Photo caption 1: The Bernina Express crosses the bridge.
Photo caption 2: Theme train on the Harz narrow gauge railway
Photo caption 3: People enjoy autumn through car windows
Zhou Zhuoyao, special correspondent of this newspaper in Switzerland, Qing Mu, special correspondent of this newspaper in Germany, and Zheng Ke, special correspondent of this newspaper in the United States
Editor's note: Recently, the Bernina Express Tour in Switzerland was named "the world's most popular train journey" by social platforms. The 144-kilometre journey takes you through 55 tunnels and 196 bridges, from snow-capped glaciers to windswept palm trees, showcasing the rich autumn colours. There are many trains in the world that shuttle through the mountains and forests, villages and towns, and they let people walk into "late autumn" through the rails and touch the beauty of the seasons up close.
The Bernina Express gives visitors a geography lesson
The Bernina Express journey has two routes: one is from Chur, Switzerland, through the Alps, to Tirano in Italy; The other is from St. Moritz in Switzerland to Tirano in Italy. The cabins of the Bernina Express are not as spacious as the Glacier Express, but the huge glass windows provide visitors with a "panoramic view" and allow them to enjoy the magnificent scenery.
The Bernina Express tour of the Global Times correspondent chose to depart from Chur. Passing blue skies, golden forests, sparkling lakes and snow-capped peaks – Switzerland is fascinating in autumn.
The train begins with the majestic Landwasser Viaduct, which towers 65 metres high and 136 metres long between valleys, allowing passengers to be impressed by the challenging spirit of the railway builders.
Moving forward, the train drives through large woods, through multiple tunnels, and past large and small lakes. The people in the car seemed to be in geography class, but everyone could not sit quietly in their seats, and they kept pressing the shutter to record the wonderful moments.
Heading south, the train leaves the small town of Filisur and begins an intermittent climb towards the Moltraci glacier in eastern Switzerland. Finally, we will reach the highest point of the entire express journey, the Osbizio-Bernina train station at 2,253 meters above sea level.
The scenery from the train station is once again amazed by the magic of nature. Sitting in the panoramic carriage, as the train moves forward, the snow peaks in the distance "rush to the face", the ears seem to have blown a cold wind, and the lake on the side of the Alpine Lake is close to the eyes, snow white, ice blue, the vision is occupied by "cold", and the body seems to be surrounded by ice and snow.
The train then begins to "descend" to the Brucio Ring Viaduct, which has a "spiral" design that breaks through the slope limit in length. As the train spirals down the hill in 360 degrees, people will slightly poke their phones out the window to capture the beautiful picture of the red train flying through the gorgeous autumn scenery - one of the most iconic images of the entire Bernina trip.
The train finally arrives at its terminus at Tirano. Its platform is located in the city, "integrated" with the road and residential areas. After getting off the car, the reporter first walked around the small town, and then locked on a restaurant with open-air tables and chairs to eat. The autumn sun is warm on the body, the mouth is delicious pasta and wine, and the main meal is very pleasant to have a bite of ice cream.
It is worth mentioning that although the Bernina Express tour is rated as the most popular train route on Instagram, a one-way ticket from Chur to Tirano costs only CHF 63 per person, and a one-way ticket from St. Moritz to Tirano costs only CHF 32 per person, which is very affordable compared to train fares in many European countries.
Ride a steam car in search of the "Witch of Harz"
The Harz Mountains in northern Germany have large areas of deciduous forest. In autumn, the Harz narrow-gauge steam train to the Brocken Mountains in northern Germany leads to a "sea of colours".
The Broken Narrow Gauge Railway Line extends from the wooden truss-house town of Weenigerode to the 1141-metre-high Broken Hill. Weenigrod station is very quaint, walking towards the red and black steam train next to the platform, the reporter seems to travel to Germany a hundred years ago.
With a long whistle, the train leaves with gray-black smoke, moving at a speed of 40 kilometers per hour. The train first passes through a rural area where the chalets seem to have come from a fairytale world, and the exterior wall patterns are covered with floral latticework. This kind of wooden truss house looks unique, and people live in it that is warm in winter and cool in summer.
The train then enters the forests of the Harz Mountains, where the colorful vegetation cascades on top of colors, and many people in the train stick their heads out of the windows or simply walk to the viewing gallery inside the train to enjoy the view. Occasionally an autumn breeze blows, maple leaves float into the car window, everyone rushes to pick it up, and the reporter also grabs a piece as the best collection of the trip.
Autumn is also a great time to see animals in the Harz Mountains, where people have a great chance of seeing wild boars, foxes, red deer and other animals. The loud roar of red deer echoes through the forest, and they are looking for their mates.
The steepest leg of the journey begins at the Deirianenjone train station. The view of the Harz Mountains outside the car window becomes richer, with steep cliffs, babbling streams and magnificent dams in addition to colorful forests.
After an hour and a half drive, you will reach Broken Ken Station. There is the autumn beauty of Harz National Park to admire. Brocken Peak fogs up more than 200 days a year. The mountain is mysterious by clouds, and there are some local legends about witches, some of which were even introduced into his works by the dramatist and poet Goethe. Various witch-themed celebrations are held locally every year.
On the 140-kilometre network of the Harz Narrow Gauge Railway, several steam trains operate, including the Harz Mountain Line from north to south in addition to the Brocken line, and the Quedlinburg Serk Valley Line whose terminus is a World Heritage Site. In autumn, each stop will have gorgeous scenery and a variety of activities waiting for passengers to get off the train, and the railway company will launch themed trains from time to time, such as Faust, witch, wine, etc., to make every journey nostalgic and healing.
The Great Smoky Mountains train takes you into the "old American movie"
If you use one color to describe autumn, presumably many people will choose gold. But in the Great Smoky Mountains in the eastern United States, gold can only be a touch of embellishment in the mountains. Fiery sugar maple, deep green fir and fuchsia oak trees transform this majestic mountain range in western North Carolina into a wonderful landscape. The Great Smoky Mountains Railway is like a magic train in a fairytale world, filling passengers' eyes with a wonderful combination of nature, light and shadow.
The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range on the border between North Carolina and Tennessee, and the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad runs through the valley of the mountain range, through deep tunnels, past quiet lakes, and past forested mountains, with a total length of about 85 kilometers. The Great Smoky Mountains Railway has a number of autumn viewing lines to choose from, and the South Tahala Gorge Line is definitely the most beautiful "autumn leaf reward" among them.
This is a 4.5-hour round-trip journey from the city of Bryson, near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, winding its way through the South Tahara Gorge along the stunning South Tahara River. The train also passes through the historic Lake Fontana pier and stops for one hour in the middle of the round trip, so that passengers can get off the train to explore the canyon and river up close and record the beauty of autumn with their mobile phones.
Western North Carolina is luxuriantly vegetated, with hemlock, yellow horse chestnut, umbrella magnolia, oak, birch, sugar maple, mountain ash and pinus brachy, among others, all found in the Great Smoky Mountains. During the harvest season, many plants have produced bright berries, while the trees themselves glow red, khaki, golden yellow and orange, and more than 200 species of birds and more than 50 species of fish are active in the forest, which will keep lovers of flora and fauna entertained.
The Great Smoky Mountains Railway has train stations in 3 historic towns along the line. The buildings of these towns retain the style of the 19th century, and when you get off the train, you feel like you have stepped into an old movie telling American history, rustic hotels, antique shops with retro decorations, and restaurants with flashing neon lights.
Today, more than 200,000 passengers come here every year to enjoy the scenery, and in the cold and humid autumn days, the water vapor fills the water, and follows the train to break through the fog and explore the mysteries of the Great Smoky Mountains. ▲