Bernina Express

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For the last 20 years, I have subscribed to several travel magazines, and I get very excited when a new one arrives. In one of my first travel magazines there was an article about the world's most outstanding train trips. One of the trips was the Orient Express, and it looked interesting, but the trip that won my heart was the Bernina Express. The train starts in Chur, Switzerland, which is very near the border with Liechtenstein. It climbs up through the Alps by way of spiraling tunnels and crosses the Bernina Pass on one of the highest train crossings in the world. Then it descends by way of corkscrew bridges and viaducts into Turino, Italy. I really can't describe the things I saw, but I will post many pictures.For more info, go to

www.swisstravelsystem.com/.../Bernina-express-en.html

It would be a geologist's dream. You could clearly see where the earth had heaved, creating waterfalls, cliffs, Alpine lakes, and beautiful mountains. I kept thinking I needed pictures to use the next time I teach an earth science class (fat chance that will every happen again.) We passed two massive glaciers where you could see the wrinkles in the ice caused by the slow melting, creeping, and freezing. The streams and lakes are a very clear pale turquoise.You really had to be there; I could never describe the experience! The weather was good, so our visibility was clear. There are hiking trails all through the mountains and many people were using them. The weather was pretty chilly at the high altitudes, but it was probably perfect for hiking. Along the hiking trails, there are occasional huts that can be used as shelter or even overnight stays by the hikers. There were also many bikers. The trains are set up to haul lots of bikes, so they can bike a while, and then ride to a different location to bike some more. If you are envisioning these young hikers and bikers who are fit and trim, you need to expand your vision. Most of the hikers and bikers I saw were 50-75 years old! Obviously, there were many young people too, but the retirement age group was very well represented! Amazing! This area is an important skiing destination in the winter. One of our stops was St. Moritz, which I've always read is a skiers' hangout for the rich and famous. I think this train still runs through here in the winter. I saw a huge snowplow attachment for the train; but I wasn't thinking fast enough to get a picture. It had multiple pointed blades on it that could really move some snow. I don't understand how it works, but the trains all run on electricity like a street car. Each train car has arms that reach up to double electric lines running above the track. Their electricity is hydroelectric, created by the rivers and streams coming down out of the mountains. Speaking of environmentally advanced...all of the public trash cans that I have seen in France, Germany, and Switzerland were divided into different materials to recycle. She said that these countries are very concerned about creating environmentally safe energy; they are much closer to Chernobyl and the Japanese nuclear disaster than we are. They have a date in the future when the last nuclear energy facility will be closed as they move to other forms of energy. Maybe we need a nuclear disaster closer to us so we will feel the need to embrace wind, sun, and other forms of electricity. Sorry, there I go again. There was an older woman sitting across from me, and even though she was German and spoke only a little English, we were able to converse a little. She was traveling by herself, but she was driving her car. She had parked it in Chur and was going to return there on the afternoon train. After a 4 hour train trip that I'd imagined for 20 years, the train arrived in Tirano, Italy. Now I realized I shouldn't have exchanged all of my Euros for Swiss Francs; Italy uses Euros! They also have yet another electric plug system, and my converter doesn't work! I had booked a room through airbnb.com, which is the online company I use to list my guest house. My hostess had a friend of hers pick me up at the train station and take me to the B and B. It was actually walking distance, but since I didn't know where I was going, she gave me a ride! The girl didn't speak any English, so we pantomimed when necessary. My hostess, Lori, arrived home in about 30 minutes. She is a school teacher, and they have class on Saturday! Lori also didn't speak much English, but we both had some Spanish skills, so we switched to Spanish and did OK. She took me on a walking tour of the town. It's probably a little smaller than Canton, and it lives off the tourist trade from the Bernina Express. She said the winter months are very slow. As most towns in Europe, there is a section that is very old, and then newer construction has grown up around it. We visited a church that has a rather plain exterior, but the interior was very ornate and beautiful. It has a massive organ that is famous all around Europe. We happened to walk past an estate house when a wedding was being held inside. I could hear a vocalist singing an Elton John song. Music is universal! We ate at a nice sidewalk cafe where the young waitress spoke very good English. I asked her for suggestions of local food. She brought a plate of some kind of beef that they make in Tirano. It's served cold, and it's kind of like the thin-sliced dried beef we have in the US. It was salty, and it didn't really taste like meat. Then she brought me some pasta called pizziachielle (I'm totally guessing on the spelling, please forgive). It's a local specialty of pasta made from “black flour”. The pasta is cooked, and then served with lots of olive oil, cheese, a little cabbage, and potatoes! They have their own special seasoning that you use on this dish. The seasoning is made of local herbs, salt, and pepper. I bought a jar of it. This dish looked pretty disgusting, but it tasted OK. We returned to Lori's house, and I politely turned down an invitation to accompany her to Saturday evening mass. Later, I realized I really should have gone, just for the cultural experience of going to church in Italy. Lori was a great hostess, and she kept telling me how brave I was to travel alone. I told her it was probably “stupido”, not “bravura”.

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Photos

Alp Grum
My seatmate took this, and she just couldn't quite get the angle for the glacier. She was afraid I was going to step back and fall to my doom!

Bernina Express
This is the front of my train heading across a bridge and into a tunnel.

Corkscrew viaduct
This is the front of my train while I'm nearer the back.

Pizziachelle in Tirano
Not really attractive, huh?