Trains are my favourite way to travel – which is just as well because I am scared of flying – and our summer adventure this year (which seems so far away now, but this has been sitting in draft form pretty much since then and needs finishing off!!) was particularly special, because way back at the start of the year, my chronic fatigue was so bad that I could barely walk down the road, and the thought of making it to a different country seemed an impossibility.

Nevertheless, we had optimistically booked the trip while I was still unwell, and after having previously discussed travelling to Italy via Switzerland, and then discovering that Swiss National Day Celebrations were held on 1st August, we decided to combine the two. Thus it was that we found ourselves in Basel on 31st July, as they celebrate the day before with a festival on the Rhine and a huge firework display.

After a full day of travel, we didn’t have the time (and in my case, despite a power nap on arrival, the energy) for too much exploration, but the main thing that struck me about the city were the beautiful painted frescoes on so many of the buildings,

and I loved all the little cobbled courtyards that we stumbled across. Needing to keep ourselves occupied/awake until the fireworks at 11pm we filled some time by sitting and enjoying a chai latte at a tiny pavement cafe in one of these courtyards. Surrounded by old shuttered houses, and filled with flowers, climbing plants and trees, as well as a sweet fountain with a monkey wearing a hat and eating a bunch of grapes, it was truly relaxing. (We were soon to discover that fountains are ubiquitous in Switzerland, and you could refill your water bottle from all of them. It was fantastic and I have never been so hydrated in my life!).

There were Swiss flags hung out out everywhere for the National Day celebrations, and a great air of festivity filled the streets.

We did our best to admire the views over the Rhine from the Pfalz terrace, although it was already crowded with people who had arrived to secure a good spot for the fireworks, and then headed across the Mittlere Brucke (middle bridge) to the opposite bank in search of something to eat amongst the many food stalls set up along the river bank. It was mostly very meaty, but we managed to keep it traditional with some very tasty raclette.

We returned to the bridge to watch the fireworks. It was pretty packed, and we weren’t sure which side to stand on, but it turned out that they were being let off simultaneously from two barges on either side, so in fact you would have an excellent view either way. It was one of the best displays I have ever seen, although trying to get off the bridge whilst a few bright sparks were setting off their own fireworks in the middle of the crowd was not quite so fun.

The following day we took the train to Zurich, arriving just in time for a late breakfast with a view. I had an ovaltine, a drink of my childhood which you would never see on a cafe menu in England, but which is still very popular in Switzerland where it was invented (and goes by its original name of ovomaltine).

Almost everything was closed for Swiss National Day and the main streets were eerily empty. It felt quite odd as, with the exception of Christmas Day and Easter Sunday, there are always shops open in England, but I fully approved of the fact that they take the holiday seriously. The flags were in abundance once again

and we wandered about the old town and by the lakeside, soaking up the atmosphere.

We also spent quite a lot of time sheltering from the torrential rain (we found a suitably historic covered space by the river in which to do so), and we were at rewarded with the sight of a spectacular double rainbow when it finally stopped, which almost made it worthwhile!

There were no official National Day celebrations in Zurich, as apparently people picnic with their friends and families by the lakeside and have small local firework displays. We had our own picnic, with a salad pot and a couple of special National Day rolls (they have the Swiss cross cut into them) in one of the few shops that we had found open,

and joined the crowds by the waters edge before taking an evening stroll as the sky darkened, and watching as fireworks started to be let off on the opposite bank. It was lovely to begin with, but I didn’t realise that having your own firework display literally meant that people would be setting them off within their picnicking group, with no safe standing back distance and no real indication of the direction the fireworks might be shooting off to. There were people actually holding onto lighted multi shot fireworks – HOLDING THEM IN THEIR HANDS – as each successive shot went off, and some fireworks were even being let off by children! Brought up on 1970s public information films, the firework safety code made a huge impact on me and I have always viewed them as an accident waiting to happen, with a real fear of getting burnt. To be strolling along a lakeside promenade with all of this chaos was too much for my nerves, and I was glad when I was safely tucked up in bed!

We had decided to splash out and travel to Italy on the Bernina Express, and so the next day we arrived in Chur – the starting point for the train – in the pouring rain. Chur is the oldest town in Switzerland, and we had allowed ourselves a few hours to explore, heading to the historic Old Town and wandering the medieval cobbled streets.

We climbed upwards towards the cathedral, from where we were rewarded with views across the slopes of vineyards, as well as more mist shrouded views over the surrounding mountains. This made us both excited about the rail journey to come, and disappointed that we were unlucky enough to have picked a day with such bad weather day for it, in equal measure!

We followed the signs to the church of St Luzi where, after noticing some light switches in openings on each side of the altar, discovered a ‘secret’ semi circular tunnel that ran behind, as well as a flight of steps leading down to an underground crypt. It was very peaceful and as we were the only visitors, unlike the cathedral which had been busy with tourists, it felt as if we had made a very special discovery.

After a speedy trip to the Coop supermarket for our journey provisions (the best supermarket of the holiday!), we headed to the train station to reclaim our luggage, and boarded the iconic red train, which I sadly didn’t get a decent photo of. Nor did I get any decent photos of the scenery as we travelled along, as visibility was very poor and there were raindrops on the windows for most of the journey.

The train makes a 10 minute stop at Alp Grum so that passengers can alight to enjoy the breathtaking views over Val Poschiavo and the Palu Glacier, but it was freezing cold and sleeting quite hard, and as you can see, there was not much of a view!

There’s a hotel and restaurant there,

and on a better day (and with more time), there was a lovely terrace where you could sit outside and really make the most of the panorama with a drink or meal,

but having stuck it out longer than most of the other passengers in a bid to try and make the most of it, it was a relief to get back to the comfort of our carriage – and enjoy our free carton of tea! (You also get given a free souvenir tin of Lindt chocolates!)

Although the weather was poor, it was still an amazing experience, and a more affordable way to travel on a luxury train than most. I would wholeheartedly recommend it, and we would definitely do it again, if it were not for the fact that all the little stations that we passed through as we wended our way up into the Alps looked so interesting, that next time we would probably take the local train that travels along the same route for a considerably cheaper cost, and stop off along the way – maybe even staying a few nights – taking time to do some more exploring.

In fact a Swiss rail adventure is definitely on the bucket list. I absolutely loved what I saw on our whistle stop visit and really want to explore more. The plan would be to buy a Swiss Rail Pass and then follow the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland, collecting passport stamps at each of the stations we visit which is definitely a bit of me. And as if that wasn’t enough, you can also apply for a Swiss cheese passport, visit four different dairies and get your passport stamped, and then claim a free cheese snack box. So exciting! I think I might be looking at several holidays – and need rather a lot of money!

But I digress. That is in the future, and on this holiday we were heading to Italy, and the Bernina Express took us to Ticino, where the train runs down the middle of the main street. From there we caught the rail replacement bus (the line is closed for repairs ahead of the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortino in 2026), to Lecco, which is on the southern tip of the eastern branch of Lake Como. on Lake Como. (A slightly unnerving experience as we were sitting at the front and had a prime view of the driver as he opened packets of sweets and bottles of drink and gesticulated wildly as he carried on several lengthy phone conversations, although the road followed the shoreline of the lake and was very beautiful!)

Less touristy than Varenna and Bellagio, Lecco seemed the ideal spot for a relaxing stay. It was a stunning location, and although we had had talked about making an assortment of day trips, once we were there, we decided that we just wanted to stay put and chill out. (A sensible decision as I was already flagging, despite maintaining daily naps.)

We took a short walk along the River Adda to the neighbouring fishing village of Pescarenico where traditional fishing boats are still found moored on the bank.

We also crossed to the opposite bank of the lake and strolled along the lakeside promenade to the village of Malgrate

where we climbed the steep and narrow steps leading from the waters edge, discovering hidden courtyards and tiny churches as well as the cappella dei morti di peste (the chapel of the dead) – an ossuary containing the bones of plague victims from the 1600s.

We also took a one hour pleasure cruise on the lake.

But mostly we just ate pasta and gelato and drank spritz at lakeside bars, soaking up the sunshine and enjoying the surroundings – as well as the free aperativo!

And in these moments, I was truly grateful that, although still struggling, my CFS was manageable enough to allow me to be there.

We finished our holiday with a couple of nights in Milan. It was my first visit and having heard very mixed reviews – people seem to either love it or hate it – I was expecting to fall into the latter category. I’m not a big fan of cities at the best of times, and somehow I was expecting it to be too busy and too modern and not what I consider to be the ‘real’ Italy – especially following on from our relaxing time in Lecco. But how wrong I was. I absolutely loved it.

Yes, the first thing I saw when we left the station were two modern blocks of flats, but what flats!

This is the Bosco Verticale – the Vertical Forest. Two blocks completely covered in trees and shrubs. I had never seen anything like it and it stopped me in my tracks, making my first impressions (along with the sight of so many exceedingly handsome and perfectly dressed Italian men swarming towards the station – it was rush hour!) very positive. By the time I had also admired the architecture and the vintage trams trundling along the streets as we headed to our hotel, I was sold!

We obviously had to go and admire the Duomo, which is incredibly beautiful,

although we did only admire it from the outside, as we often find the smaller churches to be more interesting. My two highlights were San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore where every single surface in both the main church and the adjoining Hall of the Nuns (it is an ex-convent) were covered with the most amazing frescos,

and the rather macabre ossuary at the church of San Bernadino, where the skulls and bones form decorative panels on the walls, rather than just being piled up or displayed on shelves, as the only other ossuaries I’ve ever seen are (although in fairness, I have only ever seen two others – at the chapel of the dead in Lecco and at St Leonard’s Church in Hythe, here in Kent!).

We explored the area around the castle

and had fun visiting the Triennale exhibition in the Parco Sempione, drawn in by our love of the Folkestone Triennial, and intrigued to see if it was similar. I loved the fun artworks in the garden the most,

but we also went into the Triennale museum where, alongside a permanent collection of Italian design classics, there was a temporary exhibition with artwork and installations on the theme of inequalities. There was a very nice cafe on the terrace outside too!

We usually walk everywhere, logging an incredible number of steps, but this time round we also utilised the metro and so managed to get to the canal district which would otherwise have been too far for me. I had mixed feelings. It was incredibly pretty, but it also seemed much more touristy than other parts of the city. The loud music, happy hour offers and bar owners touting for business that we first encountered gave me sensory overload and made me slightly anxious, but just by crossing a bridge and turning a corner, it became a much calmer and more enjoyable experience.

I wasn’t ready to go home, but at least the train journey from Milan to Paris is pretty amazing – although having only just travelled on the Bernina Express, the mountain scenery didn’t seem quite as exciting as the last time we had travelled that route. In fact he highlight for me was following the edge of Lake Bourget, near Aix-Les-Bins in the French Alps which looked really beautiful – and has also been added to the ever growing list of places to visit!

We had a couple of hours to kill in Paris before catching the Eurostar home, and as a last hurrah and to stretch our legs after 8 hours on a train (and fighting the fatigue that had definitely set in!), we dumped our bags at left luggage and explored the area around Gare du Nord, ending our trip sitting on a bench in the sunshine by Sacre Coeur, and wondering why, when it is so close, we have never done more than pass through Paris before. A mini break there also needs to go on the list.

It was a wonderful holiday: exhausting, but exactly what I needed. It might sound corny, but it was a reminder that even when things are bleak, as they were at the start of the year – and I’m sure it’s not going to be the last relapse I have – there is always light at the end of the tunnel, and I can’t wait to see where I travel to next.