Milano to Tirano then onto St Moritz!

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Heading north to Tirano, ITALY on the border of Switzerland, the terrain changes into towering mountains with ribbons of grapevines traversing the hillsides. This quaint town of 9,000 is a relief from the hordes of tourists back in Venice. The continual rain beats loudly all evening on the sky light of our hotel room. Since the Glacier Express does not run in November, it is onto the bright red Bernina Express train for an Alpine experience, climbing from 429 meters to 2253 meters before heading down to St Moritz.

As the train climbs, you are immersed in the trees with hills covered in fall leaves. It is quiet and peaceful; like being suspended in a hot air balloon. A stop is in Alp Grum at an altitude of 2,235 meters where you can get off and walk in the falling snow and grab a cup of coffee to go. Then it is down into St. Moritz, SWITZERLAND where the Winter Olympics were hosted in 1928 and 1948. In the summer, athletes train here because of the high altitude.

The city boasts of 300 sunshine days in a year, but not so today with clouds and rain. The languages spoken are Swiss German, Italian, and Romansh.

A misty morning, but slowly the clouds dissipate, and the sun comes out to display gorgeous snow covered peaks. This is why the skiers come here. The long concrete pathway leads to the center of town and into Hanselmann’s. The smells of chocolate, pastries, and coffee make you linger. Then we go searching for the leaning tower of the St. Mauritus Church. The tower leans 5.5 degrees more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Since the ground is unstable, every few years the tower needs to be straightened. Next, a pharmacy is required as I have managed to catch a head cold. Just outside the hotel, by Lake St. Moritz, there are two wooden recliners. It feels luxurious to lay in the sun even with a temperature of 3 degrees celsius. St. Moritz has stunning scenery. A great place to relax. Chris wants to return and carve some turns on the mountain.

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Comments

[Pedro Galvez]

helllooooo
amigos buen dia, que fabulosas fotos nos han compartido a Claudia y a mi.... viendo todas sus fotos hemos disfrutado tanto como uds... muchas gracias por compartir tan bonitos recuerdos y ojala sigan disfrutando. seguimos muy de cerca todos los lugares que visitan, es muy buen aprendizaje para tener en cuenta futuros lugares que visitar ¡¡¡¡ un abrazo grande a la distancia