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Stockholm > overnight train (25)> Copenhagen

September 15  7;15 arrive Copenhagen.
Copenhagen 14; 00 depart. 20;10 arrive Hamburg.
Hamburg 20;30 depart.

Photo by author, September 1968

Hamburg > Overnight Train (26)> Munich
September 16 7;15 arrive Munich. Goethe-Institut. Meet Mr. Akamatsu in Ulm.
Munich 21;30 depart.
Munich > overnight train (27)> Florence

September 17 Florence  

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
The cathedral is characterized by a huge dome.
It is representative of late Gothic and early Renaissance architecture in Italy and has become a symbol of Florence.
It was built over 140 years from 1296.

Photo by author, September 1968

Giotto’s bell tower is a Gothic bell tower located south of the Duomo (cathedral).
It’s about 85 meters high, and like the cathedral, it’s made of red, white and green marble, and it’s very chic.
Construction began in 1334 and was completed in 1359.

Photo by author, September 1968

Photo by author, September 1968

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore

Building on the banks of the Arno River.

Photo by author, September 1968

The statue of David is a sculpture by Michelangelo. It was started in 1501 and completed in 1504.

The original David statue was placed next to the main entrance of the town hall (Palazzo Vecchio) facing Piazza della Signoria. In order to avoid damage caused by riots and the deterioration of the marble due to wind and rain, it has been in the Florence Accademia Gallery since 1873.

A replica has been placed in front of the town hall where the statue of David was originally placed, since 1910.

Originally, this statue was planned to be placed on a high pedestal with its back to the wall in front of Palazzo Vecchio, so it is said that the upper body was enlarged so that when you look up at the statue from the bottom of the front, it appears to be a well-proportioned body.

Therefore, the central space of the hall of the Accademia Gallery, where this statue is exhibited, is said to be an inappropriate place that does not conform to Michelangelo’s intentions.

Statue of David in Piazza della Signoria,
Photo by author, September 1968

Statue of David in Piazza della Signoria

Florence> Overnight train (28)>Rome
September 18 9;30 arrive Rome. Baths of Caracalla, San / Pietro.　Rome 22;28 depart.

Rome > overnight train (29)> Munich
September 19 Ulm, Munich

September 20: Ulm → Heidenheim → Munich 20;10 depart
Munich > overnight train (30) > Paris

September 21 Paris
September 22 Paris
Paris > overnight train (31)> Zermatt

Zermatt, Lausanne⇒ Switzerland

From Lausanne, the train travels through scenic open areas along Lake Geneva, then follows the Rhône River into the mountains, passing through a series of painstakingly constructed tunnels and railway bridges before arriving at Zermatt.

The highest railway station in Japan is Nobeyama Station (about 1345m above sea level) on the JR Koumi Line. Zermatt is 1,620 m above sea level.

It is about 100 km from Lausanne to Zermatt. There are many gradients and curves, so it takes 3 hours, but the scenery is beautiful, so you won’t get bored.

Photo by author, September 1968

The Matterhorn (4,478m) can be seen in the distance through the mountain hut in Zermatt (1,620m above sea level)

September 23 Meeting with a professor from a Japan university in Zermatt.

Gasoline-powered vehicles are prohibited in Zermatt and the air is clean. Switzerland is the most expensive country in Europe. If you stay here in Zermatt and then take a cable car to the foot of the Matterhorn, you will definitely go over budget. I got the impression that most of the people staying here were wealthy.

Admire the famous Matterhorn from the hotel in Zermatt.
Photo by author, September 1968

Even though it was only September, something white was falling from the sky. Just a month ago, it was a siesta in the scorching heat of Andalusia, Spain, but here in Switzerland, it was already snowing.

Photo by author, September 1968

Zermatt > overnight train (32)> Rome
September 24 Rome Vatican City, Sistine Chapel, meeting two Japanese people and two Italian women, gentle conversation.

Rome > overnight train (33)>Ulm

I left my passport on the train seat.
I took a night train from Rome to Ulm, via Switzerland, where my best friend is studying abroad. There was a passport check on the train at the Italian-Swiss border.
It was already morning.
The scenery outside the train window was so beautiful that I got off at a station.
After I got off the train on the platform and the train had left, I realized that I had left my passport on the seat in the first-class compartment. Now this was a big deal.

I immediately run into the station master’s office. This station was a rural station with few passengers, so the station master listened carefully and responded.
First, he asked me which carriage I was in, and he seemed to be calling the conductor of the train and the stationmaster of the next stop.

After waiting for about 10 to 15 minutes as if to answer my prayers, I got a response.
The passport was found inside the train, and they handed it over to the stationmaster at the next station. That was the result!!
I wrote down the name of the station in my notebook, waited about an hour for the next train to arrive, and headed to the station where the passport was kept.
And after about two and a half hours, the Japanese passport was safely returned to my hands.

It was fortunate that this incident happened in Switzerland. What if it had happened in another European country?

International train routes from Rome across Switzerland to Ulm, Germany

September 25 Basel → Karlsruhe → Ulm

September 26 – September 29 Ulm?

September 30 Ulm

October 1 Hamburg (overnight)

October 2 Stockholm  Camping

October 3 Stockholm to Helsinki, Finland

October 4 – 7 Ulm?

October 9: Arrival in Rome

October 10 Rome

October 11 Rome → Florence.

October 12 from Florence.