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  • Day 28

    The Glacier Express to St. Moritz

    September 18, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ 46 °F

    You could say I've been training a lot for this. We're almost 4 weeks into our 3 months Eurail pass. We have broken even just one month into it. But we're not sick of trains yet. And this is what I've been waiting for.

    From Andermatt, we quickly climbed up to the Oberalppass, the mountain pass on the way to Chur. They had some light snow up there last night. It's only 2,044 meters high, or 6,700 feet. So about 1,000 feet higher than Denver. Impressive views though.

    Not long after the pass, we followed a small river called the Rhine. You might have heard of it. It's origin is up here and they created a reservoir, dam, and power station nearby. It truly is the hardest working river in Europe.

    Father down, we're saw kayakers on the river. Then came some large white bluffs, which they call the Grand Canyon of Switzerland. That's a bit of a misnomer, but they were nice.

    We changed trains in Chur, a nice sized city that happened to have a busker festival going on. It's the same day as the Willy St. Fair in Madison, so we got a similar experience, if only for an hour. We caught a few songs from a Cumbia band from Columbia, bought some wine, and jumped on the last leg to St. Moritz.

    We ate a picnic lunch and enjoyed our wine and the stunning views. Bringing your own food and alcohol on board is not a problem in European trains.

    Soon afterwards, we passed over the famous Landwasser viaduct before entering a long tunnel. Upon arrival, we checked into our hotel in St. Moritz and walked around town a bit. It's a ritzy town with lots of high end shops. It was dead on a Sunday afternoon, which was nice after dealing with crowds in Grindelwald.

    We stumbled across the "stadium"where the 1928 and 1948 Winter Olympics were held. Most high school fields are much larger! I'm not sure, but this might be the 5th winter Olympics city I've been to. But never to the Olympics itself.

    After a fine dinner downtown, we went back to our hotel and enjoyed a long sauna and called it a night. This is our last night in Switzerland. Tomorrow, we take the Bernina Express to Tirano, Italy. And the day after, it's a 7 hour trip to Innsbruck, Austria. Ok, make that 6 winter Olympics cities.

    More photos and videos are here.
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/9kdGnQkhKYgSocCc8
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