24 in 19: A Restless Man's Ride Through Switzerland
Over the last ten years or so, I’ve noticed something changing in me. I seem to be drawn towards physical challenges, not the life-threatening kind, but the slightly diluted-adrenaline junkie stuff, the sort that test only my body, my mind and my ability to keep going. Alongside that has come an urge to travel differently, take small risks, write for the sheer joy of it, create plans that actually work and even dream about building simple apps that solve everyday problems. Perhaps these are things I wish I had discovered much earlier in life.
Another thing I enjoy is learning something new and then sharing it with others. If it inspires someone else to give it a try, wonderful. If not, that’s perfectly fine too. Equally, I have no hesitation in borrowing someone else’s good idea, understanding how they did it and then experiencing it for myself.
One thing, however, has become abundantly clear. I don’t enjoy sitting in one place watching life unfold. It simply doesn’t suit me.
Instead, I find myself looking for those obscure little adventures that very few people know about and even fewer attempt. They may seem slightly foolish to many people.
To me, they sound irresistible.
A couple of weeks back, I watched Johnny Harris’s brilliant YouTube documentary, How Switzerland Engineered the Perfect Country (Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMbV1rIPhCg) Being our fourth visit to Switzerland in as many years, I thought I knew the country reasonably well.
I was wrong.
The film explained things I had simply taken for granted. Why are Swiss trains almost always on time? How can changing trains every few minutes feel so effortless? Why does the entire transport system work with such astonishing precision?
Then, almost casually, the video mentioned a challenge.
That was enough.
The curious, slightly crazy part of my brain was hooked instantly.
A whole day in Swiss trains is what I spent. I was far away from home, in a foreign country, with just a Saver Day Pass, a Multi-currency Forex card with Swiss Francs loaded in it, a smile, the word Bonjour and Guten Tag committed to memory and a meticulously planned timetable that depended on dozens of trains arriving exactly when they were supposed to. There were moments the whole thing nearly came apart but people or technology came to the rescue.
The journey itself was unforgettable. It took me through rolling countryside dotted with grazing cows, the quaint stations, the lovely sloped roofs of large houses nestled against the hillsides, that all seemed lifted from picture postcards. I crossed the Jura mountain ranges, skirted the Alps and raced through countless tunnels along the way. I watched lakes and rivers shimmer beside bustling cities and sleepy little towns.
At one point I travelled at 230 km/h aboard a EuroCity train heading towards Bellinzona.
Later that same day, on the Appenzell Railway, I was travelling at barely 30 km/h, pressing a “Stop on Request” button so the train would halt at the tiny village of Gonten.
From high-speed engineering marvels to leisurely mountain railways, it was a masterclass in precision, efficiency and thoughtful design. But more than the trains, what impressed me most were the people behind the system.
At 11.37 pm, on 17th July 2026, I stepped out of train in the station of Neuchatel. Exhausted. Happy. But satisfied. I had completed visiting all 26 cantons of Switzerland at last. “That doesn’t sound particularly extraordinary,” you might say.
Fair enough. Here’s the missing piece.
Twenty-four of those twenty-six cantons had been covered during the previous nineteen hours as part of one continuous railway challenge.
Now that sounds a little different, doesn’t it?
This series of blogs is the story of that day. And more. The planning. The mistakes. The close calls. The trains. The stunning scenery. The remarkable people I met. My journey, with my personal experiences along the way. And above all, how one very long day on Swiss trains left me with an even deeper admiration for what may well be one of the finest railway systems in the world.
So join me on this ride.
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