Road Trip to Switzerland - Oct 16-18, 2013

Wednesday Oct-16

This morning we said our goodbyes to Lake Como and the lovely lakeside Hotel Vapore, and pointed the Saturn north towards Switzerland. 
Our search for the old authentic Swiss village of Soglio took us well off the beaten path but was worth it. Soglio’s charm is undeniable but I wonder if it is sufficient to save the village; as of five years ago the downwardly spiraling 

population had fallen to 167 residents, 54% over the age of 50.  Fortunately, the local hiking in the beautiful surrounding countryside is a major attraction; it is enough of a draw for Soglio to have its own tourist information center, and the magnificent vistas are sufficient to keep the couple of hotels and restaurants fairly busy throughout the hiking season. 

Thursday morning we checked out of Hotel Stua Granda and started up the Panoramico trail.

The Panoramico climbs well above the 3,600 foot altitude of the town of Soglio then levels off at about mid-mountain, making for an easy to moderate hike.  Since we were driving on to St. Moritz later in the day we only went a couple of hours east on the trail before turning around and heading back.  Regardless of direction, the Panoramico is aptly named.  It is also lined with old abandoned houses, sheds, and huts that add to its character, however; 

even though not especially challenging, its narrow goat paths require you pay attention.  A single misstep can cause you to fall into a ravine.

After lunch we departed for St. Moritz, an dizzying 1 hour drive that coiled higher and higher on narrow, switchback mountain roads until summiting the pass that let us down to one of Switzerland’s glitziest cities.  At our checkin at Hotel Languard we were welcomed by our gracious hostess Franca, a very accommodating room, and this view from our windows:

That evening we dined at the Hotel Steffani; Angie had fresh lake trout and I had Wiener Schnitzel (breaded veal cutlets), both were excellent.  
Friday Oct-18 Amidst the glamor and glitz of designer stores and diamond boutiques, the lavish hotels and restaurants, you can sometimes lose sight of the rugged country in which St. Moritz is nestled. At nearly 5,800 feet it sits higher than the mile high city of Denver Colorado,

it is ensconced in spectacular alpine peaks, and it is connected to other towns and cities by the remarkable Bernina Express known locally as “The Red Train”.  I say remarkable not just because it operates with the precision and style of all things Swiss, but for the astoundingly beautiful mountains it traverses, from Davos all the way down to and across the border to Tirano Italy. 

So we took a day off from hiking the Alps to take a train ride through them.  We caught the Bernina Express in St. Moritz and headed south to the Swiss town of Poschiavo (POS-key-AH-vo).

The ride took us through some of the most stunning scenery imaginable, certainly the most beautiful I’ve ever witnessed from a train.  And yes, as we started to ascend the alpine peaks we began to encounter snow.

Finally our journey took us up to the high mountain pass of Ospizio Bernina, for which the Express is named.  From there it carried us down to Poschiavo.

Poschiavo is the largest Swiss town on the Bernina rail line south of St. Moritz – a rather relative term since the town is small enough to be easily walkable.  We were impressed with the quaintness of its hotels and restaurants, and the town’s proximity to the Bernina. 

Over lunch we hypothesized how Poschiavo just might make a great base camp for “someone” planning an extended hiking expedition across southern Switzerland.  We caught our return train back to St. Moritz, and relaxed a bit before having dinner and spending our final night in the Alps.  

On Saturday, after a week long adventure across northern Italy and southeastern Switzerland, it was time to go home.  As the Saturn faithfully transported us the 7 hours back across the Alps and on south to Tuscany, Angie and I were already talking about the possibility of a return to this beautiful, rugged land of mountains for another, longer hiking adventure.  In 2015.  Stay tuned……