Sunday August 7: Montreux to Zurich
Today we slept late for the first time in days!
I got up first and showered in the dark, so as not to awaken Chris. Then I went to breakfast so he could have some privacy in our panopticon bathroom.
Then it was time to start heading home. Our flight left the next day – we didn’t want to have to travel to the Zurich airport at the crack of dawn – so we could take our time.
It takes a little over 2.5 hours to get to Zurich HBF from Montreux. The train itinerary was easy as always. (Swiss trains seem to actually run on time, unlike trains in Germany.) It was odd to ride out of the mountains into rolling hills.
Zurich wasn’t terribly interesting. The “Old Town” area is completely touristic now, and all these European cities have started to look the same.
And then the next morning, we went home! It’s a ten-minute train ride from the main train station to the Zurich airport. Check-in was easy, as was security, but then we spent 45 minutes in passport control – our lines kept disappearing as we approched the front, which was stressful.
But! We got through. We’d upgraded to business class, so we could enjoy the prime lounge.
There’s not much to say about flying home. Lie-flat beds are very nice, though I also found them weirdly isolating. I did get some work done on the plane, which never happens, so that was good. Global entry was super easy in Philly. Our son collected us in Charlotte, and we were in bed by 10.
And that was our Via Alpina!
As of 2025, that was the last time we were in Switzerland. In 2023 and 2024, we did Greece – MUCH cheaper, and professionally relevant – and in 2025 we moved on to Nepal. The Alps were definitely good preparation for both of those.