The Journey to St. Moritz, Switzerland

We had an extra day before heading to Athens, so Keith found an amazing adventure on the Bernina Express, an old red cog train to St. Moritz. We took the rail train out of Milano Centrale Station to Tirano, Italy with a few stops along the way. It was a two hour ride and we enjoyed great memories, especially as we passed Lake Como and other fond places we visited last year.

This is one car of the Red Cog Train to St. Moritz. There were six of these cars on our train up the mountain. Torino is 784 feet above sea level. The highest point of the trip is at Ospizio Bernina at 7,392 feet. This adorable train chugs along, through towns and country side for two hours, arriving in St. Moritz. There were tunnels, open spaces, closed spaces, and views that took your breath away. The following pictures are just a few of the amazing views, including the glaciers.

Tirano, Italy train station. We got off the rail train, walked across this plaza to the Bernina train, and off we went.

(top) Little towns tucked in the crevice of the valley, thriving with community and beauty. The mounds of rocks are cellars where they make cheese and wine, and store it. (bottom) This lake is fed directly from the glacier and the water is actually that green.

The glaciers loom over the valleys and life goes on with peace and grace. The lakes are all full and inviting, however there is a bit of chill in the air during the late afternoon and evening.

We stayed in a very nice, comfortable hotel room and had dinner in the little town. This was the view of the lake from the balconey where we enjoyed a yummy meal. With so many glaciers, it's not surprising there are lakes everywhere. There are also hikers everywhere. We'd love to come back and hike a bit, but not this trip.

The next morning, we were ready to head back to Milano when we learned of the train strike. Not all trains were cancelled but many were, so we jumped on the first train we could. When we arrived in Milano, the station was a zoo, so we got on the first bus available and headed to our hotel near the airport. Ready for a good nights sleep. We were to fly to Athens, Greece the next morning.

Hmmm, why would we need band aids you say? Well, if your metal water bottle falls out of the backpack, as you are putting it in the overhead rack, and hits a little old bald man in the head and it makes him bleed, you need bandaids. A retired paramedic always carry's such resources, but where would I find one of those? Oh, that's right, I married him. The poor gentleman would have a headache for sure, but he was so gracious and even said goodbye to us as he got off the train. We were so embarassed but are much more careful now.