Day 5 - Chur to Tirano
A rather fitful sleep. Our room is on a narrow pedestrian street and the building opposite is being renovated. They started using angle grinders at 7am, which was a bit of a shock. We went down to breakfast which was nice and in a very traditional bar area - lots of wood and fur. As our next train is not until 1:30 we decided to get a bus or tram to anywhere. We walked down to the main station and got on the first bus we saw. The number 5. This was an epic fail, as the bus went around the block and 13 minutes later we were back where we started.
Next we tried a tram. The tram is called the Arosabahn which takes you up into the the mountains. And hour there, and hour back. Bit of a risk, but decided to give it a go. We got on the tram but after two minutes the guard got on and asked us to change trams! We decided that this was a sign and gave up!
Last night we had seen an ice cream place which was shut, so we went back and treated ourselves. Andrew had peach and I had fruits of the forest. Delicious.
We ambled around visiting the two churches and the small streets. It was very hot and sunny. Chur is quite pretty.
After a couple of pleasant hours we sat in a café opposite the station and had a drink before getting ready to board the train. The Bernina Express is a legendary train ride that is often hailed as one of the most scenic in the world. That, and the glacier express are the main reasons for our trip. We booked both train journeys and then worked the rest of the trip around it. It wasn’t very easy to figure out how to book! We had left it a little late but for today we have brilliant seats.
We sat by the window and a young Japanese couple got on and sat by us. They went on to produce cameras and phones from their bag. Every gadget to capture the trip. They fussed and faffed for an hour until they settled in. It made us really think about how we were enjoying the trip and we found ourselves less likely to reach for our phones and to just enjoy the view.
We moved through the landscape of Switzerland, leaving Chur and travelling south enroute to Italy.
We start a gentle climb through the valley, most of the 4 and a half hour journey is going upward. A mixture of landscape and weather.
As we wound our way up, we could often see the front of the train as we were in the last carriage. The red train against the backdrop of either green fields or pine trees or blue lakes or grey cliffs was quite beautiful. The photographs (especially with reflections of the insides of the carriage) don’t even come close to doing the views justice, but please believe that there were many breathtaking moments.
You can see from the picture how the elevation changes from high to low. After being in the higher altitude where was saw the clearest waters and snow covered mountains we started to hurtle downhill. We really did pick up from speed now.
Two of the main attractions of the Bernina Express are the Landwasser viaduct, which was constructed in 1901 and really is phenomenal. The second is the Brusio spiral viaduct. This is in the last 30 minutes of the trip.
During the construction of the railway, its engineers decided that its route and features ought to follow and adapt to the natural landscape. They wanted to avoid construction of a rack railway, so that the line could be used for both passenger and freight traffic; the adoption of a rack system would have made it impossible to run heavy trains, effectively preventing the line's use by freight trains. It also needed to fit on the valley which was quite narrow, so a circular viaduct was designed. It was certainly an experience seeing the front of the train appear as if it was going to join the back!
Now we were in Tirano, the end of the line. We are in Italy! It was 6pm.
We left the station and after a ten minute walk through some tumble down narrow streets we found the hotel. A small stone building that has the walls of an old castle in its grounds. Andrea, the owner, greeted us with a fond welcome and talked us through what to see and where to eat in Tirano.
We took his recommendation for dinner and set off to the old town where they were holding an event for the World Nordic Walking Championships!
Dinner was delicious - mushroom risotto for me and seafood pasta for Andrew. It’s a shame not being able to spend more time here. Italy is such a lovely place.
Today has been wonderful. Really a magical experience.
