Heading north: our coach driver tells his story
«My favourite trip is always the one I'm on right now,» says Urs. But his heart does beat a little for the north, especially Scandinavia. He recalls: «When I was twenty, I boarded a train in Chur and travelled as far as the train would take me – that was Narvik, far above the Arctic Circle. Back then, making a trip like that was still really crazy.»
Variety is the spice of life
He has always liked the north. In Sweden he is fascinated by the wonderful landscapes and the many small islands, many of which are uninhabited. The round trip «Sweden's Undiscovered Skerries» is mainly booked by travellers with an affinity for Sweden. Only during the pandemic were there exceptions, when the destination didn't matter so much, Urs says: «People just wanted to get away».
Urs began as a coach driver at Rottal, then spent ten years as a train driver at SBB, driving a coach part-time on the side. Eventually he moved into IT and is now an Engagement Manager at Swisscom. But he has always kept driving coaches: round trips are his passion. Besides the joy of driving, it is the variety that makes this job so special. «Every day you see something different,» says Urs.
For Sweden fans
His favourite trip calls at the fishing villages of the west coast and the Stockholm archipelago, among other places. The latter, with its roughly 30,000 islands, offers a magnificent panorama. City tours of Hamburg, Gothenburg and Stockholm are also on the itinerary.
The skerries tour is, among other things, and to a large extent, a boat trip. Urs remembers a tour on which only seafood was served on one boat – fortunately the chef prepared an alternative on request for the guests with allergies.
With composure
When travelling, it helps to be able to react spontaneously, as Urs has experienced a few times. The nice thing is seeing how calmly and understandingly the guests react to unavoidable changes of plan. In principle, Urs is the first point of contact for the welfare of the guests; tour guides join the group at specific points, for example on a city tour.
Another challenge is traffic in some destinations. Rome, a city particularly unpopular with coach drivers, was one Urs avoided until recently. Then a colleague took the time to go through all the difficulties that can arise on site in detail with him and gave him valuable tips – since then, Rome is no problem either. What's more: «Now I even like travelling there,» says Urs.
Here you can find the tour: Sweden's Undiscovered Skerries