Bicycle Trip: The Rhine River Tujetsch, Switzerland to Amsterdam, Netherlands: Getting there

Our goal was to get to Oberalp Pass to the start of the Rhine River. It wasn’t an easy journey.

Our luggage situation was pretty crazy. The folding tandem bike fits into two rolling suitcases. After the bike is assembled, the suitcases stack together on wheeled frame to become a trailer. So the challenge was finding something to carry all of camping gear and all of our clothes until we got to our destination to build the bike and trailer. We found some perfectly sized North Face duffle bags (that will fit in the suitcases later) that have straps to wear as backpacks. In addition, we carried 2 bike pannier bags with our carry-on items (passports, wallets, reading material, etc) which will later attach to the front wheel rack on the bike. So we each took one duffle bag, one suitcase and one pannier bag as we traversed between the modes of transportation.

On Monday, August 26, we left Lincoln NH at 1:30 PM on a bus headed to Boston Logan Airport.

We took an overnight trip out of Boston to Amsterdam, arriving around 9:15 AM. From the airport, we took a train to Paris. In Paris, we had to get on a local train to get from one side of Paris to the other. From Paris, we took a train to Zurich. In Zurich , we wandered around the underground train station for an hour before we figured out that we had to surface to find the tram that would bring us within a short walk to the hotel.

We finally got settled into our hotel in Zurich near midnight. Between the time change, and the bits of sleep we were able to get on the plane and the trains, we crashed and slept until noon.

Luckily, we had planned an extra day in Zurich because Mark’s friend, Billy, was going to be in Zurich on business the same day. Who would have thought two kids from Massena NY would somehow intersect in Zurich, Switzerland on the same day? The world gets smaller every day. We spent the afternoon figuring out the local train system in Zurich and exploring around Zürichsee (Lake Zurich). Enjoyed watching a bevy of swans, and walking through the tunnels of willow trees in a local park.

We met Billy and his daughter Sabrina around dinner time and set off to explore more of Zurich. They were both more familiar with the lay of the land, and brought us to the other side of the lake with the Opera House and some great outdoor bars. We stopped to enjoy a salsa party that seemed to be going on spontaneously in a large gazebo.

In the morning, we once again took the local train back to the train station in Zurich. From there, we had to take 5 more trains, the last two being cog railroads to take us up into the mountains. We traveled from Zurich to Arth-Goldman to Erstfeld to Goschenen to Andermatt to Oberalp Pass, pronouncing the names incorrectly at every stop along the way. The first three trains gradually took us from city to suburb to the country. The last two provided breathtaking views of the mountains and the amazing structures (tunnels, bridges, etc.) that have been built to access the Swiss Mountains. Didn’t take many pictures on the way up; hoping to stop and take pics on the way back down.

As I sit, typing, in a small room that serves as the Oberalp Pass train station, Mark is building the tandem. We hope to complete the first segment of our ride this afternoon, which will take us down 4500’ today.