Wednesday, February 23, 2011

St. Moritz, Switzerland- Part Two





(click here to read part one)
At departure time, we made our way to the train station and boarded the Bernina Express... and the fun began!

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Crossing the Italy-Switzerland border...

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Entering Switzerland...


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A flowing river of crystal-clear mineral water!


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Awe-struck with the sceneries...


One of the highligths of the Bernina train ride must be the elevation wind at the Brusio viaduct. This ingenious method of ascending the alps robbed everyone's attention, more so because of the gracious way the long train rolled up the ramp... Sit on the right side of the train to get the best view!

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The Bernina Express ascending the Brusio viaduct...

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A miniaturized village tucked quietly in the valleys of the Swiss Alps...

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So close! The river running along the rail track at Le Prese Junction...

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Since this was a touring ride, nobody seemed to be content by sitting put at their seat... The walkabout on board was necessary to relax your legs!

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The Lagh da Palü glacier reservoir we saw upon exiting the Stablini Tunnel...

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The Ospizio Bernina station. This is the highest station on the Bernina line...

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Did I also mention that the big mass of ice was just so blinding!

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Someone getting ready to disembark at the next station... for coffee...

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Finally there!

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The St. Moritz lake... In winter months, this lake makes way for winter sports...

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The welcoming mural on an underpass.

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The first sign that this is the playground of the rich and famous...

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... and a Chopard store...

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While St. Moritz is a winter crowd-puller, summer is the best time to see this town without having to weave through tourists carrying their ski gears!


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Somehow, shopping seems to be a popular activity here!

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Decision making at its most challenging... But then again, chocolates were cheap enough you won't bother choosing! One of each, please!

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OK, the customary coffee at each stop is a must!

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All in all, we spent about six hours on the alps. If the way up to St.Moritz from Tirano was by the Bernina Express, the way down by bus had given us a completely different experience. This alternative route back to Milan had feasted our eyes with some really awesome sceneries...

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The route from St Moritz to Milan... the journey took about 4 hours to reach Milan!
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Wednesday, February 16, 2011

St. Moritz Switzerland - Part One: Tirano





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The Bernina Express meandering the Swiss Alps...


The day after our day trip to Stresa,we had remained in Milan - to further explore this fashion capital. Only on the following day did we venture out of Milan, this time to the highest summit on the eastern Swiss Alps, St Moritz, Switzerland!

Since our hotel was only a few meters from the FS Centrale, early that morning we began the trip by taking a metro to the Ravioli station. Since it was summer, the weather was just pleasant that morning.

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Buongiorno Milano!

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From the Cairoli metro station, we took a bus to Tirano. Tirano is a small town in Valtellina, Italy, bordering Switzerland. The journey from Milan to Tirano took almost 2 hours, and offered some really nice panoramas of laid back, quaint valleys of northern Italy...

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After one hour the bus made a pitstop for coffee...

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The nice coffee we had here, with some oven-fresh marmalade croissants.

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Vineyard...

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A yellow apple orchard. Yellow apples are an iconic local produce here in Tirano. The magnificent sceneries brought us to Tirano town center in roughly an hour.
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Tirano

On reaching this serene town, we bought the Bernina train ticket to St. Moritz. We had about two hours before the scheduled depature, so we did some exploration of the town. While I was busy visiting the pâtisseries and local markets, Mr Cafe Elsyium was busy on his coffee hunt. We met back later, at the cafe next to the Madonna di Tirano for coffee...

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Madonna di Tirano...

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Tirano's reknown stone slaps for roofing...


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The Yellow Apple was so Yummy!

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Yummylicious Coffee Yogurt!

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That's the red Bernina Express that will bring us up the Swiss Alps to St. Moritz!
*To be continued




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