The Day We Caught The Train

Leaving Buchs on a rather damp morning I set the sat nav to take us to the 7th country on our travels (so far). It took all of ten minutes to cross the border and another five minutes to park up in Vaduz, the capital of Lichtenstein, one of the smallest countries in the world. 

Given it's perfectly feasible to walk across Lichtenstein in less than a day we didn't plan to spend long there. The main street has pretty all the main sites. Above sits the castle home to the current ruler, Prince Hans-Adam II, and at the furthest end of the street is the cathedral and the parliament building which seemed oversized given they only have 29 MPs. Also along the main street are two museums, one about Lichtenstein,s history and the other a modern art gallery. On the pavement, to promote and exhibition about the postal service, were paintings of postage stamps and a spaceman...

It's a completely landlocked country but next to the Rathaus (town hall) they had set out sand,  deckchairs and space for people to relax...not that anyone was making use of these facilities on a wet morning. We ducked out of the rain into a bakery that served coffee, and expensive sweet things...a tiny bar of Dubai chocolate was by the till for the equivalent of about £8.00...

Having seen everything we wanted to see we left Lichtenstein and headed south stopping to charge the car in the sleepy village of Maienfeld back in Switzerland. The village's main claim to fame is that the author Johanna Spyri set her children's novel Heidi just outside the village. One of the first things you sse on entering the village is a gift shop selling Heidi themed gifts.  Whist the car was charging we had a quick stroll around and purchased some (non Heidi themed) rolls from a bakery for lunch. With the car now charged we drove on under leaden skies and arrived around lunchtime at the famous ski resort of Klosters. Out of season and on a damp day, Klosters was quiet but mercifully the rain vanished and we explored the centre, making our way to the river where a park had a big covered tent and picnic tables...perfect for our needs. With low cloud the views were limited but the air was fresh and clean.

After lunch we moved on a short distance to Davos, best known as the place where the rich and powerful meet periodically to determine our fates at the World Economic Forum. Rather than see another town I parked by the side of a small lake, Davos See and we took a 3 mile walk taking in the misty views. On the far side we entered a forest and encountered some very tame squirrels. One started to climb my leg...and whilst this was happening a nut cracker...the bird...watched inscrutably close by from the banks of a tree. 

We finished our walk after escaping the attentions of any more wildlife and headed on to our accommodation in the village of Celerina, just outside St Moritz. This was going to be our base for three nights and a chance to leave the car and have a break from driving for a few days. To get there we had to drive over the Flüela pass which reaches a height of 2384m, and there was still plenty of snow at or near the top.

Views of the Flüela pass 

Celerina is in the Engadine valley and is surrounded by snow topped mountain peaks. We checked into our hotel, a modern minimalist design, all exposed concrete and wooden cladding, into a large studio with basic cooking facilities. As a bonus we were given tickets to use all the public transport in the Engadin valley and beyond completely free during our stay which included regular buses and trains. We could also use it on mountain railways and cable cars although only one cable car was operating at the time of our stay. As a bonus the weather had improved so after settling in we took a stroll to get to know our surroundings. A footpath by the river on the edge of the river took us to the oldest part of the village with houses dating back to the 17th century and a basilica with a tall bell tower. The Romansh language is used in this part of Switzerland and we heard people speaking what sounded like Italian and both Romansh and Italian have evolved from Latin.

Over time the village has expanded and it now has small supermarkets, lots of sports facilities, hotels, two train stations and it had the feel of a well to do but not excessively showy place.

On our first full day we decided not to use the mountain cable car as the weather forecast was mixed, although it turned out to be a sunny morning, staying dry until late afternoon. We took a bus instead to St Moritz, passing the Cresta run on the way. The bus deposited us in the centre. I had expected St Moritz to be a more lively place. It's been a playground for celebrities and the wealthy for decades. What we found was a rather soulless town, with plenty of upmarket shops but few buildings of interest, no cafes to sit and relax in and all the museums were closed. Working our way down to the lake we eventually found a cafe and sat outside in the warm sunshine, drinking coffee. I suggested we take the three mile circular walk around the lake.

As we walked along we found lots of information panels about a childrens author and illustrator, Mili Weber, who had lived in a house just above the lake. Views opened up and the sun kept shining so after completing a full circuit we opted to carry on along a hiking trail running by the river and return to Celerina on foot.

Views of the lake at St Moritz

One of Mili Weber's illustrations...with a new addition

More views of St Moritz lake

We stopped en route to eat another picnic and then carried on to a path that took us up to the lovely old church of Celerina, San Gian. It has two belltowers, the earliest dating back to c1100 and the other, taller one, was struck by lightning in 1682 and never rebuilt. Set about half a mile away from the village on a small mound it commands fine views of this part of the valley. 

The church of San Gian, Celerina

We then returned to our hotel room for a hot drink and sit down. After a rest I then went out again for a solo walk and found some more hiking paths that took me past church and on up into the forest above, where , in a clearing, I came across a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, that was oblivious to my presence. I stood watching it for a few minutes before it flew away.

Overnight it rained quite heavily and we left the hotel the next morning to find the mountain tops were covered in fresh snow cover. The forecast was for a bright sunny day so we decided to take full advantage of our public transport tickets - and take the train.

One of the most scenic railway journeys in the world in the Bernina Express that runs through the Bernina Pass from stations in Switzerland through to Tirano in Italy. We did a small part of this journey, catching the train at Celerina Staz station, a request stop just 5 minutes from our hotel.

Clerina Staz, railway station

The Bernina Express...bang on time

The train arrived on time (Swiss railways are known for punctuality) and we trundled along climbing steadily with views of the mountains opening up.

We disembarked at Bernina Diavolezza station and walked 100 meters to the next part of our public transport trip - the cable car to Diavolezza, a mountain col, that is at 9700 feet. The cable car takes about 10 minutes to transport you from the valley below up into a world of snow and ice. A viewing platform at the top gives panoramic views of the high peaks of this part of the Alps. It was very cold at this altitude, spindrift was stinging the face and sunglasses were needed to combat the brilliant glare from the snow. As a viewpoint though it takes some beating and also reminds you just what a hostile environment this is. 

Views of Diavolezza Col

After taking lots of photographs and walking out on the snow we returned to the restaurant that's linked to the cable car arrival point and had a warming hot drink. 

After venturing out again, taking more photographs we decided to return to the more temperate climate in the valley below.

Once back at valley level we caught the next train back, but rather than returning to our departure station we got off at an earlier stop and walked back along the valley to Celerina. It was so hot down here we had to strip off the layers of clothing we'd put on to survive the earlier cold. We found a spot for a picnic lunch and then carried on alongside the river with butterflies dancing ahead of us and then briefly settling to take nectar from the wild flowers. 

Walking back to Celerina by the fast flowing glacial waters of Ova Bernina

Eventually we spotted San Gian Church appearing i the distance and followed the path back to the village passing FC Celerina playing a match on their home ground, that is set against a rather impressive back drop of flower filled meadows, green forested slopes and snow on the highest parts of the peaks.  

FC Celerina...attacking with a corner

Celerina

This was to be our last day in Switzerland and we'd ended on a high. After a good few days of travelling our next stage in this long road trip would see us drive over the Alps into Italy - the start of our exploration of a different culture and cuisine.