How Switzerland Engineered the Perfect Country

I'm traveling through a tunnel right now on a train that's going 200 km an hour.

And above me, there's 2 1/2 km of pure rock. That's a mile and a half of

rock. That's a mile and a half of nothing but mountain. This tunnel is 57 km long. It's 35 m. It's the longest on

km long. It's 35 m. It's the longest on the planet.

A few months ago, I asked the people who run Switzerland's trains if they would let me spend a week doing nothing but living on their trains so I could stress test this world famous system to see how

hard I could push its limits. And they

gave me free rain. They gave me a ticket that allows me to go on any train, even first class, which I didn't really discover until halfway through my trip.

And in this moment, I'm in the middle of a race to see if I can step foot on all 26 Swiss regions or Cantons in under 24 hours, but only using public

transportation.

>> How you doing over there? And along the way, locals who responded to my call for stories on our community-driven journalism platform are going to help me on this challenge.

We have a new plan.

I'm an American who doesn't really understand trains. I'm embarrassed to

understand trains. I'm embarrassed to say my country is a country that loves cars. So, I'm here to try to understand

cars. So, I'm here to try to understand what they've built, how it works, how it's designed, what are the crazy engineering feats that they've done to make this system work. And most

importantly, what can we outside of this country learn from it all before my big speedrun through the country? My first item of business is to

country? My first item of business is to see if Swiss engineering is as extreme and rugged as I've heard. And to do that, I'll be starting the morning down here in the lowest part of the country

to discover if I can travel from these sunny lakes and palm trees all the way up to these massive peaks and glaciers by lunch. And to do that, only using

by lunch. And to do that, only using public transportation.

>> Let's see if I can do this. First, I'm

going to jump in the water.

>> The journey starts with one of these yellow buses that takes me to the closest train hub. I then ride the train through this dramatic ravine while working on the maps for this video.

Currently drowning in incredible old maps of Switzerland.

>> This pops me into Italy for a moment where I'm going to switch trains. I have

just enough time to grab an espresso.

>> The clocks are different.

Come on. Trains here.

Boom.

>> And suddenly I'm headed towards a wall of mountains.

Suddenly, we're going very fast in a straight line, and my ears are popping.

There's a whole mountain on top of us right now.

I've just left a valley of Italian speakers, and a few minutes later, I pop into this valley of French speakers. But

not for long. Boom. We're in another tunnel. Barreling straight forward

tunnel. Barreling straight forward again.

Here it goes. Oh yeah, we got mountains.

Mountains are growing.

>> And just like that, I'm in another valley, another train station. And my

mind is more blown than ever after visualizing those mountains. Again, it's

also quiet. No one announcing that, hey, we're under the Alps right now. It just

happens. It's smooth. It's quiet. And

then you just arrive.

I'm off to a good start. I'm here at the foot of the Alps, but I haven't gained much elevation. That's what I'll need to

much elevation. That's what I'll need to do next. Start moving up. But first,

do next. Start moving up. But first,

after going under these mountains, you can't help but wonder why. What drove

these people to dig these impossible tunnels for their trains?

Switzerland's Alps divide this place into pieces that logically would never hold tightly together. You've got German speakers on one side, Italian speakers on another. You've got a French side

on another. You've got a French side over here and people who speak an old language called Roman. You've got

Protestant versus Catholics, mountain people versus plains people. Lots of

alliances and cooperation here, but it was never one thing. Then there was that one time when Napoleon was taking over Europe and he drew a line around all these people tried to get them to unify

under one government which they deeply resisted. The people here wanted to be

resisted. The people here wanted to be neutral but armed independent even from each other.

Napoleon goes on to overstretch himself and lose all of this land including Switzerland. So, the empires get

Switzerland. So, the empires get together and consider slicing this all up between them, but instead accept Switzerland's proposal. They like having

Switzerland's proposal. They like having this neutral political cushion between them, a buffer zone that would prevent them from going to war with each other.

So, the people here survive. They have

these borders and a name. But now begins the impossible task of uniting this diverse mix of people and geography

after centuries of fierce independence.

Should they have a more powerful central government or stay really scattered?

They fight a war about this and the stronger central government people win and they write a constitution for this new central government.

Now, meanwhile, in the rest of Europe, trains are trending, but Switzerland is way behind on this. They only have 40 kilometers of railroad at this point.

It's time for them to catch up.

Look at how fast this is all happening.

I mean, here's Europe in the 1880s. All

these black lines are railroad tracks.

And look, with a little help from British planners and some serious fervor from private companies racing for business, Switzerland suddenly has the densest rail system on the whole continent. This is 40 years after they

continent. This is 40 years after they established their new country. Now, to

be clear, it's all pretty chaotic and unorganized, but generally it's going pretty well. But wait, why aren't they

pretty well. But wait, why aren't they building any tracks over here?

This small, poor, politically fragile nation just hit the Alps. And the

private companies can't justify digging through all of this. So, this is where it ends. They're not going to keep

it ends. They're not going to keep going, are they? Oh, yep. There they go.

So, they dig and dig and dig and people die and lungs turn black, but they keep digging. So wait, why and how are they

digging. So wait, why and how are they doing this? Well, what happened is that

doing this? Well, what happened is that new central government stepped in. They

had jurisdiction over public transportation according to the constitution and they didn't want this rail bonanza to end. So they decided to subsidize these companies to start digging into the Alps to secure their

place in Europe. If they could dig a hole through the Alps, it would be a gamecher for trade in Europe, especially between these two big empires. And they

hoped instead of becoming a forgotten, inaccessible mountain kingdom, they could position themselves as the neutral trade hub capable of connecting Europe despite this huge wall of mountains.

They get Italy and Germany on board, both spiritually and financially, allowing them to do this very costly thing. So, it's the 1800s and this poor

thing. So, it's the 1800s and this poor cow farming country is learning to dig into the dark solid wall of granite, hoping that they won't hit an underground lake and trusting in math,

praying that this digging experiment will work to get them in on Europe's rail economy and turn their geography into diplomacy. And it works.

into diplomacy. And it works.

Scarcely 40 years after becoming an independent country, the workers emerge, having dug the longest tunnel on Earth,

their own Alpine Suez Canal, 15 km, 227 million Franks, 441 million man hours, and dozens of lives.

Frankfurt to Milan goes from days to hours. Trade skyrockets. The empires are

hours. Trade skyrockets. The empires are loving this. And Switzerland just

loving this. And Switzerland just discovered their thing.

Posters are made glorifying this tunnel as the connector of Europe. The

government rail company is finding its voice, designing some pretty sick logos in the process. And digging becomes the seeds of a national myth, something that can potentially unify these diverse

regions, religions, and geographies. And

instead of soldiers, the national heroes are engineers and workers. So they don't stop. Early 1900s, two more tunnels

stop. Early 1900s, two more tunnels under two more walls of Alps, uniting Italian speakers to a valley of French speakers and then magically into a

valley of German speakers. 93 months,

106 deaths, another world record.

Another epic poster mythologizing the ability to slash travel times between north and south. These are the tunnels that I just traveled through. And I now see that they aren't just tunnels. They

are one part of what helped make Switzerland a nation.

I've been putting the finishing touches on my plan for tomorrow where I'll try to hit all 26 cantonons in one day only using public transportation. But for the rest of today, I'm going to keep trying

to go up to see how rugged this system can get. So this next leg of the journey

can get. So this next leg of the journey enters into a region that has taken train infrastructure to a whole another level. And the reason they've been able

level. And the reason they've been able to do that is because of visitors.

First British visitors way long ago who came to Switzerland to witness the Alps.

That tourism industry brought demand for more trains that could go into crazier and crazier places which allowed them to invest even more into train infrastructure which brought more

tourists which brought better train infrastructure. So even though the

infrastructure. So even though the entire system is meant for locals and freight connect throughout the country and throughout Europe, some of the most

ambitious train projects exist so that visitors can witness the Alps. And from

here into these valleys I'm going into now, we're going to see what that looks like.

This these gondilas are massive. Like a

ski lift on steroids. Here we go. It's

>> so big in here.

In Grindlevald, I meet up with Nick, who grew up around here and is going to show me just how extreme this infrastructure can get.

>> Every village who had tourists wanted some kind of infrastructure to bring the people up. The British came here more

people up. The British came here more than 100 years ago, also for mountain climbing and for recovery from their air pollution.

On our ride, I couldn't help but show Nick some of my vintage maps.

>> Old tourism maps. This one's got some nice drawings, too. Some like classic old >> I think I have to scan.

>> Just >> We are going like 6 or 7 km up the mountain right now. Very surreal to think that I was just underneath these

mountains in a train and now I will be on top of them. in

>> we are very high 2300 m. All those green pastures have given way to rocky gray cliffs and astonishingly somehow we are

going to go even higher.

We're getting ready to board the train and Nick is showing me these majestic mountains, the ones those British tourists came all the way to see. and

he's filling me in on something that kind of blows my American mind.

>> By law, every village in Switzerland which has people living all year around, they have the right of public transportation. It can be a train, it

transportation. It can be a train, it can be a gondola, it can be a bus, whatever.

>> Okay, here comes our train. This will

take us on the next leg.

>> Now, up here, the trains are a little different. They're not just standard

different. They're not just standard wheels on a track. These have these teeth, these little notches that the train can grab onto, ensuring that

there's grip and something physical, like really holding them tight so they don't slip backwards. Seems low tech, but yet it's the way to do it. This is

what will take us up, even higher than we already are.

The train leaves the station and immediately enters a tunnel. But unlike

the other tunnels I've traveled through today, this one's going up. And then

like I'm like bending my knees here because we are at a really steep grade.

Like we are going up up up gaining so much altitude but inside of a mountain.

Don't really know how to like comprehend the physics here but we're moving up.

I've been moving up all day and I'm just still moving up incredibly.

>> It's a miracle. Technical miracle

because this composition has eight engines.

>> We're getting off. It's a lot cooler the air. So, we're in a train station in the

air. So, we're in a train station in the mountain.

>> We are now on the east side of the Aiger Mountain.

>> Wow.

Wow.

So as long as the glacier has enough nutrition, nutrition is the the snow, it can still survive. But we are getting less snow. 10,000 years ago, whole

less snow. 10,000 years ago, whole Switzerland was covered by ice.

>> The things change.

>> The things change and change quite quickly.

>> Yeah, they're changing very quickly. the

same.

>> Maybe in a 100 years the Alps won't have any glacier anymore.

And just when we thought this is as high as you could go, there's actually one final leg in all of this. We're going

higher, right? Like we're going 500 m higher.

>> Jeez.

The drivers let me take a gander.

>> We are now on the flat part and then at the end it goes up like this.

>> All right, I'm looking now just at the raw tunnel to bring people up to the top of this mountain. I can't imagine what this was like in the early 1900s when

people were coming up this astounding rail trip.

Whoa.

>> Falling back. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Nick's holding my back so I don't fall backwards.

>> End of the line. Here it is.

>> Thank you so much for everything.

Appreciate it. Oh,

>> this way. Okay.

>> We are now inside of the glacier.

And here comes the end of my first task before my big challenge today. I just wanted to see how remote,

today. I just wanted to see how remote, how rugged, how low to how high I could move in a day just using the public transportation system.

And I'd say we did pretty good.

Being up here, seeing the largest glacier in the Alps and an auspicious flyby by the Swiss Air Force, it all kind of came together for me.

These mountain trains and gondelas are dazzling. They allow us visitors to come

dazzling. They allow us visitors to come see the mountains. I'm grateful they exist. But I now see that the real magic

exist. But I now see that the real magic of this system is what's happening here.

a yellow bus snaking through a remote valley. A quiet set of tunnels that

valley. A quiet set of tunnels that connect the European continent while also embodying Switzerland's belief that mobility and connection are a right for their citizens. That no one should be

their citizens. That no one should be left unreachable, no matter how remote.

That takes vision.

It's time to descend and turn my mind to the big challenge I'll be taking on tomorrow, where I will attempt to step foot in all 26 Swiss regions or canton

in one day, only using public transportation.

One of my favorite things to do when I'm on these trips is to immerse myself in the visuals that I'm going to end up using for the story. the high-res old maps, the paths of all of the bus and

train lines, the mountains.

By the way, this is probably a good time to mention that this video is sponsored by Adobe. Sponsors have no editorial

by Adobe. Sponsors have no editorial influence on our stories and our journalism, but they do make our work possible. And in this case, I'm excited

possible. And in this case, I'm excited to be partnering with Adobe because it means I just get to quickly show you what I've been doing here in Switzerland on these trains. With the old maps, I

treat them in Photoshop, color correct them a little bit, get them ready to be animated. So, I've been in here looking

animated. So, I've been in here looking at the geo data that I got from the community. I've been prepping all of

community. I've been prepping all of that vector data in Illustrator. And

then, as soon as I can, it all moves into my natural habitat, After Effects.

The heart of every single visual we make is After Effects. When I discovered After Effects like a decade ago, my life changed forever. That's not an

changed forever. That's not an overstatement, by the way. It has

enabled me and now my team to make these videos. Here in After Effects, I do

videos. Here in After Effects, I do masks and mats to isolate the exact visuals I need to see and I want you to see. Trim paths to make these lines come

see. Trim paths to make these lines come to life. This is also where I do a lot

to life. This is also where I do a lot of 3D stuff. And even after all of these years of doing this, it never ceases to amaze me that I'm able to make

highquality visuals from here, from a train, or from anywhere in the world.

I've always been someone who's needed to interact with visuals in a frictionless way to really understand something.

That's always how I've processed information. I'm grateful for Adobe for

information. I'm grateful for Adobe for sponsoring today's video, supporting our journalism, but also for making tools that have made my career possible. Check

out Adobe and their huge array of different tools for creative work. Tools

that allow you to have an idea, to see something in your mind, and then quickly bring it to life. So, let's keep talking about trains, but if you have any other aspect of my process or visuals that you

want to hear about, let me know because I want to be doing more behind the scenes of how I use these tools to make my creativity come to life. Okay, I got to go catch a train.

I head back down into the valley and then as smooth as always onto another train, moving toward the other side of the country, easily snaking under the Alps again, ending up in this

French-speaking valley where I will begin the challenge bright and early tomorrow morning.

I'm going over my route, knowing that if I don't do it, then the video is not going to be very good. Luckily, I've got locals who are going to meet up with me.

And it's clear that the only way I'll be successful on this challenge is if everything works. Something invisible

everything works. Something invisible that operates under all of this infrastructure. But that is vital to

infrastructure. But that is vital to unifying every track and station and train and passenger in this system.

Take a look at this map. This is the system that I'll be using for my challenge. Every day, 8,000 trains run

challenge. Every day, 8,000 trains run here, carrying millions of passengers who ride these trains easily more than anyone else in Europe. And 93.2%

of these trains arrive on time, which is also the best in Europe. The whole thing is powered almost entirely by gravity, pulling water down from the mountains and making electricity that then makes

these trains move, emitting barely anything into the atmosphere. Kind of

feels like magic. But while all of this crazy infrastructure and tunnels and bridges all seem like magic, this was only actually half of the puzzle. For

most of its history, this system still had a big problem, which is that it was run by dozens and dozens of different private companies. Each train line had

private companies. Each train line had different timets. It was all connected

different timets. It was all connected but not unified in time. So in the 70s and 80s, they set about finalizing this great unification process. They created

something that turns out to be the only way I have any chance of completing my challenge. They turned this country into

challenge. They turned this country into a giant clock.

Here's how it works. The system is anchored around these major cities. The

big hubs are anchored to the top and bottom of the hour. All the action happens either at 0 or 30. 9:00, 9:30,

10:00, 10:30, every single hour.

Actually, here's where the magic happens. Just before and just after

happens. Just before and just after these anchors. I know this sounds

these anchors. I know this sounds confusing. Let me explain.

confusing. Let me explain.

Let's go to a big hub like the Zurich train station. Okay, we're looking at

train station. Okay, we're looking at the platforms and look, it's 9:50. We're

getting close to that anchor at the top of the hour. And here come the trains from all over the country. There's one

at 953. Here's another one at 9:54.

Another one at 9:55. 956. Two more at 9:57.

By 10:00, all the trains have arrived.

It's transfer time. Everybody here has a few minutes to change trains. It's a

decent amount of time, but not a ton because look, very soon after the top of the hour, the trains start to leave. At

10:02, that one heads off to burn. It's

10:03 and that one's heading off to Basel. There goes another one at 10:05

Basel. There goes another one at 10:05 headed towards the mountain tunnels, and it'll be in Milan in just a few hours, which would blow people's mind 100 years ago. Two more trains leave at 10:06 and

ago. Two more trains leave at 10:06 and another one at 10:08. By 10:10, all the trains are gone. Everyone has arrived, connected, and departed. The action is

over. It's quiet. That is until the

over. It's quiet. That is until the clock starts to approach the bottom of the hour. This is when the next pulse

the hour. This is when the next pulse starts. This happens not just at Zurich,

starts. This happens not just at Zurich, but at all of these hubs. As the clock approaches the top and bottom of the hour, trains come flooding in one by one. Then there's a brief moment of

one. Then there's a brief moment of stillness as the clock passes that top of the hour as people transfer. And then

suddenly they start departing in quick succession. This is called the takfar

succession. This is called the takfar plan. Literally means the timet that

plan. Literally means the timet that pulses like a drum or ticks like the gears in a watch consistently 30 minutes. This sounds simple but it's

minutes. This sounds simple but it's not. They've been optimizing this system

not. They've been optimizing this system to conform with the takfar plan. And

this has informed some decisions that feel kind of crazy at first like this route from Zurich to burn or burn to Basel. These are two pretty important

Basel. These are two pretty important routes. But for the train to get here to

routes. But for the train to get here to here took just over an hour, which means that the trains wouldn't be able to arrive right before the hour to make that pulse. So in 2004, they focused on

that pulse. So in 2004, they focused on making this part faster. Not that much faster, not turning it into a high-speed bullet train, but just fast enough to

make these trips just under an hour, allowing them to slip into the pulse.

So this is how they decide what improvements to make to their tracks.

anything that will make this country pulse more efficiently. And with these backbones in place, regional trains and local buses are timed up to arrive at the same point each hour so that they

can line up with the pulses of the big hubs. And the result is a super easy to

hubs. And the result is a super easy to remember set of timets. And more

impressively, the insane reality that for 77% of train trips in Switzerland, you never have to wait more than 10 minutes for a transfer. And that's

because this whole country ticks together, connecting everywhere to everywhere every 30 minutes forever.

It's challenge day and I got to admit I'm a little bit nervous.

Okay, let's go.

Today's goal is to step foot in all 26 cantonons before the day is over. I'm going to have to make a bunch of very specific transfers. Some of them very tight and

transfers. Some of them very tight and it may not happen. But boy, I'm going to try my best.

I'm starting my challenge here in the French-speaking Canton of Valet. So,

this is my first Canton.

25 to go. At least I got something for waking up at 5:00 in the morning.

>> I fall asleep and forget that my first local is meeting me bright and early on this first leg.

>> How you doing? Nice to meet you.

>> I can give you a crash course about the SP.

>> Please do here. This is really my commute optimized.

>> These are This is the deep This is the deep knowledge I need. As we approach Geneva, we have a very tight transfer and our train is actually a few minutes behind.

>> I don't know. We're gonna get that easy.

>> You think?

>> Yeah. Yeah.

>> Right now.

>> No.

>> Yep.

>> Missing the first train is not a great sign. We got to get back to the drawing

sign. We got to get back to the drawing board. Luckily, I now have help

board. Luckily, I now have help adjusting the schedule.

>> The good news is this is my opportunity to get caffeinated. again. Salvation by

caffeine. All right, we've revised the plan. We're getting on this train. Two

plan. We're getting on this train. Two

Cantons down.

All right, we made it another Canton.

Now we're headed to platform one. Got 2

minutes. Trying to make up time here.

Nice meeting you. Bye-bye.

I meet two more locals and we continue to refine the route to see how we can make up time. Okay,

>> you made it. Thank you so much for taking that. I really appreciate it.

taking that. I really appreciate it.

>> Okay, >> we've got a 1 minute to get over to the next platform. Going to be tight.

next platform. Going to be tight.

>> We made it. Nice work, guys. Four. Okay,

we're still a little bit behind. We've

had to pivot, but we're making it.

All right, that's burn.

Okay, we're doing it. We're doing it. My

brain is spinning. I'm feeling ready to keep taking on this challenge, showcasing what this system can do.

Bye-bye.

Okay, I'm updating the community on where I'm at. We're an hour behind, but I think we can make time up. We good?

We're good.

I just crossed into the canton of Jura Jura Jura. I'm going to pop off and then

Jura Jura. I'm going to pop off and then get back on this exact train and then on to the next check.

Boom.

Uh-oh. There's a problem. Construction.

So, I'm going to have to ride in one of these.

still an hour delayed.

>> Like clockwork.

>> Oh, and another little side note. I

didn't factor in time to eat and I didn't pack snacks or water.

>> Basel ES.

>> Basel Espe. That's where I'm headed.

This is a big station.

Your feet touching the ground.

Hey, how's it going?

>> Bad news. I missed

that little strip right there.

Missed it. I missed stepping my foot on that. But I'm still going to count it

that. But I'm still going to count it because we stopped at it. I just didn't step out of the train and step back on.

All right, onward and check off another one. Boom. Thanks

for coming.

>> So, we've got a luxurious 12 minutes.

>> Here we go. We're getting on. This is

going to be our tightest transfer of the day. Potentially impossible.

day. Potentially impossible.

>> Wo! This is a soda with real milk derivatives in it. I mean, we're in Switzerland. Have you seen the cows?

Switzerland. Have you seen the cows?

>> Of course, your soda is milk flavored.

We're technically clean in a new canton.

So, I'm going to go step my foot on the asphalt.

>> Boom.

Back on. We are about to do the most razor thin transfer. It's a 1 minute transfer. In fact, it might be

transfer. In fact, it might be impossible to go to the platform we need to. So, I've been toying around with

to. So, I've been toying around with going across the tracks, but I've been told by everyone I mentioned this to that it's a very bad idea. My loosey

goosey nature, it won't fly here in Switzerland, where things are a little more precise. All right, fellas. Let's

more precise. All right, fellas. Let's

>> see if we can make this transfer work.

>> There's only one other platform, right?

>> Yeah.

>> And I'm not running across the tracks.

>> No. No.

>> Okay. So, we're going to go down there stairs.

>> Okay. Here we go.

>> And let's go. Here we go.

>> Oh, stairs. Stairs. Stairs.

>> Oh, yeah. Over there. Okay.

>> Okay.

No. Take the stairs.

>> Stairs faster. miss this.

>> Oh, it's gone. We missed it. We're a

little bit more behind now. But hey, the bonus is that I get to look at the steepest cog rail train in the world coming down from Mount Pilatus.

>> Yeah, tell me about the clocks >> in the uh first versions of iOS.

>> I like those clocks so much.

>> He copied them. Maybe there was a lawsuit.

>> Yeah, there was a lawsuit. Wait,

Switzerland sue Steve Steve Steve Jobs or or Apple?

>> Here comes the train. It's going to be a 2-minute transfer in Lousern. And if I can run from platform 14 to 7, I'll actually be back on track.

>> All right, let's go. Let's go. Let's go.

Let's go. We did it. Thank you so much.

I really appreciate it. Bye-bye.

>> I made it.

Okay, here goes another one. And boom.

Like popcorn. Nice to meet you. Nice to

meet you.

>> Okay, that's another one.

Did it. Now we head south under the mountains.

Did you know? Boom. There's another one.

Okay, quick transfer to go the other way. We're going to go back up the way

way. We're going to go back up the way we just came back through the end of the tunnel.

As I'm traveling back through this amazing tunnel, I start to realize that even though I've hit more than half the canton, it's getting late. It's almost

5:00 p.m. and I still have all of these Cantons up here. This is a rural part of the country. It's hard to get to. The

the country. It's hard to get to. The

train service will start to thin out the later it gets. And I'm starting to realize that it's not going to work. And

not just me, but the group of locals that's with me in this moment are also coming to the same conclusion.

>> We're about to hit Zoo and Zurich. And

then I don't totally know what's going to happen.

>> Did you Are you guys solving this?

>> It's the night bus.

>> I can take the night bus and at 2:00 a.m.

a.m.

>> But you sleep on the bus at least.

>> I'll take a nap on the I'll do whatever.

>> I will stay up as late as it as necessary.

>> This is just another touch my feet to the ground type of stop. Admittedly, I'm

getting quite tired, but I got to get a second wind because this day is not over.

Zoo.

And we're back. So from 21103.

>> Oh my god.

>> We're pulling into Zurich in 5 minutes.

I still don't have the problem totally solved.

>> Go. We did not do shopous.

>> Ah, shop. I mean, listen, if we have to sacrifice one, I'm okay to sacrifice one.

>> What is all the way up there?

>> Yeah.

>> Come on. This feels so unsatisfying, though. It does feel very very

though. It does feel very very >> boom.

>> We've arrived to >> Thank you so much, man. This is great.

Best of luck.

>> Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Bye-bye.

it. Bye-bye.

>> Okay, with the help of Josh and Tom, we have a new plan. We're just going to forge into the unknown. And the most important thing is that we have to catch a train in the next 6 minutes. There is

Teddy Bear.

from we go to shop houses and then we go right back to >> So we have pivoted to do this other thing. We are going to go all the way up

thing. We are going to go all the way up to shopping way up the at the north and come back down into Kenton Zur.

Okay, right now we're just going to go up and knock out Shaenhausen and then figure out a route to hit all these others. And if we get all 26, it's going

others. And if we get all 26, it's going to be huge.

Shhen, the one that I thought we were going to have to sacrifice.

Boom.

>> I start going to school by bus >> at 12, but to visit grandparents maybe 6 or 7. You would go by yourself.

or 7. You would go by yourself.

>> I would go. Yeah.

>> When you were six.

>> I I guess to me it's normal. It's a

different world.

>> This is the freight train that's making us late.

>> Josh, do you want anything? I got my salad. We've got 2 minutes.

salad. We've got 2 minutes.

>> Oh no.

>> Um I have an extra fork, I think.

>> Do you? Yes.

>> Okay.

>> I'm 80% sure. Otherwise, next stop.

>> Okay.

>> Number 21. Oh,

I try.

>> Oh. Oh, good.

>> I'm losing another for you. You can you can >> I'm I am a mess.

>> Because when they started us building the railway lines 100 years ago, there wasn't like perfect system.

>> Yeah, >> I'm really tired. My brain is starting to not function super well. I've been up for a really long time. If I didn't have these locals with me, I would be pretty

worthless right now. But I got to do this now. I got to make it to the end.

this now. I got to make it to the end.

So close. I mean, we've already done 21 Cantons and I have to book a hotel. Got

to find somewhere to sleep tonight.

Hello. Good evening.

>> Yeah. Boom.

>> 22. Was that 22? 23? I don't remember what number we're at. Hey Joshua, you saved my bacon.

>> Thanks Joshua. Wow, these are different looking trains. This is nuts. Wow, we're

looking trains. This is nuts. Wow, we're

in the middle of the city. Step foot.

Boom.

All right, we're getting really close.

23.

Here we go. Boom. Number 24. Here we

are. Julian's helping me out here while my brain is shutting down. We've got two more Cantons to go, folks. I might have to run across a bridge into a field to get to the final ones, but I think I can

do that.

Look at that.

>> Really appreciate all all of your help.

>> Thank you so much, Julian.

And then there was one coming to the end of the road. Let's go.

I just need one more train after this.

And I got I got it in the bag and I thought it wasn't going to happen. Wow,

this is a pretty train.

>> Wait, no. Look at the map. That's the

canton I need to go into. And I'm right here. Where is this brick bridge?

here. Where is this brick bridge?

Here's the bridge. There's the station.

And if I cross this bridge, I will be in the canton of Glaus. Number 25. Here we

go. And

boom. Number 25.

I'm like delirious because I'm so tired, but I'm like getting like giddy. I'm one

canton away from this challenge. Let's

do this.

There's one last train coming at 1:00 in the morning that will take me to my final canton. There it is coming in in

final canton. There it is coming in in the distance. And here it is. My final

the distance. And here it is. My final

train. The final transfer. And look,

it's got a beastro car. This is a nice looking train. Let's do this.

looking train. Let's do this.

Set a timer for 1:32 a.m.

a.m.

206.

Oh, wait. Look at the math. I'm right

there and I need to step my foot right there. Looks like it's another bridge.

there. Looks like it's another bridge.

I am 100 meters away from completing the challenges and it's 1:40 in the morning.

I'm done with trains. Let's do this.

There it is. Just crossed the bridge and my feet are standing on the 26th Canton.

I made it.

It's over. I used public transportation to get to every single canton in a country that is full of some of the most

dramatic mountains and glaciers in the world. From tiny little canton to big

world. From tiny little canton to big ones to mountains and flat to rivers and valleys, this system brought me everywhere

in one day. I did it one day, less than 24 hours. There was a few little tiny

24 hours. There was a few little tiny delays, but boy, the thing worked like, as I said multiple times during the day, clockwork. And I am feeling a sense of

clockwork. And I am feeling a sense of marvel and wonder and awe and inspiration at what these people have built in their country. Freedom in my

country is cars and parking lots and individual autonomy to go where you want. But when man, when you are under

want. But when man, when you are under the Alps and you can seamlessly go in between big cities and small villages so easily and so pleasantly, that kind of feels like freedom, too. I'm also

thinking about how impressed I am with everyone who showed up. I put a call out to locals to help me out this story and then I invited them to join me on the train ride and they joined me in my

curiosity in my appreciation. They

supported me in this challenge. The

locals who joined me made this whole thing possible truly like all those moments in the train where they were like helping me figure out the alternative routes all while showing me and teaching me about what it means to

be a participant in this public transportation system. It truly was the

transportation system. It truly was the best of what I want journalism to be.

Driven by the perspectives of the people who are affected by the stories we tell.

That's what I love and today was a beautiful shining example of it. So 26

cantonons in a day through public transportation. I'm feeling grateful and

transportation. I'm feeling grateful and incredibly tired. Luckily I booked a

incredibly tired. Luckily I booked a hotel up the hill. I'm going to go walk to it and see if they'll let me in even though it's almost 2:00 in the morning.

And with that, good night.