Sasso San Gottardo - what an adventure!

What an absolute RIDE that was. I can’t believe that I actually did this.

Jul 29, 2023

Let’s start at the beginning. I left Aarau at 6.50 on my favorite connection south towards Arth-Goldau, changed onto the train to Göschenen, on to Andermatt on a different train and then the bus (Postauto) up to the Gotthard Pass. It’s very special to know that I walked much of that route. I could see where I had walked. I saw where I stopped to take a picture, I saw where I stopped to catch my breath on steeper parts and where I cursed loudly because “there is a bus and a train what the fcuk are you doing?”. It all came back to me. Good and bad. Mostly good though.

What surprised me was the bus ride from Andermatt up to the Gotthard Pass. How did that take me so long? I mean it looked super easy. You can see pretty much the entire hiking route from the road. That stretch that nearly broke me looked like an easy stroll and didn’t look half as long and strenuous as I remembered it. That felt a bit weird. Other than that, I felt really proud of having achieved this. Watch the video with a map and pictures here.

I arrived on the pass right on schedule at 9.33 or possibly a bit earlier. I started walking towards Sasso San Gottardo right away. It’s a fortification inside the mountain. There are guided tours, or you can go in on your own. The self-guided tour takes about two hours and it’s absolutely amazing. The guided tour is longer (website for more info) and includes 600 steps. I got to the entrance after a short stroll from the bus stop and was allowed in 10 minutes before opening. There is a long tunnel that takes you to the first kind of hall that is dedicated to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, on you go to an area with a short introduction to the myth of San Gottardo. It had a model of the tunnels and rooms inside. I only took a quick look and moved on.

Next was a little bistro that offered military chocolate and biscuits. They also had coffee, other snacks and books. There was an Italian-speaking group waiting at the entrance to the historic fortification and I joined them. We were given instructions in Italian, and I was able to follow them without a problem. I only had one little question about the metro. I wasn’t sure that I’d understood it correctly. As the member of staff had warned us, there was a never-ending tunnel or at least what seemed like one. It went slightly uphill and as I’m really not great in tunnels I made sure I took my time. I did lose sight of my Swiss Italian friends at some point. At the end of these tunnels, we were greeted by the metro driver. He again gave instructions in Italian, and I understood them all. Proud moment.

Tunnels and doors that you were meant to go through.

What he told us was that this was the highest metro in Europe – or was it the world? Can’t remember. And I will have to look up the term metro. It was not what I pictured at all. Anyway, it was more like a funicular, and we all got on at a squeeze. Standing room only and it went incredibly fast. I was amazed. At the top our metro driver/guide told us about the three different tunnels that went off in as many directions. First there were dorms with 40 beds, sergeants’ and officers’ sleeping quarters and respective canteens as well.

I could have watched a film on the entire fortification, but knew I wasn’t going to be able to sit still inside a mountain for 20 minutes. I was starting to feel a bit restless. I walked back towards the metro. I had asked the metro operator if there was a timetable before we all walked off. He had mentioned that there would be a bell when the metro arrives and that’s how we’d know (there was also a timetable – like every 15 minutes or something like that). I had just heard the bell and he thought I was already ready to go back down. I wasn’t. I did tell him that I was not really comfortable in tunnels or other enclosed spaces and that I was just gonna take my time. His reaction was incredible – well, incredible to me who had always been laughed at when I mentioned being claustrophobic. He was so encouraging and told me that I was in what was quite possibly the safest place in Switzerland and that I was not very far from a terrace that I could just walk out onto to take a deep breath if I needed to. I felt instantly a lot calmer.

Still not too keen on all the tunnels, but more confident. I explored the entire thing, took many pictures, took a big breath out on the terrace, and made it back on the metro all happy.

Can’t leave you without pictures of the metro.

I thanked the metro operator, tackled the longest tunnel ever, bought a book (don’t act surprised!) and a booklet (again no surprise there) and walked out of there with the biggest smile on my face. I freaking did it! Incredibly proud of myself.

I got some food and had timed it perfectly to get on the 12.25 bus down the other side to Airolo. The bus route and the route I had walked only intersected once or twice. So, I only saw parts of the route I had walked down. Surprisingly, I felt immense pride at having walked down all the way. It was so steep and long. And the number of Dutch drivers was insane. I guess they wanted to drive on a mountain road since the don’t have any. The bus driver remained a lot calmer than I would have been. But hey, that’s probably why I’m not a bus driver. Watch the video here and please note that there is a tunnel between Airolo and Göschenen the train doesn’t just go across the top of the mountains. It’s not a cograil train.

I’m about to arrive back in Arth-Goldau now. I got on this train at 12:58 and will stay on it until 15.28 (that’s 3.28 PM). Perfect for writing. Also, I’m back to being a public transport pro so I scored a seat with a table. I will finish this newsletter by adding some pictures when I get home and there will be another one on the Sasso San Gottardo once I’ve read the booklet and can tell you more about its function in WWII. I read about it but was more focused on the experience and on not panicking.

Stay tuned and thanks for following along.