We got a pretty early start yesterday morning because we needed to catch the metro near our hotel in Lausanne so that we could catch a train to Montreux so that we could catch the Golden Pass Express train to Interlaken so that we could catch another train to Bern. It was a lot of trains. The Golden Pass is yet another of the routes where you can reserve special tickets for a panorama train car to fully appreciate the beauty of the Alps. This one was very picturesque, but perhaps slightly less dramatic than our other two panoramic train car adventures. Nevertheless, it was a pleasant morning and early afternoon riding through the Swiss countryside on various trains.

We arrived in Bern in the early afternoon and knew that we would be pressed for time, as we had only booked one night there and needed to make a short jaunt over to Luzern for the evening to watch our first of two women’s Euros football matches (soccer in the US). We checked into our hotel and dumped our luggage before heading back out to explore Bern in the little time that we had. We grabbed some crepes for lunch from a food truck and then somewhat rushed through the self-guided walking tour of Bern. We didn’t have much time to linger, so this tour was almost more like a scavenger hunt, but still enjoyable. We finished just in time to catch the bus back to the hotel and hurry back to the train station to catch our train to Luzern for the soccer match.

This match was still in the group phase between Poland and Denmark and, sadly, neither team had performed well enough in earlier matches to be moving on to the next round, so they were mostly fighting to not finish last in the tournament. Despite neither having an opportunity to advance, both teams had a good fan turn-out. The match itself was pretty close with Poland taking a lead in the first half and Denmark nearly catching up in the second half, but for an offside VAR call that cost them the draw. It was a good thing it was an exciting match, as it was pretty late for us old folks (kick was at 9 pm). We were both beat by the time we caught the train back to Bern and made it to our hotel around 1 am.

Today’s Highlights

• So many trains
• Scenic Swiss countryside (from so many trains)
• A whirlwind tour of Bern, including a bear sighting in the bear park and watching swimmers float very rapidly down the Aare River (a favorite summer pastime for Bern residents)
• Our first women’s Euros match

Tomorrow’s Proposed Adventures

• Breakfast with our friends David, Christie, and Ezra
• Moving on to Gimmelwald