Boy, travelling on the train in Europe is nice. I just had a little weekend trip to Zermatt. The main train was comfortable and quiet, and the side line that went up the Alpine valley was charming and somewhat improbable, what with the cogwheels and narrow valleys and dramatic bridges. Reasonably inexpensive (thanks to the Halbtaxe) and a pleasant ride.

Compared to planes, trains offer a human scale of transport. You're close to the ground with big windows. You can get up and walk around, stretch out. No checking in two hours in advance, no humiliation from security, no half hour cab ride to get anywhere. It's a shame the US is so big, it'd be nice if train travel would work better there.

lifezurich2005
  2005-09-05 16:03 Z