kleeblatt

Sent is a small village of 900 people, nestled above the “city” of Scuol in Unterengadin. It’s alive with locals, traditions, beautiful typical Engadiner homes and framed by the Unterengadin mountains. Many tourists, especially those interested in outdoor sports, rent vacation apartments for 1-2 weeks in this area.

October 5: Chaos on the Flüela Pass:

We drove from Central Switzerland to the Vereina tunnel. It was a cold day with forecasted snow in the mountains. At the Vereina tunnel, there was a two-hour wait to load the cars onto the train so we decided to risk driving over the Flüela. Luckily, we have a Sante Fe Hyundai with four-wheel drive and snow tires. After quickly stopping in Davos to buy something to eat, we drove up the pass. There was light snow cover on the ground and it was beginning to snow lightly but we weren’t worried.

At the top of the pass, the wind began blowing heavily, bringing heavy snow. The roads were covered with snow and ice and traffic had come to a halt. There were many cars on the road unprepared for these types of conditions. Drivers, not daring to drive one meter further, stopped in the middle of the lane. We weaved our way around cars with summer tires and began our descent to Susch. The decent was the worst. Drivers had stopped in the middle of each curve, fearing they’d slide off the ridge. People were walking around, scratching their heads and hoping for snow plows (which were on the way.) We continued weaving past any obstacles, while my husband’s adrenalin began to rise. This was better than any computer game! The kids were cheering in the back as we passed by 30 stuck cars. Soon, the roads were clear again, the snow had stopped and we were far away from the top of the pass. Life was innocent again.

We continued an uneventful drive into Sent, awing at the snow-capped mountains and fall colours along the way. Finally, we arrived in Sent and in our little flat. The view was breathtaking from our living room window: just mountains, forests and fields. This is our kind of family vacation!

More to come.

http://www.sent-online.ch/

Ingo

Bun Di, schuler!

Wow, that was certainly an experience on the Flüela pass road. Glad you made it safely to Sent.

And you *do* know I am jealous, eh? ;-) Never stayed in Sent, always in Scuol, Vulpera or Guarda, but spent a good amount of time in this beautiful village.

Looking forward to more installments!

Ingo

kleeblatt

Grazia Ingo!

Oct. 6: Restaurant Vestur and Scuol

Map: http://www.scuol.ch/de/navpage_list-...ionsSCUOL.html

Today we walked through the typical Engadine village of Sent. The large plastered houses, in white or pastel colours and portraying intricate S’graffiti designs, have curvilinear walls and large half round entrances. In fact, there are two large entrances to these houses, one on the ground floor and one for the basement. The upper entrance was used for hay wagons, storage and housing. The lower entrance was used for cows. Nowadays, the barns have been built on to the houses or are located on the edge of town.

Our stroll takes us out of Sent and towards Scuol, where we take a panorama trail through meadows, grazing cows, fall foliage and amazing white-capped mountains. We decided to walk up to Restaurant Vastur (http://www.myswitzerland.com/de/offe...uts-46534.html) for lunch. After filling out stomachs with a homemade bowl of Gerstersuppe (barley soup), we walk down to Scuol, passing by Swiss and Scottish cows, horses, donkeys and goats, all grazing in the pristine meadows or relaxing in the warmth of the sun. In Scuol, we head for the mineral water fountain. My 10 year old son, who had heard of this special well water filled with calcium and iron, was excited to taste it. Located near the hospital and under the bridge, we tried this “health” water. Except for my son, we all spit it out and said it tastes like metal. My son actually enjoyed the strange taste.

We then continued our stroll through the main street of Scuol. This is not the most beautiful part of Scuol but where the stores and restaurants are. We stopped in Glatscharia for homemade organic ice cream (scrumptious!) and an espresso. We then continued our stroll to the tourist office and then took the bus back to Sent.

Scuol: Scuol, population of 2,000, is called “the city” by the local village inhabitants. The main grocery store is Coop. For larger purchases and clothes shopping, the locals travel to St. Moritz, Chur or Innsbruck, all located 45 min. to 1+hours away.

Public transportation system: The last train stop in the Unterengadine is Scuol. For all the other villages, you must take the bus. There are many buses that leave twice in the hour. Because many tourists come to hike, these buses are full of hikers starting or ending their hikes. Many locals use these buses too.

In the evening, we decided to attend the Apero and Welcome evening offered by Sent. Lots of people were at the meeting point except for the person in charge. After waiting, 15 min., we walked away and went back to visit my cousin. My cousin, hearing of our predicament, knew exactly what had happened. The person in charge works in a hotel, in a tourist office and once a week in Samnaun probably forgot due to her busy schedule. It turned out she was right.

And then my son began complaining of stomach pains.

Scuol from map search: http://map.search.ch/scuol

Next day: a visit to the doctor’s office and a ride to Val Sinestra.

Ingo

Thanks for the great report, schuler. It's a shame you don't get more comments, but I am sure more than just the Switzerland addict No. 1 read it ;-)

Argh, did the stomach pain come from the mineral water? Or from the ice-cream?

Btw, some of the mineral springs have indeed strange, metallic tasting water, but others taste much better. I prefer the one at Vi (above main street) or the one next to the garage of Bogn Engiadina. My favourite, though, is the mineral spring fountain at the main square in Scuol suot in front of the local museum, below the church.

I also like to join the Aperos of the local tourist offices. That's always fun and you get a piece of nut cake plus a glass of wine or so for free ;-) Oh - btw, had a delicious piece of Engadine nut cake yesterday in Dresden. My jaw almost hit the floor when I saw the nut cake offered! It was in fact fabulous, ranks among the best I've ever had.

Looking forward to the next day! A revair!

Ingo

gruezi

Allegra Schuler!

My neighbors are also in the Engadine this weekend and sending me texts to make me jealous! Makes me want to get my hiking boots on.

Thanks for writing such a nice report. I want to go!!! So many negative comments about Switzerland this weekend on Fodor's that it's nice to read something positive. Wish you could have taken St. Cirq along

Hope the stomach pains were not too terrible. My daughter's classroom without walls trips last week were plagued by stomach bugs. The group that went to Egypt threw up all the way back on the plane. My daughter spent all night up with her sick roommate in Paris...

Anyway, can't wait to read more.

gruezi

Cimbrone

Always fun to read about the Engadine, schuler. I spent a lovely few days in Soglio this past July. I hit the good weather just right!

Ingo, I worry about you and those big pieces of cake you like so much. Wasn't there a photo of you about to indulge in one somewhere?

Cimbrone

Ooops, Sogio is in the Bregaglia Valley, but we did spend time in Sils Maria which IS the Engadine.

annhig

hi schuler,

thanks for sharing your engadibne experiences with us. Isn't it amazing how much the weather can change in the mountains, and almost as amazing is the number of people who appear to be unaware of this fact!

it's a place I never seem to get round to; perhaps 1 day.

what are these anti-swiss posts that I've missed? Fi on them.

regards, ann

kleeblatt

Thanks all for the replies.

Day 3: Val Sinestra and the Doctor's Office

My son had stomach pains the whole night. No fever, no vomiting, no diarrhoea. My cousin, who works in a doctor’s office in Scuol, scheduled an appointment for him. Dr. Casanova, an abdomen specialist, checked him out and announced it was just the stomach flu. We left the office with pain killers, some herbal medicine for the stomach and a list of food my son should avoid for a while. My son was already feeling better.

We then went to Hotel/Café Asteras in Scuol and had a delicious meal out on the sun terrace for a reasonable price. Our waitress was wearing a dirndl and drinks were included in the price. Highly recommended. http://www.hotel-ami.ch/h-79488-E/bi...terengadin.htm

Leaving the kids in the flat, my husband and I took our bikes and rode on a panoramic gravel road to Val Sinestra. Val Sinestra is a valley known for it’s hotel: Hotel Val Sinestra. http://www.sinestra.ch/eng/index-e.html The hotel is huge, gothic looking and sticks out like a sore thumb in the forested valley. It was built in the early 20th century and became popular for it’s mineral water springs. Nowadays, it’s a white elephant used more as a hostel and a place where the locals celebrate their birthdays. It’s owned by the Dutch and has a lot of Dutch guests. Not too far from the hotel, there’s a trail with terrific hanging bridges. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to walk over them. http://www.sent-online.ch/fracziuns/...ort/index.html

Upon returning, we quickly went to the local grocery store in Sent to pick up some bread. My husband, noting there was only one loaf left, told my daughter in a loud voice to get it before someone else does. There was a woman standing next to us who was also eyeing that loaf. My daughter ran over and got it.

That night we were invited to my cousin’s birthday party in her home. A few locals were there too. The charming woman next to me was the tourist office employee who had forgotten the apero. The woman across from us was the same person who had also wanted the last loaf of bread in the store. We all apologized to each other, laughed a lot and had a very pleasant evening.

Since my family was the only "outsiders" at the table, I asked if everyone was speaking Swiss-German for our benefit only. They replied, yes. They would otherwise be conversing in Romansch. The locals speak Swiss-German and Romansch fluently, and learn high German from the fourth grade on.

Next day: Bernina Express and learning Romansch

Ingo

Cimbrone, yes, you are right. I am a cake addict. Shame on me. ;-)

Oh, schuler, what torture do you put us through here!! Glad to hear your son quickly felt better, of course. I second the recommendation of Hotel Astras in Scuol. I have had meals there before and it was yummy each time.

Too bad you didn't get to Hof Zuort and back on the other side of the valley via Vna, which is a cute tiny village perched high above the valley. I did that in winter - it's gorgeous on a sunny day.

Well, you always meet twice, especially in such a small village ;-)

Looking forward to the next installment,

Ingo

Grassshopper

What a lovely report. Schuler's reports are always great to read. Switzerland will always have a special place in my heart.

And for the record, Ingo plays enough tennis to wear off all that cake.