Trains – Page 3 – European Traveler

Couple Finds Marriage Bliss at 6,000 Feet

by Don Heimburger

Topping Out Wedding Destinations

Wedding “destinations” in the Germanic lands can sometimes be unusual.

Take, for instance, the June 2006 wedding of Swiss-born Hans and Birke Mebold of Rheinfelden, Switzerland.

“Our wedding was something special,” says Birke. “All this talk about the most beautiful day in your life…but it really was the case for us. The whole wedding took on a kind of momentum all its own.”

The Meholds first were officially married in a small church called Johanniterkapelle in Rheinfelden, home of Switzerland’s most popular beer, Feldschlosschen, and the town in which the couple both work.

Following the 11 a.m. ceremony, and a small reception, the couple was whisked away on Rheinfelden’s biggest fire truck with its blue lights flashing wildly. Both Feldwebel Hans and Birke are Rheinfelden fire brigade volunteers of 16 years and five years respectively, with Hans head of the town’s traffic regulations and security section.

HELICOPTER RIDE
Where the couple’s fire truck ride ended, their helicopter ride began, to the 2,100-foot-high resort town of Eptingen where they met a bus full of 50 wedding guests of family and friends.

At Vitznau on Lake Lucerne, the group boarded a specially-reserved Mt. Rigi Railway steam locomotive and two-car cogwheel train consisting of No. 16, an 1923 oil-fired engine, and the Belle Epoque, a stately parlor car built in 1873 and coach No.10, built in 1871. The crew assigned to the wedding train consisted of a driver, a fireman, a conductor and one hostess dressed in period costumes for each car.

As the steam train ascended up the side of steep 6,000-foot-high Mt. Rigi on a clear, warm spring day, the guests were served refreshments. The train passed quaint farms, pastures filled with grazing sheep and cows, and hiking trails.

At Rigi Kulm, the group was welcomed by the alpine horns of Ruedi Imlig and his brother. Then a second wedding ceremony took place in the small chapel on the top of Rigi.

The wedding steam train for Hans and Birke Weber chugs up Mt. Rigi

Bride Birke Weber steps out of her special railway car at the top of Mt. Rigi; her new husband, Hans, follows.

Train hostess Lucia Weber on the Belle Epoque, an 1873 salon car

DINNER AND DANCING AT THE TOP
The guests then enjoyed dinner and dancing at the Hotel Rigi Kulm. “The scenery at the top was so beautiful and the food was excellent,” says Birke. Afterward, dancing was provided by Gunter Pichler and his GP Music band.

“My great grand aunt had taken us to Mt. Rigi last year, and we were stricken by the incredible view from the top,” says Birke.”When we thought about a location for our wedding, it didn’t take long to decide to go to Mt. Rigi.” She admits the travel arrangements for buses, trains and helicopters were a bit daunting, however.

The happy couple and guests returned from the mountain after midnight on an electric cogwheel train, and later spent their honeymoon in Sweden. If this is what they planned for their wedding day, it sounds like this couple is never going to have a dull moment.

Hans and Birke Mebold, a year after their wedding, stand in front of the Rheinfelden, Switzerland church where they were married before their many relatives and friends.

Starbucks Serves Swiss Rails

Photos Courtesy Swiss Travel Systems

The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and Starbucks have collaborated on a pilot project to launch the first ever Starbucks store on wheels.

SBB and Starbucks will open traveling Starbucks stores on two intercity (IC) 2000 bi-level trains between St. Gallen and Geneva, Switzerland; the project converts the current onboard restaurants into mini Starbucks stores small enough to fit inside double-decker trains.

Travelers can buy and sip their favorite beverages onboard and having the comfort of a familiar drink, while reading a favorite book, or gazing out the window at the Swiss scenery are sure to enhance travels even more. With this project, SBB plans to target young guests and business travelers looking for a quick afternoon pick-me-up.

SBB’s subsidiary, Elvetino, remains in charge of onboard restaurant operations. Elvetino operates 90 railway dining cars, 198 minibars and is in charge of onboard restaurant services of SBB trains throughout Switzerland, Germany, France and Italy.

Switzerland and Starbucks have a long history together: Starbucks opened the first store in continental Europe in Switzerland more than 10 years ago, and the coffee machines used by Starbucks were developed exclusively for Starbucks by Thermoplan, a manufacturing company located in Central Switzerland.

With the new Starbuck’s on-board train service, passengers will be able to stay alert to the inspiring Swiss landscape outside the window.

Compiled by Brittany Petrillo

For more info, go to: www.sbb.ch/en, or www.myswitzerland.com

Take a Ride on the Cheese Train

Photos courtesy Lake Geneva Office of Tourism, Switzerland

The GoldenPass Cheese Train in Switzerland will take you from Montreux to Château-d’Oex every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. through April 27, where you can discover the specialities of the Pays-d’Enhaut region.

CHEESEMAKING DEMONSTRATION

Le Chalet is a typical mountain chalet, serving fondue and dessert.

MUSÉE DU VIEUX PAYS-D’ENHAUT (SILHOUETTE MUSUEM)
This museum of folk art was established in 1922 and gives an insight into the lives of the Swiss forefathers. The museum is well-known in particular for its collection of over 60 well-preserved scissor-cut silhouettes.

The art of paper cutting produces images that look like lace. They are carefully cut with scissors or cutters and are traditionally produced in one piece, in black and white. A paper cutting may also have different shades of color or formats, and sometimes it looks like a collage of colored papers.

Also in the Folk Art Museum there is painted wooden furniture, sculptures, statues, military paraphernalia, cow bells and skis, all from the XIV century. These objects are displayed throughout 15 individual rooms. The museum has also recreated rooms which depict the life of blacksmiths, alpine cheese-makers, country kitchens and a bread oven which dates back to 1665.

For more info, go to GoldenPass Cheese Train

Tour the Country Homes and Gardens of Scotland

Aboard the Royal Scotsman

Travel to Scotland can hardly get more luxurious than aboard the Royal Scotsman, the private train that takes its passengers through some of the most spectacular scenery in the British Isles.

In June 2009, join respected British gardening writer Sue Chivers and photographer Patsy Floyd on a memorable journey around some of Scotland’s finest country homes and gardens.

The Royal Scotsman departs from Edinburgh on June 5, and meanders north across the Forth Railway Bridge to Montrose and Edzell Castle. From there the train heads up the east coast to Aberdeen and the whiskey region. Day two takes travelers west towards Inverness, capital of the Highlands, passing through Dingwall before continuing north to Invergordon, where passengers disembark for a visit to Foulis Castle.

The train heads south on Day Three to Carrbridge, where travelers disembark for a visit to Logie House. This estate is privately-owned by Mr & Mrs Alastair Laing, who will conduct a tour of their home and gardens and discuss how they run their estate.

On Day Four, passengers disembark the train at Boat of Garten and take a motorcoach to Rothiemurchus Estate. This estate has been owned by the Grant family for almost 450 years. Philippa and Johnnie Grant, the 17th Laird of Rothiemurchus, invite passengers into their hunting lodge.

The next day the train returns to Edinburgh’s Waverly Station through the former Kingdom of Fife. Price for this rail journey is $7210 and includes all table d’hôte meals and accommodation on board based on two people sharing a twin compartment or one person in a single. Follow this link for more information or to order tickets.

International High-Speed TGV Train Now Ready to Roll

New High-Speed Line makes Direct Train Travel between France, Germany and Switzerland faster and easier

A total of 160 bridges and 12 viaducts have been built on the 264 miles of new track to be used by high-speed TGV trains which can travel at speeds up to 201 miles an hour.

For the first time, direct service is being offered within France on routes including Paris to Besancon, Belfort and Mulhouse.

TGV is French for Train à Grande Vitesse which means “high-speed train.”

International high-speed TGV trains offer direct service between France, Switzerland and Germany on routes such as Paris/Lausanne, Paris/Bern, Paris/Zurich and Frankfurt/Marseille. Tickets for TGV trains, including this newest section of high-speed line, are available through RailEurope.com.

“This newest section of high-speed line will make a big difference to the way travelers can travel within France and also between France, Germany and Switzerland in 2012,” said company President and CEO Frederic Langlois. “The Rhine-Rhone high-speed line will offer faster travel times, more frequent and direct trains, and the speed, ease and convenience of connecting between these countries makes for a better travel experience.”

This new high-speed line runs east-west, reducing travel times from the northeastern city of Strasbourg to Lyon to just 3 hours and 40 minutes. The number of trains on this route will also increase to six roundtrips per day.

Another line will run north-south from France into Germany allowing travelers from Marseille or Avignon in the south of France to go directly to Frankfurt without changing trains. It is estimated that 11 million riders will utilize the new Rhine-Rhone line.

For more info, go to RailEurope.com
Photos courtesy of Net Resources International