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Everything is taken care of<br />
on the Glacier Express: great<br />
views and fine catering.<br />
Coach 45, seats 43 and 44, 1 st class:<br />
The view from Japan with Shoichi Tamura and Satuki Hirata<br />
A first-class carriage, full of Japanese tourists. A mixed bunch of people on a<br />
special excursion. All equipped with at least one camera. The sound of nonstop<br />
clicking. And laughter. For just as popular as photos of the landscape are<br />
snapshots taken with two or three friends on the train. We are now on<br />
the stretch of track between Chur and Disentis, where everything is high<br />
speed. The three-course meal is served up with military precision. Salad,<br />
followed by rice and fish, specially prepared for the group. Dessert<br />
is standard: tiramisu. "My visitors love sweet things <strong>–</strong> especially Swiss<br />
chocolate", the tour guide explains. Everyone eats quickly. After all, they<br />
don’t want to miss anything. The panoramic view from the outsize windows<br />
is superlative <strong>–</strong> everyone is agreed on that. And the windows in the<br />
roof of the coach top it all off <strong>–</strong> they’ve never seen anything like it. You<br />
won’t find anything quite so spectacular in Japan. Maybe the Odoriko train<br />
on the Ito line, someone suggests, the express train between Tokyo and<br />
Shimoda. It also has "nice views". But the Glacier Express is unbeatable.<br />
"Only the Hiram Bingham from Cusco to Machu Picchu is comparable. That’s<br />
an amazing line, also with valleys, ravines and water everywhere", comments<br />
Shoichi Tamura from Tokyo. He travelled<br />
on the classic train in the Andes with his wife.<br />
Today they are accompanied by a friend. Have<br />
they bought anything yet? "Too expensive", he<br />
groans. And for fun takes out his wallet: "Empty,<br />
you know." The Japanese are a little tired of<br />
The slowest express<br />
train in the world<br />
The eight-hour journey is unforgettable<br />
<strong>–</strong> offering highlights anything at all, they tend to splash out on lux-<br />
shopping, the tour guide explains. If they buy<br />
from start to finish. St. Moritz,<br />
ury items. "In a few minutes we will be arriving<br />
in Andermatt", the loudspeakers announce,<br />
playground of the rich and<br />
famous, the alpine air of Davos,<br />
and Zermatt with the famous sparking a flurry of activity. Headgear is quickly<br />
Matterhorn.<br />
donned, warm jackets buttoned up. Ready for<br />
In winter, St. Moritz to Zermatt the rest of the journey to Visp by motor coach.<br />
from CHF 128.50 incl. 3-course Faster than on board the slowest express train<br />
meal served at your seat<br />
in the world.<br />
www.rhb.ch/glacierexpress<br />
40<br />
www.rhb.ch/contura
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