To give Yoko a well deserved rest, we decided to take the twelve hour return-trip from Brig to St. Moritz aboard the Glacier Express — famed for being the slowest express train in the world. This was not going to be a cheap excursion for us: The tickets were 96 CHF each person, each way, plus an infuriatingly budget-airline-esque mandatory booking fee of 30 CHF each person, each way also. For the two of us, this worked out at 504 CHF, about £210 — even before we threw in accommodation and food at the upmarket St. Moritz. Still, it’s Switerland’s most famous railway line and promises fabulous views from the recently-introduced panoramic coaches.

Should you wish to take the train yourself someday, know that hot meals and also first class coaches are available, both at an additional cost. One more thing: Make sure that you are booked onto a panoramic coach, they have much more glass that a regular coach and cost no more. We chose to ride second class and brought our own food as, we were already pulling the stuffing out of our weekly budget just by being here.

The Swiss trains put most British ones to shame. They are clean, spacious and air-conditioned throughout. Happily we were sat opposite Roger, a keen traveller/tour guide/writer/entrepreneur who had relegated himself to our second-class coach–from first–as his group of American tourists had taken up all the seats. Good job too: We couldn’t have asked for a more pleasant train-buddy to chat with over the next six hours, whilst oohing and aahing at the mountains and sucking-in the alpine air.

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