Catching Up with Some Photos.
Here are a few photos taken on the ride from Venice to Zurich. Never really had a chance to post any of these during all the confusion and uncertainly getting from Paris back to London.
I probably post photos of departure boards more than I should, but it does emphasize what a difference there is between the European trains and what we have here n the U.S. These are the trains leaving Venice in just over a two-hour period on a Monday morning.
For the first couple of hours, the train was constantly gaining elevation and skirting several very large lakes.
I’m afraid it’s hard to tell, but that cluster of white buildings was perched on top of a high, steep hill and had to have a very difficult access. It clearly wasn’t a residence and appeared from quite a distance to be a church with some related buildings. A monastery perhaps?
There was a fancy menu in my seat pocket, so I went into the restaurant car to check it out. I ordered a dish that was essentially a pile of rice and some small pieces of chicken and some cut up vegetables in a large puddle of greenish sauce, microwaved and served on a paper plate. It tasted all right, but the tab for that and a small plastic cup of white wine was 29 euros, or about 32 U.S. dollars. Compared to that experience, the food, the service and the value U.S. passengers get in an Amtrak dining car is far superior.
We went through some really spectacular Alpine passes just too big to get into decent photos, but as we approached Zurich, the landscape flattened out and it was one idyllic valley after another. With no caption, you would guess Switzerland right away, wouldn’t you!
Bottom line for the train from Venice to Zurich: wonderful scenery, very smooth ride, comfortable and clean equipment, great big windows all spotlessly clean … and mediocre over-priced food in the restaurant car.
But service is included in the price, tipping is not common, and sometimes even discouraged. But yes, on board catering is expensive and not very good in Europe, some exceptions not mentioned (Renfe imo the best restauration, and I am very positive about the Polish cars), and however brisk and efficient and edible, the Swiss are expensive, as is everything in their country…
I nearly always buy rolls at the station before travelling on European trains, just buy a coffee on the train. I was surprised to be given a free breakfast on the train from Strasbourg to Munich. I did not board until 10am but the train had come from Paris.
Understood, but I was interested in being able to make the comparison to Amtrak’s food service. Actually, I got quite a good meal on the Eurostar train. A little more like a snack than a full-on meal, but it wasn’t bad. And, of course, it was included in the fare.