Glacier Express

                                        What a Train Ride!

     It’s pretty much an all-day train ride  on the Glacier Express from Davos, Switzerland to Interlaken. Knowing that, we all carried a book along to read for the  day. It was a surprise to see none of us even cracked the cover of a book, much less read it. The spectacular scenery absolutely captured all of our attention. It was the most awesome train ride I’ve ever taken. Our reserved coach  was most comfortable.

     Non of was was prepared for this spectacular day. In places the   train trestle literally overhung the side of the mountain or stretched over a gorge between two mountains. The train chugged along so slowly on one very steep climb that I thought it might actually stop or start running back downhill!  The slow ride down on the other side of the pass offered wonderful views of wild flowers in bloom all along the train tracks and down into the alpine meadows.

     At lunchtime the steward came to our car to inform us it was our turn in the dining car. We moved forward to the dining car where we were seated at our booth. Our delicious lunch was served on china plates with real silverware. There were no paper plates, plastic or short cuts here. Serving sizes were more than ample and seconds were allowed on anything but the meat (beef).  Wine even accompanied the meal served in an actual crystal wine glass. Lunch was leisurely with no feeling of being rushed. After dessert a funny thing happened. The dining steward appeared at the end of our table, standing erect he said, “Thank you, bye.”  We just listened and then he repeated, “Thank you bye. Thank you. Bye.”  Then we got the message: our time in the dining car was over!  Being careful not to pull the table cloth as we got up in the small quarters, we thanked the waiter and returned to our coach.

    After six hours on the train we arrived in Brig with a half-hour layover and  change of  trains. Shortly after pulling out of the train station we went through the longest train tunnel in the world; then it wasn’t too long before we arrived in Interlaken.

     It had been a wonderful gorgeous  ride. It was some sort of a Swiss holiday and we were able to watch fireworks from our hotel balcony—what a way to end  a great day!

XI'AN, CHINA

XI’AN

I always wondered how to pronounce Xi’an, China. Once I learned, it is easy. It sounds like she han. Now probably most people in the world know Xi’an is where the terra cotta army was discovered.

During my rather extensive trip to China we arrived in Xi’an by train, and let me tell you about that train ride.

Our train was delayed so instead of wasting the time in the Beijing train station our guide took us to Beijing's  underground city---more about that another time.

       We boarded the train at 8 PM. The compartments hold two bunk beds and you could be bunked with anyone. Fortunately we had bought the entire cabin so we could sleep on the lower bunks and be comfortable with only two people per small cabin. This new train had been in service for two weeks, was an express from Beijing to Xian and had a capacity for 592 passengers. A small TV was at the foot of each bunk.

My cabin was only one cabin away from the western toilet, which was fortunate for me as I was up several times during the night. How lucky could one get! Four or five sinks lined the wall just outside the commode.The eastern toilet was at the other end of the car.

The bunks were hard. I tossed and turned all night and was mighty glad to see daylight. The train was quiet, but none of us slept well. A thermos of hot water was in our cabin when we boarded. The next morning I was stunned to find the water still hot! It wasn’t boiling but was pleasantly hot enough to wash up and even make a fairly hot cup of coffee. If only I could have found such a thermos anywhere to buy! I enjoyed a couple cups of coffee as I watched the scenery flash by and the farmers  out tending their crops.

It took eleven and a half-hours to make the 1200 kilometer (720 miles) trip.

The train pulled into the 5000 year old walled city of Xi’an, capitol of Shaanzi Province, at 8 o’clock in the morning. We immediately found ourselves in throngs of people. Somehow in the mob of humanity in a light rain our guide found our local city guide, who directed us to our bus.

Xi’an was gateway to the Silk Road that 2000 years ago connected China with Persia, Rome and the world beyond. The city is an important economic and cultural crossroads between east and west. Once called Chang’an it was the political center of China, as well as the center of Buddhists scholars, monks, and artists.

Our local guide told us, “In ancient times before clocks, a bell located on the east side of the village, rang in the new day. Xian’s 600-year-old bell tower, built during the Ming era, was re-built in 1769 during the Qing Dynasty. A drum, located on the west side of the village beat the end of the day. The Drum Tower, smaller than the Bell Tower, marks the beginning of the Muslim part of the city. One of the largest mosques in China is located in Xi’an. With a 60,000 Moslem population the 18^th century mosque is an active one today."

The walled part of Xi’an is the geographic center of the city. The old city wall (1374-1378) dating back to the Ming Dynasty is built over the old wall foundation. The 12-meter high wall is also 12 meters wide and contains four huge gates and 164 watchtowers. The 14 kilometers of the nearly complete wall are in the shape of a rectangle. It surrounded the inner city for the emperor

Air raid shelters were hollowed out of the walls when the Japanese bombed the city, and during the Cultural Revolution caves were dug into the wall to store grain. The outer city wall is nine times longer but is mostly gone. The west part of the city is home to an electronics industry and the east side houses textile, aircraft, chemical, and military factories.

The traffic was horrendous. City cabs were a lime green---different. Tourism has grown into a major industry for the city since the discovery of the Terra Cotta Army. Our adventure in Xi’an had begun!