Monday 30 May 2011

Swiss trains - one step up from poems on the underground

One of the great thing about travelling on Swiss trains is that an ignoramous like me gets to learn a little more about Swiss culture each time. Yesterday I was in the Denis de Rougemont train from Geneva to Basel. You can find the full list of the political, philosophical and literary folk who are celebrated on Swiss trains here, spot how few women are on the list.
The carriages have different quotations from the person the train is named for and these serve to provoke thoughts, perhaps calm folk down or irritate them as they let the train take the strain.
Anyway I hope that on the way back I'll be on the Albert Einstein. I've promised myself that I shall walk through the carriages and note down the different quotations.
Next I think I want Geneva's buses to start carrying quotes or poems. These are simple things but they add to the travelling experience, for someone who knows almost nothing about Switzerland they also help widen my rather narrow cultural horizons.

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