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These luxurious $500 seats on an iconic train through the Swiss Alps always sell out as demand for high-end trains booms

Glacier Express train going past mountains, fields
The Glacier Express' highest-tier Excellence Class seats are in high demand amid a boom in luxury train travel.

©Glacier Express

  • Wealthy travelers are increasingly seeking luxury train trips.
  • The Glacier Express' luxurious Excellence Class seats are often the first on the train to sell out.
  • A ticket for the eight-hour journey through the Swiss Alps costs about $540, ten times the basic fare.

Glacier Express' Excellence Class seats could turn any miserable 8 a.m. train commuter into Francis Bourgeois.

That is if you can afford it.

A ticket for the plush eight-hour journey through the picturesque Swiss Alps costs about $540, tenfold the price of the train's basic fare. However, the sweet seats may be worth the cost.

The Glacier Express operates one of the most beautiful train trips in the world. Plus, they come with trendy bragging rights — these seats have become a hot commodity.

Frank Marini, president and CEO of Railbookers Group, told BI that his train-focused tour company saw a 68% spike in luxury bookings from 2023 to 2024.
glacier express train going by mountains, flowers, lake
The Glacier Express' full route runs between Switzerland's St. Moritz and Zermatt, although travelers in first and second-class seats can book shorter segments.

©Glacier Express

"It keeps snowballing," Marini said. "We see passengers that have come back traveling with us on a lot of luxury rail, and they're like, 'well, where else is there luxury rail?'"

The answer? Around the world and especially in Switzerland, which has become "immensely popular" for luxe train experiences, Andrew Channell, Railbookers' senior vice president of product and operations, told BI, adding that it's one of his favorite destinations.

In the Swiss Alps, you'll find a particularly popular pick — the Glacier Express.
Glacier Express train going on a bridge
The Glacier Express has second-class, first-class, and Excellence Class seats.

©Glacier Express

The iconic train brings guests on an eight-hour journey between the resort town of St. Moritz and the base of the iconic Matterhorn in Zermatt.

Along the way, travelers pass through 91 tunnels and 291 bridges, providing a picturesque peek at the snow-capped peaks, majestic gorges, and popular tourist towns.

With views like these — and a fortuitously ongoing rise in "coolcations" — it's no surprise that the train is often sold out, a company spokesperson told BI in an email.

Demand for the Glacier Express' top-tier Excellence Class seats has been particularly strong.
people eating and drinking on Excellence Class of Glacier Express train
Glacier Express' Excellence Class guests have amenities like an exclusive bar, a five-course meal, and window seats.

©Glacier Express

A red carpet rollout and Champagne welcome the train's highest-paying guests to their eight-hour journey (at a window seat, of course).

Relish the Swiss sights as you dine on a five-course meal with a wine pairing.
plate of food on Glacier Express
Excellence Class guests receive a five-course meal.

©Glacier Express

Expect dishes such as smoked trout with roasted beets and horseradish cream cheese.

If the included booze isn't satisfactory, you could buy a drink at the crystal chandelier-topped Glacier Bars exclusive to Excellence Class guests.

These upscale seats ring in at 490 Swiss Francs, about $537, each.
empty seats on Glacier Express train
Excellence Class travelers receive a five-course meal with a wine pairing.

©Glacier Express

It's a steep price compared to the cheapest seats, which cost CHF 49, or about $54.

Yet, the sumptuous accommodations — which see a 94% to 96% occupancy rate throughout the year — are often the first section to be reserved, according to the spokesperson.

The company saw more than 281,300 passengers in 2023, the strongest year in its more than 90-year history.
people on Glacier Express Excellence Class
Every Excellence Class guest has a window seat.

©GlacierExpress-Peter Hummel

To keep up with demand, the Glacier Express increased its winter capacity in 2024, accommodating almost 290,000 guests. (It operates 1,820 trips annually, about 70% in the summer.)

After all, Disney's Matterhorn bobsleds likely don't compare to views of the real thing.

Read the original article on Business Insider

My first wife and I moved our family to Maui. After a difficult divorce, I left the island, but I needed to return to fully heal.

Kimanzi Constable taking a selfie on a beach in Maui
The author moved to Maui with his family.

Courtesy of Kimanzi Constable

  • My first wife and I decided to move to Maui after vacationing there.
  • After our difficult divorce, I left the island in a hopeless state.
  • Years later, I took my new family to Maui to show them the place that saved my life.

I met my first wife working at a fast food restaurant and developed a friendship that turned into a relationship. We were married three months after we met — the day after my 18th birthday. Like me, she was from Milwaukee, and we raised three kids in Wisconsin.

With our 10th anniversary coming up, we wanted to celebrate somewhere special. After doing a bit of research, we chose Maui, Hawaii.

I expected to enjoy the island but didn't realize how special Maui would be. We instantly fell in love with Hawaiian culture, the ocean breezes, delicious food, and a slower pace of life. Every day on Maui felt like a life I had always dreamed of living.

The island became an important hub in my life — through two marriages and a lot of healing.

We decided to move to Maui, and it was paradise — until it wasn't

We debated whether we could afford to live in Maui and whether it was smart to be away from family. But we knew it was the right decision.

The kids were excited to leave Wisconsin and live on a warm, tropical island, and so were we. We sold most of our possessions, rented a home, moved to Maui, and lived a few blocks from the beach.

Life on Maui was everything we hoped it would be and more. While life was good, my relationship with my first wife wasn't.

We were far from the place and life we were comfortable with. Tiny ripples of arguments turned into daily eruptions that eventually led to the end of our marriage two years after moving to Maui.

Divorce is expensive, and paying to support my ex-wife and three children meant I wouldn't have much money left.

The divorce and decisions I made from being in a desperate and hopeless place left me with $28 in my bank account and no hope for life when I left Maui. I used my last few dollars to book a flight to the mainland.

I was homeless and stayed on a friend's couch

I left Hawaii for South Florida around Christmastime because my friend said I could stay at his home. He saw my state and let me sleep on a couch.

I still had my business and focused on earning more revenue. I sell online courses, so I offered some promotions and created a ton of content for social media; thankfully, a few sales started to trickle in.

Even though my money was low, I knew I needed help, so I used the spare few pennies I could muster on some therapy sessions.

As I healed, an inner voice told me I needed to return to Maui, a place that meant everything to my mind and spirit. I couldn't explain it, but I knew my healing and growth wouldn't be complete without returning to Hawaii.

I went back to Maui to fully heal

After paying my bills and child support each month, I was still low on cash, but I did have some travel rewards. After booking my flight to Maui with points, I booked a stay in a $20-a-night hostel for the month of January. I would be roughing it with the young folks.

Once I was on Maui again after leaving in such a broken way, my suspicions were right: I had completed my healing.

I spent mornings in the ocean, letting the sounds and breezes calm me. I worked on my business every day from cafés that overlooked the water. Being so close to the beach, I slept well every night. I reconnected with friends, exercised, ate fresh food, and spent time with my kids.

I healed through Maui's amazing energy and left the island a month later in a better mental state and with a plan.

I had an incredible year that year, and my life, mindset, relationships, and business have grown exponentially since then. That bonus month on Maui allowed me to write a new chapter in my story — a triumphant chapter.

I brought my new family to Maui, too

Three years after my healing experience, a friendship with my now-wife Cindy blossomed into a relationship that grew into a marriage proposal.

I remarried, was out of debt, and running a thriving business.

I wanted to take my second wife and stepchildren to Maui to experience a place that had profoundly changed my life. I had told them so much about the island and what it had done for me, and they wanted to experience it for themselves.

It was such an incredible family vacation to introduce my family to the awesomeness of Maui. They loved it so much and understood its impact on my life. We made a once-a-year family trip every year up until the year of the great fire in Lahaina.

Your environment can profoundly affect you as a human being, and Maui continues to be the place that impacts my life. It's the place I come back to for healing, inspiration, and growth.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Getting an all-optical AI to handle non-linear math

A standard digital camera used in a car for stuff like emergency braking has a perceptual latency of a hair above 20 milliseconds. That’s just the time needed for a camera to transform the photons hitting its aperture into electrical chargers using either CMOS or CCD sensors. It doesn’t count the further milliseconds needed to send that information to an onboard computer or process it there.

A team of MIT researchers figured that if you had a chip that could process photons directly, you could skip the entire digitization step and perform calculations with the photons themselves. It has the potential to be mind-bogglingly faster.

“We’re focused on a very specific metric here, which is latency. We aim for applications where what matters the most is how fast you can produce a solution. That’s why we are interested in systems where we’re able to do all the computations optically,” says Saumil Bandyopadhyay, an MIT researcher, The team that implemented a complete deep neural network on a photonic chip, achieving a latency of 410 picoseconds. To put that in perspective, Bandyopadhyay’s chip could process the entire neural net it had onboard around 58 times within a single tick of the 4 GHz clock on a standard CPU.

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Why Nosferatu's Creative Team Won't Forget Bill Skarsgard's Prosthetic Penis

Fans will likely never forget Bill Skarsgård’s full frontal moment as the decrepit Count Orlok in Nosferatu – but the creative team behind the scenes remain just as haunted.

Heavy prosthetics are nothing new to Skarsgård, 34, as he’s transformed into various levels of haunting creatures in films like It and The Crow. Adding a prosthetic penis onto his body for his role as Count Orlok in Nosferatu, however, was a new experience — one that created a memorable moment not only for Skarsgård’s character on screen but for costar Nicholas Hoult’s Thomas Hutter and the film’s creative team.

“With [Nick’s character] Thomas, they had a scene where Orlok was sucking his blood and the penis kept rubbing on his leg and he didn’t know how to react to him,” Traci Loader, Nosferatu’s lead makeup designer, told Us Weekly in an exclusive interview.

“I don’t think you’ll forget that moment,” the film’s hair department head, Suzanne Stokes-Munton, added, to which Loader replied, “No, that will live on forever!”

See Bill Skarsgard’s Drastic Transformations for Spooky Roles: 'It' and More

Audiences get their own view of the prosthetic appendage in the third act when Thomas attempts to flee Orlok’s castle after realizing he’s being fed on by the ancient vampire. As he finds his way to the cellar, he attempts to stake a sleeping Orlok but wakes him instead. As Thomas runs for his life, Orlok rises out of his sarcophagus, exposing himself free of clothing.

As for why the prosthetic penis was necessary to filming in the first place, head of prosthetic makeup effects designer David White — who created the prop — gave Us some insight into the scene.

“[Bill] knew it was coming, and as soon as I saw that shot in the frame, I thought, ‘Oh no, here come the questions about that.’ Because up until then nobody had said a word,” White said. “It was a creation above and beyond Bill’s own self … We had to find a way of making the whole body work for the shot where he rises from his sarcophagus. So, there was no way around it.”

Hoult himself has been candid about the awkward moment on set, telling Elle in a recent interview that after voicing that he could feel the prop pushing up against his leg, director Robert Eggers sent him a surprise gift.

Nosferatu hair and makeup
Nicholas Hoult Aidan Monaghan

“As a wrap gift, Rob got it framed, and he sent it to my house,” Hoult told the outlet, noting that he ultimately had to take the prosthetic to a frame shop after the present arrived damaged.

“When I went back to pick it up, I think [the shop owner] clocked, like, how weird it was that I was framing potentially this vampire penis,” Hoult explained. “And he was like, ‘Is this some kind of collector’s piece?’ and I was like, ‘Hm, you could say that.'”

While the faux genitalia may have caused some challenges for Hoult, wearing it was no problem for Skarsgård. White told Us the actor was the ultimate “professional.”

Skarsgård was also involved with the creative process, according to its team and had a say in helping craft Orlok’s mustache. The facial hair was initially supposed to be a lot longer and a different color than what the final product came out to be, thanks to Skarsgård’s input.

Most Memorable Movie and TV Vampires Through the Years

“There were a few different sizes of mustache to choose from,” White recalled. “I offered up a whole variety. At first it was a bit big, believe it or not, it was bigger than what it is now, and then it’s reduced and if you look closely, it’s actually thinned in the center area and that’s done on purpose so that you can see a little bit more of the teeth and everything beneath there.”

He continued: “I added a little bit of silver to the end, which I thought would be really lovely and give a little bit of extra character and suggest aging, but not sort of take him too far. And Bill was aware of those color changes. So he agreed and wanted that to be the case.”

White added that while on set, Skarsgård tended to remain in character and was “quiet and in the shadows as Orlok would be.” Seeing the actor in full garb, however, was much more comical behind the scenes than one would assume it would be.

“When he first went to set, he would be half dressed and then have joggers on the bottom,” Loader recalled with a laugh.

Nosferatu is playing in theaters now.

© Focus Features

Kelly Stafford Takes Kids to Hospital After Joining Matt for NFL Playoffs

Golden State Warriors v Los Angeles Lakers
Matthew Stafford, Kelly Stafford. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Kelly Stafford took an unfortunate trip to the hospital with her kids after traveling with her husband Matthew Stafford ahead of the Rams-Vikings playoff game.

“Last night was long,” Kelly, 35, wrote via Instagram Story on Saturday, January 11, alongside a photo of two of her young children asleep in a hospital bed. “Back in beds and sleeping, everyone except Hunter. Feels like she drank a Celsius.”

In another post, she shared a photo via Instagram Story of Matthew, 36, quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, and their daughters. “Before that tho, they were all smiles getting to go with daddy on his work trip,” she wrote.

Last week, Kelly revealed she and two of her daughters had come down with a serious illness. “I can’t think straight,” Kelly said on the Tuesday, January 7, episode of her “Morning After” podcast. “I currently believe I have the flu. Two of my daughters have the flu.”

Kelly Stafford Attends Rams Game in Detroit After 'Mental Health' Concerns

Kelly and Matthew share four daughters: twins Sawyer and Chandler, 7, Hunter, 6, and Tyler, 4. Kelly did not share why exactly the kids were taken to the hospital, or if they will be in attendance at the Rams vs. Vikings playoff game.

Kelly Stafford Takes Kids to Hospital After Joining Matt for NFL Playoffs
Instagram/Courtesy of Kelly Stafford

The family had traveled to watch Matthew practice ahead of the Rams’ playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings in Glendale, Arizona, scheduled for Monday, January 13. The Rams home playoff game was relocated from Los Angeles to Glendale due to the wildfires raging through southern California.

Kelly’s hospital trip came after she offered to rent charter buses for season ticket holders in Los Angeles to travel to Glendale for the game.

In a press conference held on Thursday, January 9, Matthew addressed the devastation caused by the wildfires and the impact the natural disaster has had on his community.

Kelly Stafford Says She’s ‘Wasting Money’ Bringing Daughters to Rams Games

“It’s a tough thing to watch on the news, to be around, to see,” he told reporters. “Driving around seeing all that, it’s just really sad to see what’s going on. Obviously, a bunch of people [are] doing everything they possibly can to try and get things under control and get people back to normal as quickly as possible.”

Matthew continued, “Every time we suit up, we’re the Los Angeles Rams. We play for the people in this community. The people in this community support us. This week will be another example of that, obviously. Hopefully a great escape for people who have been going through a lot of tough times.”

The Rams-Vikings Wild Card playoff game will kick off from Glendale, Arizona’s State Farm Stadium on Monday, January 13 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Check the LAFD website for local wildfire alerts and click here for resources on how to help those affected.

Why Jason and Kylie Kelce Are Only Considering 'Gender-Neutral' Baby Names

Why Jason and Kylie Kelce Are Only Looking at 'Gender-Neutral' Baby Names
Jason and Kylie Kelce Courtesy of Kylie Kelce/Instagram

Kylie Kelce offered some insight into her and husband Jason Kelce’s decision to stick with gender-neutral names for baby No. 4.

“Going on the 4th [child], it’s like a disaster [picking a name],” Kylie, 32, said during the Thursday, January 9, episode of her “Not Gonna Lie” podcast, while discussing potential names for her and Jason’s fourth child — another girl. “You’ve already used them all up, all bets are off.”

Kylie and Jason, 37 — who have been married since 2018 — announced in November 2024 that they were expecting their fourth daughter. The pair previously welcomed daughters Wyatt in 2019, Elliotte in 2021, and Bennett in 2023.

“We’re doing a little crossover action, I feel like we have to lean a little bit towards those sort of gender-neutral names for our fourth,” Kylie explained. “Because we have Wyatt, Elliotte, Bennett — so if we do a full commit to a girly name at this point, it would not sit well with the other three, I think? Eventually they’ll be like, ‘Why why did they get a cute girly name?’”

Everything Kylie Kelce Has Said About Her Pregnancy With Baby No. 4

Kylie also gushed over her oldest daughter, Wyatt, who is excited to become a big sister for the third time.

“I will say that, my oldest [Wyatt], she’s 5 now — the way she’s getting excited for this next baby is very sweet to watch,” Kylie shared. “She’s very much in that phase of like, ‘I can get diapers, I can fill up my own water bottle, I can do these things independently,’ and so to see her get so excited about getting another baby and her having the opportunity to help is very exciting to watch.”

Kylie previously discussed potential names for the newest Kelce girl on her podcast, responding to queries from fans about whether or not she and Jason already had a name picked out.

“First of all, love the confidence, but even if I did have a name picked out, I’d probably keep that one in the family,” she said in a December 2024 episode. “What I will say: We don’t have a name picked out, so you’re not missing out on anything. And I have seen a number of the suggestions come through in the comments section so I appreciate that.”

Are Jason and Kylie Kelce Ready for Baby No. 4? Everything They've Said

As for Jason, the retired NFL star is more than happy to continue his reign as the ultimate girl dad, telling E! News last year, “I got it pretty easy, I’m not gonna lie.”

He continued, “There’s another girl, so the clothes are all going to be hand-me-downs or already bought. The crib is already situated. So, we’re pretty set. Kylie is definitely preparing more than I am because she’s actually growing a human being.”

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