey of Our Dreams (追梦)

May 28, 2022

This morning we packed our belongings and said goodbye to Lucerne. It was convenient to have a flat in Lucerne as our base for the last seven days, and we didn't have to pack and unpack each day when we headed out for sightseeing. Today, we were moving to our next base, Montreux, a beautiful resort town on the bank of Lake Geneva.

Interlaken Express and GoldenPass Line are part of the classic Grand Train Tour of Switzerland, which also includes Montreux-Zermatt with the Matterhorn, Glacier Express, Bernina Express, and Gotthard Panorama Express. Today, we started with Interlaken Express running from Lucerne to Interlaken, then switched to the GoldenPass line connecting Interlaken to Montreux with changes at Spiez and Zweisimmen. It is recommended to have a seat reservation for the Panoramic train. With the Swiss Travel Pass, the GoldenPass route was free, but we had to pay a small fee to reserve a seat. Since we had to do a few transfers today and did not want to miss our last segment of the train ride, we boarded our first train from Lucerne to Interlaken Ost early in the morning. After less than two hours of a train ride, we arrived at Interlaken Ost, and then we hopped on another train to Spiez, a very short ride of fewer than 30 minutes. Once in Spiez, we did not go for the next train immediately. Instead, we did a brief tour of the area nearby. Spiez is a small charming town on the shores of Lake Thun. The view over the lake from outside the train station was fantastic. It had the perfect angle for the postcard-like view of a beautiful village and lake.

Our third train of the day from Spiez to Zweisimmen was not very long either, about 45 minutes. We arrived in Zweisimmen earlier before our boarding time for our fourth train, the GoldenPass Panoramic train. The train station was surprisingly small, with no luggage storage facility. Luckily, there was a café near the train station, so we dragged our suitcases to the café and had lunch there. We also took a turn walking around the small village while one of us watched the luggage. The town was tranquil. A few minutes from the train station, a lovely creek ran through the village. We strolled through the town, allowing us to see what a typical Swiss village looks like.

Our GoldenPass Panoramic train finally arrived at the station. We boarded the train and headed to Montreux. The Panoramic cars were comfortable with large windows better suited for sightseeing, and the ride was a little over two hours long. The entire GoldenPass route was very scenic. Endless mountain passes, green valleys, Alpine peaks, and lakes were along the way.

Almost seven hours after leaving Lucerne, we finally arrived in Montreux. Our hotel was just a few minutes walking distances from the train station. The hotel was next to the lake; our room had an incredible view over Lake Geneva. After we settled at the hotel, we headed out to see the place.

Weekend tourists and street vendors crowded the walkway along the lake. Along the lakefront promenade were many beautiful flowers and sculptures. The blue Lake Geneva and the picturesque mountains made our walk so enjoyable. We walked to Chillon Castle, the most famous landmark in Montreux, which was about 2 miles away from our hotel. When we arrived at Chillon Castle, it was closed for the day. We walked around the castle and took so many beautiful pictures of the castle at sunset.