Travel Day: Switzerland to Germany via Liechtenstein
About This Stop
What started as an incredibly ambitious and meticulously planned travel adventure—taking an epic nine different trains from the breathtaking Swiss Alps to bustling Munich via the world-famous scenic Glacier Express route—turned into one of those absolutely unforgettable travel stories that we'll be enthusiastically telling and laughing about for years and years to come. Our intended simple journey from the fairy-tale lakeside village of Iseltwald to the vibrant Bavarian capital of Munich unexpectedly transformed into a remarkable roller-coaster adventure featuring melodic bell-wearing cows, a spontaneous visit to the tiny principality of Liechtenstein, getting dramatically trapped inside a completely powerless train, and ultimately spending an unplanned but memorable night in a charming German city we had never heard of before.
Our epic and exhausting travel day began with an extremely early 5:50 AM wake-up call that had us stumbling around our cozy Swiss chalet in the pre-dawn darkness, followed by a hurried but nourishing breakfast of perfectly scrambled eggs and crispy fried potatoes that provided essential fuel for our anticipated day-long journey. We then embarked on a refreshingly rainy walk through the sleeping village to the Iseltwald bus stop in the peaceful, misty morning light, carrying all our luggage while navigating puddles and enjoying the serene Alpine atmosphere. Our carefully planned schedule included a critically tight connection to our first train that had been mysteriously rescheduled just 2 minutes earlier that very morning (creating immediate anxiety about our complex itinerary!), followed by an absolutely charming and quintessentially Swiss delay when a leisurely herd of traditional bell-wearing cows decided to cross directly in front of our bus, forcing the patient Swiss driver to stop completely while we all laughed and took photos of this perfect Alpine moment.
Our incredibly ambitious multi-train itinerary represented a true test of European rail travel efficiency, featuring our original master plan of nine different trains with precise connections that would take us from the heart of the Swiss Alps all the way to Munich, routing strategically via the legendary Glacier Express scenic route that's famous worldwide for its breathtaking mountain views and engineering marvels. This complex journey included a specially planned side trip to visit the tiny principality of Liechtenstein, allowing us to add another country to our growing travel list, with our optimistic expected arrival time in Munich scheduled for around 9:00 PM (spoiler alert: we definitely didn't make it, and our actual arrival would be dramatically different!).
Our delightful Liechtenstein micro-adventure became an unexpected highlight, featuring an afternoon stop in the small Swiss town of Sevelen, strategically located near the Liechtenstein border, where we had to employ careful logistics by taking turns walking across the international border so that someone could always remain vigilant watching our substantial collection of luggage and backpacks. The boys provided heart-stopping family drama with their impulsive and dangerous decision to run directly across active train tracks to reach the border crossing faster, resulting in stern parental lectures and the immediate establishment of a new non-negotiable family rule: absolutely no running across train tracks under any circumstances! Despite the persistent rainy weather that soaked our clothes and dampened our spirits, we successfully achieved our goal of adding another country to our ambitious European travel list and captured some memorable border-crossing photos.
Our dramatic train incident became the day's most stressful and unforgettable experience, beginning when we confidently boarded what we thought was a routine evening train traveling through Austria around 5:00 PM, only to find ourselves completely trapped inside a powerless, eerily darkened train car when it unexpectedly reached its final destination station. We faced significant language barrier challenges while trying to communicate with increasingly exasperated and unhelpful train staff who seemed as confused as we were about the situation, leading to a truly dramatic rescue mission that required us to crawl through the cramped engine room and then sprint desperately across the platform with all our heavy luggage to catch our next connecting train that was already preparing to depart.
We ended up completely stranded in the historic German city of Ulm after making the shocking discovery that all Munich-bound trains had been indefinitely canceled due to severe flooding throughout the region, arriving at Ulm's station at 10:15 PM while still facing another two full hours of travel to reach our intended Munich destination. Our increasingly desperate attempts to find alternative transportation included researching a ridiculously expensive $335 Uber ride that had absolutely no willing drivers, various taxi companies that couldn't help with such a long journey, and rental car agencies that were already closed for the night, ultimately forcing us to make the practical executive decision to spend the unexpected night in Ulm and continue our journey fresh in the morning.
Our completely unplanned hotel stay turned out to be a remarkable stroke of incredible luck when we discovered a beautiful Hyatt hotel located at the very end of the block from the train station, providing immediate relief after our stressful day of travel disasters. After some diplomatic negotiating with the patient hotel staff, we managed to secure two comfortable rooms instead of our preferred three (costing 370 euros for the night, which felt expensive but necessary), with the boys sharing one room while the girls and Bryan took the other. Despite the complete lack of air conditioning during an unusually warm evening and the unexpected financial impact on our carefully planned travel budget, we all enjoyed wonderfully restorative sleep after such an emotionally and physically exhausting day of problem-solving and adventure.
What was originally supposed to be a long but relatively straightforward and predictable travel day completely transformed into an absolutely unforgettable adventure that became one of those authentic, character-building travel experiences that thoroughly test your family's problem-solving skills, patience, flexibility, and sense of humor while creating the kind of lasting, treasured family memories that become legendary stories told at future family gatherings for decades to come!
Our epic and exhausting travel day began with an extremely early 5:50 AM wake-up call that had us stumbling around our cozy Swiss chalet in the pre-dawn darkness, followed by a hurried but nourishing breakfast of perfectly scrambled eggs and crispy fried potatoes that provided essential fuel for our anticipated day-long journey. We then embarked on a refreshingly rainy walk through the sleeping village to the Iseltwald bus stop in the peaceful, misty morning light, carrying all our luggage while navigating puddles and enjoying the serene Alpine atmosphere. Our carefully planned schedule included a critically tight connection to our first train that had been mysteriously rescheduled just 2 minutes earlier that very morning (creating immediate anxiety about our complex itinerary!), followed by an absolutely charming and quintessentially Swiss delay when a leisurely herd of traditional bell-wearing cows decided to cross directly in front of our bus, forcing the patient Swiss driver to stop completely while we all laughed and took photos of this perfect Alpine moment.
Our incredibly ambitious multi-train itinerary represented a true test of European rail travel efficiency, featuring our original master plan of nine different trains with precise connections that would take us from the heart of the Swiss Alps all the way to Munich, routing strategically via the legendary Glacier Express scenic route that's famous worldwide for its breathtaking mountain views and engineering marvels. This complex journey included a specially planned side trip to visit the tiny principality of Liechtenstein, allowing us to add another country to our growing travel list, with our optimistic expected arrival time in Munich scheduled for around 9:00 PM (spoiler alert: we definitely didn't make it, and our actual arrival would be dramatically different!).
Our delightful Liechtenstein micro-adventure became an unexpected highlight, featuring an afternoon stop in the small Swiss town of Sevelen, strategically located near the Liechtenstein border, where we had to employ careful logistics by taking turns walking across the international border so that someone could always remain vigilant watching our substantial collection of luggage and backpacks. The boys provided heart-stopping family drama with their impulsive and dangerous decision to run directly across active train tracks to reach the border crossing faster, resulting in stern parental lectures and the immediate establishment of a new non-negotiable family rule: absolutely no running across train tracks under any circumstances! Despite the persistent rainy weather that soaked our clothes and dampened our spirits, we successfully achieved our goal of adding another country to our ambitious European travel list and captured some memorable border-crossing photos.
Our dramatic train incident became the day's most stressful and unforgettable experience, beginning when we confidently boarded what we thought was a routine evening train traveling through Austria around 5:00 PM, only to find ourselves completely trapped inside a powerless, eerily darkened train car when it unexpectedly reached its final destination station. We faced significant language barrier challenges while trying to communicate with increasingly exasperated and unhelpful train staff who seemed as confused as we were about the situation, leading to a truly dramatic rescue mission that required us to crawl through the cramped engine room and then sprint desperately across the platform with all our heavy luggage to catch our next connecting train that was already preparing to depart.
We ended up completely stranded in the historic German city of Ulm after making the shocking discovery that all Munich-bound trains had been indefinitely canceled due to severe flooding throughout the region, arriving at Ulm's station at 10:15 PM while still facing another two full hours of travel to reach our intended Munich destination. Our increasingly desperate attempts to find alternative transportation included researching a ridiculously expensive $335 Uber ride that had absolutely no willing drivers, various taxi companies that couldn't help with such a long journey, and rental car agencies that were already closed for the night, ultimately forcing us to make the practical executive decision to spend the unexpected night in Ulm and continue our journey fresh in the morning.
Our completely unplanned hotel stay turned out to be a remarkable stroke of incredible luck when we discovered a beautiful Hyatt hotel located at the very end of the block from the train station, providing immediate relief after our stressful day of travel disasters. After some diplomatic negotiating with the patient hotel staff, we managed to secure two comfortable rooms instead of our preferred three (costing 370 euros for the night, which felt expensive but necessary), with the boys sharing one room while the girls and Bryan took the other. Despite the complete lack of air conditioning during an unusually warm evening and the unexpected financial impact on our carefully planned travel budget, we all enjoyed wonderfully restorative sleep after such an emotionally and physically exhausting day of problem-solving and adventure.
What was originally supposed to be a long but relatively straightforward and predictable travel day completely transformed into an absolutely unforgettable adventure that became one of those authentic, character-building travel experiences that thoroughly test your family's problem-solving skills, patience, flexibility, and sense of humor while creating the kind of lasting, treasured family memories that become legendary stories told at future family gatherings for decades to come!