Switzerland & France 26/09 to 29/09 2014 "The most Expensive Brewpub in the World?"

Not a pure Crank trip this time, more something I managed to persuade the wife she really wanted to do on the way back from a Holiday in Italy!

We'd rented an apartment overlooking Lake Como in Menaggio, a very well to do resort town.

View from our Menaggio Apartment

View of Menaggio taken from the Lake

View of the Lake taken from Menaggio

As usual with these types of places pretty poor for me in respect of Brewpubs and interesting beers, apart from a good shop that did sell rarities from small breweries in the local area. This meant if we weren't in town of an evening for a meal then I was more than happy to sit on our balcony & sample some of these!

We hired a car for the week, good fun down some of the Lakes VERY narrow roads some of which were single track with blind bends in the middle! I drove past George Clooney's house several times but he never popped out to wave, he's been known to have a few beers in Menaggio oft times but he was a no-show this week!

I would just like to pass on one of the road trips we did during our stay, to the Balcone d'Italia.

Situated on the Swiss-Italian border in the Lugano Pre-Alps, the mountain of Sighignola stands 4,311 feet (1,314 metres) above sea level, looming over Lake Lugano below. A site of remarkable beauty with a panoramic terrace perched atop the mountain on the Italian side.

My photo was not taken from a plane but from the viewing platform on mount Sighignola , the Balcony of Italy.

About halfway up the route you come to the small town of Lanzo D'Intelvo, a medieval place with a warren of one way stone paved streets. It's hard enough navigating through it without someone deciding to make the road out, that the Sat Nav insists you take, one-way in the opposite direction! 

I managed to find a route at the 3rd attempt - I felt like I was an extra in the original "Italian Job" movie by this point. 

After then winding our way up the mountain there is a lovely bar/restaurant about a mile from the top where we had a sunny alfresco meal. I'd recommend the trip to anyone.

Anyway I'd decided we should travel back across Europe by train, we would stop off in Basel for 2 nights & Troyes for a night. This would give us a journey across Switzerland followed by probably my final chance to do some more 72000 diesel's on the Mulhouse to Paris Est line.

Friday 26/09/14

I had picked the hire car company carefully (Sixt) which allowed us to drop the car off in Arona, about a 30 minute run from here behind a 464 to Domodossola.

460 110 on the 1448 Domodossola to Basel

A proper train to watch the Swiss countryside go by, I would have liked a 420 of course but their diagrams didn't fit & I don't think I she would have worn changing trains all over the place...

460 110   Domodossola - Basel SBB  1448 Domodossola - Basel SBB xxxkm

It's about a 3 hour run on a direct EC service like this via Brig, Speiz & Bern with plenty of mountain scenery along the way, very pleasant. The better half decided against going out tonight, a meal in the hotel and rest up for a full days sightseeing tomorrow. I think I will go and sample a few (3) Brewpubs tonight while you rest up then! 

Tram station outside Basel SBB

The furthest outlet being Brauerei Unser I headed there first but after a long and fruitless walk I just couldn't find it, no problem I will head to the next one it's on a side street just outside Basel SBB station. I walked up and down the street a couple of times before realising that the building shrouded in tarpaulins & scaffolding WOULD have been the one I was looking for...

Disheartened I decided to leave the 3rd brewpub for tomorrow night, I did find several outlets for beers from small independent's around Switzerland so my evening turned out alright in the end.

Saturday 27/09/14

An early start to catch some winner loco's, not difficult as never properly bashed Switzerland as no diesels to be had. Unfortunately all the pre-Breakfast moves seemed to be 460 hauled & all the trains I hadn't planned to do went past with 420's on. Oh well, at least I had some in the days before 460's were around. Engineering works meant a shuttle was running to/from Olten.

Unit        Basel SBB - Olten 39km

460 057  Olten – Herzogenbuchsee            0536 Olten – Bern 27km

460 015  Herzogenbuchsee – Langenthal   0607 Bern – Olten 7km                                       

460 074  Langenthal – Herzogenbuchsee   0557 Zurich – Bern 7km                                        

460 109  Herzogenbuchsee – Olten            0639 Bern – Zurich 27km 

Unit        Olten - Basel SBB 39km

460 010 awaits the next leg of it's diagram later that day at Basel SBB  

Due to my misfortunes the previous evening I had got the wife to agree to visit Brauerei Fischerstube where we would be partaking of our evening meal. "Will it be traditional, all wood fittings etc like the 100's of ones you've dragged me into in Germany?" was the question. "Almost certainly" was the answer. "I don't like them!" - Hard Luck!

It was far from the best brewpub I've ever visited, the food menu was in fact quite restrictive, although washed down with a couple of 1/2 litres of their Helles Lager & a couple more of their Weizen I got over it. Although my wife just had the one soft drink the bill came to about £120! Is this the most expensive brewpub in the world or have I just been lucky at the thousands of brewpubs & brewery Taps I've visited before?

I'll catch a train over the border into Germany next time & try some brewpubs there - it's only about a 20 minute run and would be half the price! After a week in Como at £5 a pint my wallet was crying...                       

Sunday 28/09/14

Out pre-breakfast again, I was wondering why trains run at 05xx on a Sunday. No need to wonder, hordes of walkers & cyclists descended on the 0559 departure, a time when nearly all of us in the UK would still be fast asleep!

460 024  Basel SBB – Olten       0559 Basel – Interlaken Ost 39km                           

460 089  Olten – Liestal              0520 Spiez – Basel 25km                                     

460 000  Liestal – Sissach           0647 Basel – Zurich 7km                                     

460 117  Sissach – Basel SBB     0630 Luzern – Basel 21km                                  

460 010  Basel SBB – Liestal      0747 Basel – Zurich 14km

Still pretty early but a 24 hour shop in Liestal station building had fresh bread & croissants stocked up,

ideal so took some plus a coffee back to the hotel via a unit.  

It was now time to leave Switzerland and make our way to Belfort to pick up a 72000 to Troyes.           

26143    Basel Sncf – Mulhouse  1021 Basel – Strasbourg   34km                           

Dmu      Mulhouse – Belfort        1123 Mulhouse – Belfort  49km

72180 between workings at Belfort                            

72190 our haulage from Belfort

72190    Belfort – Troyes             1320 Belfort – Paris Est    276km

Once we'd checked into our hotel and freed ourselves from our luggage an evening to explore Troyes and find somewhere for an evening meal. I hadn't done any research on Troyes it was just a handy place to break our journey looking at the 72000 diagrams, some of which started from here. 

A great surprise then to find Troyes has an extensive Medieval centre, not only that our hotel was right bang in the middle of it in one of the historic buildings.     

                       Olde Worlde

                       Thin and Fat

                       Now that's what you call an Alley!
It was a lovely sunny late afternoon so we ate out on the main square, a myriad of other people had the same idea. All very pleasant, I even managed a few decent beers with the meal & later in the evening.  

Monday 29/09/14

Up with the Larks once again for a bit more 72000 mileage, same loco as yesterday by diagram.

72190    Troyes – Nogent-sur-Seine  0602 Troyes – Paris Est 66km

Dmu      Nogent-sur-Seine – Troyes  0637 Longueville - Chaumont  66km

After breakfast & with plenty of time before lunch we ventured further afield, we couldn't believe how far the historic buildings stretched on our walk to see inside the Cathedral. We came across some great sculptures by the Canal.

The Heart of Troyes. This lights up red with purple fountains at night.

Sculptures in the Canal

Gates at the Hotel Dieu le Comte

A spot of lunch then over to the Gare for onward travel to Paris.

Compo in the front coach please!

72179 on the 1412 Troyes to Paris Est

72179    Troyes – Paris Est                1412 Troyes – Paris Est  166km

Eurostar Paris Nord – London St.Pancras 1713 Paris Nord – St.Pancras 494km

Well a long trip with only a dribble of train travel, still it's a lot more than I've managed for the last 12 months...

Hope your all well, Cheers Poodle.