Monday, July 3rd

After a nice breakfast at our hotel, we walked to the train station in time to board the Glacier Express, the “slowest express train in the world” and an 8 hour train ride from Zermatt to St Moritz!  Having made reservations 74 days prior (instead of 90 days as possible), our seats weren’t together but were one row away!  Given this, we each met and spent time with new and amazing people!  Lar & I sat with a fun & engaging couple from Calgary, Denise & Julius, who were on their 6th week of travel in Europe which included France, Portugal, Italy & Switzerland!  We had a great time sharing stories about our travel adventures!  Karen & Phil sat with a lovely couple from Singapore who were on their honeymoon which included Switzerland & Italy!  Our lunch was served family style at our seats and consisted of a generous portion of chicken escalope over wild rice and a side of carrots!  It is difficult to describe the stunning scenery and breathtaking views…everything looked manicured!  Every farm, pasture & forest was neat & tidy; not a blade of grass out of place; not a dead tree!  Amazing!  At one train stop, we saw a grass “roomba” mowing someone’s yard!  The last hour or so it started to rain and eventually turned to thunder, lightning & hail!  Coming out of the tunnel in St Moritz the rain let up long enough for us to make the 5 minute walk to our hotel, Waldhaus Am See, a gorgeous hotel perched on the east shore of Lake Moritz!  We celebrated my 64th birthday in the hotel dining room…the dramatic vistas of the tranquil lake, the Romanesque architecture and the jagged mountains enhanced our experience!  The oompah band performed during dinner and played Happy Birthday for me during dessert!  We capped off the evening in the hotel whiskey bar!