Trips

Sun., 6/22/14 – Zermatt to Lugano
We left our wonderful hotel at 8 AM and took an electric taxi out of town where we transferred to a minibus that took us to Tach to join or tour bus and luggage.
We drove back down to Visp and Brig and then up the mountains to Simplon Pass at 7,000 feet and above tree line. We rode through several long tunnels and very long snow/avalanche sheds on zigzag roads with bridges over steep canyons with cascades and waterfalls. It was gorgeous Alpine scenery. At the top of the pass is a large stone carved eagle looking into Italy. At the restaurant at the top of the pass, Sara had a surprise treat for us. We each had a large slice of apple or apricot strudel with coffee or hot chocolate. The strudel was wonderful. The hot chocolate was served with a cup of warm mild into which we stirred the cocoa powder.

Stone eagle by Erwin Friedrich Baumann

Rock Glacier above Simplon Pass

We crossed the border from Gando, Switzerland into Paglino, Italy. The border guards asked the driver what countries we were from and where we were going. It was a formality because Switzerland is not in the EU.
Half of our group took an optional tour with a boat ride to Isola Belle on Lago Maggori to tour the island palace and gardens. The rest of us went on to Stressa to spend the three hours getting lunch and walking in the old town and along the lake side. Marge and I sat on a lake side bench and ate our sandwich, walked into town, all six blocks of it, and couldn’t walk the lake side because they were having World Professional Powerboat Series races. The race was sponsored by Dubai. We watched several of the sleek powerful boats run the course. It was at least 90° and hot in town. We finally found a bench in the shade with a lake breeze and waited for our bus to come pick us up.

Flag of Italy

Italian license plate

Street scene in Stressa

Power boat races on Lago Maggori

Fancy power boat

We crossed back into the Italian part of Switzerland at Stabio and crossed the causeway in the middle of Lago Lugano into the town of Lugano where we stay for one night. Lugano is the third banking city of Switzerland.
We walked down to the lake and saw that most things are closed because it is Sunday and most restaurants don’t open for dinner until about 7 PM. We came back to our hotel and ate at the pizza bar restaurant for which we had a 10%-off coupon. I had spaghetti and Marge had a draft beer and small pizza. It cost us 35 CHF or $39 US. It was OK but the spaghetti with tomato and meat had a wedge of tomato and bacon with plain pasta.

Mon., 6/23/14 – Lugano to St. Moritz
This morning we stayed in Lugano instead of taking an optional tour to see three castles in Bellinzona. They were fortifications used to protect Switzerland’s borders in the 1500’s and are on the UNESCO heritage site list. We drove by them in the afternoon.
Instead we had a leisurely breakfast, made sandwiches for lunch, and went out to walk along the lake side. Lugano is at 900 feet and has a more Mediterranean climate than most of Switzerland. There are palm trees and deciduous trees among the evergreens. It was quite pleasant strolling along beside Lago d’ Lugano. We found the “insignificant looking little church,” of Saint Maria Degli Angioli, and went inside to see the frescos from the 16th c. painted by Bernardino Luini, a disciple of Leonardo do Vinci. The frescos are magnificent. On the way back to the hotel we were reading the names on the statues and the last one was a familiar looking bust. It was of George Washington, Great Leader of Men written in Latin. We don’t know why it was there.

Church of Saint Maria Degli Angioli

One of the WONDERFUL frescos in the Church of Saint Maria Degli Angioli

Lots of steps in Lugano

We loved this poster!

Interesting water toy

Not really sure what George is doing here

Lovely walk beside the lake

At noon we boarded our bus and rode to Bellinzona to pick up the rest of the group and headed for St. Moritz.
We stopped for a “comfort stop” (WC and coffee) and learned that the staff wouldn’t serve us because they were going on strike over some labor complaint. We were surprised this would happen in Switzerland. So we went on and stopped at a small cafe near the Marmorera Dam. The dam creates a lake from snow and glacier melt that is then piped 33 km in pipes 11 meters deep to towns that need the water. We had hot chocolate at the cafe. It cost ten dollars for two cups of hot milk to which we added a packet of powder.

Alpine waterfall

Comfort stop

Views at Julier pass

At Julier Pass we had a photo stop to look at the two pillars (in the background) left there from Roman times and the large rocks that formed a barricade to any invading forces.

Soon after the pass we entered the Engadine Valley and the Grison Alps that tower over St. Moritz Dorf and then went to the Crystal Hotel in the center of St. Moritz Dorf.

Tues., 6/24/14 – St. Moritz
This morning we took the optional tour on the Bernina Line of the Rhaetion Railway. It is the highest altitude railway going over the Bernina Pass at 2253 meters above sea level and going down to 429 meters at Tirano in Italy. The railway was started in 1920 and does not use cogwheels despite gradients of up to 7%. The track is 61 km covering 22 km as a bird flies. It is an electric train on a one-meter wide track. It operates year round and gives great views of the imposing peaks of the Alps and glaciers and waterfalls and valleys. We rode our bus to Pontresina to board the train.

Company which runs the Bernina Express

From the Bernina Express

From the Bernina Express - hikers heading up the trail

From the Bernina Express

The Bernina Express

In Poschiavo, we had time to walk around. Sara bought us coffees or ice cream cones (5 CHF for 1 scoop or a small coffee). The town is another clean, neat, painted town with cobblestone streets, a plaza, and flowers everywhere. There were three towers in the town: one was of the 1500’s Catholic Church of Vittore Mauro, one was on the town hall and the painted one was part of the Community Evangelical Reformed Church. The Reformed Church was ultra plain inside and the Catholic Church had three elaborate triptychs and other ornate things.

View above Poschiavo

Church of Vittore Mauro

Church of Vittore Mauro - front door

Yum!

For raking hay

Sun dial on a wall

Top of Bernina Pass

We arrived in St. Moritz and since the weather forecast was for rain we decided to grab our lunch and take it up the funicular and cable car out of town to have a picnic with views. We found out no picnics were allowed – no eating = no garbage or liter. From the center of St. Moritz, two blocks from our hotel we took the funicular to Chantarelle, switched to another funicular to get to Corviglia, and then a large cable car up to Piz Nair at 3057 meters. The views from there were spectacular in all directions. We looked at snow-capped mountains and way down to St. Moritz 11,200 feet below. Some people were riding mountain bikes down trails or hiking down from Corviglia. We rode back the way we came up.