Bernina Express 伯尼纳快车
June 3, 2022
Chenggang is an early riser. He went out early to do a morning walk and see a few sights like Engadiner Museum and Segantini Museum only from outside. The town was quiet and had few cars and people, and the lake was calm and had an excellent reflection of the surrounding mountains. After returning from the walk, we waited for the bakery across the street to open at 7:30 am. We grabbed a few pastries for breakfast and walked about a mile along the lake to the train station. Butterbretzel and Laugensandwich became our favorite pastries.
Bernina Railway is a UNESCO world heritage site, one of only two railways with such honor. The Bernina Express connects St. Moritz, Switzerland, with Tirano, Italy, via Bernina Pass. The Bernina crossing is the highest railway crossing in Europe. During the journey of 38 miles, the train ascended 1476 ft and descended 5653 ft. The line winds in many S-bend, 180 degree-bend, and the most renowned Brusio spiral viaduct. The spiral viaduct is a 360-degree curve to keep the inclination at no more than 6%. Like Glacier Express, this Bernina Express train ticket is covered by the Swiss Travel Pass. But a seat reservation is required, and it is not cheap either. The coach we were in was not full, only two groups of tourists. A videography team from Japan’s NHK, two cameramen and a female interpreter, also joined us on the train to tape the Bernina Express journey. They asked for our permission to be taped, and we agreed. The train stopped at Alp Grum Station for 15 mins. The TV crew got off at the station, and we exited the coach to get fresh air and enjoy a magnificent view of the Palü Glacier, the Lagh da Palü lake, and the Bernina mountains surrounding it. The train ride was specular. We thought it was more interesting than Glacier Express.
When we arrived at Tirano, the clouds were moving in. It was the first time for us to land on Italy soil. Tirano is a small border town with a river flowing through. During lunchtime, most shops were closed, but restaurants were open. As we strolled through the city, we were looking for an Italian restaurant with outdoor dining so we could enjoy the beautiful town. At the city square, we found one. However, it started to rain only a few minutes after we sat. We had no choice but moved to inside. We ordered several Italy dishes. They were outstanding, especially beef on the stick we called. We enjoyed our lunch very much. As time passed fast, we knew it would be really tight to catch the return Bernina express, for which we made a seat reservation. We decided to take our time and enjoy the moment. After lunch, we walked around the town and had Italy Gelato and coffee, a must-to-have treat in Italy.
We missed our reserved Bernina Express. Our plan B was to take other commercial trains along the same line. They passed the same scenery without requiring seat reservations and fewer tourists, but we had to make a transfer at Alp Grum station. When we got off the train at Alp Grum the second time, it was raining cats and dogs. We were running towards the café/hotel and ran into the young couple who sat with us on Glacier Express yesterday. They came from Chur and stayed in Alp Grum. What a small world. We had cappuccinos at the café, then boarded the train back to St. Moritz.
After we arrived at St. Moritz, we didn’t take the bus back to the flat this time. Instead, we walked through St. Moritz Via Serlas, home to the highest outdoor shopping avenue in the world, they claimed. In its natural alpine setting, St. Moritz has the best class and luxury shopping mall we had seen.
Two weeks of Switzerland travel were ending. Tomorrow we would say goodbye to our friends and go on a separate way to continue our Europe journey.
第十四天，今天是这次瑞士游的最后一天。一早坐上著名的Bernina Express 观光火车，沿路欣赏冰川，高架桥梁，穿越无数的隧道来到意大利小镇Tirano. 好不容易来到意大利，同伴们都不想匆匆忙忙就回，于是决定放弃已买好的回程观光火车票。中午好好享受了一顿美味的意大利餐，然后再来一份必不可少的Gelato 和咖啡。下午改坐了regional 的火车🚞回到St. Moritz ，最后再享受一下这个滑雪小镇的美景。从Tirano 坐regional 火车回St. Moritz感觉并不比观光火车差，推荐以后朋友来瑞士🇨🇭游的话可以考虑一下
