So, first day proper, the sun's shining, and the forecast is warm to hot. After muesli, tea, bread and an attempted conversation with an enormous Austrian, whose German was nearly unintelligible to me, it was time to gather up the necessary equipment - general map, cameras, three water bottles, hat, sturdy shoes and waterproof+umbrella (unused):

Göschenen sits at almost the same altitude (1111m, 3645ft asl) as the summit of Snowdon (1085m, 3560ft), and today's "stroll" just goes up and up, then up some more. From above the station, a Gotthard route stopping train and the MGB train up the Schöllenenschlucht (Schöllenen gorge) to Andermatt, whose route I followed for the first part of the day. On the right, you can see the former car shuttle loading platform used before the Gotthard road tunnel opened.

A little further up, you can see another MGB train in the gorge, as well as the Häderlisbrücke of 1649, rebuilt 1991 after a storm. This is part of the old Gotthard pass route, now bypassed by the road and rail tunnels.

Turning round, the view up the gorge is daunting, with avalanche shelters for road and rail:

A slow plod upwards in the heat eventually brings you to the Teufelsbrücke (Devil's Bridge). How many difficult bridges around the world have a myth about a pact with the devil? The new bridge is the high one in the first photo, while the old is seen in the second photo (taken from the train on the way down). The MGB line goes straight into a tunnel in the rockface:

Also an MGB train creeping down the gradient:

Onwards over the avalanche shelter and into Andermatt (1444m, 4738ft asl) for a well-earned elevenses (or zweites Frühstück - second breakfast - as it's known in these parts). The view up the hill to Nätschen, with another MGB train perched on a ledge:

Then it's refill the bottles, and onwards and upwards. Here, some views from the edge of town, one along the valley towards Hospental and Realp, with a Glacier Express, and another up towards Nätschen:

More climbing gives some spectacular views, as well as a Swiss Tourist Board cow, specially scrubbed for visitors to photograph:

Then above Nätschen (pause for ice cream), it's less steep up towards Oberalppass. However, there are still substantial chunks of snow on the ground above about 1900m, especially in the gullies on the north-facing slopes. Had to detour round some, as I didn't fancy falling through into the icy stream you could hear below the snow:

Once at the Oberalpsee, it's flatter, although the snow mixed with mud that's come off the avalanche shelter made for hard going. The lake was still about 50% ice, this in early June with 25+ degrees C, sun cream and hat required:

And finally a stop at the pass (2044m, 6706ft), with Apfelstrudel and ice cream in the restaurant, surrounded by Sunday motorcyclists enjoying the road. The ever-reliable MGB (Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn, not the British sports car) provided the return transport:

...with a bonus grandstand view of Andermatt station on the way back down:

Phew. Not very far if you look at the map (about 10 miles according to Google), but a good old climb that took all day with plenty of photo stops. The way the road and railway intertwine as they curve to and fro up from Andermatt is something to behold: I could watch it all day. In fact I did watch it for the 3 hours or so that it took me to climb from Andermatt to Nätschen.

Thank goodness the hotel was serving substantial evening meals and a nice dark beer, as the backup plan, the Co-op, was closed by now on Sundays.