Day 3 - The Police and Steam Power
Our rest day, saw us spend most of the day on the Furka Pass Cogwheel Steam Railway. After stumping up CHF450 for 1st Class tickets this better be good i thought to myself! And it didn't disappoint one bit.
The train departed Realp at 10.15 so could afford a lazy lie in and breakfast.
Stopping for water...
Furka Station
Looking up at the Furka PAss
The rain which started yesterday, still fell, and any spectacular views were hidden by the fog and low clouds. Still, it was an experience and the staff which are all volunteers were fantastic.
The train stops over in Oberwald for 1hr 15min so you can grab some food and have a walk around. This was easier said than done. All places next to the station were fully booked and we had to walk to the edge of town to find somewhere. By now, we were short on time, but the owner offered to drive us back to the station if we were running late! Really nice guy! In the end, we didn't need to accept his offer and we were able to walk back in time for the return leg on the train.
Beer
More Rosti
The return leg followed the exact same line back to Realp. The only difference is that the Steam powered engine needed a little help from a diesel engine for the steepest climb to the Furka Pass station, as there is no cogwheel system on this stretch.
Heavy rain had swelled the rivers/streams
Diesel Torque FTW
The train was back into Realp at 16:30 and we're on our way to the next hotel via the Oberalppass.
Driving down the pass, the gearbox in the GF's car got stuck in 3rd gear! It'd change using the flappy paddles, but then changed back to 3rd. S and M modes were ok, D was wanting to stay in 3rd. We found somewhere to stop and had a little chat. We'd brought no OBD cable or OBD Bluetooth dongle to read codes. Only thing to do was the old "off and on" trick. So restarted car and the GF went for a short test drive. GF came back 5 mins later reported all ok. So we got back on our way again only to have our way blocked by the Police. Out stepped two officers and informed me it was a papers check. Out come the passports, driver's licence, V5, insurance documents and MOT certs. We were asked where we'd come from, where we going, why we were in Switzerland and what our plans were. We had our cars checked, lights and tyres inspected, etc. I get quizzed on all the speed limits of the roads in Switzerland and asked if i've been in trouble for speeding in Switzerland before. I told him the truth and said never. He asked me three times. In the end he thanked us for our cooperation and they let us go. We passed them a few miles down the road at a coffee shop. I reckon they just stopped us to try and extract some easy money, oops, fines, for coffee and donuts. They couldn't find a single fault with cars or paperwork
After our small delay we were on our way again. When i booked this hotel, it was supposed to include in the price, an evening meal. But when we arrived, there was no meal
Looked like an error on the booking.com website. But have no fear, there was an excellent pizzeria about half a mile away
More beer
More food.....well, there was, but i ate it all!
And as we were eating, the GF received an email from the Ice Grotto to say that her car key had been found, here.....
Can you believe it??!?!?!?!?!
Total driving time (including stops/fuel ups/food/etc) - 2 hours / 67 miles