Railway Dog

Koblenz to Lugano, a long day for a dog

All set to travel with rucsac, dog bed and food bag, at Koblenz railway station. Our Airbnb host’s son having given us a lift there 🩷

It’s 660km from Koblenz to Lugano, and according to Google maps faster by train than car. Baspie was an angel surviving the 8 hours 10 minutes of train journey, plus a further 20 mins on the suburban train. It was due to be 7:10, but we were delayed 90 minutes, then regained 30, by managing to change trains in Basel in three minutes, so having a shorter change over time. A long day. We won’t do one so long again unless overnight if we can avoid it.

Baspie dog snuggles in his Nestbedz on the first train floor.
If you can’t find the plug socket on Germany and Swiss trains, try under the arm rest.
A man and his son enjoy the sights on the beautiful journey south down the Rhine from Koblenz. There’s a train line on each side, the one to Basel goes down the West side. This one was delayed 90 minutes in Frieberg.

Between trains Jasper took pees on the platforms. I tried to get him to do one on the platform at Frieberg when we were stuck there in the train, but as I didn’t walk along the platform away from the door, he didn’t get the vibe. Thank goodness he’d managed a couple of number 2s on our walk before the journey.

On the train from Basel to Lugano, there was a flip up seat, so until the train filled up later, Baspie could snuggle where in that space next to me.
One of the lovely views on the way across Switzerland

As the train became full to bursting, Baspie dog got wedged under my seat.

Having a bed for Baspie dog really helped with getting him to be comfortable on the floor and even under my seat. In fact the Ticinese conductor said the bed counted as a carrier, so he didn’t need a dog ticket. So I applied for a refund of the one I’d bought online at SBB.

In train info on Swiss trains is great.
This is the view just outside Lugano station, from the walkways down to the suburban line, which takes you to the campsite in 20 minutes.

The campsite supplies a Ticino Pass free to guests, which gives free local public transport. It never got checked, I guess because hardly anyone has to pay. There are many buses and a suburban train network. This local train got us to 5 minutes’ walk from the lakeside campsite. It was great to arrive, just in time to set up camp and explore a little before and after dark.

sophiefp

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