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Interlaken's Twin Lakes - Day 5

2012-01-05T23:51:00.001+08:00

Lake Thun

Our original plan was to take a bus to Interlaken West Bahnhof where we would be able to transfer to our Lake Thun cruise at the adjacent pier, but the bus schedules were unfortunately not in our favour and the journey time was deemed to be too long. Thankfully, we found out that there was a train departing soon which would bring us on the short 3 minute hop to the next station.

Lake Thun and Lake Brienz arguably define the soul of Interlaken as the numerous lakeside activities and spectacular scenery breathe life into the town. Moreover, Interlaken also takes its name from its geographical position between the lakes (inter lacus in Latin), and thus a visit is never complete without a cruise on at least one of the two lakes. After a careful study of the ferry schedule and that of connecting buses, we managed to come up with a plan which allowed us to cover significant parts of both lakes in the most time-efficient manner.

MS Bubenberg at the Interlaken West pier. Built in 1962 at Bodan Werft, Kressbronn, she can carry a maximum of 800 passengers and is interestingly powered by a pair of Detroit Diesel 8V92 marine diesel engines. The pier is situated at the end of a nearly 3km long canal to allow vessels to dock right beside the train station and provide seamless connectivity between the different forms of transport.

A wall mural depicting Adrian von Bubenberg at the staircase leading to the first class area on the upper deck. Famously remembered as the hero of the Battle of Murten in 1476 where he prevented the defeat of the Switzerland from the troops of Charles, Duke of Burgundy, the Bernese knight and general was also the mayor (Schultheiss) of Bern in 1468-1469, 1473-1474 and 1477-1479 (left).
Wood panelled restaurant of MV Bubenberg. A small ticket office doubles as a counter selling official BLS memorabilia (right).

We initially took up outdoor seats at the bow but shifted to the stern when we noted that the vessel was actually reversing out along the canal for the first 10 minutes of the journey.

Framed against the rugged mountainous landscape, BLS's sister ship MS Stadt Thun was photographed working the ferry services in Lake Thun.

A restored paddle steamer Blümlisalp on Lake Thun. BLS operates the paddle steamers on special thematic cruises as well as selected trips on Lake Brienz and Lake Thun during the summer season.

After a leisurely 50min cruise, we arrived at our destination, Beatenbucht which houses the funicular railway that leads up to Beatenberg where passengers can further transfer to a gondola lift to the summit station of Niederhorn.

Beatenberg

From Beatenbucht, one option is to take Service 21 along the coastal road back to Interlaken. However, we chose to ride the Beatenberg funicular up the hill and return on Service 101 along the hilly road to add further variety to the trip.

A MAN articulated bus outside BLS Beatenbuchton working service 21 in the direction of Interlaken Ost (left).
Various signs at Beatenbucht promoting the various recreational and transport options available in the area (right).

The Thunersee-Beatenberg Bahn (TBB) is a 1200mm narrow gauge funicular railway opened in 1889 and links Beatenbucht on the banks of Lake Thun with the village of Beatenberg which sits at an altitude of 1120m above sea level.

We were given free rides with our Swiss Passes, and simply had to push through the turnstiles which the person-in-charge had unlocked specially for us.

It was a pleasant surprise that there were no other passengers on our trip and we were thus able to 'charter' the entire car to ourselves. The Beatenberg funicular uses cars manufactured by Gangloff and feature a glass roof to further enhance the ride experience by providing an extra dimension to the wide glass windows at the ends and sides of the cabin. The cars are similar to that used on the Harderbahn except that they operate without drivers and have higher capacity with four compartments that can carry up to 90 passengers.

We were treated with magnificent views of the lake along the ascent to Beatenberg village. The 1,695m long funicular overcomes a vertical distance of 556 metres and has a maximum gradient of 41%.

We decided to forgo the ascent to Niederhorn upon arriving at Beatenberg due to time constraints and that Swiss Pass Holders were only entitled to a 50% discount off the ticket price instead of another free ride. We nearly missed the connecting PostAuto service 101 back to Interlaken West as we had overlooked our itinerary and thought that we had added in more buffer time! As it was a relatively rural service where onboard payment is accepted and is the norm, we were required to produce our Swiss Pass upon boardingfor verification.

We were able to enjoy views of the lake from an elevated perspective along some stretches of the journey as the bus slowly wound its way downhill.

The Citaro series had often been associated with a passenger friendly low floor design where there is zero step from the front of the bus to the rear of the bus. However, Mercedes Benz introduced the Citaro LE version at the same time when the v2 bodywork was offered where it is only low floor from the entrance to the exit of the bus. Passengers would have to climb an additional 2 steps to move towards the rear of the bus. As a result of the reduced headroom after the exit due to the steps, the manufacturer created a distinctive 'hump' to restore the headroom towards the rear of the bus. The regional operator had also specified a more powerful 12 litre diesel engine instead of the 6 litre engine that is common on the standard versions and the engine sounded almost identical to an OC500LE.

The photo below shows the Citaro LE Ü from the rear which shows the steps after the exit. As the seats in the front portion are mounted on a platform rather than on the floor, it is classified as a suburban/interurban Ü series. Moreover, overhead luggage racks are also installed for the convenience of passengers.

Interlaken West Bahnhof Spotting

Upon returning to Interlaken West Bahnhof, we decided to make use of the opportunity to obtain photos of buses at the adjacent bahnhof and trains that were travelling through the nearby level crossing.

We managed to photograph the Citaro LE Ü that we had taken earlier departing back to Beatenberg on service 101. Note the hump at the rear half of the bus which identifies it as a LE version.

In addition to the usual slate of PostAuto services, the mountainous background provided an excellent backdrop to frame well lit photos of the articulated buses in STI's fleet. STI is a regional operator that operates service 21 to Thun from Interlaken Ost along the north banks of Lake Thun.

Being a centre for tourism, Interlaken is not spared from the presence of these ubiquitous road trains that are used to operate city sightseeing tours.

Horse carriages are also available for hire for visitors who seek a more authentic form of transport for their sightseeing needs.

As mentioned in previous posts, the Swiss transport system is unique chiefly due to the way that it integrates together different disparate operators across the country. However, one feature which is often overlooked is that foreign transport operators are also an integral part of the country's transport network. It would be akin to considering operators like Causeway Link as part of Singapore's public transport network. Deutsche Bahn (DB) operates five daily trips between Interlaken Ost and Berlin via Basel and also serve to supplement the SBB Interlaken Ost-Basel Intercity trips.

The truly amazing part is that standard rail tickets and Swiss Passes are valid for travel on the Swiss sector even though it is operated by a foreign operator. The ticket inspectors on such trains are from SBB and work only the Swiss sector.

We were also very pleased to be able to photograph a rack of BLS 'old-school' train that was passing through the level crossing. The train is helmed by a Re425 electric locomotive which was introduced into service 47 years ago in 1964.

Lake Brienz

The next part of our plan involved riding a PostAuto service 103 to Iseltwald where we would be able to connect with a ferry for a short cruise on Lake Brienz to Interlaken Ost. A Solaris Urbino 12 soon turned up with a female driver at the wheel. She was initially unsure if our Swiss Passes were acceptable for travel and apologised for the delay as she quickly looked up her manual for confirmation with incredible efficiency.

As we had no prior expectations of the route, it proved to be an interesting ride as the bus passed through a narrow rural road which runs next to the lake. It was also fun to hear the famed PostAuto horn for the first time as the driver sounded it before driving into a particularly blind corner. It is mandatory for other road users to give way to PostAuto vehicles when the distinctive horn is sounded, but it is often only used to warn approaching vehicles or as a last resort.

The driver demonstrated exemplary driving skills and road courtesy behaviour by voluntarily giving way to other smaller vehicles along narrow road stretches. The climax of the ride came at the end of the ride when she executed a very challenging multi-point U-turn at Iseltwald where spatial orientation and precise control of the 12m long vehicle is essential to avoid damage to the surrounding traditional timbered Swiss cottages or to the bus (see video below).

We allowed ourselves to relax and soak in the ambience of the traditional Swiss village setting while waiting for our ferry.

The village lies on a delta at the south bank of Lake Brienz in the Bernese Oberland and is popular among backpackers and skiiers in the Jungfraujoch region.

Brienz approaching the pier at Iseltwald, with the turquoise waters of the lake being reflected on the underside of her clean hull. We originally thought that we would ride on a paddle steamer, but we had actually read the timetable wrongly as it was not yet the peak summer season and the steamer only operates on weekends.

Lake Brienz was more scenic than Lake Thun as the entire north bank is a ridge, which provided a stunning backdrop against the villages lining the lake.

Bönigen village located on the southern bank of Lake Brienz. The river Lütschine empties into Lake Brienz at Bönigen, and is being fed by the tributaries of Schwarze Lütschine (black Lütschine) from Grindelwald and Weisse Lütschine (white Lütschine) from the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

After calling at Bönigen village on the south bank, the vessel reversed into Aare River to call at the landing stage adjacent to the Interlaken Ost bahnhof. We also had the opportunity to a number of ferries from BLS's Lake Brienz fleet that were tied up at the pier.

COOP and Migros operate the two largest chains of supermarket across the country and apart from retailing, they also operate restaurants which are often co-located with the supermarket. We had our sights set on having dinner at the COOP restaurant located opposite the Interlaken Ost bahnhof and immediately headed there as they were scheduled to close at 1830hrs.

It was arguably the cheapest sit-down meal we had in Switzerland (by local standards), with the chicken schnitzel set with salad bowl costing CHF13.40 and the vanilla cream coronet at CHF2.50.

Lötschberg Base Tunnel

The first two legs of the journey from Interlaken Ost to Zermatt were on the BLS network; hence we were anticipating BLS trains and in fact hoped to ride on one of those old trains which we had spotted. Both trains turned out to be IC 2000 double deck trains that were operated by SBB, due to agreement for SBB to operate long-haul services on the BLS network, while BLS concentrates on regional trains and the Bern S-bahn.

As Interlaken Ost is the terminating for all services including the SBB double deck services, we had no problems finding our choice of seats and decided to lug our luggage to the upper deck to enjoy a view of Lake Thun. Unfortunately, we were spoilt by the natural beauty of Lake Brienz and the unfavourable lighting conditions in evening did not present the beauty of Lake Thun at its best.

Our Intercity train passed through Leissigen village and do not call at any of the intermediate stations between Interlaken West and Spiez.

After a short 18min ride, we disembarked from the train at Spiez and was pleasantly surprised to note that we only needed to do a simple cross-platform transfer to our next train to Visp - yet another sterling example of Swiss efficiency and the emphasis on seamless connectivity for passengers.

A large part of the journey between Spiez and Visp is through the Lötschberg Base Tunnel that cuts through the base of the Swiss Alps 400m below the original Lötschberg Tunnel. The 34.57km long tunnel is also currently the world's longest land tunnel (before the completion of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in 2016) and there are approximately 21km of track without passing loops and trains that are more than 7 minutes late are either routed via the old tunnel (incurring further delay) or must wait for the next available timetable slot in the LBT.

Owing to different track gauges, we were not able to enjoy a cross platform transfer at Visp to our final connecting train that is operated by Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB) to Zermatt. However, platform announcements were made to inform passengers of the platform where the connecting train to Zermatt would be departing from as we alighted from the train.

Our train was a 4-car Stadler Komet EMU which was introduced in 2007/08 period, and consisted of low floor sections which allowed passengers with luggage or bicycles to board the train with ease.

It is interesting to note that full panoramic windows are only fitted at the high-floor sections of the train, and the adjacent car is fully high floor and not fitted with any doors.

We attempted to obtain photos of the beautiful scenery along the rail line, but reflections from the interior light posed a huge challenge with the darkening sky outside the train cabin. Thus, we eventually gave up and enjoyed the view, leaving the photography for our outbound journey from Zermatt two days later.

It was surprisingly not as cold as we had expected to be when we stepped out of the train into the sheltered train station. Visitors were greeted by a wall feature with the word 'Welcome' written in different languages which attest to the universal appeal of this Alpine resort town.

Although Zermatt is relatively compact and we had a general idea of the location of our hotel, it was not an easy task as every building in the town seemed to be constructed in the same Swiss Alpine style which had highly sloped roofs and timber features. We sought the help of a kiosk in the station concourse which acted as a one-stop information centre about the various accommodation options. A digital map was also provided and using it as a guide, we eventually managed to find our hotel where the elderly propertior had been keenly awaiting our arrival.

Next Post: Das Matterhorn- Day 6 (In Progress)

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Brünig Bahn & Harderbahn - Day 5

Brünig Bahn & Harderbahn - Day 5

2012-01-03T21:53:00.001+08:00

Brünig Bahn

We had an exceptionally early start in the morning and had the opportunity to witness a number of buses leaving the depot behind our hostel to start a day of work.

After a quick breakfast at Bodega café and stocking up on drinks from the COOP supermarket which had already opened despite the early hours of the morning, we quickly located our train from the departure board and commenced our journey into the scenic Bernese Oberland region.

The 2 hour long train journey was operated by Zentralbahn (ZB) which was formed when the operations of the SBB Brünigbahn (Lucerne–Interlaken line) were sold to the Luzern-Stans-Engelberg-Bahn (LSE) on 30 Jun 2004. Through a series of complicated stake acquisitions, ZB is 2/3 owned by SBB and the carriages carry both the logos of ZB and SBB, while the locomotives are only adorned in the livery of ZB.

Shortly after leaving Lucerne station, we had a glimpse of Mt Pilatus to the west and the train ran along the banks of Lake Lucerne which was backlit at the hour. The Brünigbahn was originally built to provide a link between Lake Brienz to the south and Lake Lucerne to the north across the Brünig Pass in 1888. The line was further extended from Alpnachstad to Lucerne a year later in 1889.

Following which, the train followed the Sarner Aa River to the town of Sarnen. The 'old-school' carriages were equipped with half-height drop down windows which allowed us to lean out and photograph the exhilarating journey while enjoying the cool morning breeze on our faces. Unfortunately, they had been scheduled to be replaced by new Stadler ABReh 150 EMUs in 2013.

Lake Sarnen soon came to view in good lighting on the right side of the train and is the second of the four lakes which we would be passing through during our journey.

The train began its ascent up to the Brünig Pass after leaving Giswil which is located on the other end of Lake Sarnen. The Riggenbach ladder rack system is engaged immediately after the station to aid the locomotive in overcoming a maximum gradient of 12% during the climb.

The train ran beside Lake Lungern on a very short sector after Kaiserstuhl station, and then climbed up the slope by the lake towards Lungern town while passengers seated on the right hand side of the train were treated to a panoramic view of the lake and the town. Situated at an altitude of 750 metres above sea level, Lungern is located at the foot of the Brünig Pass and is also the highest village in the Sarneraa Valley. The town is tightly hemmed in by steep mountains to the south and drained by a basin which opens to the north.

Beyond Lungern, heavy vegetation lined the tracks on the way to the summit station and the flexibility afforded by the narrow 1000mm gauge was amply demonstrated by the tight curves and rock cuttings along this sector. Brünig-Hasliberg station sits at an elevation of 1,002m above sea level and our train waited for a short while for an inbound Golden Pass Panoramic tourist train to clear the track ahead of us. The Brünig line forms part of the heavily marketed Golden Pass Line which stretches from Lucerne to Montreux, with the Lucerne-Interlaken sector already comprising 4 of the 6 lakes mentioned in the official tagline: Two languages, three worlds, six lakes, one line. It is noteworthy that the Lucerne-Interlaken sector is also operated by ZB and the second class carriages are identical to the ones which we were on with the exception of a special livery.

After cresting the pass, the train descended towards the Aare River valley, where it switched direction at Meiringen station. The station is also the terminus of the local Meiringen-Innertkirchen Bahn (MIB) narrow-gauge railway, which links the town with the nearby village of Innertkirchen. In addition, visitors can also take the Reichenbachfall-Bahn (RfB) from nearby Willigen to the Reichenback Falls where the famed fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes met his demise after plunging off a ledge into the falls during a fight with the villianous Professor Moriaty in the novel "The Adventure of the Final Problem".

The rack-and-adhesion HGe101 locomotive which had hauled the train from Lucerne was detached, while an adhesion-only De110 locomotive was attached at the other end of the train to operate the remaining sector to Interlaken which is relatively flat. Meiringen is also a major staging ground for ZB and we were able to photograph a variety of locomotives, shunters and rolling stock in the expansive yard such as this ABt 926 driving trailer.

From Meiringen, the train followed the arrow-straight Aare River to Lake Brienz, and skirted the northern bank where we had our first glimpse at the mesmerising turquoise waters of the lake.

The lakeside station of Brienz was formerly the southern terminus of the Brünigbahn before the final extension saw the line being extended to Interlaken Ost in 1914. Passengers can also transfer to the Brienz Rothorn Bahn at this station and experience the novelty of riding a steam operated funicular up to the summit of the Brienzer Rothorn mountain.

We continued to be deeply enthralled by the turquoise waters of Lake Brienz as the train continued on its journey south towards Interlaken Ost. It was most definitely one the most scenic sights during the entire course of our Europe trip.

The extensive Swiss rail network is the mode of choice for travelling long distances in the country and offers unparalleled convenience and flexibility to the independent traveller. Cutting through the heart of the charming Swiss countryside, rail travel allows passengers to also enjoy a grandstand view of the very best scenery that the country has to offer while travelling in comfort.

The Bernese Oberland (Bernese Highlands) is one of the five administrative regions of the canton of Bern and comprises of the area around Lake Thun and Lake Brienz as well as the valleys of the Bernese Alps.

A dedicated compartment had been set aside in one carriage for passengers to stow their bicycles on board the train (left). Manual destination signs located at the side of each carriage indicate the direction of the train service (right).

As another sterling example of the seamless integration that is typical of the Swiss Transport System, we caught sight of a Berner Oberland Bahn (BOB) at the opposite platform which was scheduled to depart shortly after possibly picking up passengers who had just arrived on our train. BOB operates the first of the three sections of railway line to Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe. On most trips, the two train compositions to Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald are coupled together when departing Interlaken Ost, and split at the last station of the common sector at Zweilütschinen.

Interlaken Ost is one of the two stations located in the town of Interlaken (the other being Interlaken West situated by the banks of Lake Thun). The station is notable in that although lines converge on it from three directions, it is the terminus of every service which enters it. There are no through services due to incompatibilities in gauge and electrical systems. The line to the west (used by the SBB-CFF-FFS, BLS and Deutsche Bahn services) is standard gauge while the BOB and Zentralbahn tracks are metre gauge. In addition, the BOB trains use 1500V DC while the rest of the lines use 15kV AC.

After a quick visit to deposit our luggage at the coin-operated lockers located in the station compound, we decided to make use of the favourable sunlight direction to obtain photos of the PostAuto buses that call at the station. BE610533 is a shortened 10.5m long Citaro K with the updated front mask and was photographed working service 104 which operates as a local bus service.

BE610539 is a Solaris Urbino 12 on service 103 which is a bi-directional service and calls at Interlaken Ost Bahnhof to/from Interlaken West Bahnhof. Although Interlaken Ost is served by 5 PostAuto services and 1 STI service, the volume of buses was rather low as they operate with a frequency of 30mins.

Harder Kulm

An overview of the places which we had visited and the lake cruises during our short day trip in Interlaken. Credits to Switzerland Mobility (Link) for this detailed topological map of Interlaken.

The Harder Bahn is the longer of the two funicular railways which operate from Interlaken to the mountain of Harder Kulm. The funicular railway was opened on 15 May 1908 after 3 years of construction and operates only during the summer season. Swiss Pass holders are able to obtain a 50% discount off the ticket price.

Passing loop of the Harderbahn funicular railway where the descending car acts as a counterweight to the ascending car. The metre gauge railway is powered by a 400V three-phase system and the 1,435m line is also laid out in a quadrant rather than a usual straight line to minimise the disfigurement of the landscape.

The upper station at the peak has an elevation of 1322m above sea level and is located 755m above the lower station at Interlaken.

The two new cars were delivered in 2008 to commemorate the centenary of the railway in 2008. Built by Gangloff Cabins AG of Bern, each car can hold 65 persons in three sections on its tiered seating arrangement. A metal basket is also fitted on the uphill-facing end to transport cargo up to the summit.

It was a short five minute walk from the upper station to the popular vantage point at the pavilion style Harder Kulm Restaurant.

The excellent weather conditions allowed us to enjoy a spectacular view of the famous Bernese Oberland peaks of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau across the Lütschine valleys.

The town of Interlaken takes its name from its geographical position as it is situated between Lake Brienz to the east and Lake Thun to the west. This was especially apparent from our vantage point as we were able to clearly see and identify both of the lakes.

Lake Thun

Lake Brienz

It was quite a thrilling experience sitting at the very front of the car and descending the steep slope (with a maximum gradient of 64%) with a full view of Interlaken from the wide windscreen in front of us during the 8 minute long journey. In addition, some hikers had also taken the opportunity to snap a photo of our car from an overhead bridge along the line!

We also took the opportunity to obtain a few photos of trains that were passing though the level crossing in front of the Harderbahn station towards/from Interlaken Ost station.

SBB-CFF-FFS operates an hourly Intercity service between Basel and Interlaken Ost via Bern and Spiez.

BLS is a regional operator that specialises in operating regional train services and S-bahn services. In addition, the company also operates the Lake Thun and Lake Brienz cruises.

Lindner Grand Hotel Beau Rivage is a top five-star rated property located by the banks of the River Aare near the lower station of the Harderbahn.

Due to time constraints, we settled for burgers from Take Away Mr. Grill for lunch. Most of us had chicken burger which cost only CHF5.50 – a bargain in expensive Switzerland and the touristy town of Interlaken.

Next Post: Interlaken's Twin Lakes - Day 5

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Lucerne City - Day 4

Lucerne City - Day 4

2011-12-25T00:05:00.001+08:00

Lucerne Bus Spotting

Unlike Zurich where (diesel) buses services are generally dispersed, Luzern Bahnhof serves as the major hub for urban and regional bus services in Lucerne. Furthermore, regional services are operated by PostAuto and two private companies, instead of (contractors for) the municipal operator. In addition, the municipal operator of Lucerne does not view the corporate livery as a strong identity for the city, and allows for all over advertisements. All these factors make bus spotting in Lucerne more attractive than in Zurich.

A VBL Mercedes Benz Citaro departing the terminal on service 21. The bus is adorned with special stickers by the operator to congratulate the 150th anniversary of Muzikschule Luzern (Lucerne Music School). The city hosts the Lucerne Festival during summer each year which features performances by the resident orchestra as well as other high profile guest orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony Orchestra

Fleet number 143 is a VBL Mercedes Benz Citaro G and sports a full body advertisement for Stalder Real Estate & Finance. Such full body advertisements are considered rare in Switzerland, with no mention of the operator on the ad at all!

A VBL Hess BGT-N2C 'Swiss Trolley 3' trolleybus working route 7 to Biregghof via Luzern Bahnhof. The top fairing of the bodywork had also been creatively used for advertising purposes.

We were pleasantly surprised to spot fleet number 190, as we had previously thought that the NAW articulated trolleybuses had been totally phased out from service. Apart from wearing the previous iteration of the VBL livery which featured a larger swath of blue on the body, this particular bus also has a sticker at the front of the bus which apparently recognised that the vehicle had accumulated a mileage of more than one million kilometres - certainly a reliable workhorse for the company!

A VBL Setra S431DT 14m tri-axle double-deck coach laying over at Lucerne Bahnhof terminal. The coach was photographed operating a peak hour express service between Lucerne and Altdorf in the canton of Uri which is located at the far end of Lake Lucerne using the Seelisbergtunnel. The Tellbus Altdorf route is jointly operated by VBL and Auto AG Uri and is also reflected on the Lucerne S-bahn network plan.

Auto AG is another major citybus operator that operates suburban routes from Lucerne Bahnhof. Service 51 to Rain is operated by the groups's Rothenburg division and one of the division's Irisbus Citelis articulated bus was photographed departing the bahnhof terminal.

A Solaris Urbino 12 operated by Rottal Auto AG was photographed working service 61 to Buttisholz. Despite the relatively large volume of buses, it was a challenge as we had to contend with pedestrians and other road traffic that were preventing a clear shot of the buses.

This Auto AG Rothenburg MAN articulated bus on service 53 has a special livery to promote the operator's night services.

As one of the main arteries that link the heart of Lucerne's historic district to the north and the newer developments in the south, Schweizerhofquai proved to be a very productive camping location for photos of tourist coaches.

The driver taking the opportunity to show off for the camera. Albissler Volvo coach with the distinctive Drögmöller bodywork which features a sloping window line.

Maaskant Reizen Scania with Irizar PB bodywork. This bodywork is also produced by MTrans (now Scomi) of Malaysia and is thus a very common sight in Malaysia and Singapore as well as to a lesser extent, in Hong Kong. However, MTrans was apparently only given the permission to produce the bodywork for the domestic market by Irizar after much negotiations and was later ordered to cease production of the bodywork. Mtrans subsequently launched a similar design but with slightly altered front and rear portions in 2008. In addition, the livery of one of the private operators in Singapore, Ming Yu Jiang, also looks uncannily similar to this operator from the Netherlands!

A tri-axle Scania coach with Irizar Century bodywork operating for Helmut Schröder of Germany.

An Italian registered coach fitted Iveco EuroClass HD body. This bodywork had won the Coach of the Year award in 1995 and bears a striking resemblance to a bodywork produced by Transcoach of Malaysia.

A real classic! A Neoplan Cityliner hi-decker coach with an equally retro livery from the Baltic country of Lithuania.

VanHool Astromega TD 927 double deck touring coach operated by Meyering Reisen of Germany.

A 13m King Long XMQ6130Y operated by Italian tour company Viaggi Adriano. We had certainly not counted on seeing a Chinese tour coach in continental Europe and much less in Switzerland especially with such a good variety of quality coaches available in the market!

Postauto Setra N319NF

When photo-taking became increasingly challenging, we gathered at the exit driveway of the bus terminal for some photos while waiting for a PostAuto tri-axle 15m Setra N319NF low floor bus to clear our joyride target. We did not have to wait too long as the frequency of PostAuto Services 72 and 73 had been increased for the evening peak hour.

Being a comparitively small city with the suburban development concentrated to the west in Kriens, we left the built-up area after 5mins in the journey and passed through the towns of Ebikon and Adlingeswil as well as a number of small isolated communities during the trip. The two small hopper windows on each side of the 15m bus were clearly inadequate to provide sufficient ventilation and led to a stuffy cabin. The uncomfortable ride distracted us from paying closer attention to the engine sound and gear changes, and we ended up not particularly impressed with the bus.

Our bus was a shortworking trip of route 73 and terminated at UdligenswilI. It only seemed natural that a PostAuto service would terminate and layover in front of the town's post office!

Interior of the PostAuto Setra tri-axle N319NF. The low floor bus has three doors, but there is a single step at the rear most door. The design of the grey based seat fabric also incorporates the signature PostAuto horn logo.

Dashboard of the Setra N319NF. Upon noticing our interest in his bus and that we are bus enthusiasts, the driver commented that the bus is “already” 3 years old and a new and more comfortable Mercedes bus would arrive one minute later in the opposite direction to bring us back to Luzern Bahnhof.

We were skeptical that he could provide us with such detailed information about the next trip in the opposite direction, and indeed his information was only slightly off - a Mercedes Benz Citaro L dutifully turned up in two minutes instead of one minute as claimed!

It was our first ride on an air-conditioned bus in Switzerland, but the air-con was just sufficient to keep fresh air circulating in the cabin. Aside from the novelty of a 15m Citaro, the ride quality was similar to the other Citaros which we had taken before elsewhere. Our bus was caught up in heavy traffic as we were entering the city centre along Dreilindenstrasse which only had one lane in each direction.

While it was surprising to encounter congestion in Switzerland, we were particularly impressed by Swiss driver who patiently queued up in their designated lane while leaving the bus lane empty for its rightful uses along Stadthofstrasse. Our bus eventually returned to Luzern Bahnhof 10 minutes behind schedule and departed immediately without laying over to maintain the schedule.

Fleet number 22, Mercedes Benz Citaro L, at Lucerne Bahnhof terminal. The Postauto services are contracted out to the different operators and as such, the fleet numbers are often only unique to the respective operators. In addition, many operators also reuse the fleet numbers when the fleet is renewed.

Lucerne Old Town

After returning to the city centre, we proceeded with a walking tour of Chapel Bridge and the old town. We were also kept amused and entertained by the flocks of swans in the lake and the Reuss River while admiring the oversized Swiss flags that were hung along the sides of Schweizerhofquai.

View of Lake Lucerne towards the north from the SGV pier located besides the Lucerne Bahnhof bus terminal.

It is certainly not easy being a duck in this part of the city where swans are the overwhelming majority of the feathered kind.

It seemed that the swans are organised in a manner akin to a 'mafia', and two of the swans were immediately despatched to tail us while we were walking along the river towards the Chapel Bridge. It was intriguing to note that the swans seemed to mimic our every move and paused whenever we paused, or sped up as we quickened our pace. Most unfortunately, the swans had to be disappointed despite their concerted effort as we had nothing to feed them with unlike many visitors.

The Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke) spans diagonally across the Reuss River (photographed with Mt Pilatus in the background) and is the oldest covered wooden bridge in Europe.The bridge itself was built in 1333 to link the old town on the north bank and new town on the south bank as part of the fortification, and had since evolved into an icon of Lucerne. The octagonal 140m tall Water Tower is one of the defining features of the structure and had predated the bridge by about 30 years. Throughout the centuries, the tower had been used as a prison, torture chamber, and later a municipal archive. Today, a gift shop occupies the lowest level of the tower, while the rest of the tower is used by a local association and not accessible to the general public.

The name of the bridge is derived from St Peter’s Chapel, for which it once led directly into, but is now separated by the riverside promenade.

A unique feature of the bridge is the paintings from the 17th century under the roof that depicts the events from the city's history, but a fire on 18 August 1993 (allegedly due to a stray cigarette butt) burnt 85 of the 110 paintings, of which only 25 could be saved and restored. Paintings from another section of the bridge, which was demolished in 1834 and has been safely stored away, were put to good use as replacements.

The bridge was reconstructed and opened again on 14 April 1994, but some burnt paintings and beams have been retained to serve as reminder of the fire.

The Rathaussteg (City Hall Bridge) and the Jesuitenkirche (Jesuit Church) in the background with its distinctive onion domed spires lit in the warm glow of the evening sun.

At the other bank of the river, we continued strolling along the waterfront, while also looking out for potential restaurants for dinner as we did not want to have fast food again.

The elaborate artwork on the facade of Restaurant Fritschi which is famous for its specialty cheese fondues. We initially wanted to have our dinner and try out the fondues but it was apparently so popular that it only entertains patrons with advance reservation.

We chanced upon a lively event hosted by the Switzerland’s inter-professional trade union, Unia at Kapellplatz behind St Peter’s Chapel.

Our hunt for dinner brought us through the high-end shopping area of Schwanenplatz (Swan’s Place). One watch and jewellery shop is apparently frequented by so many Chinese tour groups that it had put up a banner with Chinese translation of all the renowned brands sold in the shop!

We eventually decided to have Italian cuisine again at Restaurant Einhorn-Pizzeria da Tommaso, with the majority of us choosing to have risotto.

The sticky appearance did not look particularly appetizing on first glance, but the taste was actually quite good, especially with ground black pepper as garnishing. Risotto mit fungi (mushrooms) = CHF 22. Sparkling Apple Juice: CHF4.50.

After dinner, we hopped on a bus for a short ride to the main station instead of walking back from Schwanenplatz. Passepartout is the equivalent of ZVV in Zurich and serves as a coordinating agency for fare collection and integrated transport information. In addition, the elaborate bus shelter also serves as a betting outlet for the Swiss Lottery which has a decidedly inauspicious name, Lotto Lose as one of its products.

Scania N94UB (Midi)

Lucerne does not seem to have much luck with avoiding fires, and the former railway station was almost completely razed to the ground on 5 February 1971 although it was fortunate that nobody was killed in the unfortunate event. This impressive entrance gateway at the front of the current bahnhof was from the structure of the former railway station, and had been preserved as link to the past.

A criss-cross jumble of overhead trolleybus lines at dusk. Although trolleybuses and trams offer an environmentally friendly option as compared to diesel buses, there are no doubt drawbacks as such supporting infrastructure can mar the beauty of the cityscape.

After a few photos at the terminal, we decided to embark on our final joyride target for the day - a Scania midibus. We had observed from our photo camping that the Scanias are deployed on Services 9, 10 and 11. After studying the schematic diagram carefully, we decided on Service 10 as the top choice as it serves an area which we had not been to.

A Scania N94UB midibus departing from the adjacent berth at Lucerne Bahnhof terminal.

We were delighted that the Scania was an older 4 series from the dashboard and therefore would not sound similar to its 1100 Scania 5 series cousins that were flooding the streets back home in Singapore.

Interior of a Scania N94UB midibus. Even with the shortened length, three doors are provided to speed up the flow of passengers at bus stops although the rearmost door only has one leaf instead of two.

The bus began an effortless climb into a residential neighbourhood after a few stops in the downtown area and the driver maneuvered the numerous turns skillfully. It was certainly the most satisfying bus ride thus far, especially when the bus cruised smoothly downhill. A check with Google Earth revealed that the bus scaled a height difference of around 130m along 1.9km of road in the hilly sector, or an average gradient of 7.9% which is overall steeper than the Uetliberg Railway.

Next Post: Brünig Bahn & Harder Bahn - Day 5

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Mt Pilatus - Day 4

Mt Pilatus - Day 4

2011-12-23T00:00:00.001+08:00

The burst of sunlight the previous afternoon left us in doubt if we had made the right choice to swap our plans to visit the Verkehrshaus instead of Mount Pilatus. However, any lingering doubts were immediately cast away when we woke up in the morning. Hastily grabbing our cameras, we were treated to a breath-taking view of Pilatus Kulm being bathed in the soft glow of the morning sun against crisp blue skies from our balcony.

After exploring the limited number of eateries that were opened in the early hour at the bahnhof, we settled on the Bodega snack and takeaway café located at the basement. The quality of the freshly made tarts and beverages from the self-service counter was very decent and resolved to patronising the café before boarding our early morning train to Interlaken on the next day. Apple Tart and small orange juice: CHF 7.40

Mt Pilatus Golden Round Trip

The Golden Round Trip is a very popular package amongst visitors to Mount Pilatus. The tour begins with a cruise on Lake Lucerne to Alpnachstad, followed by a ride up to Mount Pilatus by cogwheel railway, and the descent is by 2 seperate cable car systems to Kriens to connect a trolleybus back to the city centre. The tour can also be done in the other direction but we felt that the cogwheel railway is best ridden uphill. For visitors who are on a tighter schedule, a Silver Round Trip option is available to experience both forms of mountain transport in a shorter time by taking an S-bahn train between Lucerne and Alpnachstad instead of a lake cruise.

The Swiss Pass entitled us to a free ride on the boat and 50% discount on the Mount Pilatus cogwheel railway and cable cars and we only had to fork out CHF33 (1 CHF = S$1.4) per person for the golden round trip. Thanks to the integration and partnership between various operators for the convenience of commuters, we were able to pay the fare for the entire Golden Round Trip to the boat operator, SGV. However, it will be certainly be hard to imagine the administrative work required by SBB (issuer of Swiss Pass)and the participating operators to share the revenue!

Ferry to Alpnachstad

The 80min cruise from Lucerne SGV to Alpnachstad SGV encompasses a total distance of approximately 22.1km and is operated by SGV, or Schifffahrtsgesellschaft des Vierwaldstättersees (Lake Lucerne Navigation Company). The company takes its name from German name of Lake Lucerne, Vierwaldstättersee. This name can be literally translated as the Lake of the Four Forested Cantons which refers to Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden (albeit now divided into the Cantons of Obwalden and Nidwalden). In addition to its Lucerne-Alpnachstad route as being part of the Mount Pilatus Golden Round Trip, SGV also operates a beautifully restored paddle steamer during summer for the cruise portion of the famed William Tell Express.

As we boarded only a few minutes before departure, all the available second class seats within the cabin had been taken up. The bow was also filled by a group of school children on an excursion and there was just enough space left on the benches for us to put our belongings.

View of Lucerne old town bathed in the early morning sunlight as our ferry departed from Lucerne SGV pier which is conveniently located outside the Lucerne Hauptbahnhof.

As the ferry transversed across the irregularly shaped Lake Lucerne, the undulating mountainous landscape and the picturesque headlands provided ample photographic opportunities for the passengers.

Kastanienbaum is one of the several charming lakeside communities that are served by the SGV ferry service.

The station-master of the Bürgenstock funicular railway came out to receive the large group of school children as our ferry docked at Kehrsiten-Bürgenstock SGV. We certainly heaved a huge sigh of relief that the raucous group would not be following us for the entire ascent to Mt Pilatus! Surrounded by the lake on its three sides,Bürgenstock had gained popularity in recent years for its spectacular views of Lake Lucerne from the resorts at the top of the plateau. In addition, visitors can also access the summit by using the Hammetschwand Elevator which also lays claim to being the highest exterior elevator in Europe.

Idyllic lakefront residences and lush green slopes of the countryside beckon to weary city dwellers. Lake Lucerne has a total area of 114 square kilometres and is the fifth largest lake in Switzerland.

Kehrsiten-Dorf SGV. The distinctive dome of the community church's spire indicates that it is a Jesuit church. The prehistoric lakeside stilt-house settlement at Kehrsiten is also considered as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Our ferry pulled into the village of Stansstad located in the canton of Nidwalden after an hour into the cruise.

The final part of the cruise brought us into a branch of Lake Lucerne known as Alpnachersee after the ferry passed under the 190m-wide Acheregg Bridge shortly after leaving Stansstad.

MV Titlis berthed at Alpnachstad SGV. Built by SGV's own shipyard in Lucerne, she first entered service in 1951 and underwent a rebuilt fifty years later in 2001 which saw the reconstruction of her superstructure and installation of new systems. Straddling a length of 43.51m with a beam of 8.25m, she could carry 96 passengers on her twin decks at a stately cruising speed of 29km/h with her twin MAN four stroke diesel engines.

Pilatus Bahn

The Pilatus Bahn is arguably the most exciting portion of the Mt Pilatus Golden Round Trip as passengers would be able to experience a ride on the steepest cogwheel railway in the world with a maximum gradient of 48% (or a rise of 48m over a horizontal distance of 100m). The line was the brainchild of Eduard Locher who proposed a radical idea to build a track with a gradient of 48% that would cut the distance required by half and hence providing a decent opportunity to turn a profit on the operation of the railway. The line was opened on 4 June 1889 using steam traction before the line was electrified in 1937. It is also noteworthy that the line was built entirely with private capital and had remained financially viable since its inception.

We were directed to a queue and were issued the actual barcoded ticket by Pilatus Bahnen upon showing the ticket that was issued by SGV. It is interesting to note that the price printed on the ticket was listed as CHF0.0! Due to single tracking limitations, the Pilatus Bahn operates at an interval of 40-50mins with a few railcars deployed together in a convoy.

One of the most unique and defining features of the Pilatus Bahn is the usage of a Locher rack system. In a typical cogwheel railway, the cogwheels of the trains are meshed with the vertical toothed rack to allow operation on steep gradients. However, the gradient of the Pilatus Railway is much steeper, which increases the risk of the cogwheel “climbing out” of the rack. To overcome the problem, Eduard Locher designed two horizontal cogwheels revolving in opposite directions on the horizontal toothed rack, which firmly locks the train onto the tracks even in the presence of severe crosswinds. For the engineering marvel, the railway was named a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in 2002. Unfortunately, the complexity of the system meant that conventional switches cannot be used and a transfer table is used to slide the entire railcar across to the adjacent track at the base station.

We managed to secure ourselves seats at the front of the railcar for the best views as most passengers seem reluctant to climb the additional steps and generally filled the seats from the back. Even with prior expectations, we were still very impressed by the actual steepness of the railway as the railcar started to ascend the track.

The first portion of the journey passed through lush forests at lower altitudes. The 800mm narrow gauge rail is directly secured onto the hewn rock ledge without the need for any ballast using high strength iron ties.

The PB Bhe 1/2 electric railcars were purpose built by SLM and MFO for Pilatus Bahn and run on 1500V DC drawn from the overhead cables. The electric motors connect to the gears driving the rack while the wheels only act as a support. Moreover, the sides of the railcar are only tapered at each end on the mountain facing side, while the other side has no taper. The railcar has a maximum speed of 12km/h during ascent and 9km/h downhill.

The thick forests soon gave way to wide open plains as the railcar continued to climb above 1000m. The steep turns along the line and the drop down windows provided opportunities for passengers to lean out and photograph the surrounding scenery.

Crossover siding at Aemsigen station located at an altitude of 1355m and approximately halfway along the line. A transfer table allows railcars to cross to the adjacent track and descending railcars are held in the siding while the ascending cars clear the bottom half of the line.

A small cow farm near Aemsigen station and we were able to hear the distinctive cow bells up close for the first time during our trip.

Passing through one of the seven tunnels along the line. The tunnels were chiselled out manually in the 19th century and the rough masonry was a stark difference from the smooth concrete walled tunnels that we were used to. (ISO 12800, 1/20s, f/5.6)

The final portion of the ascent saw the grasslands gradually giving way to the bleak tundra landscape that is characteristic of higher altitudes above 2000m. The crosswinds also noticeably picked up during this sector.

In around 30 minutes, the train climbed a vertical distance of 1629m over a distance of 4.8km and after negotiating a final turnout, the train pulled into the Pilatus Kulm station which is located at the lower levels of Hotel Bellevue at an altitude of 2073m. Upon stepping out of the railcar, visitors are welcomed by a large dragon motif on the ceiling of the station. According to legends in medieval times, dragons were said to live in the mysterious, rugged clefts and crevices above Lucerne; today the dragon has evolved into the symbol of Mount Pilatus and is widely used in promotional materials.

Pilatus Kulm

A stuffed Alpine Ibex was the centrepiece at the lobby of the Hotel Bellevue. The driver of the Pilatus Bahn had pointed out a brief sighting of this magnificent creature during the final part of the ascent but we were unfortunately unable to catch a glimpse of it.

Excited about our first visit to a high-altitude Swiss mountain, we headed straight to the vantage point at Hotel Pilatus Kulm. This is one of the two hotels at Pilatus Kulm and visitors can expect to pay a hefty premium for the privilege of spending a night at this historic hotel. The outdoor seating area provides and excellent vantage point for visitors as well.

The vantage point also provided a good location to obtain decent photos of the Pilatus Bahn railcars together with the distinctive rotunda of the Hotel Bellevue. It is also noteworthy that the pantographs are folded down during descent as power is not drawn from the overhead cables and the onboard electric engine is used instead for dynamic braking.

Although it was significantly cloudier at the higher altitudes, the slightly misty condition contributed to the overall atmosphere and it was a most enjoyable experience to stare at the mountainous landscape while soaking in the ambience.

A helpful plaque is also mounted on the railings to aid visitors in identifying the different mountain peaks, but it was hopelessly shrouded in clouds during our visit.

A busker dressed in traditional Swiss costume entertained visitors with his Swiss Alphorn and yodelling. Sporting visitors are also invited to have a go at blowing the traditional woodwind instrument.

Such was the unpredictability and volatility of high altitude weather that a huge bank of clouds moved in quickly and completely obscured the view at the vantage point. We decided to retreat back into the comfort of the heated hotel complex and spent some time browsing through the souvenirs at the shop. Trinkets featuring the Mount Pilatus mascot, PILU®, proved to be very popular among visitors. PILU® is described as the “friendly fire-red Pilatus-Bahnen dragon”, which is “just as red as his great-great-great-great-great grandfather featured on the Pilatus trademark”, but “not too big and frightening like [his] forefathers in the Pilatus myths” on Pilatus Kulm's website. There were also other souvenirs based on the Swiss cowbell and the indigenous St Bernard dog. Prices start from a rather hefty CHF 9.90.

We decided to have different main courses at the restaurant but unanimously opted for Rösti instead of the all-too-common fries. This Swiss dish is made of rough grated potato which is pan-fried and shaped into a patty. The surface was crispier than normal fries while the interior retained the succulence of potato. Bratwurst + Rösti : CHF18.50

The clouds cleared significantly after we had lunch, and we were greeted with a panoramic view of Lake Lucerne from the viewing platform outside the restaurant.

A sign at the viewing platform shows the elevation of the highest point of Mt Pilatus - Tomlishorn at 7000ft or 2132m above sea level.

After a fruitless 15 minutes wait for the skies to clear up over Lucerne city, we decided to climb up the Esel peak for a better view. Esel peak is the most prominent peak on Mount Pilatus although it is not the highest at only 2118m. Our efforts were rewarded with spectacular panaromic view at the summit and we were treated to a more expansive view of Lake Lucerne and the environs.

Hotel Pilatus Kulm and another popular vantage point, Oberhaupt at 2106m / 6913ft.

The urban sprawl of Lucerne City located to the east of Mt Pilatus.

An overview of Alpnach airstrip from Esel peak with a height difference of approximately 1,600m.

The summit of Esel peak is marked with a simple metal hut which is rather curiously ringed with Tibetan prayer flags. With the surrounding snow capped mountains, one could well be forgiven if one thought that he is in Tibet instead! The sporadic chime of the cowbells from the valleys below further contributed to the surreal ambience.

The summit of Esel peak afforded a clear view of the six lakes which includes Lake Lucerne, Rot, Hallwil, Baldegg and Sempach.

The improved visibility compared to the morning allowed us to catch a glimpse of the snow-capped Mount Titlis.

Aerial tramway between Pilatus Kulm and Fräkmüntegg.

Before long, the peak was again shrouded in thick clouds and we decided to make our way down to catch the aerial tramway and head down the mountain. The trail between Pilatus Kulm and Esel peak overcomes a height difference of 50m and has a difficulty rating of medium which really only means that one has to exercise caution especially in low visibility conditions!

Aerial Tramway to Fräkmüntegg

The upper section of the Mount Pilatus cable car is an aerial tramway, which most of us had not ridden before. Unlike the gondola lift which we are more familiar with, aerial trams shuttle back and forth on cables instead of having cabins suspended from a continuously circulating cable. The grip of the aerial tram is permanently fixed onto a propulsion rope, while one or two stationary ropes (“track cables”) are used for support. Therefore, the system is similar that of a funicular, with the weight of the descending cabin helping to pull the other cabin up.

Upper station of the aerial tramway at Pilatus Kulm. Due to the non-continuous operation, the cabins usually have high capacity and the larger ones can even carry over 100 people.

The five minute long descent to Fräkmüntegg took us down an altitude of 650m and below the heavy cloud layer. Once clear of the clouds, we were able to spot the herds of cows that were the source of the cowbells that we had heard at Pilatus Kulm and Esel peak!

The aerial tramcars are built by Garaventa Systems, Switzerland. It is also noteworthy that the bright red paint of the tramcars are sponsored by a prominent Swiss light aircraft manufacturer, Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. The Stans based group produces a series of single engine acrobatic and trainer aircraft such as the PC-21 and had also derived its identity from the mountain.

Fräkmüntegg Restaurant.

Switzerland is also well known for its excellent hiking trails and they offer an alternative to the cable cars for the more adventurous visitors. It takes 2hr 10mins to reach Pilatus Kulm by foot and a warning advisory is bolted onto the sign that states visitors are advised to use the hiking trail at their own risk due to falling rocks.

Fräkmüntegg had been marketed as a destination for adventure sports and visitors can have a go at an obstacle course or flying fox at the Pilatus Rope Park which is the largest of its kind in central Switzerland. We had contemplated riding on a toboggan (the longest of its kind in Switzerland), but eventually backed out as it seemed that we had to walk quite a fair distance uphill.

Cable Car to Kriens

We continued our journey on the gondola lift on the lower half of the cable car ride down to Kriens. Due to the light loadings, we decided to spread ourselves into two cabins for a more comfortable ride.

Coniferous forest dominated the scenery along the cable car line, particular between Fräkmüntegg and the intermediate Krienseregg station. At Krienseregg station, service personnel and signage reminded passengers heading for Kriens / Lucerne to remain onboard the cable car.

For the final portion of the 4.9km cable car ride, passengers had a view of Lucerne city and the northern suburbs as the cable car approached Kriens station.

A stone castle set amidst lush green meadows against a mountainous backdrop and the enthralling sounds of the cowbell - Indeed it is my kind of Switzerland!

A neat row of spare cable cars at Kriens station.

Visitors are bade goodbye as they exit the cable car at Kriens station with 6 different languages.

Kriens station sits at an elevation of 1694ft or 516m above sea level.

A double deck Setra S431DT coach belonging to Walliser-Reisen AG at Kriens station waiting to pick up tour group passengers returning from a trip to Pilatus Kulm.

Trolleybus back to Lucerne City Centre

Clear directional signs are placed in Kriens cable car terminal building and at every single intersection along the way to guide passengers to complete the final part of the Golden Round Trip with a ride on a service 1 trolleybus back to Lucerne city centre. Even though there was a bus stop just outside the cable car terminal, we noted that the next bus would arrive 40 minutes later and the Service 15 only operates within Kriens. As such, we followed the signs to the main road served by trolleybus Service 1 and had little difficulties finding the bus stop. As the bus stop is frequented by tourists, there is a prominent sign in English which informs commuters the estimated journey time and frequency of Service 1. It is virtually impossible to get lost and take a wrong turn during the 10 minute long downhill stroll!

While specially waiting for a NAW, we kept ourselves occupied by taking photos of a few passing buses which included fleet number 278 that looped back and brought us back to Lucern Hauptbahnhof.

Next Post: Lucerne City - Day 4

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Lucerne - Swiss Transport Museum (Verkehrshaus) - Day 3

Lucerne - Swiss Transport Museum (Verkehrshaus) - Day 3

2011-12-01T22:12:00.001+08:00

Located on the banks of Lake Lucerne and set against a stunning Swiss Alpine backdrop of Mt Pilatus and Rigi, the city exhibits a natural charm that continues to draws in hoardes of visitors every year and was even voted as the fifth most popular tourism city by Tripadvisor.com in 2010. In addition, the central Switzerland city is also an important telecommunications and transport hub for the region. The places which we had visited in the two days in Lucerne are shown in the map below (map courtesy of Google Maps).

Backpacker’s Lucerne

With several star attractions in the city, Lucerne is understandably a heavily touristed city and this had led to many hotels being significantly priced above our budget or had received too many negative reviews for our liking. Hostels had became increasingly popular in recent years as most hostels now do not have an age limit and private rooms are also available for a slight premium. Backpacker’s Lucerne is no exception and came highly recommended by a friend who had stayed there during his visit last year, and it is also the top-rated specialty accommodation in the city on TripAdvisor.com for its excellent service, clean rooms and value.

We were under the impression that our hostel is far from the main road so we decided to walk there directly along the shores of Lake Lucerne instead of confirming the buses routes that we could take. It was a decision we very much regretted as the walking distance was much longer than we had thought.

Backpacker's Lucerne is located at the end of the tree-lined Alpenquai by the shores of Lake Lucerne and occupy the first and second storey of an existing student hostel. Simply love the retro German registered cars parked at the parking lot in front!

The well maintained rooms are simply furnished with a pair of double-deck bunk beds and desks. Moreover, the room also had a balcony which was accessed through a door that could also be hinged at the bottom to become a 'hopper' window by turning the handle in the other direction. The private quad room cost CHF32 per person per night and while there was no private bathroom, there were no issues with the availability or cleaniless of the shared bathroom.

View of the common corridor on the second floor of the hostel. A common room with wifi is also available on the first floor of the hostel.

We decided to swap our plans for Day 3 & 4 to visit the Swiss Transport Museum instead of making the ascent to Mt Pilatus as the weather was decidedly overcast for the day and the view from the summit of Mt Pilatus would probably be obscured. Exhausted from the long walk from the station building earlier (which definitely took more than the 12mins walking time that was stated in the reservation confirmation), we decided to explore a way out to the main road instead to catch a bus. We were pleasantly surprised when we stumbled upon a VBL bus depot that was tucked behind our hostel. Adding on to this unexpected find, we also managed to obtain decent photographs of a retired VBL Volvo B10MA with Hess bodywork that was being used as an information centre for the city's road modification project.

We passed a service 6 Swiss Trolley 3 and decided to ride an old NAW trolley bus on service 8 to the Swiss Transport Museum. It was also an interesting to experience to hear the onboard generator working to provide electrical power to drive the bus at a noticeably reduced speed along a section where no power was available from the overhead cables.

Swiss Transport Museum (Verkehrshaus der Schweiz)

The Swiss Transport Museum, or Verkehrshaus, is located along the banks of Lake Lucerne and it is a must visit for any transport enthusiast. Unlike other similar museums around the world where it is generally regarded as a gathering place for enthusiasts and geeks, the Swiss Transport Museum is a very popular place of interest for other tourists and locals as well. The museum was expectedly crowded during our visit as it was a public holiday (Witt Monday). Swiss Pass & Swiss Card holders get to enjoy 50% off the steep admission cost (CHF18.50 vs CHF37).

The distinctive facade of the Vekehrshaus with a myraid display of wheels and propellers which represent the museum's extensive and diverse range of transport related exhibits.

The feature wall continues inside the museum in an eclectic display of chrome and polished wood.

We decided to grab a quick lunch at the self-service restaurant next to the ticketing counter where a range of choices from salads and sandwiches to main courses were offered. The maturity of the Swiss society was immediately evident as the trust system in place meant that patrons were obliged to make their way to the centralised cashiers to pay for their meal after collecting their food despite a total absence of crowd control measures in the packed restaurant.

We decided to settle on the quitessential option (much akin to Chicken Rice and Nasi Lemak is in Singapore) of Schweinen Schnitzel mit Pommes Frites (Pork Cutlet with Fries). We were also pleasantly surprised that there were no obvious mark-up in the price of the food despite the location.(CHF 18.50) The portion and quality of the meal were decent where an average meal in the country would cost approximately CHF20.

Rail Transport Gallery

We began our tour indoors since there was a light drizzle after we had finished our meal. The first exhibition hall was the railway section and it is the largest of all the galleries in the museum. There was much to see as visitors were able to have an up-close look at the numerous historic locomotives and rail cars that are displayed on over one kilometre of railway track.

Ce 6/8 II electric locomotive, fleet number 13254. Also affectionately referred to as 'Crocodile' due to its unusual appearance, they were built between 1919-1927 and were developed for pulling heavy goods trains on the steep tracks of the Gotthardbahn from Lucerne to Chiasso, including the Gotthard Tunnel. An articulated design which comprised of two powered nose units that are bridged with a pivoting center section containing the operator cab and the heavy transformer provided both the flexibility to negotiate the tight curves of the Alpine railways and to provide adequate support for the heavy body mounted electric motors.

Apart from interactive exhibits and activities, some of the exhibits also had 'cut-away' views that expose the inner mechanisms of the powerful locomotives. This particular electric locomotive, a Ce 4/4 No. 1 and named 'Eva', served as an experimental prototype by the Oerlikon Engineering Works MFO. Built at the dawn of the rail electrification in 1904, it was used by MFO to test various electrical configurations on the Seebach-Wettigen section and provided vital experience for the eventual electrification of the Swiss rail network. It was eventually found that single phase AC (instead of three phase) provided the best efficiency and minimal losses, and had since been adopted by SBB and the private railways till today.

An elevated walkway spans the length of the gallery and allow visitors to have a quick overview of the exhibits through the different regions and eras. The distinctive double ended red electric railcar in the background was built as a SBB initiative to improve the service on low frequency lines in the 1930s. The RCe 2/4 203 could reach a top speed of 120km/h (phenomenal in the 1930s!) and was well loved by the Swiss who bestowed the name of 'Red Arrow' as a reference to its appearance and speed. Unfortunately, the experiment was not really successful and only a limited number of units were built.

The rail gallery also houses an extensive collection of steam powered trams and locomotives. A steam operated tramway in the past often consists of a seperate 'drive' unit which houses the steam engine that is coupled to a passenger carriage, as shown in this beautifully restored SLM (Winterthur) 0-6-0Tram that was operated by Berner Tramway Gesellschaft and was built in 1894.

Tipping the scales at over 128 tonnes, the C 5/6 was aptly named the 'Elephant' and also had the distinction of being the final large steam locomotive to be produced by SLM Winterthur in 1916. No. 2965 was built for the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), and was only withdrawn from service after nearly half a century of active service in 1964.

Apart from the large steam locomotives, this smaller Class E 2/2 11 is a 0-4-0WT that was built in 1881 to support the construction of the Gotthard Pass line.

The Pilatus Bahn is the world's steepest rack railway and unlike other conventional racks where the cogwheel might slip off the vertical teeth at higher gradients, it employs a pair of horizontal double rack with the teeth facing outwards. The line was opened in 1889 using steam operated railcars such as No. 9 until the railway was eventually electrified in 1937.

This Xtrot m No. 100 steam powered rotary snow blower was operated by Gotthardbahn to clear the heavy snow fall that often obscures rail traffic in the mountain passes during the winter season. It was built by Henschel & Sohn, Kassel in 1896 and the 3m high blower unit could direct the ejected jet of snow up to 90m sideways and 18m in the air.

Visitors can also try their hand at showing off their skills (or lack thereof) in driving a train at one of the three popular train simulators located in the gallery. We certainly had much fun hauling a SBB Re 460 locomotive coupled to a IC 2000 double deck trainset (which had the highest operating speeds of the three) with some of us performing 'stunts' such as ignoring stop signals and overshooting the station platforms.

Road Transport Gallery
The road transport gallery is perhaps the most distinctive gallery in the compound as the exterior is adorned with 344 Swiss road signs.

The bus simulator at the museum is a retired VBZ Mercedes Benz O405N which had been converted into an inertial simulator. This exhibits aims to educate visitors about the hazards when travelling in a bus and a helpful visitor offered to translate the guide's explanation in German into English for our benefit. The 'wobbly ride' lasted only three minutes and the acceleration was rather weak in comparison to what we had gotten used to on the Mercedes Benz OC500LEs and Scania K230UBs back home.

This Migros Sales Vehicle made its final trip in 2007 in Valais and closed the chapter on such mobile 'supermarkets' after eighty years since the idea was born. The reason for the termination of the service was primarily due to high operating costs and increasingly stringent hygiene requirements, rather than customer dissastifaction with the choice of products available as they got to pick from the 1,100 products that was routinely carried on the truck. This 1989 NAW truck was bodied with frech-Hoch body and also represented the last generation of Swiss trucks produced by the company before it was absorbed into Mercedes Benz at the turn of the century.

Before the advent of low floor apron buses (of which Swiss-based manufacturer COBUS is currently a market leader), Zürich-Kloten airport utilised Ford trucks which were coupled with a low floor trailer section to ferry passengers between the terminal building and aircraft that were parked at remote stands.

Occupying over two storeys and housing 80 different carriages, bicycles and automobiles dated between 1860 and 2005, the autotheatre is by far the most popular exhibit in the road transport gallery and attracts a steady stream of curious on-lookers throughout the day. This innovative exhibit was developed by Klaus Multiparking GmbH and was opened to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vekehrshaus in 2009.

Visitors participated like a gameshow audience and voted for the car that would be brought down by the automated robotic lift system by furiously hitting on the red button in front of them. The car that received the most 'votes' would then be retrieved and displayed on the turntable in front of the audience.

However, most visitors enjoyed themselves by hammering the buttons vigorously and the chaotic scene often resulted in unexpected results - we certainly saw the disappointment on the faces when this antiquated early iteration of an automombile from the 19th century was displayed instead of a sleek coupe from the 1960s!

The gallery also houses one of Europe's largest and most complete collection of Matchbox models which are presented within 40 cylindrical cases of 100 models each in a very neat conveyor system . Visitors can simply use a touchscreen display to select a display case of interest that would be transported to them for closer examination at eye-level. Unlike the autotheatre, vigorous hammering of buttons are not required at this exhibit as the display cases would be retrieved and 'queued' for a close-up look.

To avoid disappointment, we queued in advance and managed to be amongst the first to “volunteer as crash test dummies” at a very popular crash test simulator. We were also required to remove our spectacles and leave our belongings outside the safety cage for safety reasons. The Volkswagen Golf was accelerated along a guide-way and brought to an abrupt halt to simulate a collision at 13km/h. Although the thrilling experience only lasted for a split second, the uncomfortably sharp deceleration force that were already present for such a low speed collision served as a poignant reminder of the importance of wearing seatbelts. A similar car was wrecked in a 50km/h frontal collision is also suspended from the ceiling to further drive home the message and demonstrate the sheer forces that were involved at higher collision speeds.

Aviation & Space Travel Gallery

The aviation gallery houses more than 30 historic aircraft and 300 other aviation and space exhibits to showcase the rich history of aviation and space exploration to the general public.

Commercial aviation had progressed at a tremendous pace over the past 70 years from the humble DC-3 to the modern twin engined widebody aircraft that we had taken for granted today.

Swissair DC-3 HB-IRN on static display outside the Aviation Gallery. However, it was a pity that visitors are unfortunately unable to access and inspect the cabin of this historic aircraft. Swissair had operated a total of 16 examples between 1937 and 1964 and DC-3s can still be found operating nostalgia flights and charters over the skies of Switzerland today.

The successful flight of the Dufaux 4 by Armand Dufaux on 27th August 1910 over the Lake Geneva marked the beginning of motorised flight in Switzerland. The four-stroke piston engine produced a maximum power of 44.1kW and the aircraft had a paltry range of only 66km.

The exhibition hall also contains a large number of scale aircraft aircraft models and interactive exhibits such as air traffic control games.

A Swissair Lockheed 9C Orion, fleet number 167. The Orion was twice as fast as other similar aircraft when it was first introduced into service in 1932 on the Zürich-Munich-Vienna route.

Visitors are also drawn to the diverse range of flying machines which were cleverly suspended from the ceiling, such as this Piper PA-18-150 Piper Cub HB-OPR that is equipped with floats that enable takeoff and landing on water.

The Breitling CAP 232 is famed for its extraordinary maneuverability capabilities and is a fixture at many major acrobatic airshows around the world. The renowned Swiss watch manufacturer is also the main sponsor of Europe's largest civilian aerobatic team and also sponsored the recent restoration of an iconic Lockheed Super Constellation.

The centrepiece of the aviation collection is a beautifully preserved Swissair Convair 990 HB-ICC 'St Gallen' which is proudly displayed outside the aviation exhibition hall and accessed through the second storey of the museum.

Upon entering the cabin through the rear door, we were immediately transported back in time to the golden era of the jet age where plush cushioned seats in economy class and a dedicated lounge area for passengers to relax on long haul flights were to be expected of a premium legacy carrier then.

View from the rear of the cabin. The aircraft interior with the original fabric seats had also been preserved, as well as the old baggage racks and overhead passenger service units.

Cabin view from the front of the aircraft. The Convair 990 served as Swissair's main long haul airliner before the arrival of the DC-10s in 1972. Affectionately known as the 'Coronado', the Convair boasts one of the highest cruising speeds of any commercial jetliner even by today's standards. However, the fuel crisis of the 1970s soon took hold and the Convair 990 was abandoned by many carriers and replaced with more fuel efficient types.

A spacious lounge at the front of the aircraft at a time when airlines are not overly concerned with cramming in as many seats as possible on an aircraft.

Visitors were also able to peek into the cockpit through a clear perspex screen. It was certainly a feast for the eyes as some of us with a keener interest in aviation tried to take in and admire the complex manual cockpit with its huge assortment of dials, levels and gauges. This was definitely a far cry from the glass cockpits today which contain a minimal amount of analogue instruments and switches for a clutter free flight deck.

A video was also screened in the aft cabin where visitors were taken through the pre-flight preparations and the spectacular approach of a Swissair Convair 990 into Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport that was widely regarded as one of the world's most dangerous airports to operate into. The videos are also available on youtube:- Part 1 of 2

Part 2 of 2 has some beautiful footage of the approach path into Kai Tak through the western offshore islands and airport scenes at the former Hong Kong gateway.

We stopped by briefly at the Swiss International Airlines exhibit which featured a mock-up of the national carrier's A340-300 cabin product (albeit the seat pitch was definitely exaggerated as compared to the actual aircraft). The airline now operates a full Airbus fleet apart from BAe146s that are used on short haul regional routes.

Visitors were also afforded a glimpse into the different activities that go on behind the scene at the airport. A row of screens also show real time arrival and departure information at Zürich-Kloten airport, which is also the nearest international airport to the Transport Museum.

Navigation Gallery

The navigation gallery of the museum showcases a variety of nautical exhibits and also housed the Swiss Arena that featured a satellite image of Switzerland which visitors can walk on with slippers. In addition, the 160 year old SS Rigi is also exhibited outside the gallery and is regarded as the oldest surviving form of motorised transport in the country as well as the oldest suviving example of a flush deck side wheel paddle steamer in the world. She was built by Ditchborn & Mare, London in 1848 and had a sedate cruising speed of only 19.7km/h.

A ridable 240mm gauge minature railway makes a loop around the navigation museum. The crammed seating conditions are definitely a far cry from the spacious and comfortable mainline railway carriages in the country!

One of us stayed at the simulator till the very last minute to perfect his train driving skills while the rest of us left earlier to browse around the souvenir shop. We did not buy anything as the souvenirs and other merchandise were somewhat expensive although there were a number of high quality scale models to admire at.

Stepping out of the Swiss Transport Museum, we headed to the waterfront to admire the view of Lake Lucerne. Despite the overcast conditions, it was simply a wonderful feeling to take in one of the 'standard postcard views' of Switzerland - a combination of towering mountains, lush green rolling hills and a steam paddle steamer in a peaceful lake. Unterwalden was photographed calling at the Verkehrhaus-Lido pier which serves the transport museum.

We were kept occupied for quite some time chasing for photos of ducks and swans along the banks of the lake.

After another intentional wait for an old NAW trolleybus on service 8, we decided to try a ride in the trailer section instead. The next destination and estimated arrival time are displayed on the Passenger Information system in the Hess built trailer section.

A Ride on the Volvo 7700 Hybrid

We unaminously had our eyes set on a ride on one of the six Volvo 7700 hybrids operated by VBL upon our return to the Lucerne Hauptbahnhof bus terminus. The Volvo 7700 is a single deck version of the Volvo B5L and is bodied as an integral product by the Swedish bus manufacturer.

Fleet number 74 awaiting her next departure on service 19 to Kantonsspital-Friedental. The Volvo 7700 hybrids carry a slightly modified version of the standard livery to reflect the environmental benefits of the hybrid drive system. The bus is expected to be able to save up to 35% in fuel consumption and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide to the environment.

Refreshing lime green seats adorn the interior and was a very welcome change from the standard drab blue seat fabric preferred by many Swiss municipal operators.

The ride quality was superior in every aspect as compared to the Sunlong and Zhongtong hybrid demonstrators that were being trialed back home in Singapore. There was a very clear distinction between the electrical and diesel drive modes with a very smooth transition to diesel mode at higher speeds courtesy of Volvo's own I-SAM parallel hybrid drive system coupled to the I-shift gearbox (see youtube video below). This was in spite of both the Eaton gearbox (used by the Sunlong and Zhongtong demonstrators) and the Volvo I-shift being semi-automatic gearboxes.

The Volvo 7700 also handled slopes without much difficulty with a comparitively measly 5 litre engine, even though the slight revving of the engine produced a sound that was reminiscent of an old Toyota Crown taxi!

Lion Monument (Löwendenkmal)

The large and busy coach park provided a very useful reference for us in identifying the correct bus stop to alight at and visit the famed Lion Monument which is located at Gletschergarten near Löwenplatz. Mesmerised with the huge variety of tour coaches at the bus park, we decided to spend some time to photograph a selection of coaches before moving on to the park.

A Volvo integral coach operating for one of the more prominent European tour operator,Trafalgar Tours.

A VBL NAW BT5-25 working service 1 to Maihof. These trolleybuses were first introduced in 1988-89 but were soon deemed inadequate to cope with the increased demand by the late 1990s. In perhaps a stroke of ingenuity, 16 trailers were introduced in 3 batches after a successful trial where a tailer was coupled to the rear of the existing rigid trolleybuses. A further effort had been made to refurbish the buses in 2010 and with the bulk of the trailers already being wheelchair accessible, it is highly likely that they would continue to remain in revenue service in the near future.

A fortunate encounter with a passing sightseeing road train that was operated by City Train Luzern eliminated the guesswork and we simply followed it and arrived at the park entrance in no time. These diesel driven road trains are often used to operate city sightseeing tours in many European cities.

Carved in a former sandstone quarry, the monument serves to commemorate the bravery and loyalty of the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution. The sculpture depicts a mortally wounded lion being impaled by a spear and covering a shield bearing the fleur-de-lis (stylized lily) of the French monarchy. Another shield lies beside the lion and bears the coat of arms of Switzerland. The monument is dedicated Helvetiorum Fidei ac Virtuti, which means “To the Loyalty and Bravery of the Swiss” in Latin.

The names of the officers and approximate numbers (in Greek numerals) of soldiers who died (DCCLX = 760) and survived (CCCL = 360) are inscribed below the sculpture which was designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen and hewn in 1820–21 by Lukas Ahorn. The lion lies within a nook in the shape of a pig as a result of protest by the sculptor over the reduced payment for his work due to insufficient funds raised to establish the monument.

There were very few visitors when we arrived at the park and we had the entire place to get group and individual photos of ourselves with the symbol of Lucerne that was famously described by Mark Twain as 'the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world". We managed to get the necessary photos just before the place was swarmed by a tour group, but we also made full use of the opportunity and stayed behind to listen to the guide’s explanation!

Following which, we retraced our steps to Löwenplatz where we deliberately missed a service 1 trolleybus in hope of riding an interesting vehicle on service 22, but it was unfortunately not to be the case when a Citaro G pulled up at the bus stop.

After combing through the Lucerne Hauptbahnhof for dinner options, we decided to settle upon the station's Burger King, making it the first fast food meal of our trip. It is often said that the cost of an average fast food meal is indicative of the city's cost of living, thus we were not surprised to discover that a standard "medium" (regular) menu meal such as the Crispy Chicken meal shown below costs approximately CHF12. Upsizing to "Large" and "King" size meals cost CHF1 and CHF2 respectively. Moreover, it is also a common practice for fast food restaurants in Europe to charge for sauces, and the packet of Heinz 'Pommes Frites Sauce'(French Fries Sauce, which is actually mayonnaise) cost us an additional CHF0.30. It was interesting to note that the outlet restricts toilet access to patrons by requiring an access code printed on the receipt for entry.

After dinner, we had our first good look at an old Re 420 electric locomotive that was operated by the Swiss Federal Railways. Once a common sight hauling intercity trains across the country, they had been progressively replaced with the newer Pininfarina designed Re460, or 'Lok 2000' electric locomotives. This particular example only bears the abbreviation of the Swiss Federal Railway's German (SBB) and French division (CFF) and not the Italian division (FFS)

Next Post: Mt Pilatus - Day 4

Previous Post: Zürich Uetliberg - Day 3

Zürich Uetliberg - Day 3

2011-11-27T23:05:00.001+08:00

The Silhtal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn (SZU)

Silhtal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn (SZU) was formed through the merger of the Zürich-Uetlibergbahn (now S10) and the Zürich-Silhtalbahn (now S4) in 1973. In addition to these two flagship lines which exist as S-bahn services within the Zürich S-bahn network, the company also operates the Felseneggbahn cable car, or LAF (Luftseilbahn Adliswil-Felsenegg) which connects Felsenegg mountain with Adliswil town in the Sihl valley. In addition, SZU also operates the Zimmerberg bus line in the district of Horgen with a mix of MAN and Volvo buses.

SZU operates from Platform 1 & 2 at Zürich Hauptbahnhof which was originally built as U-bahn station. However, the eventual scrapping of the U-bahn project led to the platform being disused until 1990 when the Uetlibergbahn and Shilhtalbahn were extended to the station to integrate with other services to form the Zürich S-bahn network. As a result of operational constraints, the two lines remain independent of each other with each platform handling trains of the same service in both directions although provisions had been made for the trains to use either platform. The 'eye' symbol on the station sign indicates that the train service is a 'self-check' zone where passengers are expected to buy and validate their ticket before boarding the trains as no tickets would be sold onboard. An abuse of this trust system would most certainly entail a hefty fine (CHF 80) by the friendly yet professional ticket inspectors if passengers are caught without a valid ticket during the journey.

S-Bahn S4 / Silhtalbahn is operated with a varied fleet of electric locomotives hauling a mix rack of double deck carriages and single deck carriages due to the higher passenger demand along this line. Re 456 542 was photographed at its platform at Zürich Hauptbahnhof and was built by SLM in 1993. The Re 456 locomotives were purpose built for Switzerland's private railways and were also referred to as 'KTU-Lok', where KTU stands for Licensed Transport Operators (Konzessionierte Transport-Unternehmungen), a term that was once commonly used to describe the private operators (i.e. non SBB-CFF-FFS).

Uetlibergbahn commenced operations in 1875 and was initially owned by a private company of the same name. but the railway was not profitable. The City of Zürich took over the company as a major stakeholder in 1922 to form the Zürich-Uetlibergbahn. Electrification of the line followed shortly in 1923 with 1200V DC.

A Be4/4 556 awaiting its next trip at Zürich Hauptbahnhof. Built by Siemens/SLM and introduced into service in 1992, the Uetlibergbahn is currently operated by these powerful EMUs that comprise of two double ended railcars with an additional low floor carriage in the middle of the train rack. The S10 / Uetlibergbahn operates the full route to Uetliberg every 20mins on weekends and public holidays while only 1 in 3 trains continue on to Uetliberg on weekdays although the line operates with a headway of 10mins.

Interior of a double ended railcar showing the high floor configuration due to a need to house the bulky traction motors and electrical equipment. The dull maroon interior is reminiscent of the early 1990s when such contemporary decor was in fashion!

Interior of the low floor carriage which allows wheelchair-bound passengers to be able to enjoy the ride up to Uetliberg as well.

With a maximum gradient of 7.9% along the line, the Uetlibergbahn holds the record for being the steepest standard gauge adhesion railway in Europe. This means that no cogwheels or racks are used to cope with the steep gradient along the railway.

Selnau station. This new underground station under the bed of the River Sihl replaced the former terminus at Selnau when the Silhtal Line and Uetliberg Line were extended to Zürich Hauptbahnhof in 1990 to coincide with the launch of the Zürich S-bahn network. The lines were renamed as S4 and S10 respectively and SZU also took the opportunity to use their historic names of Silhtalbahn and Uetlibergbahn for branding purposes.

Shortly after leaving the underground station, the train ran at-grade and made a gentle ascent to the base of Uetliberg at Triemli which also functioned as a transfer stop to other citybus routes. Following which, there was a noticeable increase in the grade of the line as the train wound through numerous ungated level crossings with hiking paths on the hills. Moreover, there were distinctive sharp hissing sounds which might be due to sanding equipment dropping sand on the tracks to increase the available traction on a wet morning.

Uetliberg station building. The station building is the jumping off point for several well marked mountain hiking trails and houses a large station cafe to cater to weary hikers and the weekend crowd.

Uetliberg station lies at an elevation of 814m above sea level. Visitors can continue on to access the summit of the mountain at an elevation of 869m for panaromic views of city and Lake Zürich by following well signposted paths.

Be556 522 laying over at Uetliberg station before commencing on the return trip to Zürich Hauptbahnhof. It only takes 20 mins to traverse the entire length of the 10.2km long Uetlibergbahn.

A small fleet of Volvo sedans are parked near the station building to ferry guests to the luxury Uto Kulm Hotel which is situated at the summit of the mountain.

Uetliberg - Planetenweg

The Planetenweg, or Planetary Trail, is a 1:1 million scale reproduction of the relative distance of the planets from the sun in the solar system in Uetliberg. Several travel guides recommend a half-day trip which entails a S10 ride to Uetliberg (starting point of the trail) to begin the largely downhill hike to Felsenegg, where one would be able to catch a ride on the Luftseilbahn Adliswil-Felsenegg (LAF) cable car to Adliswil. This would be followed with a short ride on the S4 S-bahn service back to the city centre.

The starting point of the planetary trail - the 'Sun'.

Due to time constraints and the reluctance to hike too far, we only planned to walk to “Earth” instead of the entire trail to reach “Pluto” where the LAF cable car station is located. However, the walk took far shorter than expected and we had nearly missed an inconspicuous stone sculpture located at the side of the path which unceremoniously represented 'Erde' or 'Earth' and her moon with two metal studs.

View from a lookout point located near the location of the 'Earth' along the Planetary trail. However, the view was less than impressive as it was facing away from the city and we decided to walk uphill along a track leading to the TV tower and the Uto Kulm Hotel for a better vantage point.

Whimsical lamp posts with the individual lamps ingeniously mounted on top of the deer 'antlers' line the access road to the TV Tower and the Uto Kulm Hotel.

View of Zürich city centre from a picnic ground located next to the TV Tower. Despite the cloudy conditions, it was still possible to identity the prominent spires of the Fraumünster and Grossmünster churches in the old city quarter. The difference in elevation between the summit of Uetliberg and the city centre is approximately 450m.

The Zürichsee located to the south of the city and the residential estates bordering the lake.

We decided not to continue the walk to the official viewing platform located besides the Uto Kulm Hotel for a better and less obscured vantage point as we were unsure of how long it would take us to reach the platform. Moreover, we decided to return to the station and obtain more photos of the unique Uetlibergbahn train.

A S10 Be556 EMU at Uetliberg showing the unusual off-centre location of the pantograph to good effect. However, SZU's S4 trains have the pantograph placed at the centre of the train instead. This novel arrangement allows both S4 (15,000V AC) and S10 (1200V DC) trains to share tracks with each respective train collecting the correct current from the corresponding overhead cables. The new Be510 Stadler EMUs which are expected to be introduced into service from 2013 would be equipped with movable pantographs and dual voltage operation.

The initial part of the downhill ride was quieter due to greater reliance on the brakes than the traction motor. After reaching Zürich HB, we made a quick trip to the hotel to pick up our luggage and returned to the station to catch the train to Lucerne.

InterRegio IR2327 to Luzern on the IC2000

Trains are the main form of travel between cities and regions in Switzerland, and it is easy to see why with well published timetables, high frequencies and comfortable carriages that allow passengers to reach the city and town centres with ease and haste. Moreover, SBB-CFF-FFS maintains a user-friendly and useful website which allows passengers to plan and book their journeys in advance and one even has the option to create a personalised timetable in pdf format for easy reference!

However, rail travel in Switzerland is reflective of the high cost of living in the country and fares are expensive, with the 69km journey between Zürich and Luzern costing upwards of CHF22 for a single trip in second class and CHF36.40 in first class. A more economical option is to purchase a Swiss Pass / Swiss Card which is of incredible value for money as it also includes substantial discounts to museums and travel on private railways. In addition, it would certainly spare one of the hassle to purchase tickets and reservations for most of the routes and thereafter remembering to validate the ticket before boarding!

A Swiss Youthpass ticket for youths 25 years of age and below. In addition, the SwissSaver Pass also offers substantial discount over the regular SwissPass where at least two names are listed in the same pass. The SwissPass must be validated with a stamp in the indicated box at a SBB-CFF-FFS ticket counter before use.

Zürich Hauptbanhof concourse. A large destination board in the concourse areas allows passengers to easily locate the platform that their trains would be departing from. It is definitely adviseable to cater additional time before the scheduled departure time as the station concourse can be huge and trains are the epitome of legendary Swiss precision with 'scarily' punctual departures and arrivals.

SBB-CFF-FFS operates frequent half-hourly connections on the trunk line between Zürich Hauptbanhof and Luzern via Zug, with the bulk of the trips being operated with IC2000 double deck carriages. The IC 2000 came about from the initiative to increase capacity and renew rolling stock as part of the Bahn 2000 large-scale project to improve the quality of the Swiss railway network. A total of 341 carriages were delivered by the Bombardier-Alstom consortium between 1997 and 2004 over five batches, making the IC 2000 the first double-deck inter-city train to be used on a nationwide scale in Europe.

Upper deck 2nd class interior of the IC2000 carriage with 2-2 seating. These carriages are similar to the ones operated on the Zürich S-bahn services, except that the connecting gangway is on the upper deck instead of the mezzanine level to facilitate the movement of the snacks trolley during the journey. In addition, there are also seats arranged in a semi-circular fashion around a small table for groups at either end of the carriages.

Shortly after leaving Zürich, the train passes through the southern lakeside suburbs of the city towards Thalwil. A seperate parallel track to the intercity tracks is used by the Zürich S-bahn trains.

Suburban farmlands offer a welcome break from the densely built up urban areas in the major cities and towns. The 69km long journey between Zürich and Luzern takes approximately 45-50mins to complete.

Luzern Hauptbahnhof platform. The majority of large train stations in Switzerland (Hauptbahnhof, also often branded as RailCity by SBB-CFF-FFS) have end-on platforms for the intercity trains. This design helps to avoid passengers from having to lug their luggage through tunnels to exit the station and is especially practical for a major rail hub that experiences high passenger volume with a large number of terminating rail services at the station.

Next Post: Luzern Swiss Transport Museum (Verkehrshaus) - Day 3

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Schaffhausen, Rhine Falls and the River Limmat - Day 2

Schaffhausen, Rhine Falls and the River Limmat - Day 2

2011-11-10T01:00:00.000+08:00

Schaffhausen Old Town

Located in the northern tip of Switzerland in the canton of the same, the medieval city of Schaffhausen was a prominent city state in the Middle Ages, and its history could be traced back to 1045 AD when the first coins were struck. Today, visitors to this charming settlement can stroll through the beautifully preserved cobbled streets and admire the oriels (decorative protruding window frames built as a symbol of wealth) that adorn many of the buildings.

Many fountains with elaborately carved centrepieces could be found at the numerous plazas scattered throughout the town.

The family crests of the different families that reside in the town are also hung above the pedestrianized streets to further enhance the atmosphere of the old town.

Random photos of Schaffhausen

We walked in the general direction of the Munot, a circular fortress built in the 16th century on a vineyard covered hill. Despite its elevation over the town, it was a challenge to find a suitable location to admire the medieval structure as the view was always blocked by the densely clustered buildings. Eventually, we decided to scale a steep flight of steps that was tucked away from view in a side street to obtain a less obscured view.

Originally built as a fortification, the Munot boasts an impressive 4m thick wall with a diameter of 50m and had only seen one siege in 1799 before it fell into disuse. It is now used to stage cultural events during summer and the Munotkinderfest is staged as a capstone event to celebrate the end of the season with a grand fireworks display.

Looking back down at the medieval town of Schaffhausen from the steps. The 79 acre Munot vineyard produces 5000-6000 litres of Schaffhausen's signature wine 'Munötler' annually.

Schaffhausen Buses

The city bus fleet of Schaffhausen (Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen, VBSH) consists entirely of Volvo buses, and all appeared to be fitted with Voith gearbox. Thus, it was a most enjoyable affair spotting buses at bus terminal outside the Bahnhof for most of us with the retarders on the buses whistling away as they head down the slope.

A Volvo B7LA articulated bus fitted with a Hess bodywork awaiting passengers outside the station entrance.

Interior of a Hess bodied Volvo B7LA articulated bus.

A Short wheelbase Volvo B6L with Hess bodywork working service 8 to Im Freien.

Integral Volvo 7700 with a full body advertisement promoting the Rhine river cruise in Schaffhausen.

A Mercedes Benz Citaro O530 with the updated front mask operated by Regionale Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen (RVSH) which focuses on regional bus routes as compared to the city bus routes chiefly operated by VBSH.

A notable bus spotting target at Schaffhausen is the cross-border bus service 7322 operated by Südbadenbus. The German bus company is a subsidiary of the German national railway Deutsche Bahn. A Setra S415NF was photographed departing Schaffhausen Bahnhof for Trasadingen across the border.

Another highlight of our visit to Schaffhausen was the ability to spot and ride on an increasingly uncommon NAW trolleybus. The Schaffhausen trolleybus system is the youngest and smallest in Switzerland, having being established in 1966 from the conversion of a tram line. In 2009, the town council voted in favour of retaining the trolleybus network against replacing the service with diesel or biofuel buses as the higher operating costs of the trolleybuses were justified by the lower emissions and noise levels. The existing NAW trolleybuses that were introduced two decades ago were refurbished while an order for seven new Swiss Trolley 3 was placed in 2010 to replace the aging vehicles.

Trolleybus service 1 provides a useful link between Schaffhausen and Neuhausen where the Rhine Falls is just a short walk away from the trolleybus stop.

Instead of taking the direct S33 S-bahn service from Zürich, the brief stopover at Schaffhausen allowed us to explore this unique town and ride a NAW trolleybus to the Rhine Falls. The NAW did not sound as enthusing as the O405GTZ but we still found that the older trolleybuses have more character, possibly because both models which we rode have hub reduction. The passenger information system was basic with only an audio announcement and the friendly bus driver assisted us in alighting at the correct stop and also provided us detailed directions to get to the Rhine Falls.

Interior of NAW Trolleybus. Note the provision of proper seats in the articulated section of the trolleybus.

Rhine Falls

The Rhine Falls is the largest waterfall in Europe by volume and is located along the Upper Rhine River which divides the cantons of Zürich to the south and Schaffhausen to the north. The falls measure 150 m across and 23 m high, with an average water flow of 700m3/s during summer.

After alighting from the trolleybus, it took nearly 15 minutes to walk from the bus stop to the bottom of the falls as we slowly picked our way through the crowded staircases along the side of the falls and pausing along the way to obtain photos of the falls.

The Rheinfallfelsen is a pair of large rocks in the middle of the falls and constitutes the remnants of the original limestone cliff that flanked the original channel.

The Rhine Falls is classified as a segmented block waterfall and was formed approximately 14,000 to 17,000 years ago where the Rhine flowed over a ledge of erosion resistant limestone over erosion prone gravel that was deposited by previous glaciations during the last Ice Age.

The historic Laufen castle in the background offers a panoramic observation deck where visitors can admire the Rhine Falls from the other side.

We continued walking along the river to the pier for better view of the falls in full splendour and to catch a boat tour. A number of luxury hotels are located on the western flank of the falls to cater to well-heeled visitors.

Schlössli Wörth was an important transhipping, reloading area for the east-west trading route between Lake Constance and Basel until the middle of the 19th century when it lost its significance with the development of the railway. Wörth castle now houses a restaurant and a common boarding area for the sightseeing boat tours. We decided to take a shorter round trip to the rock outcrop in the middle of the falls due to a lack of time.

There are 4 official boat tours of the Rhine Falls, along with other boat tours that are offered by other operators. Visitors can choose from the following boat tours:-

Route 1 - Felsenfahrt (Panorama-Sicht) [Rock Ride (Panorama View)]
Duration: 20mins / Departure every 10mins / CHF8

Route C - Schloss Laufen [Laufen Castle walking tour]
Duration: 40mins / Departure every 10mins / CHF7.50, includes 2 crossings across the Rhine.

Route 4 - Kleine Rundfahrt [ Small Roundtrip]
Duration: 15mins / Departure every 10mins / CHF6

Route 5 - Audioguide Tour [Audioguide Hear & Share Tour]
Duration: 30mins / Departure every 30mins / CHF10
(Map courtesy of Rheinfall-info.ch)

Package 1+C+4 - Kombi-Fahrt «Das Rheinfall-Erlebnis» [Combined Ride ]
Duration: 60-90mins / Departure every 10mins / CHF17

(Map and information courtesy of Rheinfall-info.ch, correct for summer 2011 schedule. 1 CHF approx SGD1.40)

It was truly an impressive sight to admire the rock in the middle of the falls which had withstood the erosion from the elements for the past millennia.

Route number 1 (Felsenfahrt) is the shortest and most popular boat tour and plies between the common boarding area at Wörth castle and the rock in the middle of the falls where visitors can scale up a steep staircase for a better view of the falls. It costs CHF8 per adult for a roundtrip, while more comprehensive boat tours that include the sightseeing platform at Laufen castle costs slightly more.

View from the base of the rock with Laufen castle being partially obscured by the thick water mist churned up by the falls. The brief boat trip was significantly drier than expected which was partly due to the skill of the experienced boatman at the helm. The heavy mist of water in the air also served to provide a respite from the afternoon summer heat.

Much to our delight, the steps were much less crowded when we had alighted from the boat and we wasted no time in hauling ourselves up the steep flight of steps that were fastened to the side of the rock.

The spectacular and awe-inspiring rush and thundering roar of water through the falls at the top of the rock.

We decided to shell out CHF3 to save us the potentially torturous uphill trek as we noted that the next trip of Rhyfall Express was scheduled to depart at 1730hrs. However, there was no sight of the train as it approached the scheduled departure time and we joked that it was perhaps the only train in Switzerland that does not run on schedule. We later learnt that it was an additional ad hoc trip to cater for the crowds as the published timing of the last trip was at 1700hrs.

The Rhyfall Express Tschu-Tschu Road Train. The train eventually departed almost 15 minutes late and we were not optimistic of keeping to our original schedule. However, we were pleasantly surprised when the road train stopped right outside Neuhausen station (which is not a scheduled stop according to the pamphlet) and we were just in time for the S-bahn train!

Jestetten

A small section of the railway line between Zürich and Schaffhausen passes through German territory due to the way that the territorial boundaries between the two countries are drawn. As such, we decided to alight at one of the two stations along this stretch for the novelty of 'visting' Germany and adding another country to the list. We had chosen Jestetten out of the two stations as the other neighbouring station, Altenberg, had been closed with effect from the 2011 timetable due to low patronage and had been replaced with a rail replacement service from Jestetten Bahnhof.

The S22 S-bahn service is operated by THURBO, which is a regional railway operator in eastern Switzerland that is co-owned by both SBB (90%) and the canton of Thurgau (10%). The name came about from the contraction of “Thur” from Thurgau canton and “bo” from Bodensee (Lake Constance) which straddles the boundary between Germany and Switzerland. The THURBO operated S-bahn lines within the canton of Zürich radiate out of Winterthur, with the exception of S22 that plies between Bülach and the Swiss border town of Thayngen.

A THURBO Stadler GTW EMU at Jestetten Bahnhof. Although the tracks at the station are double-tracked, trains call at the station using the same track nearest to the station building. The THURBO fleet consists entirely of Stadler Gelenktriebwagon (articulated railcar; GTW), which has a rather unconventional design where a basic version consist of 2 cars flanking a central 'power module' instead of having the power modules housed in one or both cars.

The rail replacement service to Altenburg bahnhof utilising a 8-seater Mercedes Benz 212D van that exemplifies the low demand at Altenburg. The timetable of the service is tied to the hourly schedule of the S22 S-Bahn service that calls at Jestetten. In addition, Jestetten station is an unmanned station with all the doors and windows of the station building being boarded up. The self-service ticketing machine located at the platform accepts both Swiss Franc (CHF) and Euro (EUR) due to the station's unique operational requirements. It is also perhaps an irony that the residents in the German town have to take a Swiss operated railway to get to Schaffhausen where they could change to a cross-border train operated by Deutsche Bahn (DB) to Germany.

The Swiss, European Union and German flags at a shopping precinct in the town. As it was a Sunday, all the shops are closed as it is the norm in most European countries.

Streetsigns in Jestetten. One significant difference betweeen Germany and Switzerland is that the former uses standard German where 'ß' instead of 'ss' in Swiss German.

We spent half an hour walking around the largely residential town and as we had half expected, there were no sights of particular interest in the largely residential area. Moreover, the local bus services were also not in operation on a Sunday.

The German equivalent of a 'primary school' in Jestetten town.

We spent the rest of the time at a Chinese buffet restaurant / guesthouse that was located besides the station having a drink and making use of the toilet facilities.

THURBO from Jestetten

The interior of a THURBO Stadler GTW EMU which features colourful headrests on the second class seats that are arranged in a 3+2 layout. The low floor entrance area facilitates passengers to bring their bicycles on board and the centre raised articulated section houses the driving motors for the train.

The S22 brought us as far as Bülach Bahnhof, where we had to transfer to to another Inter-Regio (IR) service back to Zurich after a brief look at the row of parked Re 420 electric locomotives at one of the platforms. Some considerable effort had definitely been put in to decorate the station premises!

Re 460 105 'Fürstenland' upon arrival back at Zürich Hauptbahnhof after working Inter-Regio service IR2589 from Schaffhausen. The Pininfarina designed Re460 standard electric locomotives were introduced as part of the ambitious 'Bahn 2000' project to rapidly modernise and improve capacity on Swiss Railways. They are built by SLM Winterthur and ABB Zürich and have a top speed of 200km/h.

Dinner at Zürich Hauptbahnhof

The last rays of the evening sun filtering through the concourse of the Hauptbahnhof. Designed by Jakob Friedrich Wanner and opened on 9 August 1847, this historic station is also inscribed on the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National Significance.

There were very limited options at the railway station for a dine-in meal and we soon settled for the Nordsee Restaurant located at the ground floor of the station. The Grillfillet Milano (CHF 21, inclusive of small Coke) was decent but otherwise unremarkable for an establishment which prides itself on its quality fish and seafood dishes. Many of the patrons (including some of us) were also glued to a TV which was broadcasting the ongoing F1 Grand Prix finals at Montreal, Canada.

Evening Cruise on the River Limmat

Consistently regarded as one of the best river cruises in Europe, a leisurely cruise on the city's iconic Zürichsee and River Limmat allows passengers to take in the best that the city has to offer in comfort. The Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (Lake Zürich Shipping Company), or ZSG, offers sightseeing round trips of varying durations around the Zürichsee between Rapperswil and Zürich Bürkliplatz, as well as shorter cruises along the River Limmat. The hour long cruise along the River Limmat costs only CHF4.10 per person (ZVV Zone 10 ticket) and is free for holders of the Swiss Pass and Zürich Card as it is considered to be part of the city's extensive public transport network. The Zürich Card offers incredible value for visitors in this rather costly city as it allows for free travel on the public transportation system in the city and free entrances to museums. (CHF20/24hrs, CHF40/72hrs).

More information about the River Limmat cruise can be found at this link from the operator's website: ZSG Website

Landesmuseum boarding stop. The boarding stop is located diagonally across the northern face of the Zürich Hauptbahnhof and we readily recognised the 'Dim Sum' takeaway outlet besides the jetty from our earlier trip planning using Google Map's streetview function.

Regula approaching the Landesmuseum stop to offload passengers from her previous trip before working her final trip down the River Limmat. Named after one of the patron saints of the city, Regula is one of the three purpose built low profile river boats and was delivered by Boden to ZSG in 1993, with the twin MWM diesel engines produce a total power of 116kW which allows for a smooth and rather quiet ride during the journey. The round trip operates every 30mins from 1005hrs to 2105hrs daily during the peak summer period from May to October.

Interior of the Limmat boat. The boat carries a maximum of 51 passengers and features panaromic windows at the side for passengers to take in the sights of the old city along the banks of the river. The River Limmat service is also operated by a two man crew, with one responsible for operating the boat and the other assisting him during the docking of the boat and performing conductor/ticket inspector roles. In addition, the roof is also fitted with retractable blinds and sliding windows for passengers to enjoy the view from the roof as well in the evening and on cloudy days.

View along the River Limmat near Rathausbrücke.

The distinctive twin bell towers of Grossmunster church are highlighted in the warm glow of the setting evening sun.

Strict environmental protection regulations in the canton of Zürich had enabled the River Limmat to maintain its excellent water quality and there are a number of dedicated 'river swimming' facilities along the waterway where one can enjoy a dip and enjoy the view of the city. The Frauenbadi (Ladies' Swimming Area) located at Stadthausquai in the heart of the city is only open to ladies during the day. The Art Nouveau swimming bath is transformed into the Barfussbar (bare foot bar) in the evening after 6pm when everyone is welcome to drink at the bar and dance the evening away (of course after leaving their shoes at the entrance!).

The Jet d'Eau on the northwestern banks of Zürichsee at Mythenquai. A number of prominent Swiss financial institutions house their global headquarters in the stately buildings along Mythenquai.

Restaurant Fischstube located along the eastern shores of Zürichsee at Zürichhorn. The River Limmat cruise loops at Zürichhorn Casino before heading back to the Landesmuseum.

After a brief stop at Zürich Bürkliplatz, Limmatquai and Storchen stops, the boat headed back to the starting point at Landesmuseum to complete its 55min long round trip. It is worthwhile to note that the clearances between the river boats and the bridges is so narrow that the boats are unable to call at the stops along the River Limmat (Landesmuseum, Limmatquai and Storchen) when the water level is too high. Following which, we decided to head back towards the Hauptbahnhof to obtain dusk and night photos of trams.

The Schweizerisches Landesmuseum, or Swiss National Museum, was built in 1898 by Gustav Gill in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the first Swiss Federal Constitution. The expansive museum houses an impressive collection of Swiss cultural artifacts as well as hosting different thematic exhibitions throughout the year. At the time of our visit in June 2011, a special exhibition entitled "WWF: A biography" was held to showcase the efforts of the foundation which had initially began as a humble Swiss foundation dedicated to the conservation of wildlife 50 years ago in 1961. The CHF10 entrance fee to the museum is waived for holders of the Swiss Pass and Zürich Card.

Bahnhofstrasse by Night

One of the two major tram stops located outside the Zürich Hauptbahnhof. In typical Swiss efficiency, an automatic network of sensors regulate the constant stream of trams into the tram stop to minimise the waiting time of trams waiting to enter the stop and conflict with other road users.

The main entrance facade of Zürich Hauptbahnhof in the evening. The Alfred Escher memorial located outside the entrance pays tribute to the famed Swiss politician and railway entrepreneur who had championed the development of private railways in the country. The bronze and granite statue was sculpted by renowned artist Richard Kissling and was installed at its current location in 1889.

The famed shopping precinct of Bahnhofstrasse is equally, if not more, alluring when bathed in the warm glow of the streetlamps in the evening. The well documented and reliable public transport infrastructure means that late night shopping is seldom a hassle for both residents and visitors alike.

Next Post: Zürich Uetliberg - Day 3

Previous Post: Zürich Seilbahn Rigiblick, Oerlikon and Winterthur - Day 2

Zürich Seilbahn Rigiblick, Oerlikon and Winterthur - Day 2

2011-11-04T21:54:00.001+08:00

A stark contrast to the gloomy weather on the previous day, we were greeted by a cloudless blue sky and the unmistakable blue spire of Fraumünster Church dominating the skyline when we looked out of the window. Since we had some time before meeting for breakfast, we decided to re-visit the Fraumünster for better photos in good weather.

Revisiting the Fraumünster Church

The banks of River Limmat in the early morning sun as a series of early morning flights leave their mark across the cloudless blue sky.

Stadthausquai on a crisp and sunny summer morning. Despite the strong sunlight, the temperature was only a cool 10 degrees Celsius - perfect for sightseeing!

A VBZ Be 5/6 "Cobra" travelling across the Quaibrücke over the River Limmat with the famed snow capped Swiss Alps in the background.

Fraumünster Church bathed in the warm glow of the morning sun. The sparse pedestrian traffic on the bridge on an early Sunday morning proved to be ideal in getting a clean shot of the iconic structure without other people in the photo.

After a final photo of the Fraumünster Church with sufficiently less intrusion by the shadows cast by the Grossmünster across the river, we headed back to the hotel for breakfast with the rest of our group. It was a sheer coincidence that we got onboard the same tram that had brought us here earlier!

Hotel Marta - Breakfast

Hotel Marta offers a daily simple but adequate continental breakfast spread and hotel guests were able to choose from a limited variety of cereals, pastries and fruits to kick start their day. In addition, hot drinks such as hot chocolate were also available from a self-service drinks machine. We were also rather amused to chance upon other Singaporean hotel guests during breakfast - readily identifiable by the fact that they were all wearing sports shoes as the choice of such footwear had somehow become stereotypical of Singaporean tourists!

Seilbahn Rigiblick

The Seilbahn Rigiblick is a funicular railway which links the exclusive residential neighbourhood of Rigiblick on Zurichberg hill in northeastern Zürich with the tram network at the base. It was first opened in 1901 and rebuilt in 1979 with uphill extension and automation of the system. The new line has a length of 385 metres and overcomes a height difference of 94 metres with a maximum gradient of 36%. A journey on the funicular without any stops takes 122 seconds. However, calling at all three intermediate stops stretches the ride to 6 minutes as the average travelling speed is significantly reduced as cars slow down to properly align with the platforms.

Lower station of the automated Seilbahn Rigiblick funicular system. Passengers indicate their stop requests by pressing the appropriate buttons on a panel in the car after boarding.

We had planned to alight at Germaniastrasse stop to get photos of the funicular crossing the bridge, but we were so engrossed with the ride and also due to the lack of passenger information system that we had since taken for granted in the Zürich public transport system, we overshot and had to backtrack from the hill station.

The bus stop pole outside the Germaniastrasse stop shows both service 39 and 23 (Seilbahn Rigiblick). The unsuspecting passenger who may be unfamiliar with the route numbers might find himself waiting at the bus stop for an extended period of time without realising that it had literally passed by every 6 mins over his head! However, a remark on the bus stop sign and information board do further indicate that the sign is for an “ersatzbus”, or replacement bus service.

Passengers are able to enjoy a spectacular view of downtown Zürich along the line on a clear day.

After two trips of the funicular where we had limited success in getting a good photo of the funicular cars passing on the overhead bridge, we returned to the hill station to wait for the service 39 in the other direction to bring us downhill.

Upper station (Bergstation) of the Seilbahn Rigiblick funicular system. The design of the funicular system is such that a descending car acts as a counterweight to the other car that is ascending up the line. In addition, the three intermediate stations are also evenly distributed between the 2 terminals to allow both the ascending and descending cars to come to a stop at a station during a request stop along the line.

A record photo of the bizzare tri-axle Ford Ducato 2.4 midibus. The interior is fitted with bench seats on both sides of the bus to optimise the available floor space and the full low floor configuration is achieved by locating the engine and other mechanical components at the front of the bus.

There were no passengers at the bus stops along the journey downhill and the bus sped its way down the winding single lane roads, resulting in a shorter journey time than taking the funicular!

The Zürich 'U-bahn'

After a failed attempt to obtain a better photo of the Fiat midibus, we took a service 10 Cobra tram to Milchbuck where we would be able to connect with a service 7 or 9 tram that would bring us into an unique underground section of the tram network.

We had the opportunity to photograph a Mercedes Benz O405GTZ working service 72 to Triemli at Milchbuck in perfect sunlight.

Low floor middle section of the retrofitted Be 4/8 "Tram 2000" Series 3 trams. The additional section was manufactured by Winpro using bogies from Alstom and were inserted into 22 existing Be 4/6 "Tram 2000" trams between 2004-2005 and were redesignated as Be 4/8.

The underground section of the tram network between Milchbuck and Swamendingerplatz was originally meant to be part of the U-bahn (subway) network which was planned in the 1960s. In a bid to prevent prolonged indecisiveness from stalling the project, construction of this underground section proceeded together with a new motorway before a referendum was held. However, Zürich residents voted in a 1973 referendum which saw the U-bahn proposal being shelved due to high costs, comparatively longer walking distance to stations and a lack of door-to-door connectivity as compared to the existing tram network. The U-bahn tunnel and its associated infrastruture was abandoned for the next 13 years until tram services 7 and 9 were extended through the section in 1986.

Underground Walgarten station. The trams run on the left side along the tunnel section due to the island platforms at the stations. In addition, the tram pantographs have to be folded back to the minimum safety margin as the tunnel clearances were originally designed for third rail collection instead of overhead wires that the trams draw their power from.

The decor of the underground stations remain firmly stuck in the 1970s era when it was first built as we were greeted with bare concrete walls and minimalist fittings that were chracteristic of the era. A nondescript entrance set to the side of the road provides access to the underground station.

Following which, we took a Citaro G on svc 61 at a nearby bus stop to our planned camping location at Sternen Oerlikon.

Sternen Oerlikon

Sternen Oerlikon literally translates into 'starred Oerlikon' in English and takes its name after the four intersecting streets (Schaffhauserstrasse, Ohmstrasse, Wallisellenstrasse, and Querstrasse) which forms a perfect five pointed star around the bus/tram stop.

A Be 5/6 Cobra Tram on svc 14 showing the unique star shaped intersection to good effect.

Although the original location that we had identified as a photo camping spot was obscured by shadows, we were able to quickly chance upon another location in the vicinity. 2019 forms part of two coupled units of "Tram 2000" on svc 11. Despite the minor electrical differences between the batches, all "Tram 2000" trams can be combined into pairs for electric multiple unit (EMU) operation.

Neoplan Centroliner on svc 63. Service 63 is one of the typically short feeder services in the city which are operated using diesel buses to supplement the tram network.

VBG Citaro laying over while working svc 768 besides Oerlikon Bahnhof. The destination of service 768, Zürich-Kloten Airport, is not only Switzerland's busiest airport but also a major transport hub for the northern Glattal, Furttal, Effretikon and Volketswil suburbs of Zürich.

RABe 514 double deck EMU working a S-bahn service at Oerlikon station. Due to the length of intercity trains, the platforms are often split into up to 4 zones so that passengers could move to their intended carriage before the train arrives to speed up the boarding process. The zones are also useful to regulate the crowd on the platform for S-bahn services by staggering the different S-bahn services to call at different portions of the platform. This is made possibly by the relatively short double deck EMUs that typically only occupy a short portion of the platform.

The trip to Winterthur was our first ride on a double-deck train in daylight and without the burden of heavy luggage. For the “complete” experience, we sat on the upper deck even though sounds of the train were very much muted due to the excellent insulation of the train carriage and the well maintained rolling stock.

The staircase linking the lower and upper levels of the train carriage. The lower level has wide and unobstructed passageways at the door area to facilitate the movement of passengers. In addition, the use of bright and vibrant colours at the doorway area also help to improve the travel experience.

Sideways facing seats are installed at the end of the staircase for passengers who are riding the train for short distances. In addition, LED displays and audio announcements also help to ensure that passengers are travelling in the correct direction and get off at their correct destinations. The carriages are linked by a walkway located at the mezzanine level of each carriage.

Second class interior of a typical S-bahn double deck train. The interior is configured in a relatively spacious 2+2 layout.

The first class interior features the same seating layout but with more comfortable padded seats and increase legroom. In addition, some effort had also been made to decorate the window supports as compared to the second class. First Class tickets cost approximately 60% more than a second class ticket and upgrade tickets are also available for passengers who already hold valid second class tickets.

Winterthur Hauptbahhof platform. The S-bahn services typically have their own dedicated platforms and are seperated from the intercity traffic (IC / IR train services).

Winterthur

Lying 30km north of Zürich and easily accessed with a short 26 min train ride, Winterthur had traditionally been the industrial centre of Switzerland and home to the Swiss's rail industries. In addition to the heavy industries, the unassuming city is also famed for housing an extensive collection of world class artworks in its many art museums.

The city's prominent Renaissance styled railway station had taken its present form in 1894-1896 and was designed by Otto Ernst and Young Bridler who modelled the design after the Swiss House of Parliament.

The main entrance to the station integrates both modern functionality and the old school charm of the Renaissance station building.

A Hess Swisstrolley laying over at the Winterthur Hauptbahnhof stop while waiting to work trolleybus service 3. The city authorities had ordered 21 of such trolleybuses in 2009 and were progressively introduced into service from early 2011. The new SwissTrolleys feature lightweight aluminum construction, spacious door areas and closer proximity to the manufacturer as compared to the older batch of Solaris trolleybuses.

A Solaris Trollino 18 waiting to turn into Winterthur Hauptbahof. The Polish bus manufacturer had rapidly gained market acceptance for its products although it is one of the newest players in the European bus market (its first bus under the Solaris marque was produced in 1999). The manufacturer had initially started off as a licensed builder for Neoplan vehicles in 1994.

Solaris Urbino 12 to Bruderhaus

We made an impromptu decision to hop onboard a Solaris Urbino 12m after noting that the single direction run time is only 10mins. The ride quality did not disappoint our high hopes as it was very smooth, but the engine and gearbox were sadly lacking in character for the discerning bus enthusiast.

Interior of the Solaris Urbino 12. As with many modern citybuses today, the integral bus features a full low floor interior and is also specified with 3 doors to facilitate the quick boarding and alighting of passengers.

The bus took a surprise turn off the main road into a narrow track within forested area, where the limited road space was also shared with cyclists and hikers. Before long, the bus stopped at its looping point at a clearing in the Bruderhaus Wildlife Reserve. It is interesting to note that service 12 only runs from March to October on weekends and bank holidays, and Wednesday afternoons. Visitors to the reserve on other days were otherwise faced with a 30min walk along signposted tracks from the main road. It was certainly an unexpected bonus that the bus was in perfect sunlight at the looping point in the wildlife reserve!

Video of the return journey from Bruderhaus towards Winterthur Hauptbahnhof.

We decided to have a proper sit-down meal for lunch before catching the train to Schaffhausen, and we walked around the Hauptbahnhof looking for an option which did not entail dining at an outdoor dining area where smokers are prevalent. We eventually settled for the Italian restaurant New Point where most of us ordered tagliatelle alla boscaiola (pasta with mushrooms and tomatoes). While we took some time to decide on the order, the service was even slower and we had only around twenty minutes left by the time food was served. We quickly settled our bill at the counter instead of calling for the waitress, and made a dash to the platform just in time for the train.

Our train, a Siemens Desiro double deck RABe 514, approaching the platform at Winterthur. Winterthur and Schaffhausen are connected by the half hourly S33 S-bahn service and an hourly extension of the S16 S-bahn service, with the former taking 33 mins and calling at every stop along the route while the latter only takes 25mins and calls at just 2 stops. Moreover, the S16 service also allows passengers to enjoy the scenery on a double deck train instead of riding a tram-lookalike Stadler GTW articulated railcar on S33.

Lush green farmlands in the northern suburbs of Zürich canton. With the S-bahn network, such intriguing small communities are never more than an hour train ride away from the city centre, bringing true convenience and accessibility to residents and city dwellers alike.

Our first glimpse at Europe's largest waterfall by volume, the Rhinefalls as the S-bahn service trundles across the Upper Rhine River that also serves as a boundary between the cantons of Zürich and Schaffhausen.

The residential community in Neuhausen across the Upper Rhine River as the train approaches Schaffhausen town.

Next Post: Schaffhausen, Rhine Falls and the River Limmat - Day 2

Previous Post: Zürich Tram Museum, Dolderbahn and Schlieren - Day 1

Zürich Tram Musuem, Dolderbahn, Schlieren and Oerlikon - Day 1

2011-10-12T21:19:00.001+08:00

Zürich

After photographing one trip each of the 3 suburban services operated by AZZK, we decided to hop on the next svc 33 trolleybus out of Tiefenbrunnen back to Hegibachplatz where we would be able to transfer to a service 11 tram to the Zürich Tram Museum at Burgweis.

A total of 100 units of Mercedes Benz O405GTZ were produced by the Stuttgart-based manufacturer, of which 79 units were delivered to Zürich while the remaining units went to Winterthur. Today, there are only 43 units left in active service in Zürich and are in the process of being replaced with the more modern Swiss Trolley 3 articulated trolleybuses. Fleet number 122 was photographed working service 33 towards Morgental at Hegibachplatz.

Zürich Tram Museum

The roots of the Zürich Tram Museum can be traced back to 1967 when the Verein Tram Museum Zürich (Zürich Tram Museum Society or TMZ) was founded by a group of 40 tram enthusiasts who have a passion in collecting and restoring historically valuable tramcars to document the history of public transport in Zürich. In 1989, the group finally established a tram museum at the historical tram depot at Wartau and operated the "Museum Line" on Open Days using the restored vintage trams which led to increased public awareness and appreciation for its efforts. However, the group faced severe space constraints as the Wartau site was only able to house 5 preserved trams.

TMZ was able to leverage on its popularity to convince the city council for the use of the former tram depot at Burgweis amongst competing bidders, in a city where prices and demand for real estate are high. The current tram museum at Burgweis was opened to the public in 2007 and occupied the larger of the 2 buildings at the site, with the smaller building occupied by Migros supermarket and a wine cellar. The former tram museum at Wartau is still being used by TMZ for storage and ongoing tramcar restoration works.

The museum location, Tramdepot Burgweis, is also of historical significance and is part of the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National Significance.

The entry into the museum costs CHF 10 but it is free for holders of the Swiss Card or Swiss Pass. The current premises at Burgweis houses 20 preserved tram cars from Zürich's city owned fleet as well as those from private railways which operated around the city. It is worthwhile to note that the majority of the tram cars are still in working condition and a number of them are deployed on the 'Museum-Line 21' which runs between Hauptbahnhof and the Tram Museum every last Saturday and Sunday during summer from April to October.

Proudly taking its place as the centrepiece of the exhibits is this well preserved Ce 2/2 1 of Strassenbahn Zürich-Oerlikon-Seebach (ZOS) which dates back to 1897, making it the oldest tramcar in the collection. The tram took 10 painstaking years of restoration and was finally completed in 1985 to become the oldest operable streetcar in Switzerland.

This Ce 2/2 2 belonging to Limmattal-Strassenbahn LSB "Lisbethli" is one of the newest additions to the museum's collection and dates back to 1900. In addition, it also has a postal wagon attached to it. More details about the restoration of this tramcar can be found at this link from the tram museum website (German) : LSB "Lisbethi history and restoration

The beautifully restored wooden panelled interior of the Ce 2/2 2 LSB 'Lisbethli' tramcar.

Tram operator's console of the same tram which features the old fashioned control lever that regulates the amount of current which is fed to the drive motors. An additional lever controls the air powered brakes.

In an early form of marketing to increase ridership on its trams, some of the trams that served the town of Triemli located at the foot of Uetliberg mountain (an elevation of 849m or 450m above the city) carried a special sign at the front which proclaimed 'Uetliberg hell', or Uetliberg bright in English when it is bright and sunny at the top of the mountain. This had supposedly tempted Zürich residents who were tired of the depressing gloomy weather in the city (which is actually more common than sunny days) to take a short tram ride to Triemli where they could transfer to the Uetlibergbahn to reach the mountain summit to cheer themselves up!

Xe 2/2 1935 is a works tram which is equipped with snow plough and brushes on both ends to clear the tracks of snow during the winter season and dates back to 1914. Placed to the right of the snowplough, C 455 is an oddity in the collection as it was formerly from Schaffhausen and has electric solenoid brakes instead of the usual air powered brakes. It is also the last streetcar to be operated in Schaffhausen before it was acquired by the Tram Museum.

Apart from trams, the museum also showcases a range of other tram related items such as destination signs (left) and a fully functioning ticket machine housed in a transparent casing to allow users to observe its working mechanisms (bottom right). In addition, the young and young at heart are kept entertained with a “Baby Cobra” tram for them to “drive” back and forth along a short section of track.

The museum shop also stocks an extensive variety of products and we showed our support to the museum by purchasing some of the postcards and collarpins that were on sale. Following which, we backtracked on tram service 11 back to Hegibachplatz where we hopped back on a service 33 Mercedes Benz O405GTZ trolleybus to our next destination.

Klusplatz

Trams provide the backbone of public transport in downtown Zürich, while trolleybuses shoulder the responsibility of operating the bulk of the major corridors. Thus, the diesel buses are relegated to short feeder routes that support these 2 dominant form of public transport and are scattered all over the city or operate on suburban routes. Strategically located in southeastern Zürich, Klusplatz is an important transfer node between the urban and suburban networks and proved to be an ideal location for us to obtain photos of the diesel buses.

A MAN Lion City 12m working route 753 to Schwerzenbach Bahnhof laying over at the bus stop besides the terminal. Only the tram services and service 34 operate from the actual terminal itself, while the other services call at bus stops near the terminal. Upon noticing a group of us keenly photographing his bus, he gestured for us to come over to his bus but we pretended to ignore him due to rather negative experiences with such similar encounters back in Singapore where bus enthusiasts are generally met with a fair amount of suspicion. However, one of us decided to walk over eventually and it was to our surprise that all the driver wanted was to pass us a pack of ZVV playing cards instead of questioning our intent!

Kienastenwies

Service 34 holds the distinction as the shortest trolleybus route in Zürich with a run time of just 10mins per direction, and is also one of the original 3 trolleybus routes that were introduced in the 1940s. However, it is also one of the most interesting as the route encounters a fair amount of hilly terrain and isolated from the rest of the network until the completion of a non-revenue connection between Klusplatz and Hegibachplatz in 1956. Today, service 34 terminates at Klusplatz and passengers heading to Hegibachplatz have an option of transferring to trolleybus 33 that calls outside the terminal.

It is perhaps an indication of the speed at which the venerable Mercedes Benz O405GTZs were being replaced that we noted that every alternate trip on service 34 was operated by a new Swiss Trolley 3 although the VBZ website had indicated that this route is a fully non-WAB route (and hence implying a full O405GTZ fleet) at the time of research. Nonetheless, we decided to take the Swiss Trolley 3 for one way to Kienastenwies for variety and get the next O405GTZ back to Klusplatz later.

The ride quality and interior fittings of the Swiss Trolley 3 is very similar to the HESS bi-articulated lighTram3 which we had ridden earlier in the day, except that the electric motor is located at the rear instead of in the middle section on the lighTram3.

A video of the smooth, quiet ride through the hilly terrain is shown below.

Swiss Trolley 3 fleet no. 0145 laying over at the predominantly residential district of Kienastenwies.

A video of the ride on the Mercedes Benz O405GTZ trolleybus between Kienastenwies and Zweiackerstrasse on this trip is shown below.

Mercedes Benz O405GTZ fleet no. 0116 laying over at Klusplatz terminal before working another trip to Kienastenwies.

Following which, we grabbed the next tram on service 15 from the terminal to Römerhof for a ride on the Dolderbahn cogwheel railway.

We were also able to photography a 'clean' photo of the interior of the Be 4/6 Tram 2000 Series 1 trailer car due to the combination of decent frequency and exceptionally low loading when we had boarded the tram. With such excellent maintenance, it is hard to believe that this tram was delivered more than 30 years ago!

Dolderbahn

The Dolderbahn is a manually operated cogwheel railway linking Römerhof tram stop in urban Zurich and the recreational area of Dolder on Adlisberg hill in the municipality of Hottingen. The railway line has a total length of 1328m and overcomes a height difference of 162m with a maximum gradient of 19.6%.

The stately Römerhof building.

The Dolderbahn has a siding in the lower half of the track to facilitate 2 railcars to pass each other.

The line was opened in 1895 as a funicular and rebuilt into a cogwheel railway in 1973 with a further uphill extension to the Dolder Grand Hotel. Car No. 1 was photographed approaching the upper hill station at the Dolder Grand Hotel.

The Dolder Grand Hotel underwent an extensive four year long renovation from 2004 and the Dolderbahn was also shut down for 3 months in this period for a complete overhaul which included new tracks and refurbished cars. Following the renovation, the hotel was renamed as The Dolder Grand and the existing hill station was also integrated into the hotel complex.

Apart from serving the luxury five-star hotel, the Dolderbahn also provides a useful connection to the network of hiking trails on Adilsberg.

As part of its marketing strategy, the hotel takes particular pride in advertising the spectacular view to be had from its property. However, after a brief exploration of the surroundings outside the hotel premises, it turned out that the promised view of the lake below was largely obscured by trees.

The Dolderbahn was our final sightseeing item for our first day and we planned to spend the rest of the evening on joyrides around the city. Thus, we decided to head straight back to Central for a long haul ride on a service 31 bi-articulated lighTram 3 to its western terminus at Schlieren Zentrum.

The evening sun peeked out for a short while upon our return to Central, but the low angle of the sun and the long shadows from the surrounding buildings conspired to frustrate our attempts in getting a sunlit shot of the 24.97m long bi-articulated trolleybus.

Fleet No. 2011 approaching Central with the River Limmat in the background.

Trolleybus Service 31

Trolleybus service 31 is the only bus route in Zurich which spans across the city through the heart of the city centre at the hauptbahnhof. This unique feature can be traced back to an interesting development of the transport system. In the 1950s, the rise in motor traffic increased the incidences of trams being caught up in congestion. The decision taken by transport planners was to convert secondary tram routes to trolleybus operation for greater manoeuvrability, while main tram routes were to be placed in subways for dedicated right-of-way.

Route 1 (Burgwies – Hardplatz) was chosen for pilot trial and converted to trolleybus service 31 in 1956 and progressively extended westward over the next two years to its current terminal in Schlieren. Contrary to expectations, punctuality did not improve, and furthermore, trolleybuses struggled to cope with peak hour loadings. This mistake was very much regretted and further trolleybus conversion did not take place. In 1979, the eastern section of the route was cut back by a few stops to form the present route of service 31 (Hegibachplatz – Schlieren). Presumably, service 31 remained as the heaviest utilized trolleybus service and the availability of the bi-articulated trolleybus provided an opportunity to increase capacity.

Video of a ride on the HESS bi-articulated lighTram3 on Svc 31 between Gasometerbrücke and Wagonsfabrik

Schlieren

The ride brought us out of the official political boundary of Zurich city into Dietikon district, but Schlieren is still essentially part of the Zurich metropolitan area. The area had a decidedly industrial feel to it as compared to the other residential towns that we had visited earlier in the day.

Limmat Bus operates svc 303 on behalf of VBZ and provides an essential link between Dietikon Bahnhof and Schlieren Zentrum. A Neoplan N4416 rigid with fleet no. 23 was photographed laying over at Schlieren Zentrum.

We decided to head out to the main road and only managed to notice a Renault Agora laying over at where we had snapped the Neoplan earlier at the last minute. This sparked a sprint back to the bus stop but we could only look on in helplessness as the bus started to move and a car that was travelling alongside the bus prevented us from obtaining an unobstructed photo of the bus.

Limmat Bus also operates a sizeable number of Citaro G with the older V1 bodywork on svc 303. Fleet no. 27 was photographed departing Schlieren Zentrum to loop at the Bahnhof.

One major advantage of travelling in Europe during summer is the long daylight hours where the late sunset timing of 9.30pm meant that we could fit in more bus spotting and joyrides within a day to maximise our trip. Unfortunately, this also meant that it was easy to lose track of time as our body clock had not fully adjusted to the European time zone. Anticipating that it would not be easy to find a place to settle our dinner, we decided to order takeaway at Kebab Haus Limmat Point. The friendly elderly Turkish propertier and his wife prepared our orders of freshly grilled Kebab burger and wraps which were of very generous portions and most definitely value for money at about CHF 8 per order. In fact, some of us continued eating our kebab takeaways on the bus as we were simply still rather full from our late lunch earlier on!

Noting that it was getting rather late, we decided to hop on the next service 31 towards our next destination.

Farbhof

Upon sighting a Mercedes Benz Sprinter 616 CDi laying over at Farbhof, we immediately alighted from the trolleybus to get a record photo of the midibus. VBZ operates two Mercedes Benz Sprinters on low demand feeder routes which demand the agility of such midibuses.

Farbhof is a rather unusual terminal as service 31 calls at the terminal in both directions. We also could not resist another opportunity to photograph the HESS bi-articulated trolleybus 'bending' into the bus terminal before catching the next trip to continue on our original journey towards Bahnhof Alsetten.

Our initial plan was to transfer to a service 80 Neoplan to Oerlikon but we decided to wait for the next 2 buses as the first bus was a Citaro G articulated bus. We also kept ourselves busy attempting to photograph the number of bus movements which passed by in front of the station which turned out to be a mostly futile effort as a result of the rapidly deteriorating lighting conditions. After a 17 minute long wait, we decided that luck was not on our side and boarded the next svc 80 that was also operated by a Citaro G.

Oerlikon

Oerlikon is an important transport node located to the north of the city centre and serves as an interchange station for seven of the city's S-bahn services with the numerous tram and diesel buses that call at or near the Bahnhof. In addition, several prominent Swiss industrial giants such as OC Oerlikon, Oerlikon Contraves (now merged into Rheinmetall Air Defense AG) and ABB also have their worldwide headquarters in Oerlikon.

Upon alighting, we immediately spotted our first joyride target at Oerlikon - A MAN Lion City M (A35) which is a shortened wheelbase version of the popular MAN Lion City Integral citybus.

The ride quality was decent and the driver quickly demonstrated the requirement for a short wheelbase vehicle by executing a tight U-turn at the end of this very short feeder service to head back towards Oerlikon Bahnhof. We felt slightly underwhelmed as we had high expectations of a MAN Lion City integral and the acceleration pickup of the bus was sluggish while the ZF gearbox ensured that there were no enthusing retarder whistles to liven up the joyride. Moreover, the idling sound of the engine was also noticeably rough.

However, our moods immediately lifted as we caught sight of a Neoplan N4522 articulated bus laying over at the terminal. Anxious to make up for our disappointment earlier on when we failed to ride on a Neoplan on service 80 despite our best efforts, we quickly looked up the run time of service 75 in our info kit and were pleased to discover that the run time was only 16 mins one way. Moreover, we also could make out the high pitch idling sound of the engine that is typically associated with a Voith gearbox and this only added to the excitement of riding the Neoplan. Regrettably, one of us decided not to partake in the short joyride and elected to photograph the trains calling at the Bahnhof instead as he decided that he could not bear himself to ride a bus equipped with a Voith gearbox.

Interior of the trailer of the Neoplan N4522 articulated bus. The interior is very similar to the MAN Lion City G and features a full low floor interior to the last door which is situated just in front of the rear engine compartment. The ride did not disappoint our expectations with the low passenger loads and the distinctive retarder whisle from the automatic Voith gearbox contributing to our enjoyment.

The video below shows an excerpt of the ride on the Neoplan N4522 articulated bus between Bollingerweg and Neunbrunnen.

Meeting up with our friend again who seemed to be very pleased to be able to narrowly avoid another 'torturous' ride on a bus equipped with a Voith gearbox, we decided to head back to the city centre and retire for the night to prepare for the long day ahead on Day 2. Thus, we decided to take the S-bahn instead of a tram as there was a train departing soon from the station which offered a quick ride back to the Hauptbahnhof. Given that it was a Saturday evening, there were also several bands of raucous and rowdy youths at the Bahnhof who were heading to the numerous clubs and bars in the city centre for a night out with their companions. This served as a subtle reminder that beneath the veneer of an outwardly perfect and orderly society that the city aims to present to visitors, Zürich is still first and foremost a city where more than 320,000 inhabitants call home and just another very well-run and maintained European city.

The extra-wide sliding doors on the Zürich S-bahn double deck carriages aid in the rapid boarding and alighting of passengers at major stops. The older carriages used on the locomotive hauled Re450 'DPZ' stock as shown below have 2 steps that passengers have to negotiate when boarding the train. The newer RABe 514 'DTZ' stock however, is fully low floor which greatly faciliates wheelchair bound passengers and passengers who are bringing larger pieces of luggage onboard the train.

Next Post: Zürich Seilbahn Rigiblick, Oerlikon and Winterthur - Day 2

Previous Post: Zürich Polybahn & Central - Day 1

Zürich Central & Polybahn - Day 1

2011-10-03T21:13:00.021+08:00

Zürich

Mention Zürich and the first impression of the city that comes to the minds of many are streets lined with private Swiss banking institutions which had gained a reputation for their code of secrecy that they offer to their well heeled clients. While one is more likely to see a row of shops with a decidedly premium mix of boutiques and fine dining restaurants instead, the financial capital is still commonly referred to in jest by both residents and visitors as “Zu Reich” (too rich).

The geography surrounding the city meant that one is heavily dependent on luck to chance upon clear and sunny weather during one's visit to Zürich as it rains often in summer while fog and snow are rather common events during the winter season. Nonetheless, the city has much to offer visitors where one can unwind on a leisurely cruise down the River Limmat in the evening after a day's hike along well marked trails in Uetliberg, or simply wander along the tree lined streets and conjure up thoughts of having a fair amount of assets stashed in one of the city's numerous financial institutions.

Moreover, the excellent Swiss Transport System puts the famed Rhine Falls in Schaffhausen within an hour's train ride from the historic Hauptbahnhof located in the city centre, and transport enthusiasts would certainly be impressed with the excellent spotting locations available at Zürich-Kloten Airport (which is one of the most centrally located airports in Europe), or spend an hour or two admiring the collection of old trams at the Tram Museum in Burgweis.

The map belows show an overview of the places that we had visited in Zürich. (Map courtesy of Google Maps).

Hotel Marta

Nested in between hip art establishments and clubs along Zähringerstrasse, Hotel Marta is a newly renovated hotel which is conveniently located in the city's Central district and is only a tram stop away or a leisurely 10mins walk from the Zürich Hauptbahhof. We decided to pay slightly more for this centrally located hotel instead of a youth hostel in a south-western suburb based on online reviews and careful consideration of the typical accomodation costs in this pricey city. The lobby is tastefully furnished with a modernistic touch and we were soon handed our respective room keys by the friendly receptionist.

The amenities were found to be well maintained and clean, but the economy room turned out to be rather crammed with the double bed being slightly narrow to sleep two people comfortably. Moreover, there was no air-condition in the room (which was to be the case for all our other accommodation in Switzerland), and ventilation was achieved by the hopper windows. While it was reasonably cool during our stay, we were unable to shut the windows completely to keep out noise from a nearby pub.

Fraumünster /Grossmünster Churches

We began our sightseeing by visiting the Fraumünster and Grossmünster Churches which are easily accessed with a short tram ride along the banks of the River Limmat from our hotel . 3029, a Be 5/6 "Cobra" tram was photographed at Helmhaus in front of the Grossmünster Church.

The Fraumünster abbey (which means [Our] Lady Minster in English), was founded in 853 by Louis the German for his daughter Hildegard. One of the prominent features of the abbey is the distinctive clock tower, as well as the five large stained glass windows which were designed by artist Marc Chagall. Each of the stained glass windows depicts a famous Christian story and were installed in 1970.

Interior view of the Fraumünster abbey showing the elegant Gothic and Romanesque design of the abbey. We discovered that there were no access to the clock tower and were directed by the information counter to the Grossmünster Church which lies across the River Limmat.

A Classic Trolley sightseeing bus operated by Gray Line outside the Fraumünster abbey. In addition, we were also able to obtain a number of photos of other coaches which were dropping off their passengers at the Münsterplatz besides the abbey.

According to legend, the Grossmünster was founded by Charlemagne, whose horse fell to its knees over the tombs of Felix and Regula, Zürich's patron saints. A Carolingian church was reportedly commissioned at the site by Charlemagne, and upon which the present structure was constructed in 1100. The twin towers of the chruch allow visitors to have an expansive view of the city for a fee, but there was unfortunately a service at the time of our visit. In addition, it would certainly not be a wise choice to head up the towers with the church bells pealing within them!

Central

We proceeded back to Central to camp for photos of the numerous trams and trolleybuses which ply along the busy Bahnhofbrücke (Railway Station Bridge). The depressing overcast conditions were mitigated by the fact that we were able to station ourselves on the opposite side of the bridge to obtain photos of trams against a nicer background.

2113 on service 7. This particular Tram 2000 series tram was used as a prototype in 2001 when an additional low floor section was inserted in between the 2 carriages to extend the coverage of low floor tram services in the city. As a result of this modification, the trams are redesignated as Be 4/8 instead of Be 4/6

A Mercedes Benz O405GTZ trolleybus on service 46 laying over at Bahnhofquai stop near the Haupthbahnhof. The 'Z' in the prefix indicates that this model was customised for Zürich.

Fleet number 3088 Be 5/6 "Cobra" departing Central towards Hauptbahnhof. Almost all trams and buses operated by or on behalf of VBZ (Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich) adorn the simple white and blue livery. The Pininfarina styled low floor trams had a difficult entry into service, with severe noise and vibration issues besetting the prototypes which had earned them the unfortunate nickname of 'rattlesnake' by the local media.

Framed against a backdrop of contemporary European stone buildings, a pair of Be 5/6 "Cobra" trams awaited their turn to cross into Bahnhofquai from Bahnhofplatz.

A key feature of the Swiss Transport System is the seamless integration of all modes of transport. This includes buses, trams, trolleybuses, funicular railways as well as river boats. ZSG operates a ferry service along the River Limmat which also doubles as an excellent river cruise for visitors. The best part? It is included in the ticket price for holders of the Swiss Card or Swiss Pass and some of the day/hour passes.

UBS Polybahn and ETH Zürich

We moved on to take a ride on the UBS Polybahn from Central to the main building of ETH (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule or Swiss Federal Institute of Technology). Apart from the renowned ETH Zürich campus, the funicular also serves the neighbouring UZH (Universität Zürich or University of Zürich). It was with the interest of improving the accessibility to these 2 tertiary institutions that the city authorities had provided a concession to Zürichbergbahn (Zürich Mountain Railway) to build and operate this line in 1886. Completed in 1889, it had since been informally referred to as the Polybahn, after the old name of ETH Zürich (Eidgenössisches Polytechnikum or Swiss Federal Polytechnic).

As the 176m long funicular serves the needs of the campus, it has limited operations on Saturday and do not operate on Sundays. The entrance to the lower station at Central is seemlessly integrated with the building facade.

The funicular railway faced heavy losses and it was only with UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland) stepping in to take over the operations in 1976 that the railway was saved from closure. The railway underwent several modifications and refurbishment, with a rebuilt in 1996 which saw the century old track and cars being replaced along with the automation of the line. Today, the UBS Polybahn had evolved over and beyond its original purpose of ferrying students and faculty. The classic scene of the bright red Polybahn railcars crossing over Seilengraben had been replicated in many postcards as the funicular had since grown into an icon of Zürich.

The railcars used on the funicular have an open balcony section at one end of the car to allow passengers to enjoy an unobstructed view of the journey and for ease of photography.

The short ascent whisk visitors to the upper station in about 100 seconds and negotiates an altitude difference of 41m.

Located just besides the upper station in front of the main building of ETH, visitors are offered a magnificent view of downtown Zürich against Uetliberg in the background.

Although our prior research had indicated that the campus canteens are closed at the time of our visit, we decided to explore the campus to try our luck.

The grandoise entrance to UZH Palaeontology and Zoology Museum.

2109 Be 4/8 "Tram 2000" on svc 6 along Rämistrasse which runs parallel to the ETH Main Building. Tram service 6 which plies between the Zoo and Bahnhof Enge is considered to be one of the more scenic routes as it involves exceptionally steep slopes and tight bends.

We eventually decided to return to the Hauptbahnhof for lunch on a VBG Cobra tram. This company sports a slightly different livery from VBZ and service 10 provides an alternate tram connection between the city centre and Zürich-Kloten Airport.

The Be 5/6 "Cobra" tram represents the latest low floor trams in VBZ's fleet, and the unique construction of the tram where certain segments are 'floating' (i.e. pivoted rather than equipped with drive axles) allow for a spacious and clutter free interior.

Bahnhofstrasse

Extending southwards from the Hauptbahhof, Bahnhofstrasse (Railway Street) had been converted into a partial pedestrian street where trams are the only vehicles allowed. Flanked by both sides with numerous high-end fashion boutiques and restaurants yet not overly oppressive, it was truly one of my favourite places in Zürich. Be 5/6 "Cobra" tram was photographed working route 13 as it turned into Bahnhofstrasse with Zürich-Hauptbahhof in the background.

Fleet number 2111, a Be 4/8 "Tram 2000" picking up passengers along Bahnhofstrasse. The leafy shaded sidewalks make for a very pleasant stroll along the street.

We decided to opt for a takeaway meal at Kauffmann, and initially had difficulties ordering due to the language barrier and concern over the final cost of the meal as the items were priced by weight. Such butcher shops are a popular choice in Germany and Switzerland where the high cost of living meant that eating out is a pricey affair, but such shops offer the convenience of prepared food at an affordable price. We each ended up with macaroni with schnitzel or chicken leg with a sidedish of potato balls or steamed baby carrots with peas at a total cost of about CHF17-19. The servings however, were huge and of very decent quality which we hungrily tucked in while people watching from a bench along Bahnhofstrasse.

The reappearance of a vintage tram that was operating a special lunch and sightseeing service prompted us to temporarily abandon our meal and tested our reflexes at getting a photo as we had previously only managed to obtain a rear shot of the tram while camping at Central earlier in the day. The vintage tram is operated by VBZ on a 2 hour long "Discover Zürich" tram tour which operates on every alternate Saturday. It costs CHF 29 per adult and reservations are recommended. The vintage tram #1330 is a Ce 4/4 "Elephant" built by SWS and MFO in 1930.

Kreuzplatz

After lunch, we headed southeast on our first ride on a HESS BGGT-N2C “lighTram3” bi-articulated trolleybus. It proved to be a very interesting experience as it was the first time for many of us to ride on a bi-articulated bus, and we were suitably impressed with the ability of the bus to negotiate the sharp hair-pin turn just before the Central bus stop. In addition, the fully low floor cabin was quiet and smooth at the rear trailer with the electrical traction motors located in the centre section of the bus.

The lighTram3 is manufactured by Carrosserie Hess, which is a Swiss bus, trolleybus and commercial vehicle manufacturer based in Bellach (near Solothurn). Spanning an impressive length of 24.7m and licensed to carry 192 passengers (or only 128 passengers in comfort from VBZ's definition), the lighTram3 is the third and latest variant of the HESS lighTram family. The first prototype was developed in 2003 when a third section was added to an existing SwissTrolley 1 which was operated by Transports Publics Genevois in Geneva. Following the successful trial of the prototype which continued to be in active revenue service today, the lighTram 2 was developed with the addition of a low floor trailer to an existing NAW / HESS / ABB car 155 (type BGT 5-25, built in 1991) that was operated by the traffic authority of St Gallen.

With the exception of the older vehicles in the fleet such as the Mercedes Benz O405GTZ, the majority of the trams and buses in VBZ's fleet are fitted with a LCD screen at the front of the vehicle which serves as a next stop announcement system and also displays the estimated arrival time for other connecting services at selected stops. The seamless integration of the various transport modes and services is just one of the many hallmarks which help affirm the Swiss Transport System as a truly world class public transport system.

The main highlight of Kreuzplatz is the service S18 operated by Forchbahn, or FB. Although it is officially recognised as a narrow gauge light rail in the S-bahn network, the service shares tracks in the centre of the roads with the VBZ urban trams between Zürich Stadelhofen station and Rehalp , and only operates on dedicated tracks like a S-bahn or typical railway in the suburban areas.

In addition, the cars are double-ended for turnaround at the suburban terminals, and have doors on both sides to cater for side platforms in the urban area and island platforms at suburban stations. A Stadler Be 4/6 was photographed approaching Kreuzplatz stop towards Stadelhofen.

Hegibachplatz

Moving on towards our next destination at Tiefenbrunnen, we transit through Hegibachplatz which is also the terminating stop for the service 31 bi-articulated trolleybus service. In addition, Forchbahn svc S18 also serves this stop and we were able to obtain a photo of the older Be 4/4 "Tram 2000" stock which is very similar to the examples operated by VBZ. However, they are appreciably wider than their VBZ counterparts and automatically switch from 1200V to 600V when entering the urban system at Rehalp towards Stadelhofen.

Tiefenbrunnen

A ride on the Mercedes Benz O405GTZ was one of our main joyride targets in Zürich as we were keen to experience the difference between an electrically powered version and the diesel version which we were intimately familiar with back home. The bus initially sounded like a hybrid bus in electrical drive mode when moving off from rest before progressing to resemble a diesel O405G with a stuck gearbox but without the accompanying revving of the engine that usually occurs in such circumstances. It was also interesting to hear hub reduction associated with an electric motor instead of a diesel engine.

Fleet No. 114 is one of the several Mercedes Benz O405GTZ trolley buses which had been allocated to service 33. It was photographed approaching Tiefenbrunnen station where it would make a brief layover before heading back to Morgental.

Interior of the Mercedes Benz O405GTZ with the dated cream and brown panelling.

Situated on the eastern bank of Lake Zürich, Tiefenbrunnen is the southernmost district of Zürich and the train station lies on the boundary of Fare Zone 10 for the city centre. In addition, Tiefenbrunnen also serves as a hub for bus services to the neighbouring district of Meilen.

3 of the 9 services operated by AZZK call at Tiefenbrunnen and unlike other contracted operators which had adopted the standard white and blue VBZ livery, AZZK buses had retained the company's unique brown livery. Fleet no. 54, a standard Citaro 12m with v2 bodywork, was photographed at Tiefenbrunnen in Zurich working on svc 916 by AZZK on behalf of VBZ.

Double-deck trains form the backbone of the S-bahn network in Zürich as they are able to offer significantly more carrying capacity on the heavily utilised lines. The 'DPZ' stock consists of a Re450 four axle electric locomotive coupled to 3 double deck passenger carriages. Manufactured by SLM (Schweizerische Lokomotiv- und Maschinenfabrik or Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works), the DPZ stock forms the largest part of the S-bahn fleet.

The RABe 514 is a four-car double deck electric multiple unit (EMU) which was manufactured by Siemens in partnership with Stadler Rail, with the first of the 61 units being introduced into revenue service in 2006. Considered as part of the Siemens Desiro Double-deck family, they are also referred to as 'DTZ' stock after the German word Doppelstocktriebzug (Double deck multiple unit).

Next Post: Zürich Tram Musuem, Dolderbahn, Schlieren and Oerlikon - Day 1

Previous Post: Introduction and Highlights of SQ346

Introduction and Highlights of SQ346

2011-09-12T20:49:00.008+08:00

About This Trip

Graduation from university marks the culmination of 16 years of formal education and hard work and the transition into another stage of my life. Many question the relevance and the necessity of a graduation trip to mark this critical transition, but I personally view such an event as perhaps the last time where I would be able travel freely without being burdened by responsibilities and worries of work or family.

The first destination which I had in mind was actually Amsterdam. Amsterdam was, and still is, a dream destination for me where:-

1) There are excellent locations and subjects to indulge in for aviation photography at Amsterdam-Schipol airport;
2) It is also where my favourite bus manufacturer DAF is based at;
3) Picturesque canal-lined streets to stroll in;
4) It is also the home to fields of tulips during the spring season. Tulips also happens to be my favourite flower as well, ever since I laid my eyes upon fields of them during a trip to South Korea a few years ago.

Unfortunately, along with thousands of other NTU students, I was called upon to perform 'national service' for the good of our country by having all our carefully crafted plans and schedules thrown upside down due to the Youth Olympics Games in 2010.

Rethinking our plans, we decided to visit Switzerland as some of us were able to take advantage of the Swiss Youth Pass. As compared to the standard Swiss Pass, the Youth Pass offers a substantial savings of 20% and is valid for youths up to the age of 25 years old. It would also mean that this would be the last year where we would be able to take advantage of this offer. The Swiss Pass (and Youth Pass)is applicable for unlimited travel in Switzerland on almost all modes of transport and includes substantial discounts for travel on privately operated mountain railways and a number of museums.

The second destination that was considered was the central Mediterranean archipelago of Malta where there was a sizeable number of old British buses that were used as public buses. The bulk of these buses was more than 30 years old and had become such an iconic representation of Malta that they were a tourist attraction in their own right. However, the Maltese government had awarded a new tender to Arriva Group of UK to overhaul the public transport system and this included the replacement of the old British buses with new buses that would comply with the stringent EU emission guidelines. Thankfully for us, we were able to visit this amazing country before the stipulated handover date of the public transport system to Arriva Group on 3 July 2011.

The Plan

My travelling companions had a strong desire to fly on Singapore Airline’s A380, while I had my sights set on flying Thai Airway’s A340-600 to Zürich instead. Unfortunately, the fares for my preferred option had increased drastically at the time of booking and I had thus ended up flying together with my friends on the A380 to Zurich. However, it was still definitely a very agreeable alternative as it was still significantly cheaper than Thai Airways and it would also be my maiden flight on what is currently the world’s largest passenger aircraft.

The map below outlines the route that we had taken during this trip. Our trip focused mainly on sightseeing in Switzerland, Malta, Vatican City and Italy, while passing through Germany, France and Austria. In addition, we also made a detour into the Principality of Liechtenstein before heading back to Zürich for our flight back to Singapore.

Singapore Airlines SQ346

Date: Saturday, 11 Jun 11
Aircraft: 9V-SKB, Airbus A380-841
Seat: 74K
Departure Gate: B4

Scheduled Departure Time: 0120 LT
Boarding Time: 0050 LT
Push Back: 0122 LT
Takeoff: 0137 LT on runway 02L

Scheduled Arrival Time: 0800 LT
Touchdown: 0743 LT on runway 34
Actual Arrival Time: 0751 LT
Arrival Gate: E59/E67

Booking

After a number of false starts and negotiations between the Maltese government and the Arriva Group, the confirmation date for the handover of the public bus system was finally slated to be Sunday, 3rd July 2011. With this final piece of news, we proceeded to confirm our Europe itinerary and booked our tickets on SQ's website. Booking was straight forward apart from a minor hiccup during the payment stage that was rectified with a quick call to the bank's customer service centre.

Although it was still four months away from our intended travel date, the window seats on the upper deck for both sectors were almost fully reserved and we had narrowly managed to secure our reservations for the remaining 2 pairs of seats on the upper deck.

Check-In

The bulk of Singapore Airline's long haul flights depart in the late evening from Singapore and this had unfortunately resulted in a series of long queues at the check-in counters. A common check-in row was set aside for economy class passengers and were further sub-divided into two sections to manage the crowd. We headed to the queue which was reserved for passengers who had checked-in online or via SMS and had to endure a 15mins wait before we were attended to by a cheerful check-in staff.

Our baggage was quickly checked-in and we were issued our boarding passes and baggage check receipts.

Changi Airport's Terminal 3 is seldom busy in the day and Changi Airport Group had been actively persuading airlines to move from Terminal 1 to 3. However, a series of red-eye departures by various airlines to medium haul and long haul destinations had conspired to produce this unusual scene at the entrance to the immigration hall. It took a further ten minutes of shuffling along the queue before our travel documents were inspected by two bleary-eyed security officers. Thankfully, immigration formalities were a breeze by using the automated clearance lanes with our biometric passports.

Singapore Airlines Flight 346 to Zurich is also code shared with US Airways, Swiss International Airlines and LOT Polish Airlines. There were only 2 security lanes which were initially opened to handle our flight and another SQ flight to Copenhagen, but a further 2 lanes were quickly opened as more passengers streamed into the gate closer to the departure time. It seemed that many regular passengers using Changi Airport had also learnt to ignore the "Boarding" and "Last Call" status and only enter the gate when it shows "Gate Closing"!

Interior of the common waiting area for Gates B1-B4. Gate B1 was boarding SQ352 to Copenhagen.

Boarding for our flight was commenced shortly after we had cleared security, and passengers seated on the upper deck were invited to board the aircraft after the premium passengers had done so. LED displays were also used to inform passengers of the specific seat rows in the aircraft that were being boarded. The ground staff also seemed to be under immense pressure to board the passengers in time for a punctual departure. It was observed that they were rather high-handed in their means to hurry stragglers in the queue and to reject passengers who were seated in rows that had not yet been called for boarding.

The A380 experience begins from the moment when one walks down the third aerobridge that leads to the upper deck entrance of the aircraft.

We were welcomed by a flight steward and a leading flight stewardess at the entrance to the upper deck. The leading flight stewardess on the right was also in charge of serving the section where we were seated in during the flight.

The Flight

After passing through the relative serenerity of the business class cabin, the economy class cabin at the rear was a scene of chaos as passengers struggled to stow their carry-on bags in the overhead compartments. However, the overhead compartments were located at such a height that most had difficult in placing their bags in it. It was also particularly amusing to see a stewardess having to balance herself precariously on the edge of the seat frame as she struggled to reach up to close the luggage bin.

A feature of window seats on the upper deck on the A380 are the provision of storage bins at the side due to the curvature of the side walls. It is worth nothing that row 74 has non openable storage bins but it is still very useful as a ledge to place one's belongings. In addition, the window seat at row 75 also has a misaligned window.

A warm towelette service was performed shortly after the passengers had settled down. An amenity kit with a Givenchy logo printed on the front was distributed to passengers and contained a pair of socks, toothbrush and a comb. Following which, a menu and a pair of headphones in a zip-lock bag were handed to passengers as well.

The aircraft was pushed back from the gate on time and I was very impressed by the quietness of the cabin as the four Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines were started up. The safety video was played on the overhead drop down screens and on the IFE screens in English. In addition, German subtitles were also displayed in the video. (Zürich lies in the German speaking region of Switzerland. However, Swiss German differs slightly from standard German, with one of the differences being that the Swiss uses 'ss' instead of 'ß' as shown in the video).

We quickly turned onto runway 02L and started to roll down the runway. The massive aircraft gained speed slowly and amidst a cacophony of rattles, squeaks and other uncomfortable sounding noises, shuddered as she rotated just in before the SATS Cargo Terminal. A lacklustre climbout followed as the aircraft lumbered into the night sky, providing me with what is definitely the worst takeoff which I had ever experienced in a widebody aircraft. It however, definitely lives up to its nickname of a 'whalejet' as it does give the impression of a whale attempting to soar into the air with the grace of a concrete block. (I wonder if it is due to an intentional de-rate of the engines on take-off as other A380 takeoff videos seemed very smooth).

A pre-meal snack of peanuts and a choice of drink was offered to passengers shortly after the seatbelt signs were switched off.

The Krisworld IFE system was also made available to passengers and after checking out the entertainment options, decided to settle on Gnomeo and Juliet, which is an animated film where garden gnomes are given a life of their own.

Supper was served an hour into the flight and a choice of chicken of fish was available. I had the fish option which was described in the menu as "Battered Fish with lemon ginger sauce, seasonal vegetables and steamed rice". Apart from the sauce being more on the salty side than it hinted of ginger, the battered fish was great and was well heated. Moreover, the potato salad was also fresh. The portions were also rather generous. The banana and coconut cake with vanilla sauce was a disappointment as it was hard and the vanilla sauce tasted closer to melted butter.

My friend had the chicken option, which was described in the menu as "Pan Roasted Chicken with tarragon sauce, sauteed green beans with carrots and roasted potato".

Passengers who had falled asleep were not waken up for their meal and a sticker was pasted discreetly on the side of their headrests. The trays were cleared extremely fast and I was barely halfway through my meal when the cabin crew walked past to clear the trays. Shortly after the bulk of the trays had been cleared, the cabin lights were dimmed to allow passengers to rest.

A snack service was offered halfway through the flight and passengers were invited to grope around in a basket in the dark for their desired snack. A choice of Toblerone chocolate bar, potato chips or apples were available. There was also a regular drink service where a cabin crew would walk down the aisle with cups of mineral water or orange juice every hour.

I decided to watch The Green Hornet which features Jay Chou as a talented and creative mechanic but promptly dozed off due to the bland plot. Meanwhile, an attentive cabin crew had drawn the shades on the window as dawn was starting to break.

Waking up at 39,000ft over a very cloudy Afghanistan

My requests for postcards and playing cards were quickly met, with the items being delivered on a tray within three minutes. I also decided to check out the aft lavatory a second time and found amenities such as extra toothbrushes and combs to be well stocked and replenished. In addition, the moisturiser bottle at the side of the basin had been thoughtfully replaced with a bottle of mouthwash.

Passengers were woken up two and a half hours prior to landing as the cabin lighting was turned on. Unlike the premium cabins, Singapore Airlines does not fit mood lighting in the economy cabins. However, a purple hue could be seen emanating from the gaps in the curtains from the business class in front.

A hot towel service was provided to passengers with scalding hot towels being served this time instead of the lukewarm towels prior to takeoff. The breakfast service soon commenced and I had the cheese omelette option which was excellent and very substantial. Substantial care had been taken by the caterer to include sweet pineapple cubes and seedless grapes, which was unlike the extremely sour pineapple served on a certain United Airlines flight which might be intended to jolt passengers awake. The lead stewardess also apologised for the delay in serving the hot drink as she had to get a new pot from the galley. Upon seeing us taking photos of our meals, she also joked about us being photographers with the 'big cameras'.

Cheese Omelette with Chicken Sausage, tomato and potatoes with fruit yoghurt, fruit appetizer and breakfast roll (which was not warmed but not rock hard). A hot cup of tea and a glass of orange juice complemented the sastifying meal.

After the trays had been cleared, we decided to explore one of the biggest attractions on the A380 - the aft spiral staircase. It also seemed that many other passengers had the same idea as well!

Lift in the aft galley for transporting meal trolleys between the two levels.

Lower Deck interior

Upper Deck Interior. The upper deck was significantly quieter than the lower deck.

One of the many features of the new SQ economy class seat is a mirror which can be revealed by sliding open a cover on the tray table. I would imagine that this would be very convenient for ladies to check on their make-up!

It is always a challenge to shoot out from the window on the upper deck of the A380 as the exterior window pane is very much smaller than the interior window pane. This also gives rise to internal reflections between the 2 panes of glass.

As our flight crosses into continental Europe, I decided to watch a National Geographic documentary "Megafactories" which shows the futuristic Maserati factory where the marque's signature Gran Tourismo is assembled.

Soon, the cabin was being prepared for landing and the cabin crew were concluding the last of their duty free sales. An overview of the route taken by our aircraft over the past 11hrs.

We approached into Zürich-Kloten from the south and the Griefensee appeared on the starboard side as we broke through the thick layer of clouds.

Dübendorf Airbase while overflying the town of the same name

We made a very firm and bumpy landing onto runway 34 on a wet and overcast morning in Zürich. A welcome announcement was made in English and German as we vacated the runway and taxiied towards the midfield terminal E which handles the non-schengen flights. The flight docked at the specially constructed A380 capable gate 9 mins ahead of schedule.

The three aerobridges which are attached to the A380 at Zürich-Kloten.

Zürich-Kloten is also the homebase of Swiss Intl Airlines' long haul fleet. There is definitely no doubt that we are now in Switzerland!

A long queue soon formed in the narrow confines of the aerobridge as it was unable to handle the large number of passengers who were disembarking at the same time.

The highly efficient driverless Skymetro links the midfield terminal to the main terminal building at a precisely maintained frequency of 3mins.

Our first taste of Swiss efficiency - countdown timers which are accurate to the second.

Immigration was hassle-free as it was probably the only foreign checkpoint which I had encountered where one does not need to fill up any immigration forms! Singaporeans are able to enter the EU without visa for up to 90 days.

Baggage claim information

Baggage claim belt. Our check-in luggage were already on the carousel when we arrived at the baggage claim.

The baggage claim also has a screen which shows the departure times for the trains at the neighbouring Zürich-Flüghafen station. This intermodel integration of information is one of the many reasons which make the Swiss Transport System a joy to use.

Arrivals 2 Hall

We proceeded to the Swiss Transport System office in the adjacent building to validate our Swiss Pass. Zürich Kloten airport is only 16km away from the city centre and can be easily reached via the S-bahn or the Intercity trains which call at the airport station.

It only takes approximately 15-20mins to reach Zürich Hauptbanhof from the the Zürich Flüghafen station. Some of the train services offer a convenient direct transfer between Zurich airport and Geneve airport, which is also codeshared by a few airlines.

Next Post: Zürich Central & Polybahn - Day 1

Highlights of MU2340Z + MU545

2010-10-18T20:04:00.008+08:00

MU5626 Dalian to Shanghai-Pudong

Flight cancelled due to heavy fog

Date: Thursday, 01 Jul 10
Aircraft: A321
Seat: --
Departure Gate: --

Scheduled Departure Time: 1830 LT
Scheduled Arrival Time: 1955 LT

9 days. 7 cities. Over 2,000km travelled. We had been blessed with great weather throughout most of our trip, and encountered a freak heatwave which saw temperatures soaring to 38 degrees Celsius in a region where summer temperatures rarely exceed 30 degrees Celsius. It was thus perhaps a mixed blessing that it was overcast and cool when we arrived at our final destination at the port city of Dalian.

Unfortunately, the light mist soon turned into a heavy fog overnight and visibility plunged to just over 100m on our day of depature.

Airport Chaos at Dalian Zhoushuizi Airport

Upon arrival at the airport, it was apparent that the airport was closed due to the limited visibility caused by the heavy fog. Dalian Zhoushuizi airport only has 1 runway that is certified for CAT I operations. This means that the minimum required visibility is approximately 800m, and is far greater than the 200m visibility recorded on the day.

Interesting traffic sign at the departure concourse. A literal translation from the original message in Chinese which requested drivers to leave immediately after dropping off their passengers!

Dalian domestic check-in concourse. The departures board was still showing the morning flights which were also unable to depart due to the weather.

Check-in was suspended for China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines flights by the ground handling agent. At this point in time, some carriers such as Air China and China Southern had cancelled all flights from Dalian and were in the process of organising accommodation for the stranded passengers. China Eastern, however, was unable to confirm that our flight would be cancelled and kept requesting us to check back at 1800hrs as they would had received news from their headquarters in Shanghai by then.

We were given an option to either wait for further updates for our flight or to accept a rebooking to the same flight on the next day. We decided to try our luck and wait. At about 5.30pm, we were told that our flight was formally cancelled by the airline and we were rebooked to a supplementary flight MU562X at noon on the next day. It was to be a first come first serve basis and we were informed that we should be at the check-in desk by 10am to maximise our chances of getting on the flight. It was also worthy to note that although China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines codeshare on all of their respective Dalian-Shanghai flights, it was not possible to rebook on a Shanghai Airlines flight.

Following which, we returned to the city and retired to a hotel at our own expense for the night. We settled for a simple diinner at one of the local restaurants near our hotel. A huge serving of noodles cost just RMB4 (S$0.81/RM1.90)!

MU2340Z Dalian to Shanghai-Hongqiao via Linyi

Date: Friday, 02 Jul 10
Sector: Dalian Zhoushuizi (DLC)-> Shanghai-Hongqiao (SHA) via Linyi (LIY)
Aircraft: B-2681, B737-79P
Seat: 12F
Departure Gate: 12

Dalian Zhoushuizi to Linyi

Scheduled Departure Time: 1020 LT
Actual Departure Time: 1050 LT

Scheduled Arrival Time: 1120 LT
Actual Arrival Time: 1202 LT

Return to Dalian Zhoushuizi Airport

Everyone were in good spirits as we checked out of the hotel and noticed that the fog had significantly cleared and visibility had improved. Moreover, the METAR from the weatherunderground website showed that the visibility was about 1km, which was sufficient for flight operations using the airport's single CAT I certified runway.

Being 'kiasu' (which means being scared to lose out to others) Singaporeans, we elected to arrive at the airport a full hour before the stipulated time of 10am. The traffic on the expressway to the airport was smooth as we were travelling against the peak flow direction during the morning rush hour, and we arrived at the departure concourse at 9am. Led by our youthful tour guide who rushed to the check-in desk with a stack of our e-ticket printouts, we quickly emptied out of the tour coach with our baggage.

Chinese airlines are infamous for being susceptible to last minute changes, and thus it was no surprise to us to discover that the airline had cancelled the supplementary flight. However, it proved that our 'kiasu-ism' saved the day as we were in time to catch an earlier departure to Shanghai-Hongqiao via Linyi. This meant that the journey time would take an additional 75 minutes due to the additional stop, and we would also be required to transfer to an airport shuttle in order to connect to our flight back to Singapore from Shanghai-Pudong. Although it was a tight connection, we decided to stick with this option as opposed to having to face the very real possibility of being stranded in the city for another day.

The queue at the check-in counters were very long and the unfortunately, the ugly side of a number of mainland Chinese passengers showed as well as queue jumping was rampant. After a torturous 25 minutes wait, we were finally attended to and it was comforting to note that the check-in staff were handling the check-in process as fast as they possibly could. The station manager for China Eastern Airlines was also on hand at the check-in counters to make spontaneous rerouting decisions and assisted the check-in staff to tag the baggage and verify travel documents.

Boarding Passes, Flight Cancellation/Delay slip, hotel receipt and bus tickets for the transfer between Hongqiao and Pudong.

The restricted area employed an airy, common waiting zone. The full height windows allowed natural sunlight to stream into the building and provided a good view of the runway and apron action. However, it would be a challenge to obtain good photos of the movements as there were two layers of glass. My heart sank when I saw a China Eastern A320 turned into Gate 6, and dreaded another flight on a unremarkable A320. I was initially looking forward to fly the A321 had my original flight not been cancelled due to the fog.

Dalian to Linyi

With just barely 10 minutes to go before the departure time, we were informed through the PA system that our flight would be boarding from Gate 12 which was located at the far end of the terminal instead. Still recovering from the initial adrenaline rush and excitement earlier, many of the older members in the tour group gasped and panted heavily as we quickly made our way to the new gate for our flight. Boarding soon commenced after we reached the gate, and we were diected to board a bus which would bring us to our aircraft which was parked at a remote stand.

One of the the main highlights on the 'ramp tour' on the apron bus. SAT (Sakhalinskie Aviatrassy) B737-500 RA-73013 awaits its next load of passengers for its return to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport (UUC). This Russian carrier only flies to a handful of international destinations such as Harbin, Sapparo and Seoul-Incheon.

We pulled up alongside B-2681 and was very pleased to discover that I would be flying on a B737-700. It was also to be my first flight on this variant of the B737 family. The weather delay suddenly did not seem to be such a bad thing afterall!

Boarding was quickly completed as the aircraft was only half full to pick up the rest of the passengers at Linyi airport. However, the captain soon came on the PA system to inform passengers that we were unable to receive clearance from the ATC for departure due to a string of arrivals inbound to the single runway.

Seat numbers

After waiting for approximately 25 minutes, the CFM56-7B engines were spooled up and we satrted to taxi. As the flight was already 30 minutes behind schedule, the crew made an extremely fast taxi towards the threshold of runway 28 for departure.

Hainan Airlines B737-800 B-5406. The construction work to further expand Northeast China's largest international gateway could be seen in the background.

Shenzhen Airlines A320 B-6351.

Spring Airlines A320 B-6646 with the control tower and the old terminal building in the background. Dalian Zhoushuizi airport was initially constructed as a military airfield which was later converted for both civilian and military aviation usage.

Grand China Express ERJ-145 B-3083.

The aircraft quickly turned onto the runway and the crew wasted no time rocketing into the sky after a short takeoff roll. This was immediately followed by a steep 270 degree right hand turn after we lifted clear of the thick fog layer to align the aircraft to the south towards the Qingdao peninsula and our destination in Shandong province.

A small bottle of mineral water and a piping hot hotdog bun were served to the passengers shortly after takeoff.

Linyi Airport

The bumpy approach into Linyi airport was through heavy clouds in limited visibility, and we soon made a firm touchdown onto runway 01 at 1158hrs. A new modern terminal which comes with aerobridge equipped gate was being built besides the old terminal.

There were very few passengers who alighted at Linyi airport and passengers continuing towards Shanghai-Hongqiao were requested to remain onboard the aircraft with their seatbelts unfastened. This was to facilitate evacuation in the unlikely event of a fire during the refuelling process.

Passengers streaming towards our aircraft from the terminal building. The city's economic development had been chiefly driven by its active wholesale market which is also the third largest of its kind in China. In addition, the city boasts a history of over 2,400 years, and the original Sun Tze Art of War documents were also unearthed in Linyi in the early 1970s.

Linyi to Shanghai-Hongqiao

Linyi to Shanghai-Hongqiao
Scheduled Departure Time: 1200 LT
Actual Departure Time: 1236 LT

Scheduled Arrival Time: 1300 LT
Actual Arrival Time: 1338 LT

Soon after the boarding of passengers were completed, the aircraft turned back towards the runway and backtracked towards runway 19 for departure. Although this incurred a slight tailwind penalty (we had landed on the opposite direction earlier), it would help to save valuable time as the aircraft would be pointing south towards Shanghai right after takeoff.

A snack box with a bottle of mineral water was swiftly served. The snack box consists of a two pieces of cake and a pack of Wang Wang rice crackers. In addition, a packet of preserved vegetables was also strangely included in the box.

It was also a pleasant surprise that Airshow was available on both sectors during the flight. This allowed passengers to follow the progress of the flight, as well as providing much needed entertainment for a select group of passengers such as aviation enthusiasts. The cabin was also clean and well maintained.

Before long, the aircraft commenced its descent into Shanghai-Hongqiao airport and overflew swathes of light industrial estates shortly before touchdown.

China Eastern A330-343X B-6127 has a special Expo 2010 livery to recognise the contributions by the thousands of volunteers for the event.

We taxiied towards the new Terminal 2 which was opened on 16 March 2010. This modern and expansive terminal handles the bulk of the traffic at the airport, as the old Terminal 1 building is now exclusively used for international flights and flights operated by Spring Air.

We came to a stop at a remote stand and disembarked onto waiting apron buses to ferry us to the main terminal. B-2681 was delivered to the airline on 10/9/2002 and originally had the eyebrow windows at cockpit area. However, the eyebrow windows had since been removed and replaced by an aluminum panel.

China Southern Airlines B777-200ER B-2053

China Eastern Airlines A330-300 B-6096 taxiing out for departure

Baggage Reclaim Area. The baggage reclaim was extremely fast and the first bags appeared on the belt barely ten minutes after the aircraft had came to a complete stop at the stand! It was also a nice gesture that our bags were among the first to appear on the belt as we had a tight connection to our next flight at Shanghai-Pudong.

Mascot for the Shanghai Expo 2010.

Following which, we followed the signs to the ground transportation terminal to board the transfer to Pudong airport. Although the directions to the shuttle bus berth were very well signposted, it was not easy to locate the China Eastern desk in the Ground Transportation Centre to collect the complimentary bus tickets for the inter-airport transfer! We made the 1415hrs trip just in time and stumbled onboard to settle in for the hour long ride to Shanghai-Pudong, which lies over 60km away to the southeast.

MU545 Shanghai-Pudong to Singapore

Date: Friday, 02 Jul 10
Sector: Shanghai-Pudong (PVG) to Singapore Changi (SIN)
Aircraft: B-2330, A300-605R
Seat: 48K
Departure Gate: 29

Scheduled Departure Time: 1615 LT
Actual Departure Time: 1653 LT

Scheduled Arrival Time: 2050 LT
Actual Arrival Time: 2202 LT

The airport transfer bus dropped us off in front of Terminal 1 at Shanghai-Pudong airport where we headed for the common check-in counters for China Eastern flights. The desks were deserted and we had an initial problem as the check-in staff could not find any record of us being rebooked to MU545 although we had been told that it was done by the airline's staff in Dalian. However, the check-in staff quickly took care of it and the shift supervisor authorised the change in bookings. When we had finally gotten our boarding passes for our flight, it was exactly 45mins before the departure time for our flight.

Boarding gate for our flight. However, it turned out that the flight would be delayed due to late arrival of the aircraft.

Interesting vehicle with an inclined receptacle to aid aircraft cleaners in clearing the trash in the cabin after a flight.

Tianjin Airlines Embraer ERJ-190 B-3162. The ERJ-190 was a very welcome distraction from the scores of A320 and B737 which throng Shanghai-Pudong airport.

Dragonair A333 B-HWF departing back to Hong Kong. Both Cathay Pacific and its subsidiary Dragonair serves Shanghai-Pudong.

China Eastern B737-800 B-5473 equipped with blended winglets.

Shanghai Airlines new livery B737-800 B-5370.

The Flight

The flight was soon called for boarding and I was disappointed to note that B-2330 would be operating my flight back to Singapore again. Thankfully, the airconditioning problem seemed have been fixed and it was significantly less stuffy and warm as compared to my outbound flight. As most schools in China were having their summer vacation, there were a sizeable number of teenagers who decided to take the opportunity to experience what Singapore has to offer.

While the emergency exit row is favoured by many for its extremely generous legroom, I personally dislike the row as it often results in an awkward situation of one staring right into the face of the stewardess seated across the emergency exit. Owing to the design of the uniform which ends adruptly above the kneecap when seated, the stewardesses were seen fidgeting in their seat as they tried to protect their modesty by crossing their legs - only to realise that it is too tight to do so!

In addition, the emergency exit row is also served last by the cabin crew as the meal service starts from either end of the cabin and ends at the emergency exit row. Thus, it was not surprising that I was only presented with the sole option of seafood pasta when the meal cart had finally reached my row. Although I was famished as we did not have a proper lunch due to the tight flight connections earlier, the seafood pasta was edible but was slightly burnt, which suggests that the meal might be over heated on the oven as the hot dish was scalding hot when I had received it. The appetiser was a cold dish which consisted of several slices of smoked bacon, cucumber, pickles and topped by a cherry tomato. Dessert was a simple affair of cut melon slices.

This was followed by another arduous wait as the cabin crew returned to offer warmed buns to the passengers. The cabin crew were also more interested in talking to each other when serving passengers than to focus their attention on the passengers instead. Both pairs of cabin crew along my aisle also missed out on the drink service for me and my seat neighbour; the attendant call bell went unanswered for 10 minutes and I decided to settle for a nap instead after the meal and cancelled the call.

The inflight entertainment choices on this flight was limited to the inflight magazines as the audio channels were not functioning as well. It was dusk when I awoke from my nap and spent some time to admire the sunset. Even through the severely scratched window pane, I could never resist marvelling at the beauty of the transition between day and night at an altitude of 36,000ft.

One of the benefits of being seated in an emergency exit row is the access which one has to the small pressurisation check window located on the emergency exit, as it is perhaps the one of the very few windows in the cabin which are free from scratches. It was also interesting to note that the signs on the emergency were in traditional Chinese instead of simplified Chinese which China had adopted.

Dusk view over the South China Sea with the short & stubby wing which is characteristic of the Airbus A300.

We finally made an uneventful landing onto runway 02L, and the flight was about an hour late by the time the aircraft taxiied into its usual gate at Terminal 3.

Previous Post: Dalian

Return to First Post for Northeast China Trip: Highlights of MU1544

Dalian

2010-10-02T21:06:00.022+08:00

Dalian 大连市

Dalian is the southernmost city of the Northeast region and is situated on the narrowest part of the Liaodong peninsula. The city, which was recognised as one of the 3 best Chinese cities for tourism, is sandwiched between the Yellow Sea 黄海 to the east and Bohai Sea 渤海 to the west which allows it to enjoy a significantly milder climate as compared to the rest of the Northeast region.

The city could trace its roots back to 1858 when the British occupied the settlement and named the nearby port Port Arthur after one of Queen Victoria's son. The port is known as Lüshunkou 旅顺口 today and is primarily used as a naval base by the Chinese Navy. This port has immense strategic value as it does not freeze over in winter and it is sheltered by the numerous steep hills in the peninsula.

Following brief periods of occupation by the Chinese and Japanese, the city came under formal Russian rule in 1898 and was officially named as Dalny. The city was ceded to the Japanese after the Russo-Japanese war in 1932 and became part of Manchukuo as the city of Dairen. The city was finally returned to the Chinese government in 1955 after a period of postwar development and governance by the Russian and Chinese government.

Dalian is linked to the rest of the Northeast region by the excellent Shenda Expressway 沈大高速. Widely touted as one of the better highways in the country, the 4 lane carriageway features proper rest stations at regular intervals for drivers and passengers to take a break on the 4 hour drive between Shenyang and Dalian. A high speed railway is currently being constructed between the major Northeastern cities and will halve the current travelling time.

Map of Dalian and location of places featured in this post (courtesy of Google Maps)

Xinghai Square 星海广场

Located on the southern coast of the city, Xinghai Square features over 45,000 square metre of open space and overlooks the Xinghai Bay which empties out to the Yellow Sea.

The focus of the square is an ornate white marble pillar which was erected to commemorate the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997. It is 19.97m tall and has a diameter of 1.997m.

Another monument is located near the southern edge of the square and resembles an open book to symbolise the beginning of another chapter for the coastal city. The 'spine' is creatively adorned with an artwork which features the footprints from the city's residents.

Numerous metal mesh sculptures depicting various popular sea sposts are also placed around the park.

Pigeon feeding is a popular recreational activity among the visitors to the park.

Xinghai beach. Despite the 23 degrees Celsius temperature and gusting winds, many continue to brave the chill to stretch out and relax. The Northeastern provinces are totally landlocked with the exception of the Liaodong peninsula where Dalian is located at.

Horse drawn carriages are available for visitors who wish to experience a different method of exploring the square.

Binhai Road 滨海路

Binhai Road is a coastal road which follows the southern coast of the city from Xinghai Square to Donghai Park in the east. This road is very popular among couples as the relative isolation and the seaside scenery creates a romantic ambience for a leisurely walk.

Dalian Forest Zoo 大连森林动物园.

The Sunshine School 阳光学校 is one of the most exclusive schools in Dalian, and school fees can reach up to a few thousand yuan for just a single month!

North Bridge 北大桥. This suspension bridge was built in 1987 to commemorate the establishment of friendship ties with the Japanese city of Kitakyushu 北九州市. There is a local tradition for newly wed grooms to carry their wives across this bridge as part of their wedding celebrations.

Tiger Beach Sculpture 老虎滩

The unusual name of this beach is due to the shape of a steep seaside rock cliff which resembles that of a sleeping tiger. However, as with many other such rock formations in China, vivid imagination is often required to relate the shape to its namesake.

A huge lifelike sculpture of 6 running tigers is situated at a recreational square which was built in front of the cliff. With strong seaside winds gusting in from the south, kite flying is a popular activity here.

Assembled out of 5,000 individual pieces of carved granite, the 35.5m long artwork was commissioned by Han Mei Lin 韩美林 and is the largest of its kind in the country.

Singing Birds Woods 鸟语林 is located across the square and features a gigantic cage which houses thousands of birds. This attraction is also linked to other attractions in the Tiger Beach area with a cable car system.

Russia Cultural Street 俄罗斯风情街

Much effort was put in by the mayor of Dalian City, Bo Xilai 薄熙来, to preserve the unique Russian and Japanese heritage of the city amidst the rapid pace of development in the past few decades. The old Russian settlement which is located north of the main railway station had been preserved and the buildings now house various souvenir shops and boutique hotels.

The light fog and cool evening air allowed visitors to feel that they are in a mountainside town instead of being in a coastal city.

A chance meeting of 2 dogs.

Numerous streetside bazaars along the street hawk every imaginable kind of Soviet memorabilia and souvenirs. However, the 'Russian' souvenirs sold here often tend to be made in China instead!

Dalian Nautical School 大连船舵技术学校

Victory Square 胜利广场

Victory Square is the main shopping district in the city and is located across the busy Dalian Railway Station. In addition to mega shopping centres which carry well known international labels and brands, shoppers can also take their pick from the many street bazaars and a mazelike underground shopping centre which is located below the square.

There were not many shoppers on a cold, wet and foggy Friday afternoon, which allowed for a leisurely shopping experience. As with many other Chinese cities, international branded goods and electronics are often cheaper back in Singapore.

Dalian is renowned for its fresh and succulent coldwater seafood which is served at many of the restaurants in the city.

A Transport Enthusiast Haven - Dalian's Trams, Trolleybuses, BRT and Buses

Dalian has much to offer for the transport enthusiast as almost every conceivable form of public transportation can be found in the city. This ranges from modern airconditioned articulated buses to old trams, as well as the odd horsedrawn carriages which can be found at Xinghai Square. In addition, Dalian also has a LRT system which links the city centre to the northern suburbs but it is not covered in this post due to the very limited free time which I had during my brief visit.

The fares are also very affordable at a flat fare of only RMB1-2 (S$0.21-$0.42) for most services on a reliable and professionally run public transportation system.

Transport enthusiasts would also find the road network in this coastal city to be very well organised and easy to navigate. There is also a minimal chance of bicycles and motorcycles obstructing photos of buses and trams as the local government had banned the new regisration of motorcycles due to safety reasons. Moreover, the hilly terrain is also not suitable for commuting on bicycles.

Tram 有轨电车

The tram network in Dalian is one of the only 3 continuously operating tram lines in China, with the other 2 being in Changchun and Hong Kong. The electric tram system started operations in 1909 by the South Manchuria Railway which was governed by the Japanese. There are currently only 2 remaining tram routes in the city, which are service 201 and service 202.

Service 201 is the more interesting service of the two for transport enthusiasts as the old Witt type DL3000 trams are exclusively deployed on this route. This route runs on a east to west routing between Melody of the Sea Park 海之韵公园 and Xinggong Street 兴工街. The route details can be found from the link below from Mapbar:-
http://bus.mapbar.com/dalian/xianlu/201lu/

At busier stops such as at Dalian Railway Station, a segregated plaform is used for crowd control. The tram stops at an alighting platform to disembark passengers before moving forward to allow passengers to board.

A Witt Type DL3000 tram at Market Street 市场街 stop. The centre double width door is exclusively used for alighting, while the other 2 doors at either end of the tram are used for boarding. There is a tram conductor/operator stationed at either end of the tram to manually operate the doors and ensure that passengers pay their fare.

An older Witt Type DL3000 stock is photographed together with a newer DL6WA stock behind. The older Witt Type stock has a single step after the entrance, while the newer DL6WA stock are low floor.

A combined bus and tram stop at Market Street. The bus and tram stops provide basic information about the route and the operating hours.

7-2275 approaches the end of its trip at Xinggong Street terminal. The tram journey is reasonably fast although service 201 runs on non reserved tracks and are subject to traffic and traffic lights.

Interior of a Witt Type DL3000 tram. The trams running today were rebuilt by the Dalian Public Transport Company in 2007, but the operator undertook great pains ensure that the interior remained as authentic as possible. This included the wood panelled sidewalls, brass grab poles and ornate lighting fixtures. The ride quality was also preserved when the trams were rebuilt as they groan, creak and rattle along the route - just like how they would had in the past.

'Dashboard' of the Witt Type stock trams with the old fashioned mechanical regulator and speed controller.

The newer DL6WA bi-articulated trams also service route 201. The tram operators, timekeepers and route managers are exclusively female.

The tram terminus at Xinggong Street for service 202 is located a short distance away from the terminus for service 201. Service 202 runs on a north-south route between Xinggong Street 兴工街 and Xiaoping Island 小平岛. The route details can be found in the link below from Mapbar:-
http://bus.mapbar.com/dalian/xianlu/202lu/

The DL6WA stock has a full width LED display which scrolls to indicate the route details. However, as service 201 and 202 do not have a common stop along the route, the LED display is rather redundant as a result.

Interior of a DL6WA stock tram which has a maximum capacity of 240 passengers. There is a conductor posted at every entrance to ensure that fare is collected from each passengers. Thus, a typical DL6WA tram is operated by 1 tram operator and 2 conductors.

Modern fully automatic electronic dashboard of a DL6WA stock. It is a far cry from the mechanical controls used on the Witt Type stock!

Trolleybuses 电车

Service 101 is the only remaining trolleybus service in the city, and runs between Dalian Railway Station 大连火车站 and Malan Square 马栏广场. The route details could be found in the link below from MapBar:-
http://bus.mapbar.com/dalian/xianlu/101lu/

B08739 approaching Dalian Railway Station on a wet and foggy morning, and has an advertisement to promote Fotile brand kitchen appliances which was endorsed by Liu Qian, a popular Taiwanese magician. Articulated trolleybuses alternate with rigid trolleybuses on this route.

B08177, a Yangzijiang 杨子江 rigid trolleybus, was photographed disembarking passengers at the Dalian Railway Station.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)快速公交

Dalian has a very limited Bus Rapid Transit system that comprises of a single line that runs between Xinggong Street 兴工街 and Meilin Garden 美林公园 in the northern suburbs using a fleet of license built MAN 猛狮 low floor citybuses which are assembled by Huanghai 黄海. The buses run on a reserved carriageway in the middle of the road.

BA5209 is a 18m long Huanghai DD6187S09 articulated bus which is based on the MAN Lion City. As such, it sports the German bus manufacturer's badge and distinctive front mask.

BA5608 is a 12m rigid Huanghai DD6127S01 which has a green livery to differentiate it from the articulated buses which has a maroon livery intsead.

Public Buses 公交车

Service 16 comprises of a full fleet of Nanjing Jinling 南京金陵 JLY6120SCK non airconditioned double decks, and it is also the only service with double deck buses in Dalian. BB2658 is photographed awaiting for departure outside the Dalian Xinghai Convention and Exhibition Centre 大连星海会展中心.

The bulk of the public buses in Dalian are manufactured by Huanghai 黄海 and FAW 一汽 as the assembly plants are also located in Liaoning province. BA4118 is a Huanghai DD6128S28 which was spotted laying over at Hutan Residential Estate 虎滩新区 bus terminal.

B08398 is a front engined FAW CA6105SQ1, and was seen working service 403 near the Russian Cultural Street.

BA6258, a Yaxing 亚星 operated by Dalian Public Transport 大连公交集团, was photographed running the TESCO free shuttle bus service from Hutan Residential Estate.

B95995 is a Huanghai DD6121HS front engined bus and was photographed on service 4 along Jiefang Road 解放路 on a fog shrouded morning.

BB5331 is a converted Sunlong 申龙 bus which functions as mobile studio for a company specialising wedding photography.

AC8387 is a license built Shenwo 申沃 Volvo 沃尔沃 B10M MkIV operating as an express bus plying between Shenyang North and Dalian bus station.

Kinghall Hotel 金海酒店

Kinghall Hotel is a new development which is located along Jiefang Road in the southern suburbs of the city. The hotel had been built to 5 stars specifications and primarily relies on tour groups and conference participants due to its obscure location.

Next and Final Post: Highlights of MU2340Z + MU545

Previous Post: Shenyang

Shenyang

2010-09-05T13:01:00.020+08:00

Shenyang City 沈阳市

Shenyang is the largest city in northeast China and is also the provincial capital of Liaoning province. The city is an industrial stronghold which includes many of the nation's key industrial giants such as Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC)沈飞集团, Brilliance China Automotive 华晨中国汽车 and Neusoft Corporation 东软集团. These were bolstered by the city's excellent air and land transport network.

It gained in stature when the first leader of the Manchu Qing dynasty, Nurhaci 努尔哈赤 established his imperial capital here in 1625. The name of the city was changed from its original name of Shenyang (which means north of the Shen River 沈河 that flows to the south of the city), to Shengjing 盛京. In addition, its other name Mukden was derived from the city's Manchu name of Mukdembi ("to rise"), and was also used interchangeably as well.

Following the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644, the Qing dynasty consolidated its power in Beijing and the city was renamed as Fengtian Perfecture 奉天府. It finally reverted to its original name of Shenyang after the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1914.

The original inner city was only confined to a small square section of the current urban sprawl in the Shenhe district 沈河区. It is bounded by the Shuncheng roads 顺成路 as well as city gates at each of the four compass directions (courtesy of Google Maps).

The main artery through the old city is known as Shenyang Road 沈阳路, and is also commonly referred to as Manzhou Street 满洲一条街 due to the distinct Manchu influence on the buildings that are preserved along this road.

A Yutong CNG citybus was photographed working on service 215 along Shenyang Rd against a backdrop of classical Chinese shophouses. The bus was so new that it was pressed into service without a proper registration plate!

Higer citybus belonging to Fengtian Bus working on service 296.

Shenyang Rd is home to an eclectic mix of shops, tourist agencies as well as restaurants. We had lunch at one of the famed roast duck restaurants located along this street. The Yuanweizhai restaurant 原味斋吊炉烤鸭店 was formerly the Shenyang branch of the Jinyunlou 晋云楼 Peking duck restautrant in Beijing. It was renamed in 1953, and the shop's signature roast duck is prepared and eaten in a similar manner as the Peking duck.

Manchurian cuisine has a heavy focus on dumplings, which are ideal in the harsh and long Siberian winters where it is easy to prepare, store and consume. Shenyang Bianjiachuanren Dumpling restaurant 沈阳边家传人饺子城 has been in existance for over 170 years.

One of the 2 remaining stone city gates, the Hujinmen 抚近门, stands guard at the eastern end of Shenyang Road.

Shenyang Imperial Palace 沈阳故宫

The palace was the official residence for the first 2 emperors of the Qing dynasty - Nurhaci 努尔哈赤 and Huang Taizhong 皇太宗. It was later used as a regional palace by later emperors and was further expanded to its current size by Emperor Qianlong 乾隆in 1780.

Main courtyard of the imperial palace. The emperor would receive and confer with his court officials here every morning.

The main hall in the palace, Chongzheng Hall 崇正殿. The Manchu script appears to the left of the chinese script instead of the right at the Imperial Palace in Beijing.

The obligatory photo of the ornate 'dragon seat 龙椅' in Chongzheng Hall which is exclusively used by the emperor.

The Fenghuang Tower 凤凰楼 behind Chongzheng Hall serves as the gateway to the private abodes of the emperor, empress and his many concubines.

One of the 6 residences occupied by the emperor's concubines. Guanju Palace 关雎宫 was formerly used by Emperor Huang Taiji's concubine Hailanzhu 海兰珠 who was from the Ke'erqin 可尔沁 tribe in Mongolia.

The spartan interior of the main sitting room in the palace hardly resembles the opulent furnishings which are often featured in period Chinese dramas!

The stoves in the palace serves to heat up the water required for bathing and water contained in the large tubs also help to humidify the dry air which is prevalent in this region.

Typical palace bedroom.

The concubines' bedroom often has a baby rocker suspended from the ceiling for the newborn royal offspring.

Back gardens of the palace grounds. The Shenyang Imperial Palace is approximately 1/12th the size of the Forbidden Palace in Beijing.

The Dazheng Hall 大政殿 is an open courtyard where major celebrations are often held in the palace. The design of this octogonal shaped hall is partly influenced by the Mongolians, whom the ruling Manchurians have excellent relationships with.

A close-up view of a dragon carving on the exterior of Dazheng Hall.

Pavillions line both sides of the courtyard and are used by the commanders of the 8 different military divisions.

A display of a typical armour worn by a foot soldier in the army and the ceremonial flags of the 8 divisions 正黄旗，镶黄旗，正红旗，镶红旗，正白旗，镶白旗，正蓝旗，镶蓝旗.

Marshal Zhang's Residence 张氏帅府 / 大帅府

Zhang Zuolin 张作霖 was the warlord of Manchuria after the fall of the Qing dynasty in the early 20th century, having consolidated his power around his personal army that had seized control of Shenyang. He was eventually killed in 1928 when the Japanese sabotaged the train he was returning back to Shenyang on in the wake of his failed conquest of Beijing. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Zhang Xueliang 张学良.

Statue of Zhang Xueliang 张学良（少帅）. He was instrumental in forcing the Nationalists to work together with the Communists against the invading Japanese forces during World War II. As a result, he was placed under house arrest by Chiang Kai Shek in Taiwan and later emigrated to Honolulu, Hawaii where he passed away at the ripe old age of 100.

Children's rollerblading class in progress outside the gates of the mansion.

Vegetable & fruits stall on wheels. It is a wonder how these sellers manage to peddle their wares with ease along busy streets and sidewalks without spilling or damaging any of their wares!

The front courtyard of the residence features traditional Chinese architecture.

Living room used by Zhang Zuolin for receiving guests.

Stately European chateau style mansion served as the main residence for the illustrious warlord.

Sitting room in the main mansion

Dining area

In addition to the main mansion, Zhang Zuolin built several smaller mansions for each of his 5 concubines.

The well kept oriental garden featured marble carvings and traditional chinese pavillions.

Shenyang Financial Museum 沈阳金融博物馆

The Shenyang financial museum is the only of its kind in the country and showcases the evolvement of the Chinese Renminbi over the years to its current recogniseable form today.

Banking hall in the early 20th century. Zhang Zuolin was credited into transforming the otherwise barren frontier provinces into one of the most properous regions in the country. After inheriting a financially weak provincial government in 1917, Zhang Zuolin appointed Wang Yongjiang to oversee the financial reforms, and a new currency known as the Fengtian dollar was introduced as a result.

The Manchurian economy eventually collapsed in 1928 due to severe devaluation of the currency as excessive paper notes were printed to sustain Zhang Zuolin's personal army without being backed by sufficient silver reserves.

Realistic wax figurines in period costumes helped to recreate the bustling banking scene which was present at the height of the Manchurian economy in the early 1920s.

Old credit notes and banking documents were also displayed in the hall.

Bank tellers hard at work at the counters. Banking was a tedious and labourious process before the introduction of computerised banking systems.

A gold plated God of Fortune 财神爷 in the museum. Judging from the huge amounts of pledges in the donation box, it seemed that the God of Fortune must be smiling on the museum operator instead of the devotees!

Zhong Jie Shopping Street 中街购物街

Zhong Jie (or Middle Street) is one of the major shopping districts in Shenyang, and mainly features branded western apparel stores and restaurants such as Louis Vuitton and Pizza Hut.

Taiyuan Jie Shopping Street 太原街购物街 (Heping district 和平区)

Taiyuan St is located besides Traders Hotel near the Shenyang Railway Station and features a huge underground shopping mall. It is also surrounded by a wide range of departmental stores such as Parksons.

A nicely lit building along Zhongshan Rd 中山路 with a neon China Unicom advertisement.

A slice of Singapore in a foreign land. Kangfu Degao Bus Company 康富得高巴士(Comfort Delgro Bus in Chinese) is owned by Singapore based ComfortDelgro Group which is also the parent company of SBS Transit. One of the company's many Yaxing citybuses was photographed picking up passengers in front of Parksons Departmental Store towards Dongta Airport during the morning peak hour on service 225.

In addition, the company also operates a number of tri-axle Huanghai DD6141S04 buses which are deployed on service 207 during peak hours. These 14m long buses (which are 2m longer than the standard 12m length) feature a third exit after the rear axles to speed up the alighting of passengers.

Bus stop pole listing the services which call at the Taiyuan St bus stop along Zhonghua Rd. The design of the bus stop plate bears a marked resemblance to those of New World First Bus in Hong Kong.

This double deck bus manufactured by Yaxing is definitely one of the better looking Chinese double decks with smooth body curves and extensive window glazing. AC5710 was spotted working service 206 which links Shenyang Railway Station with the Shenyang Chemistry Institute.

In response to increased awareness on environmental pollution in China, many Chinese bus manufacturers had rolled out a series of environmentally friendly citybuses. This BJ6112C8MT8 citybus produced by Beijing based Foton Group complies with the stringent Euro V emission regulations. Service 221 provides an essential link between the main railway station and the northern railway station in the city.

Next Post: Dalian

Previous Post: Jilin & Changchun

Jilin & Changchun

2010-09-02T20:11:00.022+08:00

Jilin City 吉林市

Jilin City is the second largest city in Jilin province, and was the provincial capital before it was shifted to Changchun in favour of better traffic connections. This city is also unique as it is the only major city in China to share the same name as the province where it is located in.

Like many other cities in the northeastern China, Jilin receives its bulk of tourists in winter. Many flock to the banks of Songhua River which encircles the city to gawk at one of China's four natural wonders, where magnificent rime ice （树挂） are formed on the trees. This phenomenon occurs as the warm water vapour from the river cystallises upon rapid cooling. The stretch of Songhua River does not freeze over in winter as the water is heated by an upstream hydroelectric plant. In fact, many locals believe in the thereupatic effects of winter swimming in the river at sub zero temperatures!

Beishan Park 北山公园

Jilin is ringed by several foothills of the Changbai mountain range, with Beishan lying to the west of the city instead of the north as its name suggests! This hill is also the most famous of the hills as it was reportedly visited by Emperor Kangxi during his reign.

Main entrance gate to the park. This park is popular in winter among many skiiers.

A busy railway level crossing operated by the Shenyang Railway Bureau is located within the park compounds, and it is not uncommon to see many tourists taking a sudden interest in trains! A Dongfeng 4 freight locomotive is shown here approaching the manned crossing - the green locomotives are mainly used for hauling freight while those in orange are used for passenger services.

'Nine Dragon Gate 九龙门' which is intricately carved out of bronze.

This hill is also known as Nine Dragon Mountain 九龙山 due to its auspicious landform according to popular feng shui and religious beliefs.

The lakes in the park are filled with lotus during the summer season. In winter, visitors to the park would be treated to a view of ice-rimmed trees around the lake instead.

The 30m long Lanpei bridge 揽辔桥(揽辔 translates to halter a horse in English) spans across a 15.7m deep cut in the hill, and was named as so to commemorate Emperor Kangxi's horseback visit. This bridge was constructed in 1932 and was named by the last emperor of the Qing dynasty, Emperor Puyi.

View of Jilin city from the top of the bridge.

The top of the hill plays host to an eclectic mix of Buddhist, Taoists and Confucian temples.

Century Square 世纪广场

Century Square is an open recreational plaza located on the south bank of the Songhua River. The key attraction at this open space is the Jilin Meteorite Museum 吉林陨石博物馆(RMB80, ~S$16.40) which houses the world's largest recovered meteorite fragment that weighs a hefty 1.77 tonnes.

On 18 March 1976, a well published meteorite fall showered over 500 square kilometeres in Jilin with meteorite fragments of varying sizes, and the force from the impact created craters of up to a depth of 6 metres. A large statue of Mao Zedong is also constructed in front of the museum, as it is widely believed that the freak astrological event is in some way linked to his death later that year in September.

Most public buses in China are often plastered with repetitive advertisements, which makes it a challenge to actually spot a bus which wears the company's corporate livery. 吉B25184 working service 61 was photographed with a retro looking maroon and white themed corporate livery. This bus is also part of a joint venture deal with an American bus and coach manufacturer called Flxible.

吉B40221 is a longer wheelbase version of the previous bus and thus has the exit repositioned to after the rear wheel to improve passenger flow throughout the bus. This arrangement is also aided by the front mounted engine.

Changchun City 长春市

The bustling capital of Jilin province was once the capital of the state of Manchukuo during the Japanese occupation. Most of the original Japanese buildings had been preserved to serve as a poignant reminder of the occupation. The map below shows the location of the places of interests in Changchun which are featured in this post (credits to Google Maps).

Eight Branches of Manchukuo 伪满洲国八大部

Many of the original structures which had served as Japanese ministries during the occupation had since been converted into public hospitals and schools.

461 Hospital was the former site of the Japanese Justice Ministry.

This grand compound was once the Japanese State Council building. A statue of Dr Norman Bethune is placed in the courtyard to honour the renowned Canadian doctor who served in the wartime medical units during the second Sino-Japanese war and later founded the Norman Bethune Medical School, which was the predecessor of the current Jilin University.

Commemorative plaque at the entrance to the compound. The Chinese do not recognise the legitimacy of the Manchukuo government which was formed by the Japanese during their occupation, thus an additional word 伪 is added in front to indicate that it is 'fake'.

Japanese Defence Ministry building situated across the former State Council. It had now been converted into an affiliated teaching hospital for the Jilin University medical school.

Cultural Square 文化广场

The second largest of its kind after Tian'anmen in Beijing, this open plaza is located across a road from the former Japanese Defence Ministry and State Council. It was originally demarcated by the Japanese to be the site of an Imperial courtyard.

A pair of sandstone statues are located at each end of the plaza to symbolise motherly love and abundance in harvest.

The majestic former New Palace of the Emperor of Manchukuo 新帝宫 sits at the northern end of the square. It had since been converted into the Jilin University Geology Museum 吉林大学地质博物院.

Jingyuetan National Forest Park 镜月潭国家森林公园

Jingyuetan is the largest man-made forest park in Asia, and is widely used as a skiing ground in winter. Visitors have the option to toboggan down a track through the forests in summer.

The park consists of several man-made lakes amidst lush greenery. It is a popular hangout in summer for locals as they experience summer for only a very short period of time each year. Unfortunately, the significance seems to have been lost on Singaporeans as we are surrounded with abundant trees and grass throughout the year.

Newly wed couples patiently wait for their turn to have their photos taken against the lake and verdant hills.

Xiang Ri Tun Restaurant 向日屯饭店

Xiang Ri Tun Restaurant is a themed restaurant in central Changchun where the owner had decorated the premises with old chinese communist memorabilia from the revolution.

Upon entering the restaurant, diners are greeted with a view of the communal kitchen. The cuisine in the northeastern provinces are strongly influenced by the cuisine in Shandong as many of the Han Chinese migrated from the province at the turn of the 20th century. As such, the food tends to be very salty and sour since braised sauce is used liberally for a large number of dishes.

Old public telephone from the 1950s. It is still functional and is used by the waiters to convey orders to the kitchen.

The second level of the restaurant houses the dining area where it is further divided into individual themed rooms.

Authentic wooden furniture is used for the dining tables and chairs. This particular room is used to display old porcelain vases in glassed rosewoord cabinets. To further enhance the ambience, old newspapers from the bygone era are used as wallpaper.

A closer look at one of the newspaper articles. This particular article was published on 19 May 1962 and commented on the guidance of Chairman Mao with respect to the arts and literature.

Sheng Yuan Tang 生源堂

Jilin province is renowned for its vast natural trove of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs which grow on the alpine slopes of the Changbaishan mountain range in the province. Due to its geographical importance, Changchun acts as a central clearing house for a wide variety of medicinal herbs as they are inspected for quality by the authorities before they are packaged and distributed to other parts of the country. The main herb traded in this city is the Korean red ginseng, which is more commonly known by its chinese name 高丽红参.

Shen Yuan Tang is one of the oldest medicinal halls in Changchun city and is often held in similar regard to the famed Bao Shu Tang which is based in Beijing. As with other similar shops which mainly cater to the tourist crowd in China, one is recommended to negotiate for a significant discount on the price(which is usually in the range of 25-50%)before committing on large purchases.

Nanhu Garden Area 南湖公园区域

Nanhu Garden is one of the largest recreational parks in the city centre and is situated in the upscale Nanguan district 南关区.

Lotus pond with a traditional Chinese arch bridge in the background.

An old steam locomotive is also exhibited in the park, and has a special significance as it is among the first Chinese locomotives that had been built at the FAW Automotive works in Changchun.

Yan'An Street 延安街 during morning rush hour. The city prides itself on its extensive landscaping efforts, and has a policy of planting a row of trees for every 2 lanes of carriageway whenever possible.

吉AA0239 was spotted working on service 13 opposite the Changchun University of Technology 长春科技大学. This Huanghai front engined bus had been decorated with probably an overzealous quantity of banners and messages. The large oval badge at the front testifies to the quality and reliability of this particular bus service.

An old FAW 一汽 bus photographed on service 239 at the Nanhu Plaza roundabout with a crudely fashioned replacement radiator grille. Service 239 links the colossal FAW Automobile manufacturing plant 一轿基地 in the west of the city to a cryptically named "Public Transport General Hospital 公交医院", which is an irony as the bulk of the buses deployed on this route seem to be more in a need of urgent attention than its passengers! In additional to heavy vehicles (marketed as FAW and Dong Feng), China's first automobile company also assembles cars of various German marques such as Audi, Volkswagon, BMW and Mercedes Benz for the domestic market.

While undoubtedbly cranky, unbearably hot in summer and grossly overcrowded during the peak hours, the public buses provide an economical and efficient means of transport with a flat fare of only RMB1 (~S$0.21) for most of the services.

A local market located in one of the backlanes of the district. Black fungus 黑木耳 (foreground) is a local specialty and it is widely used in Chinese cuisine.

Changbaishan Hotel 长白山酒店 is a 4 star establishment located besides Nanhu Garden, and is managed by the HNA Hainan Airlines Group. It is also the designated hotel 国宾馆 by the Chinese government for local and visiting dignitaries.

Immaculate hotel lobby

Ceremonial artillery cannons. However, they are more likely to be used purely props during celebrations and welcoming ceremonies instead.

An interesting tree root sculpture in the hotel compound which resembles a mutant ginseng root.

Next Post: Shenyang

Previous Post: Changbaishan

Changbaishan

2010-08-07T11:44:00.022+08:00

Changbaishan 长白山

Changbaishan is one of the ten famous mountains of China, and the volcanic mountain range is located at the border between China and North Korea in Jilin province. The mountain, which translates into 'perpetually white mountain' in English, takes its name after the snow and greyish white volcanic rock which blankets the mountain peaks for most of the year. Changbaishan is considered as a sacred place to the Manchurians, and permission from the imperial court must be sought before one could gain access to the mountain range during the Qing dynasty.

Due to its proximity to the border with North Korea, there is a large concentration of ethnic North Koreans in this region. In order to preserve the culture and the way of life, a special administrative area known as the Changbai Korea Autonomous Region 长白朝鲜自治区 had been created to manage the region.

It takes approximately 4-5hrs to drive from Jingpo Lake to the northern slope of Changbaishan via Dunhua, where we had picked up our local guide. Numerous villages and farmlands dot the landscape besides the highway, which allows us a glimpse into this predominantly agricultural region. The Han Chinese 汉族, Manchurians 满族 and ethnic Koreans 朝鲜族 peacefully coexist, with the only difference being the design of their houses. Ethnic Koreans build their houses with an additional horizontal beam across the top of the house, forming the character "合" when viewed at either end of the house. The houses of Manchurians differ from the Han Chinese by having an additional tall wooden pole at the front of the house.

We stopped at a small town, Erdaobaihe 二道白河 for dinner before continuing on to our hotel for the night. Erdaobaihe is also the nearest town to Changbaishan, and the town is served by both trains and long distance coaches to other parts of the province.

It is a local requirement for all shops and buildings to display their signs in both Korean and Chinese, as illustrated by the neon signs for our hotel, Jindalai Hotel 金达来宾馆.

The hotel is located besides a Siberian Tiger Park 长白山东北虎园, with an interesting sign which is posted besides the entrance. Contrary to popular belief, the fearsome Siberian Tiger is not the king of the forest. Instead, the honour goes to the wild boars which are capable of inflicting serious injury on their foes with their razor sharp tusks as a group. The runner up position is claimed by the black bear, which is considered to be more superior than the tiger due to its excellent stamina.

Dog meat is a staple food for many ethnic Koreans, although the dogs are now commercially bred and slaughtered before being delivered to eateries. In fact, Manchurians are prohibited from marrying Koreans because they view dogs as sacred animals.

Changbaishan Northern Gate 长白山北坡门

The bulk of the visitors to Changbaishan begin their visit from the more accessible northern gate. The plaza and the ticketing office are swarmed with both tourists and tour guides alike as they struggle to obtain tickets in time to enter the park when the gates are opened at 8am.

Ticketing Office. It costs RMB100(~$20.49) for the entrance to the park itself and an additional RMB68 (S$13.95) for the environmentally friendly shuttle bus.

The first part of the journey involves taking an Ankai environmentally friendly bus (Euro III compliant) from the northern gate at 1,100m to the transit centre at an elevation of approximately 1,750m.

Changbaishan Tianchi 长白山天池

The second part of the journey entails a ride in a jeep or a Mercedes Benz MB100 van through steep and narrow roads. Throughout the bumpy ascent, the luxuriant vegetation gradually gives way to barren landscapes at higher altitudes. The 20mins journey (RMB80 return, S$16.40) is highly recommended just for the thrill factor alone.

At an elevation of 2600m, it can be quite cold at the peak due to elevation and the strong frigid winds. The average annual temperature is only -7 degrees Celsius, and reaches a maximum temperature of only 17 degrees Celsius in mid summer. A windbreaker rental truck is spotted doing a very brisk business to visitors who were caught unaware by the sudden drop in temperature. However, it was definitely not as miserably cold as suggested by the expression and the excessive amount of winter wear worn by the partner of the rental shop!

Tianwen Peak 天文峰 is one of the 16 major peaks of Changbaishan, with an elevation of 2,670m. It is also the most accessible peak to visitors with clearly marked pathways and railings.

Western fringe of the Changbaishan volcanic mountain range.

The main attraction at Changbaishan is the Tianchi, or Heaven Lake. Formed after a series of 3 eruptions more than 1,000 years ago, the crater lake also forms a national boundary between China and North Korea. It is said that only 30% of visitors would be able to see the lake in its entirety as it is very prone to fog.

Summer is the peak season for visiting Changbaishan, thus crowds are to be expected. This is because the peaks (and thus Tianchi) are off limits except for those with a hiking permit from September to late April every year due to heavy snowfall. Most of the tourists are surprisingly not mainland Chinese but Koreans and Hong Kongers instead!

The Changbaishan Tianchi is the source for the Songhua River 松花江, Yalu River 鸭绿江 and the Tumen River 图们江. The white jagged line to the left of the lake is in North Korean territory.

Unmelted ice floating in the lake. The volume of snow on the peak had drastically reduced in recent years due to global warming.

A meteorological station and a souvenir shop are located at the peak as well.

The downhill journey was exhilarating with the driver trying to race back down to the transit centre as fast as possible. The gradient was not very steep, but the narrow roads made it much more exciting as our small Mercedes MB100 van whipped around the tight bends. Credits to Google Earth & Nokia Ovi Services.

Hei Feng Kou 黑风口 at an elevation of approximately 2,200m. This mountain pass is regarded as the location where the wind is the strongest in the mountain range. It is said that the winds can be so strong that it is possible for a person to be pinned to the side of the mountain and not being able to move.

As we descend back towards lower elevations, the barren tundra landscape gradually gives way to grassy fields and shrubs.

Changbaishan Waterfall 长白山瀑布

Changbaishan Waterfall is a 68m tall waterfall located at the northern side of Tianchi, or Heaven Lake. This waterfall is also the only outlet to the lake and provides the source for three of the northeast region's longest rivers.

Changbaishan Waterfall bus terminal. The environmentally friendly buses from the Northern Gate terminate at this location, and visitors would have to contend with a gentle 1km long uphill climb to reach the base of the waterfall.

The water from the Tian Chi exits through a small river known as Chengchua River where it flows for over 1,200m before experiencing a sudden drop over a ledge to form the Changbaishan watefall.

The water from Tian Chi is considered sacred to the Koreans, who would sometimes take containers with them to fill with the water from the lake.

At an altitude of about 2,100m, the Changbaishan Waterfall is also the highest volcanic waterfall in the world. The falls are best viewed in mid-summer when the flow is the greatest. Despite the frigid Siberian winters, the falls do not get frozen over due to surrounding geothermal activity.

Julong hot spring is also located near the base of the waterfalls, and visitors can experience a soak in the warm waters for a fee. The temperature of the hot spring typically ranges from 60 degrees Celsius to over 80 degrees Celsius.

One can also sample eggs and sausages cooked in the hot spring waters. Due to the temperature of the water, the egg yolk is fully cooked and hard while the egg white is still soft!

Little Tianchi 小天池

China is infamous for the standards of the toilets in the country, and those in the Changbaishan are no exception to the norm due to the remoteness of the region. This washroom was deliberately located off the beaten path for a good reason, as it might well be a more pleasant experience to settle one's business in the surrounding bushes instead.

Little Tianchi is nowhere as spectacular as its larger and more scenic namesake, as it appears as just a normal pond. The pond is fed by a small waterfall and has no visible outlets, yet the water level mysteriously remains constant throughout the year.

Green Lake 绿渊潭

In a view reminiscent of the clear emerald green lakes of Jiuzhaigou, the green lake takes its name after its unusually clear waters which are fed by a pair of 26m tall waterfalls. The lake is surrounded by a species of trees known as Erman's birch, or betula ermanii. Indigenous to Siberia, Korea and Japan, its pulp is used by the Japanese to make paper which is renowed for its extraordinary smoothness.

A tree demonstrates its amazing survivability even though its trunk had nearly been split into two!

Underground Forest 地下森林

The final attraction for our visit is the underground forest, which is prized for its biodiversity within the virgin forests. Even to this day,new species of flora and fauna continue to be discovered by scientists.

The underground forest is named due to a number of geographic faults within the heavily forested area, thus some parts of the forest appear to be sunken in with respect to higher ground.

Dongqing Service Area 东庆服务区

After a quick lunch at our hotel, we backtracked towards Dunhua to settle in for the night. We made a shopping stop at the Dongqing Service Area, where we were given an introduction to the different specialties of the region.

Changbaishan is synonomous with ginseng, which grows best at high elevations. Ginseng is generally divided into three different grades according to the method which they are grown. The highest grade of ginseng 野山参 are found naturally in the wild, and command an extremely high price due to its rarity. The bulk of the better quality ginseng sold in the market today are known as 移山参, where they are first grown in farms before they are transplanted to mature and grow in the mountains. The lowest grade of ginseng are also commonly known as 'carrot ginseng 萝卜参', and as they are grown in large quantities in farms with fertilizers, they have little medicinal value.

In addition, Sika deer 梅花鹿 are also reared and the males are harvested for their antlers 鹿茸, which are then cut into small slices to be packaged for sale. It is said to boost one's stamina and vitality.

The female Sika deer are harvested for their foetus, which are then processed into essence. It is worthwhile to note that one is liable to be fined if one is caught possessing such items in Singapore. This is because Singapore is a signatory of CITES, which prohibits the trade of products derived from endangered species such as the Sika Deer.

A retired Shenyang J-6B fighter is parked in the service area, and charges RMB5 (~S$1.03) per photo. However, tour groups are exempted from the fee and I made use of the opportunity to get some photos of this classic aircraft while the other tour group members are busy shopping for ginseng and other products.

The J-6B is a locally produced version of the MiG-19 fighter, and is used as an interceptor role by the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). It is designed with an extremely short lifespan of only 100hours before extensive maintenance has to be performed on the aircraft.

Dunhua City 敦化市

Dunhua is a city in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Region 延边朝鲜自治区, and was formerly known as Junggyeong when the city was the capital of the Korean kingdom of Balhae 渤海 in the 8th century.

We stayed overnight at the Jinmao Hotel 金茂大酒店 in the city before continuing on our journey towards Jilin and Changchun the next day.

Sculpture in the park which was located next to our hotel. As with many other Chinese cities, many elderly folks head out to practise taiji and wushun in the early hours of the morning.

The city's strong Korean roots are evident in the many street and directional signs, which must carry the Korean characters alongside the Chinese characters.

In addition to the public bus system, many locals also get around the city on trishaws.

Sunday is a very busy day in the northeast chinese cities as it is a local tradition that wedddings are held on the day. In comparison to Singapore, the wedding banquet is normally held in the late morning for newly wed couples, as a dinner banquet is reseved for marriage anniversaries instead. Couples who are celebrating their second marriage would normally settle for a late lunch or a tea reception instead. In addition, the harsh winters in the region would usually mean that a wedding in summer is very much preferable instead.

Next Post: Jilin & Changchun

Previous Post: Mudanjiang Jingpo Lake

Mudanjiang Jingpo Lake

2010-08-05T20:07:00.014+08:00

Mudanjiang City 牡丹江市

Mudanjiang is the third largest city in Heilongjiang province, and can be accessed via a 4.5hr drive using the newly built Harbin-Mudanjiang Expressway （哈牡高速）. The city gained importance as a gateway city to the nearby Russian border city of Suifenhe and the Jingpo Lake scenic area. The city takes its name after the Mudan River 牡丹江 (which eventually feeds into the Songhua River) that flows through the south of city.

We stayed at the Hawaii International Hotel, which is one of the finer 5 star establishments in this predominantly industrial city.

The tour coach which had carried us for nearly 2,000km throughout our 9 days journey across the 3 northeastern provinces. Though well over 10 years old, this King Long XMQ6892GC1 is immaculately maintained by her hardworking coach captain, who never failed to clean and mop his bus at least an hour before we set off each morning. It was also the very first time I had encountered a tour coach driver in China who wears a tie along with a buttoned shirt!

An old Changjiang 长江 bus working service 3. It seems that missing or crudely fashioned radiator grilles are all the rage among public transport operators in this region!

This popular Yutong model had also been specially modified to accomodate a front engine arrangement instead (note the grilles on the front mask which is absent on the default rear engine arrangement). In addition, the exit had also been shifted to a new position after the rear axle to improve passenger flow within the bus.

C05045 on svc 201 has a banner which advocates safe and sustainable development. Despite the name of the operator, this service is neither exclusive to female passengers nor solely operated by female drivers! Dongfeng Yangzijiang 东风扬子江 is also one of the less common bus manufacturers in China.

Jingpo Lake Scenic Area 镜泊湖风景区

Jingpo Lake is the largest barrier lake in China, and was formed when a series of volcanic eruptions created a blockage across the Mudan River. Located 350metres above sea level, the 90.3 square kilometeres lake has an average depth of 40m.

Entrance to the Jingpo Lake scenic area. The park was granted the status of a world geopark in September 2006 by UNESCO in recognition of its unique geological features.

As a protected area, coaches and other private vehicles are not allowed into the reserve. A fleet of predominantly Iveco minibuses and specialist vehicles are used to ferry visitors to the different attractions in the park.

En route to the ferry pier for the lake cruise.

The lake area is home to more than 40 different varieties of fish.

Ferries deployed for the lake cruise. The cruises run at fixed 45 minutes interval, but as it is the common practice at many other tourist attractions in China, the operators will try to load the ferry to its maximum permitted capacity before setting off.

A traditional Buddhist temple which is dedicated to the medicine Buddha 药师佛.

Jingpo Lake is surrounded by the Wandashan 完达山 mountain range.

The clean air and scenic surroundings in the lake area are renowned for their therapeutic effect. Many of China's large government agencies and corporations own sprawling rehabilitation centres in this region to serve as a retreat for their staff. In order to maintain its exclusivity (and probably isolation), it is only accessible by boat.

In a bid to limit the environmental impact from tourism, the local government had initiated a ban on new developments in the area. In addition, developers would also have to secure a permit before they are allowed to carry out major works on their existing properties. As demand far outstrips supply, the hotels do not cater to visitors during summer as the rooms had all been leased on a long term basis.

Diaoshuilou Waterfall 吊水楼瀑布

Diaoshuilou Waterfall is located on the northern fringes of Jingpo Lake and is the largest waterfall in northern China. The waterfall has a drop of 12m and an average width of 40m. The waterfall freezes over in winter.

The waterfall can reach up to a maximum breath of over 200m during the rainy season in late July - August.

Diaoshuilou waterfall is also the largest basalt waterfall in the world which is formed due to the caving-in of a gas hole as a result of the volcanic activity in the region.

The semi-circular waterfall is also popular with stuntmen who sometimes seek to jump down from the waterfall.

A solitary male deer resting near the waterfall.

Next Post: Changbaishan

Previous Post: Harbin - Sun Island

Harbin - Sun Island

2010-07-23T20:12:00.011+08:00

Harbin Sun Island Scenic Area 太阳岛风景区

Harbin Sun Island is one the landmark attractions of Harbin, and it is also the venue for the much acclaimed ice and snow festival which is held every year in winter. It is also rated as a AAAAA tourist attraction by the China tourism authorities, probably by virtue of the ice and snow festival rather than actual scenery.

There are four ways of getting to Sun Island, which is bounded by the Songhua River and water canals. The first method would be to board a ferry from Stalin Park on the opposite bank. Alternatively, one can also walk across the frozen Songhua River in winter. A more interesting way would be to take a cable car ride from Stalin Park, while the more mundane method would be to cross the Songhua River Bridge by bus or car. Unfortunately, we were stuck with the last option since we were travelling as a tour group.

Songhua River Bridge 松花江大桥

The Songhua River bridge is an elaborate concrete bridge which was designed by the Russians in 1986 to provide a convenient connection from the city centre's Daoli district to the Songbei district across the river. From the top view, the circular up and down ramps which exist only at the Daoli district end of the bridge causes the bridge to resemble a pair of scissors. This has the literal meaning of cutting up the Songhua River which was a significant barrier before the bridge was built.

Encompassing 38 square kilometres, buying a ticket for the electric trams or trains to get around the park is definitely recommended (RMB20 (~S$4.10)).

A pair of very cute dragon plant 'sculptures' at a roundabout in the park.

Man-made waterfall

An artificial limestone cavern cafe carved out behind the waterfall. Although it looks rather fake as compared to a real limestone cave, the waterfall curtain does allow one to rest from the scorching summer heat. Summer temperatures in Harbin seldom exceed 30 degrees Celsius, but due to the current La Nina effect, it rose to 40 degrees during our visit!

Man-made lake with boardwalk and a wooden sampan thrown in for good measure.

Squirrel Island 松鼠岛

Squirrel island is a small island which is surrounded by a moat in the park. The star attraction at this spot is naturall squirrels which enjoy free roam within the confines of the forested park.

Draw bridge to the island. A pair of heavy revolving doors at the main entrance completes the defence to prevent the furry mammals from escaping.

It is relatively simple to spot squirrels in the park. The easiest way would be to listen out for the sounds of the squirrels chewing seeds or nuts. Here a squirrel is busy trying to crack a nut in his mouth in the relative safety of a tree branch.

The squirrel sunflower seed eating competition is in full swing as these 2 plump squirrels struggle to outdo each other in eating the most number of seeds. These normally shy creatures transform totally upon the sight of food and even allows visitors to pet and carrass them!

Kiosks are available in the park to sell packets of sunflower or pumpkin seeds to visitors who wish to personally feed the squirrels.

A shy squirrel secretly chewing on a seed under the cover of a bush.

Sun Island Ice & Snow Sculpture Art Museum 太阳岛冰雪艺术馆

This museum was set up to preserve the winning ice sculptures from the previous ice and snow festival, thus making it possible for visitors to have a glimpse of the famous colourfully lit ice sculptures even in summer. Set at a bone-chilling -18 degrees Celsius, winter parkas are also available for rent to visitors to the museum.

As this year is the year of the Tiger, ice sculptures in the form of tigers feature prominently in the display.

The ice sculptures are carved using ice blocks hewn from the frozen Songhua River.

Snow white welcomes visitors to the next section of the museum. LED lights are used extensively to simulate the effect of frozen trees.

Fancy having a cup of hot chocolate in the freezing cold at an ice cafe?

Violinist in coloured ice

An ice carving of the London cityscape which prominently features landmarks such as the London Eye.

The political turmoil which had plagued Bangkok in recent times provided the inspiration for Thai artists to produce a sculpture which was entitled "Peace Praying Buddha".

A pair of ice sculptures engaged in the ancient art of fencing in this work produced by Chinese artists.

Ice Temple. The size of the exhibits displayed in this 5,000 sq metre hall is limited by the height of the 2 storey complex.

Russian Town 俄罗斯风情小镇

Russian Town is a former Russian settlement in Harbin, and the houses had been preserved for visitors to have a glimpse of an authentic Russian town. This town is jointly managed by both the Chinese and Russian governments.

Entrance to the town with signs in both Chinese and Cyrillic.

Numerous amorous statues which depicts a typical Russian lifestyle are scattered throughout the park. In addition, Russian folk songs are also played in the park as background music.

A typical 1950s Russian timber house. Traditional houses are constructed out of red pine which is abundant in the Russian Far East.

Dining area which also serves as a living room.

This small cottage used to be the town police station and jail.

An antique World War II era Chinese radio set.

Torture equipment in the holding cell.

Camping in a caravan is a popular holiday option for Russians.

Town Bakery. The statue of the Russian woman is holding what is known as a Da Lie Ba, which is one of the unique foodstuff in Harbin.

The Da Lie Ba 大列巴 is Harbin's answer to the French baguette, and is typically a very large round bread that weighs a hefty 2.5kg. It is crisp on the outside but soft in the inside. The bread is usually presented in a hemp drawstring bag, and has a shelf live of approximately a week.

Russia is often instantly associated with its high grain vodka, which is the poison of choice for many of its inhabitants who seek a quick relief against the biting cold in winter. With a mind popping 40%-50% proof, it is little wonder that one can easily get extremely drunk after a tipple!

Besides the usual rectangular glass bottle packaging, vodka bottles are also cleverly hidden in one of Russian's other famous export - a matryoshka doll.

Matryohka dolls were initially created in 1890 by Vasily Zvyozdochkin, and gained world fame after it was exhibited at the Paris World Expo in 1900. There are basically 2 main kinds of these unique dolls. The first kind are based on a church theme and patterns are burnt onto unpainted wood. The second and more familiar type are the wholly painted dolls which often depict peasant girls in traditional Russian dress. These 2 types are shown below, as well as the unique entrance 'ticket' to the park.

It is a little known fact that Russia is the world's third largest exporter of chocolates after Switzerland and Belgium. Russian chocolate differs from the usual chocolate by having an extremely high cocoa content and very little flour and milk is used in the processing. Thus, the chocolates would not melt or soften even when left at room temperatures in summer! Not surprisingly, the most popular flavour is vodka according to the staff.

Former Soviet Union leaders - Khruschev, Stalin & Lenin from left to right - painted in the form of matryoshka dolls. The 'Russian leaders' series of dolls usually depict Lenin as the smallest and the current leader as the largest doll. It is interesting to see Stalin being depicted without his signature moustache.

Cute wooden statues of a railway minature in the park.

Siberian Tiger Park 东北虎林园

The Siberian Tiger Park in Harbin is the world's largest conservatory for the endangered Siberian Tiger. Hundreds of these majestic large cats are housed in different enclosures according to their age group, and visitors get to have a close up view of them in a safari style. This usually takes the form of an half hour ride in of the specially equipped touring buses which have some windows replaced by grilles. The bus driver would double as a safari guide and point out the location of the tigers to the passengers. 黑A04386 is one of the few Higer KLQ6728 buses which have been modified for the task.

The entrance to the enclosures are guarded by a pair of sequential and electrically controlled sliding mesh doors to prevent tigers from escaping.

One of the few tigers which were awake and prowling around the enclosure.

A tiger which had just awaken and turned around to investigate the source of noise that had disrupted its noontime slumber.

Unfortunately, most of the tigers were spotted dozing off in the shade to escape the summer heat.....

...while some of the tigers took the opportunity for a dip in the pool to cool themselves

In addition to tigers, there are also female lions being reared in this compound in a bid to create a mixed offspring between a Tiger and a Lion (known as a Liger). However, such cases are extremely rare as it is hard for these 2 species to develop affections towards each other.

Older tigers are segregated from the main population and housed in seperate walled enclosures instead. These are then seperated from the public by two layers of wire fence which posed a challenge in obtaining good shots of these creatures.

Visitors to the park also have an opportunity to cuddle and take a photo with a tiger cub for a fee.

Next Post: Mudanjiang Jingpo Lake

Previous Post: Harbin - City Impressions

Harbin - City Impressions

2010-07-22T21:39:00.018+08:00

Harbin 哈尔滨

Background

Harbin traces its roots as a sleepy fishing village in the remote northeast of China, and its name means 'a place to dry fishing nets' in Manchu. This quickly became history in 1898 when the settlement was transformed by the Russians into a strategic crossroad for the new Chinese Eastern Railway (KVZhD) as a shortcut for the Trans-Siberian Railway. Since then, international trade with other countries such as the United States, Germany, France and Japan had also further cemented the city's reputation as a bustling metropolis.

The cosmopolitan outlook of the city, coupled with its array of unique European architecture, had led many to regard China's northernmost major city as one of the most beautiful cities in the country. Thus, it is also popularly known as the Paris of the East and the Oriental St Petersburg. Till date, at least 20% of the city's residents are ethnic Russians and Harbin remains a popular tourist destinations for many Russians. In addition, visitors from around the world also brave the harsh winter to partake in the spectacular Ice and Snow Festival which opens on Christmas Day each year. The map below shows the location of the places which are featured in this blog (credits to Google Maps).

St Sophia Cathedral 圣索菲亚教堂

St Sophia Cathedral is the most recognisable and prominent landmark in Harbin. Also known as the Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom of God, the former Russian Orthodox church is also the largest of its kind in the far east with a height of 53.3 metres and covering and area of 0.18 acres. This highly distinctive cathedral was initially consecrated in 1907 as a spiritual symbol for the elite Russian troops who are stationed in the city following the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway in 1907. The cathedral was expanded and renovated into its current form in 1932.

The cathedral now does not hold any more services and had been transformed into the Harbin Architectural Art Gallery (admission RMB15 (~S$3.06))

Highly detailed brick features adorn the exterior of this Neo-Bryzantine structure.

St Sophia Cathedral was modelled after the ornate Christ the Savior Cathedral in Borki, Ukraine. It was originally constructed from timber.

The cathedral was painstakingly restored in 1996 at a cost of US$1.5million and was re-opened to the public in 1997.

The space around the prominent landmark had also been redeveloped into 'Harbin Architectural Square' and features European style buildings to create a unique European feel in a Chinese city. These include art galleries (complete with a Cyrillic signboard) and a bizzare mesh megastructure.

The low humidity and clear skies provides a very conducive environment for 'contrail spotting' in Harbin. Here 2 aircraft converge onto a single airway at different altitudes heading west.

Central Street (Kitaiskaya Street) 中央大街

Central Street, which was also known as Kitaiskaya Street in the past, was where international business trade first began in the city at the turn of the 20th century. This pedestrian only road paved with individual cobbled stones which are mined from the Changbaishan mountain range in Jilin province. Distinctive buildings which features classic western architectural designs such as Baroque and Bryzantine line this century old avenue.

The bulk of the preserved buildings now house top end fashion labels from around the world.

Low rise buildings juxtapose against modern high rise commercial and residential developments.

Central Street is also dominated by mid to high end business and boutique hotels to cater to visitors who wish to experience a stay in this historic district

Stalin Park 斯大林公园

Stalin Park was built along the banks of the Songhua River as a tribute to Josef Stalin who helped secure the release of Harbin from the Japanese during World War II. There is interestingly, not a statue of the famous leader to be found in the park as the locals still retains an ambivalent attitude towards the Soviets.

Today, the park serves a recreational destination for the residents and overlooks the Songhua River. Ferries are also available to bring visitors over to Sun Island Scenic Area on the opposite bank of the river.

In 2005, a benzene plant in Jilin exploded and discharged dangerous levels of the chemical into the upstream portion of the Songhua River. The city authorities shut the local water supply in Harbin as a precautionary measure for a week, forcing residents to resort to bottled water for their daily needs. Tap water is now processed from ground water, and thus first time visitors would often have a shock to discover ice cold water from the tap even though outdoor temperatures could reach up to 40 degrees during summer!

Where ice sculptures are impossible to display in the outdoors with the searing summer heat, carefully pruned bushes take their place instead in the park.

Harbin Flood Control Monument 哈尔滨防洪纪念碑

In addition, the park also houses a monument to commemorate the great flood in 1957 when the swollen Songhua River burst its bank. It is a tribute to the volunteers who helped to overcome the natural disaster and to those who had unfortunately sacrificed their lives in the process.

The Harbin Flood Control Monument is situated at the end of Central Street. The Roman styled column is 13 metres high and features the statues of the volunteers at the top.

A carved mural in the monument extolled the greatness of the Chinese Communist Party.

Guogeli Street 果戈里大街

In addition to Central Street, Guogeli Street is also home to a large concentration of Russian buildings and structures. Spared from the ravages of the Cultural Revolution as it was shielded from view by residential buildings, this century old Catholic Church still remains in use today.

A modest clock tower in the church square incorporates the famed domed structure typically found on Russian Orthodox churches.

Unlike many other Chinese cities, bicycles are few and far between in Harbin. This is mainly because of the long and harsh winters when iced slippery roads poses a real danger to cyclists. Thus, public buses are the preferred form of transportation. It is curious to note that most buses (even the newer ones) have front mounted engines where they are less likely to seize up in extreme low temperatures, not to mention that the engine heat would also be very much appreciated by the driver!

A83400, a Huanghai DD6109S03F was photographed picking up passengers along Guogeli St during evening peak while working on service 7.

Harbin Kunlun Hotel 哈尔滨昆仑大酒店

Harbin Kunlun Hotel is a standard 4 star hotel which is located besides the busy Harbin Railway Station, thus most of its rooms offer a view of the sprawling railway yard opposite the hotel.

The streets around the hotel are choked with taxis waiting for passengers even at 7am in the morning. Judicious amount of guts accompanied by incessant honking are essential to maintain a safe co-existance between pedestrians and motor vehicles in busy Chinese cities.

Harbin Railway Station still retains its importance as it did when it was first built at the end of the 19th century with connections to Inner Mongolia, the northern part of Heilongjiang province and onwards to Russia. The Trans-Siberian railway calls at this station every Friday, and there are daily trains to Heihe and Suifenhe where one can cross into Russia.

One of the many public bus stations which can be found around the railway station.

To cope with the summer heat, many public buses in Northeast China have part or the entire radiator grille removed to improve air cooling around the front mounted engine!

Next Post: Harbin - Sun Island

Previous Post: Highlights of MU1544

Highlights of MU1544

2010-07-21T23:52:00.017+08:00

Mention Northeast China, and the first impression that pops into the minds of most would be colourfully lit ice sculptures in Harbin in a winter fairytale setting. Thus, it was not hard to imagine the surprised reactions from my friends when they had learnt of my intention to visit the region in summer instead.

Also commonly known as Manchuria to the west, this region is actually made up of 3 provinces (Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning) in the northeastern part of China. The proximity of this region to neighbouring Russia, Japan and North Korea has a huge influence on the culture, architecture and cuisine in the different northeast cities. Jilin province is also home to one of China's greatest mountains, Changbaishan which is a sacred mountain to the Manchu people (which had ruled China as the Qing dynasty), as well as being a natural treasure trove of flora and fauna. However, Changbaishan is only open for tourists to visit for just over 5 months a year from end April to September due to heavy snowfall, thus my decision to visit in the summer season instead.

MU1544 Singapore to Shanghai-Pudong
Operated as MU544
Date: Wednesday, 23 Jun 10
Aircraft: B-2330, Airbus A300-605R
Seat: 21A
Departure Gate: A11

Scheduled Departure Time: 0055 LT
Actual Departure Time: 0058 LT

Scheduled Arrival Time: 0550 LT
Actual Arrival Time: 0622 LT
Arrival Gate: 25

Check In

China Eastern Airlines is one of the first airlines to utilise the new Terminal 3 for all their flights, and has a dedicated check-in row at row 5. The group check-in was carried out quickly as there were only 2 tour groups travelling on this flight today, as the baggage only need to be tagged to the boarding passes which had been issued earlier. This was also one of the rare occassions where the group check-in queue was far shorter as compared to the long and snaking common check-in queue for the other passengers besides us.

We were issued boarding passes for both sectors, which includes the onward domestic sector from Shanghai-Pudong to Harbin. Our baggage were also tagged with an additional special pink 'TransChina Service' bagagge tag, and a red marker was also used to draw across the barcode on the printed baggage label. Passengers were also given a red sticker to paste on their clothing for easy identification by the airport staff at both the transit and destination airport.

About the 'TransChina Service'

The 'TransChina Service' is an initiative by some of the major Chinese carriers such as China Eastern and China Southern to help reduce the hassle when transiting en route to another destination in China. This means that passengers need not reclaim their luggage when arriving at the transiting airport as it would be automatically forwarded to their connecting flight, thus saving the need to check-in again during transit. Such flights are sold as similar flight codes for the same flight. The confusing relationship between the different flights is clarified in the list below (using my flight as an example).

MU 544 -> Singapore to Shanghai-Pudong
MU1544 -> Singapore to Harbin via Shanghai-Pudong
MU3544 -> Singapore to Shenyang via Shanghai-Pudong
MU9544 -> Singapore to Dalian via Shanghai-Pudong

Thus, passengers travelling to Harbin, Shenyang and Dalian will take the same flight to Shanghai-Pudong before transferring to another aircraft to their final destination.

After breezing through Singapore immigration by using the automated channels, I headed to Terminal 1 to check out the ongoing renovations to Changi Airport's first terminal. Costing S$500 million and expected to be completed by 2011, the most extensive facelift yet will see the aged 1980s era facade being remodelled under the theme of a 'Tropical City'. The departure area will also feature open, airy spaces such as those in Terminal 3.

One of the last original signs directing arriving passengers towards the immigration and baggage claim area. Apart from the 4 official languages, it also includes German, Japanese and French. I wonder if these signs would be preserved somewhere as part of the overall decor, but I think that it would probably be replaced by new and more modern looking signs instead.

From the airside, the bright, airy open spaces which travellers love at Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 was a welcome change from the claustrophobic low ceilings at Terminal 1 prior to the current renovation. The space beneath the landside viewing mall housed additional retail shops as well as rest areas.

With the current world cup fever gripping the world by storm, Changi Airport had also thoughtfully provided viewing areas at each of the 3 terminals with live matches on widescreen LCDs sponsored by Sony.

Changi Airport Group is agressively advertising their current promotion "Be a Changi Millionaire" with huge billboards placed around the airport and full body bus advertisments.

Singapore Airlines A380 9V-SKB after push back and about to taxi for departure to Tokyo Narita as SQ638.

Gate A11 where my flight would be boarding from.

I was disappointed to note that an Airbus A300-600R would be operating my flight after clearing security. It came as an unexpected and unpleasant surprise to note that China Eastern had swapped the equipment for all their flights to an AB6 a week before my departure as the original A343 and A330 were re-deployed to other routes. I had never heard any good comments about MU's AB6s, and was frequently told that it was worse than the AB6s which were operated by Thai Airways, of which I was not impressed on my flights on them.

To further rub salt into my wound, I noted that the flight was to be operated by B-2330, which is a very regular visitor to Singapore. The aircraft was photographed operating the afternoon flight MU567 from Shanghai-Pudong.

The Flight

The standard sealed blanket and pillow was offered in each seat, and I have to give credit that the legroom is very generous with a 34" pitch, which came as a huge surprise as most Chinese carriers tend to fit in more seats at the expense of additional legroom. This meant that I was able to comfortably cross my legs and stretch out without accidentally hitting the seatback in front of me. A pair of headphones in a sealed bag, safety card, airsickness bag and their inflight magazine "Connections" completed the complement of items in the bulging seat pocket. Unfortunately, photography was terrible from most windows as the windows were full of deep scratches.

Boarding was completed on time and we pushed back from the gate as the twin General Electric engines were started. The safety demonstration was performed manually by the cabin crew as the video and audio system was not functioning. We made a quick taxi out to runway 20C for an immediate takeoff.

Soon after the fasten seatbelt signs were switched off, the cabin crew started to serve drinks and a hot towel to the passengers. Following which, dinner was quickly and efficiently served to the passengers. Passengers were first handed a neat plastic tray with a foldable clear lid which contained the cold dishes, while a flight steward made several rounds to the galley to retrieve the hot meal trays for the more popular choice.

A choice of dim sum with noodle or fish with rice was offered, and the former choice did not disappoint as the 2 "siew mai" were succulent and tasty. The noodle was also well cooked and not overly salty. The fruit tray consists of 2 grapes, as well a slice of watermelon, pineapple and papaya. The grapes had seeds in them, which was surprising as most of the flights which I had been on served seedless grapes. The pineapple was a repeat of my United flight last December as it was unbelievably sour and left a sharp tangy aftertate. The apricot yoghurt provided a nice dessert to end off the meal and served to neutralise the damage caused by the slice of pineapple. The cabin crew also came around with a choice of buns or croissants from a basket, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had even bothered to warm them in the oven.

The trays were quickly cleared so that passengers could catch some sleep on this overnight flight, and another round of drinks was offered. With no audio or video programming available, I turned to my MP3 player to provide some entertainment and had a fitful sleep as the cabin was extremely warm and stuffy even as the airconditioning vents were wide open.

According to the fleet description page in the inflight magazine, the airline boasts of their AB6 fleet having the widest cabin and lowest cabin noise among other aircraft in its class, as well as being the world's first aircraft to be operated by only 2 cockpit crew with digital instrumentation. It was also enthusing to note that the airline translates "Airbus" differently into Chinese as compared to the usual translation.

View of the economy class cabin on China Eastern's A300-600R.

The descent was a turbulent one as we went through thick layers of cloud. At 0550hrs, passengers were informed in both Chinese and English that the captain had decided to attempt an approach into Shanghai Hongqiao airport instead due to poor weather conditions at Pudong. There were audible groans throughout the cabin as many passengers were on transit to other flights, and the cabin crew were immediately swarmed with questions. We were told that an airline representative would be on hand to meet the flight at Hongqiao to help with our onward travel arrangements.

As the flaps were fully extended in preparation for a final approach into Shanghai Hongqiao, the cockpit crew applied power and executed an aborted approach. The cabin crew later informed passengers that the captain decided to try for an approach into Pudong instead due to improving weather conditions.

It was obvious that the airport was shrouded in fog as we made our final approach onto runway 17L, and I steeled myself for the signature hard landing which the AB6 is notorious for. The aircraft shot past the piano keys and crew firmly put down the aircraft onto the runway and applied very hard braking with thrust reversers and spoilers deployed. When the aircraft finally stopped and the crew gingerly taxiied the aircraft forward, the piano keys on the opposite end of the runway could be seen, which showed how close the aircraft was to the overrun zone. We stayed motionless for the next 5mins, with the fog being so dense that much of the aircraft wing was obscured from the windows. I later found out from weatherunderground that the visibility was only between 0.1-0.6km at the time of landing, which would be just within the limits for a CAT IIA approach.

We made a very slow taxi out of the runway as visibility improved to our gate at Terminal 1. The airport control tower was barely visible (apologies for the scratched window pane).

After disembarking the aircraft, we went to the transit counter to obtain the gate for our onward domestic flight and cleared immigration quickly as our flight was the only arrival at the time.

Various transport options from Shanghai Pudong. This includes the Maglev train, normal subway line and the airport express bus to Shanghai Hongqiao.

MU1544 Shanghai-Pudong to Harbin
Operated as MU5613

Date: Wednesday, 23 Jun 10
Sector: Shanghai-Pudong (PVG) -> Harbin Taiping (HRB)
Aircraft: B-6601, A320-200
Seat: 25F
Departure Gate: 15

Scheduled Departure Time: 0910 LT
Actual Departure Time: 0900 LT

Scheduled Arrival Time: 1150 LT
Actual Arrival Time: 1152 LT

With our pre-issued boarding passes for the onward domestic sector as part of the 'TransChina Service', we were able to bypass the long queues at the common check-in counter for China Eastern's domestic flight on the departure level. The architecture of the terminal building with the exposed supporting structures is rather unique.

Spotting at Shanghai-Pudong

Shanghai-Pudong has an interesting layout where the waiting areas for the gates are on the upper level, and passengers have to descend via escalator to board to the aircraft on the lower level. This also meant that the outer pane of glass is of some distance away from the waiting area, and thus prone to reflection from the terminal lighting fixtures. Fortunately, it was possible to obtain some passable shots by sitting down on the floor and choosing the appropriate window to elimate the reflections.

Apart from essential amenities such as clean toilets, there was little variety for duty free shopping and very few food choices as well. There is an automatic drinking water dispenser for cold and warm water which the authorities claimed to be 'sterilised on a regular basis'. However, there is a distinct weird taste to the water. Free Wi-Fi was available throughout the terminal, but I could not get past the home page of the airport on my Nokia E66.

Slightly tinted glass, fog and smog had posed significant challenges in getting decent photos of the movements during my 2 hour transit in the terminal. Nevertheless, some subjects were too interesting to resist for a record shot, such as this Yangtze River Express B747-400BCF B-2435.

The morning movements were dominated by Spring Airlines and Juneyao Airlines A320 series aircraft as their extensive operations are centered at Pudong. Juneyao Airlines A320 B-6338 taxiies out for departure and sports a severely blackened tail cone.

A familiar sight at a foreign airport. Singapore Airlines B772 9V-SQK returning home as SQ827.

Great Wall Airlines B747-400F B-2428 being towed from the remote stand to the cargo apron for her flight. B-2428 was leased from Singapore Airlines Cargo and was formerly 9V-SFE.

For the bus enthusiast in me, Shanghai-Pudong airport also kept me occupied with a constant stream of apron buses from the different airlines. These buses ferried passengers from the main terminal building to their aircraft parked at the remote stands.

The Flight
Boarding commenced at about half an hour before the scheduled departure time. Our onward domestic sector would be operated as MU5613. In addition to our flight MU1544 as a 'TransChina Service' from Singapore, the flight is also sold as MU1548 from Bangkok under a similar arrangement.

Our flight would be operated by B-6601, which is one of the newer A320s operated by the airline. Delivered to the airline on 20 Oct 2009, this aircraft is fitted with IAE V2500 engines instead of CFM56-5 engines which power most of the other A320s in the fleet. China Eastern operates an impressive fleet of 88 A320 aircraft at the time of writing.

The well maintained interior features China Eastern's standard blue fabric economy seats in addition to two rows of business class seats.

The flight was about 80% full and our tour group were able to spread ourselves out comfortably in the last few rows of the cabin. The seat pitch was also adequate with the space saving slimline fabric seats. The flight stewardess stationed at the rear during the boarding was also exceptionally friendly and talked about her own travel experiences in northeast China when she learnt about our trip.

View from my seat at 25F with another company A332 parked besides us with the distinctive profile of the terminal building in the background.

We pushed back from the gate 10mins ahead of schedule and the safety video was played through the drop down LCD screens. Our aircraft took its place in the take-off queue and slowly taxiied past the busy cargo apron, allowing one to appreciate the variety of cargo operators which serve Shanghai-Pudong.

Jade Cargo B747-400ERF B-2423. This aircraft was leased to Jett8 Cargo of Singapore for a short period in 2008 and wore a Jett8 sticker on her fuselage. She was also often referred to as 'Jade8' by the local spotters when she was plying the Singapore-Bangalore-Malmo and Singapore-Hong Kong routes for Jett8.

Our aircraft trundled down the runway and made a late rotation with a heavy load of fuel carried for the 2hrs 40mins flight. The parallel runway 17R/35L could also be seen in the photo.

We quickly lifted clear of the fog and passengers were promptly handed a snack box and a choice of drink by the crew.

I had hoped for a hot meal on this sector,but the contents of the snack box was sufficient for a light breakfast. These included a bag of apple crisps, a bun which was coated with meat floss, a slice of cake and a packet of flavoured biscuits. A small container of mineral water was also provided in the box in addition to the drink offered by the cabin crew.

Inflight entertainment was in the form of a series of documentaries screened from the drop down screens. A sealed pair of headphones was also available in each seat pocket for passengers who wish to listen to the audio feed.

The documentaries proved to be of little interest to the bulk of the passengers and many dozed off for the remaining duration of the flight.

Overflying mountainous Jilin province. Jilin's geography is unusual as much of the northeast provinces consists of flat plains instead.

The fertile plains of the northeast are especially suitable for growing crops such as rice and wheat. In the past, the rice used in the imperial court are specially harvested from this province.

Although the airport is surrounded by flat plains, Harbin Taiping airport is infamous for its strong crosswinds, clear air turbulence, and wind shears near the ground. Our aircraft is constantly buffeted by strong winds as the crew make the spectacular right hand turn to line up with the runway. As a reward for putting up with the rough approach, passengers were treated to views of the meandering Songhua River and her many distributaries across lush green fields.

Neat farming plots adorn the landscape on the final approach to Harbin Taiping airport.

We made a firm touchdown onto the concrete runway and quickly vacated the runway towards the airport terminal. China Southern A320 B-6275 taxiies past the Harbin control tower towards the end of runway 23 for takeoff.

An Air China A319 B-6044 arrived shortly after our flight and was parked besides us at the terminal.

Our aircraft, B-6601 parked at the gate at Harbin Taiping airport.

We were directed by airport personnel to another corridor towards the baggage claim section for international arrivals to reclaim our luggage. This was to facilitate customs clearance as our check-in baggage had not been cleared during our transit at Pudong airport. We waited for 20 mins before our baggage appeared on the belt as the customs personnel searched for the key to unlock the doors at either end of the conveyor belt.

Our tour guide was already waiting for us when we exited into the arrivals concourse and we headed to the city proper for lunch before we started our guided tour.

Next Post: Harbin - City Impressions

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