ArcherJ

Hello everybody! I've got a couple of quick questions, if you don't mind. First of all, I am currently planning on spending a day in the St. Moritz area, hopefully hiking, and then taking the glacier express out the following day. But, I don't really know much about the area. Can anyone recommend a really good hike, something around 3-7 km that isn't too difficult but will still take a while and have really good scenery? I know a lot of people have recommended staying in Chur the night before taking the glacier express, but I'll have just come in from Vienna the day before and was hoping to spend a good amount of time walking around and getting some exercise in between the two long train trips. But, if there is better hiking there, I would be happy to stay there as well. (Also, if anyone knows of any good places in either area to stay the night, I'd like it to be inexpensive, but I'd like my own room, not a hostel, if possible).

swandav2000

Hi ArcherJ,

Unfortunately, not a lot of folks go to the Engadin area of Switzerland, but there is a bit of information here. I've only been to that area once, and didn't do a lot of hiking, but again, there is *some* information here on hiking the area. Here is one trip report from Ingo, a frequent Engadin visitor, with some hiking information (the Lower Engadin): http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...tid=34471292.\

Here's another one (from the Upper Engadin): http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=17440455

Those should help you find good hikes in the area. To get more information, do a text search here for "Engadin" and then click on Ingo's name --

You'll soon see that Ingo, the expert, likes the town of Sils the best in that area -- lakeviews and all! If you want to stay in St Moritz, Ingo has recommended the Waldhaus am See (http://www.waldhaus-am-see.ch/was/home/), and I though it had a spectacular location when I walked by it. If you give us your exact price range, maybe we can be more help!

s

PalQ

Take Switzerland's most scenic rail ride via the Bernina Pass rail line (most scenic regular railway - not including tourist trains to mountain tops like Jungfrau) about an hour up to Alp Grum or Bernina Ospiz and walk the few kilometers between these two stations, going around an idyllic alpine lake hemmed in by awesome glaciers. Truly stupendous and an easy flat walk. The Bernina Pass train line is way more scenic than what becomes a boring ride for many on the Glacier Express' 8-hour marathon ride to Zermatt - it's nice enough scenery but can't match what you'll get on the Bernina Pass route from St Moritz. Trains goes every hour; in summer there are open-air cars you can ride in to float thru the rugged Alps. The Bernina Pass train route is the only north-south rail route that goes up and over the Alps (via the Bernina Pass) whilst all others tunnel under it (again talking about real railroads that actually go somewhere).

ArcherJ

Thanks a lot, I checked out Ingo's trip report and now I have lots of good ideas I'm checking out. As for the price range, right now I am paying around 60CHF for a room in Lauterbrunnen and 45CHF for a room in Zermatt. So ideally, I would want to stay around those prices. But, I have heard that St. Moritz is a rather expensive place, so I suppose it may be unreasonable to expect a price that low. I've considered staying in other places, but I imagine after having just taken the night train from Vienna and taking the long train out to Zermatt the next day, that I would probably want to avoid an extra trip and just focus on walking around in that area. Right now I am thinking about the hike from muottas muragl to alp languard. Does anyone know anything particularly good or bad about this idea?

Ingo

Hi y'all,

thanks very much for the nice comments on my posts!

A room for 60 Sfr. per night might be hard to find in St. Moritz. Another option is to stay in a neighbouring town/village - my suggestion is Samedan, two stops before you arrive in St. Moritz. It is even closer to Muottas Muragl (btw, the hike you mentioned is an excellent one). Only a walk of a couple of minutes from the railway station you find this hotel:

http://www.central-samedan.ch/6330/index.html

It's an old, typical inn with cosy rooms. They list prices for stays of 3 nights and more, so you must calculate a little surcharge. The single room with bath at the floor (not in the room) is 60 Sfr. incl. breakfast and taxes. A double (studio) is 90 Sfr. (single occupation).

I have not stayed at this place, but had rented an apartment a few houses away and ate often in that inn - very nice, good food, friendly folks.

You can board the Glacier Express in Samedan the other day.