marigross

Day 13 – Verzasca

Our destination for the day was the Verzasca Valley. This area was barely mentioned in any of the guidebooks but it was recommended by SIL so we took off with her. Our first stop was at the top of the Dam.

DH had asked me previously (as in several weeks ago while we were at home…) if I would let DD go bungee jump. I am told that I had OK’d this…no memory of agreeing. It is possible because I have this irrational sense of security in things which are “Swiss Made”. This includes cable cars, gondolas, chair lifts, see-through viewing platforms, bungee launch pads and yes, DH as he IS Swiss Made.

As we got off the car, DH asked DD if she wanted to bungee jump from the bridge. Her face was a study in mixed feelings. Wide eyes filled with excitement gave way to worried frowns. She walked up to the platform to look down. DOWN. She went and looked at the pictures. I could tell she wanted to go…but it was a LONG way DOWN. She wanted to know if you bounced after jumping the first time, if you went head down and jerked really hard what happened to your neck, how you made it back up to where you started (did they pull you up or you had to hike back up), if this, if that…I was completely surprised at this uncharacteristic show of ‘thinking things through’! I guess she IS growing up….kind of sad though…

In the long run after some soul-searching she decided not to go. I think that if someone else had been jumping so she could see exactly how it went she would have done it. She is a lot more extreme-natured than her mother. I was quite relieved…

Next stop was Corippo with its beautiful stone houses and charming little church. A couple of kms up the road we came to the town of Lavertezzo and its old stone bridge, Ponte dei Salti. This part of the river is magnificent! It has large, smooth boulders and the water is bright turquoise. It somehow reminded me of the Narrows in Zion National Park. The water was so clear that you could see the riverbed several meters below.

There were a lot of people sunbathing on the stones. A bunch of guys were preparing to scuba dive in the river and we watched for a while. DD had to try several different routes through the stones before she could get close enough to the water to dip her feet. The immersion lasted less than thirty seconds as the water was VERY cold. DH started teasing her as being spoiled by warm Caribbean water (true) but there were signs everywhere warning people about strong undercurrents and hypothermia.

Another short drive took us to Sonogno. This is a little, well preserved village where artists have setup their studios. There seemed to be a lot of weaving and knitting taking place. This area was apparently off-the-beaten-path enough that we could not see any Japanese tourist anywhere! After exploring a bit we started walking towards a restaurant outside the village, enjoying the countryside as we went.

We had a light lunch at Efra’s Grotto – soup and a shared meat plate. We sat outside under the trees and admired the view of a nice waterfall. DH asked how long it would take to hike to the waterfall and was told that maybe ten minutes, so when we finished eating we decided to go up there.

It was closer to twenty minutes but worth every step! We agreed that the entire country of Switzerland should be declared a National Park. The endless availability of gorgeous, pristine spots like this is a constant wonder to me. This ‘little’ waterfall would have been a main destination at home but in this country, it was not even worthy of mention! I have hiked for more than an hour in National Parks for less impressive falls.

DD had to dip her feet again and this time I took my shoes off as well. The cold water was nice on the feet but I could not fathom immersing completely! The parking meter back in town had long expired so we had to return.

DD and I slept most of the way back to SIL’s. We had a couple hours before dinner and SIL wanted to go swim in the lake by their old house to cool off. They are helping the new owners with several settling-in issues and they still have a key to the boathouse garden. We had not packed bathing suits but SIL found some for each of us and off we went.

The lake was surprisingly warm and clear. We swam for an hour and then headed back home to get ready for dinner. The plan was to go by boat to a restaurant for dinner and meet there with the rest of family. The weather forecast had us worried as they had announced thunderstorms in the evening but so far everything was holding up nicely.
After quick showers we got into the car and went to the boathouse that had been rented after the old house was sold. The little villa garden was movie-star worthy.

BIL started the boat and we all boarded. DD got a humongous kick out of being allowed to drive (navigate?) once we had cleared the other boats. It was absolutely beautiful. I was taking pictures of Morcote when the motor was suddenly stopped. Just as we turned the lake bend…there it was…the Big Bad Cloud…oh-oh! It was a WALL of rain. It was smack in the middle of where we wanted to go. BIL decided to abort the plan and return immediately. SIL cancelled the restaurant reservation, made new reservations in a different, nearby restaurant and called her daughters to let them know the change in plans. BIL revved up the motor and speeded back to the boathouse. We made it back just in time and barely got wet from the rain. Poor DH looked a little wilted as he had been looking forward to this evening for a long time!

Dinner was very nice anyway and we had a wonderful time with the extended family - three daughters and boyfriends. After we finished and the rain gave us a little break we walked a few steps from the terrace to the lake and showed DD that she was really a stone-throw away from her dream destination – Italy

Next – market day in Italy but no stamp for DD’s passport

BTilke

Sonogno is beautiful! For a year or so, there was a web site for an old candle factory there that had been turned into gorgeous condos and a few townhouses with their own pools. It was on our top 10 list of "if we win the lottery we'll buy..." I haven't seen the site for months, they have probably sold all the units.

Looking forward to the rest!

marigross

Thanks to all that are still hanging in there!

BTilke, in my top ten 'when-we-win-the-lottery' is a crumbled down house in Gandria named Villa Cipolla (Onion), I still have the realtor's phone number in my wallet and then there were these luxury apartments in Zermatt as well...I will be ready when they announce my winning number!

Maudie

Lugano sounds great, I have the Olive Trail on my list so it was great to read more about it. What a shame the rain spoilt your night out, I was hoping to read something of Morcote (also on my list)but it sounds like you had fun anyway.
How lucky you are!

marigross

Day 14 – Market Day in Ponte Tresa

DD jumped out of bed when two keywords were uttered in the same sentence: shopping and Italy. SIL regularly goes across the border into Italy to buy certain groceries and wine and she invited us to go along.

The car was parked on the Swiss side of the border and we crossed the bridge on foot. The cars waiting to cross the border were so backed-up that it would have taken more than an hour! Vacation season had officially started and everyone headed to Italy was funneling into the border crossings.

Nobody asked us for passports or any other document but DD wanted an Italian stamp in her passport. We headed into the customs office and after several attempts they let us know that they could not give stamps just because people wanted them, if we wanted touristic stamps we had to go to airport. This argument might have been somewhat reasonable if it had not been preceded by a question of which country had issued the passports. Once the little blue book was shown, there was no cooperation.

It was quite obvious to me that a passport from a different country would have gotten the stamp. We decided to drop the issue and get on with the things we had to do.

First stop was in the butcher shop, every time I see the prices the Europeans pay for meat I go into shock. Back home meat is soooo cheap! On the other hand Europeans would faint if they see what I usually pay for barely-drinkable wine….

SIL placed her order and paid. She would pick it up when she was done shopping on the other places. We headed into the market. When we arrived there was still space to walk and look but by the time we left we had to push just to get where we wanted.

I love these markets. There were stands selling everything! Clothes, cheese, shoes, sausage, jewelry, underwear, wine, household wares….DH swooned by the cheese and sausage stands knowing that he would never be able to get his hands on products like that at home!

The fruits were gorgeous and the vegetables looked delicious. I was thinking of all the wonderful recipes I could cook at home if only I could find them….Puerto Rican dietary habits do not include consumption of a lot of vegetables and the supermarket grocery section shows it. Globalization is improving it but we have a loooooonnnnggg way to go.

SIL said that people sometimes come from as far as Zurich to this market to buy clothes. There were lots of imitation (counterfeit?) brand articles such as jeans, shoes and handbags. And some areas of the market resembled the Chinatown in New York City. They might be a deal for Swiss standards but I found clothing and shoes still expensive when compared to the prices we pay at home. DD bought a handbag and DH a belt.

We returned carrying lots of stuff. After a light lunch in which several of the items purchased were quickly dispatched (cheese, salami, figs, etc) we headed again for a swim in the lake.

In the evening we returned to the house and we packed for our departure in the morning. After a wonderful meal of grilled meats and drinking lots (LOTS) of a wonderful Sicilian red we went to bed.

Next: The Bernina Express: From Lugano to Samedan

BTilke

Marigross, did your relatives live in Caslano by any chance? it's the Swiss town right over the Ponte Tresa bridge. My husband's aunt and uncle used to live in Caslano and they always drove over to Ponte Tresa for wine, although they shopped for food in the large Coop or Migros on their side of the border.

marigross

BTilke you get points for guessing right....Caslano is the place!

Mischka

I am loving your report Marigross but please do try to remember the wine

Thanks for sharing.

BTilke

We liked Caslano a lot, it's a nice, pleasant town. When we visited my husband's relatives, we usually stayed at the Parco Lago hotel along the lake. It has its own beach and picnic area and the rooms have big lake view balconies and kitchenettes. It was an easy walk from there to Ponte Tresa--was kind of neat to walk into Italy for pizza.

When will you be going back to visit--soon, I hope!

marigross

Day 15 – Falling in love with Samedan

SIL gave us a ride to the Lugano in the morning so we could go in the Bernina Express. The first portion of this trip is by bus between Lugano and Tirano We got all our bags under the bus and took our assigned seats. Thankfully we had made the reservations in Zurich airport on the day we arrived, as the bus was quite full.

Once again I was in awe of the skills of Swiss bus drivers. Just driving out of Lugano required managing several switchbacks. Some houses in the narrowest stretches of a few of the towns that we drove through had protective materials in the corners of the roof nearest to the street…I guess some drivers got too close! The bus driver showed true mastery of knowing exactly how big the bus when at several points there was not more than an inch between the bus and car that was blocking the way and there was not even contact between the vehicles. I would have panicked if I had been on the other car.

I alternated my stay-calm mantras as I visualized the driver illuminated by a bubble of calming white light: ‘he drives this bus through this street everyday’, ‘if he had trashed a bus in a serious accident they probably would had fired him’, ‘we are in a bigger vehicle so we will not get too badly hurt in a head-on collision’…..

The drive was beautiful and worth every switchback and narrow tunnel. We arrived at the Tirano train station three hours later. We had an hour and half to kill before the train was scheduled to leave so we left the suitcases on storage and went for lunch. We stopped in a nearby restaurant for a pizza, that turned out surprisingly good, and people watched.

The average age of passengers assembling on the station was way over sixty. At least fifty percent were Japanese and thirty percent American with the remaining percentage a mix of Germans and French. I guess the Bernina express is not a thing that the locals do.

We finished our lunch and headed for the station. When we got there a train was waiting and we observed several parties boarding and then unboarding when they realized that it was not the correct train. In the twenty minutes that we were there, two other trains came in and left before ours pulled in. As somebody posted recently, the urge to get on the train is hard to resist when you are so close to the time that yours is scheduled, you just cannot get over the feeling that you are missing the train as they depart…

A few minutes before the announced departure time, the train pulled in and then we had to scramble a little to find the correct wagon. Most of the train was stopping in Chur and only a few wagons were continuing to St. Moritz. We were headed to Samedan and this was not listed on the wagon as a scheduled stop. We finally boarded after we consulted with the train conductor.

Two impressions on the Bernina Express: the countryside was stunning and the wagon was HOT. I mean: hot (keep in mind that I live in the tropics and have a high tolerance for heat). Those panoramic windows that allow you to look out also make you sit the ride out in full afternoon sun. There was some A/C but not nearly enough to cool the inside.

Since the Express runs in the EXACT same track as the regular train , we even considered moving back to second class where the windows could be opened but we were not sure when the wagons would be disengaged (Pontresina) and we decided to stay put. People were stepping off the train at every stop just to catch a little fresh air.

For anyone that does not rent a car to drive around the countryside, the Bernina and the Glacier Express rides are an absolute must. The views are truly beautiful! Alp Grum and the Bernina Hospitz are definite highlights. As we drove we saw places that we just could not wait to go back to and hike through!

We arrived to the Samedan station without problems and took off to find our home-to-be for the next four nights: Hotel Central. As we walked, a small disaster occurred: one of my trusty, faithful, ‘so-comfortable-they-are-only-to-be-worn-in-Europe’ shoes broke. The entire sole just came off. I arrived at the hotel limping!

We had booked an apartment at hotel Central and I was VERY pleased with it considering the price we paid. It had two bedrooms, one bathroom and a small kitchen that was not used at all. DD loved having her own bedroom and so did her parents….hummm….maybe that is why we liked Samedan so much

We looked at different restaurants menus and finally decided on Weizen Kreutz (sp? – White Cross) because DH wanted to have Osso Bucco and I wanted Lasagna. DH did not notice that these items had to be pre-ordered and were not available. We had to look again at the menu and select something else while the waitress stood there without budging. Between DH and I we can figure out almost any European language but we could not communicate with this waitress. Every other person in the Engadine that spoke Romanch could speak another language but not this lady (we are still not sure if that was what she spoke). English, German, French yielded no result, and a combination of Italian and Spanish at least got a glimmer of understanding in her eyes. After a while we gave up and resorted to pointing at the menu.

This exchange resulted in the fact that we did not to notice our surroundings before the order was given in. The placed could be the restaurant in the Bates Hotel…plain scary. It was dark, smoky and creepy. We had been seated on the inner bar but an even creepier character sat next to us and started smoking and wheezing made me go over the edge.

I would have bolted out of the restaurant completely but we politely moved to the outer room where the smell of smoke was not as noticeable. DH argued that good food is many times found in ugly places. The place was just plain disturbing but as an act of trust to DH’s instinct, I stayed put.

Maybe it was the bad expectations, but when dinner arrived I was surprised that it looked appealing. We both had ordered saltimbocca and mushroom risotto. The saltimbocca pieces were perfectly golden, the basil leaf must have been just plucked from the garden. The risotto was creamy, cheesy and had tons of porcini. The portions were huge. It was delicious, much better than any other saltimbocca I had had in Italy, or anywhere for that matter. We did our best to eat everything but it just was not possible. We happily rolled out of the restaurant to find another place to have coffee and maybe one more drink before going to bed.

Next: Pitz Corvatsch


Note to Ingo: A million thanks for recommending Samedan as a homebase for the Engadine. It was PERFECT. Not too big and not tiny either.

Note to Schuler: Weggis was beautiful and just right for us. Our lakeside dinners will always be remembered. The Rigi walk you recommended was one of my favorites.

LLindaC

It wouldn't have mattered if you walked back to second class. Every time we opened a window on a train, the minute we stopped and Swiss boarded they would close it! They do not open windows on the train at all!

marigross

Day 16 – Diavolezza

Even though we had an apartment, breakfast was included in the price and the hotel personnel made the bed and changed to towels. Breakfast was the standard Swiss offering of bread, preserves, a little cheese and coffee or tea. But there are preserves and then there are PRESERVES. They had the absolute best ever strawberry preserve I have ever eaten! The bread was also very good. As you can imagine, the breakfast affair took a lot longer than it does at home.

We selected Diavolezza for our first outing in the Engadine. We walked to the train station, bought our discounted tickets got in the train and disembarked in the Diavolezza gondola station, all this within an hour of departing the hotel.

The morning was glorious and the gondola ride was beautiful. We looked around in a state of WOW. I wanted to go into the glacier caves so we started to walk down the trail into the snow field. It looked OK from the top….

I had neglected to bring my hiking poles since the trails that we planned to do later that day were rather flat. The path down into the snowfield was steep, sharply cut off vertically and after the first 200 meters of rocks it was slippery slush. There was a rope to hold on the steepest parts but it had to be shared with the groups that were on the way up. DH slid on the snow trying to support me and five seconds later I slid down as well. We were almost down at that point so there was no real chance of falling from the trail but it was still scary for me.

The glacier cave was OK but part of it is closed due to the severe melting. They actually have insulation sheets over the glacier to maintain the temperature. This was truly a show-and-tell lesson on global warming.

Going uphill on the trail was not much easier than going down and just as scary…But once we were in the safety of the platform, life was beu

We planned one of our longer hikes for this day: from the Diavolezza station to Pontresina. This is a mostly flat walk along the river and alternating between forests and fields. Absolutely beautiful...there were wildflowers everywhere!!! Picture perfect until DD started wheezing and I started sneezing. I am not sure which of the ten zillion allergens in the air did the trick! Allergies had not bothered either of us during the entire trip. I was a little concerned since I did not have any medication on my backpack but once we were out of the prairie and had stopped for lunch in Monrterartsch we were fine.

The view from the Morterarsch restaurant into the glacier was absolutely stunning. I could have stayed all day just sipping wine and snacking on cheese and sausage. DD had the only truly awful meal of the vacation here: pasta with Appenzeller cheese that was soooo ‘aged’ that was near inedible. Yuk!

The walk from Morterasch to Pontresina was still quite pleasant with some changes in elevation. We were kind of walked-out when we reached Pontresina so we decided to skip the town and headed to the train station.

We had our evening meal in the hotel restaurant: Remo’s Ravioli. All three plates were good but the portion could have been bigger. In the US where you are almost forced to buy wine by the bottle, you stop when the bottle is dead but in Switzerland you are free to order half a liter and then another half or maybe 3 deciliters….its hard to keep track until the bill arrives. We happily hobbled 100 meters and crashed into our room.

Next: Corvatch

marigross

Day 17 – What’s the big fuss about St. Moritz?

We took the bus to Surlej/Corvatsch from the stop straight in front of the hotel. How on Earth do they manage to stay exactly on schedule? This route seemed to be very popular and the bus was full of hikers. We got to the station and went up.

A note about dogs….I like dogs but I refuse to take the responsibility for owning one. DD is dying to have one but we are not budging on this one. We live in a house with a very small patio and we are out for most of the day so it would be quite unfair to the dog. On top of that, it makes going on vacation very complicated unless you live in Europe where dogs are included in everyday life.

The Swiss take very good care of their dogs. They all seemed fit and well groomed. We did not see mangy dogs anywhere. But in the Corvatsch gondola we saw the most beautiful dog of the vacation. DH said it was a ‘Bernese’ breed. It looked like a scaled-down St. Bernard (about the size of a big Golden Retriever) but mostly black with reddish brown and white spots. This dog was award-winning material. Maybe when I retire and move to Europe I will get myself one like it….

There were four dogs in that gondola: the Bernese, a humongous Doberman, and two medium size mutts: one with lots of Labrador in its ancestry and a smaller one with Beagle roots. Each one took a corner and laid down next to their family. The Doberman was the most skittish of all and it growled a little at the other dogs when it got on the gondola. The owner made a sharp ‘hush’ sound and firmly put its head down so that it would stay on the laid down position. It kept its ears to the back in an aggressive mode but it did not make additional sounds.

The Bernese tried to get up every time the gondola swung after the supports but the owner kept making eye contact with the dog and it stayed put. It did not bark or assume any kind of aggressive position at all. And that was it. No growling, barking or fussing around whatsoever. Boy…was I impressed, back home you usually can’t get results like that with kids!

The view from Corvastch was glorious. The sun was out shinning on the glacier and the view to the valley was perfectly clear. This is an absolute must-do!

We had considered the hike down from the top station into Silvaplana but had given up on it because of DD….we know not to push her limits and so far she had put up with us without too much protest. We looked down the path into the glacier we realized we would not have made it anyway because we did not have the right gear (or stamina) to walk on the snow, slush, and mud at the glacier edge.

We returned down on the gondola and walked to Silvaplana for lunch. There were over fifty surfkites on the lake. It was a nice view with all those bright colors over the water. After lunch we walked by the lakeshore to St. Moritz Bad.

That little lake was CROWDED. I questioned why people would crowd here almost on top of one another when there was such a nice big lake 200 meters away (keep in mind that I’m from the tropics and the ocean never gets colder than 70F…). DH laughed out loud (he seldom laughs at me like that) and said: ‘Temperature, honey, TEMPERATURE’ to which I just replied: ‘Ohhhhh’.

We found the bus stop and rode to St. Moritz Dorf. We walked around a bit and went into a few shops. Ladies, you can visualize this image: going into Prada attired in beat-up Hi-Tec hiking boots, pants from Zara and a Gap T-shirt. DD was fully dressed in Old Navy and wearing Reebok hiking shoes. We were completely ignored by the sales people. Not that I was going to buy anything for that matter…we could have had another vacation in Switzerland with the amounts written in some of those price tags! No thank you, we’d rather go travel.

St Moritz is set in the middle of a gorgeous valley and framed by a wonderful lake. Aside from that it did not do much for me and I would not make a detour to visit it again. Give me quaint little towns any day! There is something for everybody in this planet. God Bless diversity…it keeps uncrowded the places I love.

Another quick bus ride and we were back in Samedan. We freshened up and rested for a while before going to dinner. It was threatening to rain so we went to a nearby restaurant I had seen from the bus: Pizzeria Sper l’En. Finding the entrance was a bit tricky and we almost gave up. It started drizzling and we were out in the open so we looked around the building and finally found the entrance. It was full of locals and quite crowded. We appropriated the last table and proceeded to have great pizza washed down with generous amount of Dole red wine. By the time we had coffee and DD the rain had stopped and we walked happily back to the hotel.

Next: Guarda and DD’s refusal to walk anymore

Ingo

Mari, thanks for this fabulous trip report. I am very glad you liked Samedan so much. Years ago we had rented an apartment there at the upper edge of town with the best views ever: above the valley and to the glaciers of the Bernina massif. I almost refused to leave the breakfast table by the window ...

Yup, St. Moritz is just an ugly town. That's why we use to recommend the small towns and cute villages around it here.

You did not seriously want to walk down from the Corvatsch top station, did you? Uhhh, it is getting steep and a bit dangerous w/o guide. Yikes!

Looking forward to Guarda!

Ingo

marigross

Day 17 – Guarda

That little lake was CROWDED. I questioned why people would crowd here almost on top of one another when there was such a nice big lake 200 meters away (keep in mind that I’m from the tropics and the ocean never gets colder than 70F…). DH laughed out loud (he seldom laughs at me like that) and said: ‘Temperature, honey, TEMPERATURE’ to which I just replied: ‘Ohhhhh’.

We found the bus stop and rode to St. Moritz Dorf. We walked around a bit and went into a few shops. Ladies, you can visualize this image: going into Prada attired in beat-up Hi-Tec hiking boots, pants from Zara and a Gap T-shirt. DD was fully dressed in Old Navy and wearing Reebok hiking shoes. We were completely ignored by the sales people. Not that I was going to buy anything for that matter…we could have had another vacation in Switzerland with the amounts written in some of those price tags! No thank you, we’d rather go travel.

St Moritz is set in the middle of a gorgeous valley and framed by a wonderful lake. Aside from that it did not do much for me and I would not make a detour to visit it again. Give me quaint little towns any day! There is something for everybody in this planet. God Bless diversity…it keeps that places I love uncrowded.

Another quick bus ride and we were back in Samedan. We freshened up and rested for a while before going to dinner. It was threatening to rain so we went to a nearby restaurant I had seen from the bus: Pizzeria Sper l’En. Finding the entrance was a bit tricky and we almost gave up. It started drizzling and we were out in the open so we looked around the building and finally found the entrance. It was full of locals and quite crowded. We appropriated the last table and proceeded to have great pizza washed down with generous amount of Dole red wine. By the time we had coffee and DD the rain had stopped and we walked happily back to the hotel.

Next: Guarda and DD’s refusal to walk anymore

For our last day in the Engadine we took the train to Guarda in the morning. It was a rather long ride but completely enjoyable as one picture-perfect spot followed another. The Guarda train station is at the bottom of the hill and the town is on top. The trail sign stated that it was a ten-minute walk to town but the evidence before our eyes differed. I think it was the only blatantly wrong sign that I saw in Switzerland as the bus ride itself was approximately that long.

The bus was waiting for the train and we immediately boarded. It was quite crowded for the small bus and we had to stand. The switchbacks on the road resulted in some bumping and awkward moments. We were transported to the town square where a fair/market was taking place. They had live music, food, and crafts which made for a very lively ambiance.

We wandered around for quite a while, investigating hidden corners and taking pictures of the beautifully restored houses. Each of the buildings was decorated with interesting sgrafitti drawings. For some reason which I have not been able to understand considering Guarda’s location, there seemed to be a lot of mermaids and sea motifs.

The town is full of artists and little craft stores that seem to be quite prosperous. The quality of the offerings was high, these were not sad souvenir stands (well, not all of them) but the merchandise had price tags that reflected it. I loved the ceramics and am still kicking myself for not buying a hand-made knife.

Guarda is beautiful and it certainly worth a detour but it still left a carnavalesque impression on me. Everything was new and shining from recent renovations. As with Gruyere, I think I would have liked to stay overnight and see how it looked after the tourist departed. I bet the empty, quiet streets would look a lot more appealing and romantic.

DD was hungry so we decided to look for a place to eat lunch even though it was only 11:30. The terrace on Hotel Meisser looked totally appealing and had a marvelous view. By the time we were done settling in and ordered the place was packed and they were setting up additional tables. We barely made it on time. DD and I ordered soup and salads which were OK, DH declined saying that he was still full from breakfast (totally believable as he ate a lot indeed – have I mentioned the hotel had some GOOD bread?).

We lingered in the restaurant until it was time to go to the bus stop. Again we were packed like sardines into the little bus. This time I could sit and enjoy the view of the town from the road.

We arrived in Samedan in the early afternoon. As we discussed in the train station what we should do with the spare time, DD informed us that she did not care where WE were going because SHE was not walking anywhere except to the hotel for an afternoon of TV watching.

I was not expecting this one! DH and I usually discuss special parenting situations in private but on this one we were caught by surprise. I had to weigh the pros and cons within seconds.

Pros: (1) She had been such a great sport throughout the vacation, hiking without complaining when I know that she is not crazy about hiking. (2) She was probably fed up with being 24hrs with us and needed time by herself. (3) We were in SAMEDAN and not in some big city. (4) She is totally responsible, mature, independent, and would not go wandering around town without us. (5) We certainly did not want to spend OUR afternoon on the hotel.

Cons: (1) She is thirteen (so was I when I started staying by myself on a daily basis) and (2) she does not speak the language (it had not stopped her so far)

You can call social services and child protection agencies if you think necessary but DH gave me a quick nod and I handed her the key. She took off like a bat out of hell! I had to almost scream after her that she could expect us between six and seven. I don’t think she cared. Neither would I have at thirteen.

After a quick look at the maps for nearby, short hikes, we got on the bus to Muottas Muragl. Of all the trains, buses, ferries, gondolas, etc., that we had taken on this trip this was only the second instance in which they did not give us any discount for Flexi Pass. We rode up on the cogwheel train with ten thousand Japanese tourists.

Once we had taken in the view we started to hike down. Within 500 meters I was sorry not to have my hiking pole with me. It was quite steep and the further we went down the rockier it got. But…the view was breathtaking! We walked down a ravine and along the river.

At one point we looked backwards DH noticed solid column of hikers coming down. I mean it looked like an anthill. It looked like a nation in exodus. We tried to walk as quickly as possible but there was no hope of outpacing them! Thankfully, they headed into the Muragl restaurant instead continuing down the trail where we were. My conservative estimate is that there were at least a thousand hikers in that march. It had to be some kind of event but we did not get a chance to ask. That cogwheel train was going to have to make continuous trips until midnight to get all the people down!

This trail was not the best marked one and at one point we wound up walking on the road. We finally came into the lower station and while we waited for the bus we saw lots of cars with Italian plates picking up kids from that walk. It looked fairly organized on the tiny parking lot so the kids must have been calling to be picked up only when they were on the train. The drivers must have been waiting somewhere else.

When we returned to Samedan we found DD happily watching TV in the room (big sigh of relief). After we cleaned up we headed out in the hunt for a dinner place. We finally settled on the restaurant at Hotel Post. The menu was extensive and reasonably priced. DH had tripe in tomato sauce and I had saltimbocca that was not nearly as good as the one I had in that awful-looking place! After dinner DD took off again and went to the hotel. As we walked back we saw that there was some kind of town party with live music and we stopped for a while.

There was a band playing the entire Gypsy Kings and Buena Vista Social Club repertoires in Spanish, both are groups that we love. It was surreal listening to all that Spanish in Switzerland! The people were having a ball. So we sang along and danced for a while. As we returned to the hotel we saw DD coming out. She was ready to come search for us! She was worried sick because we were so late (11:00 PM)….you can imagine how active our social life is...pathetic.

marigross

Ingo, we did not really WANT to walk down but I must say that it did not look that bad on the map. Once we saw it we knew that we were WAY out of our league.

Liz2005

Bookmarking...

mjnbrown

Mari -

I'm loving your trip report, since I leave for my first trip to Switzerland on August 29th. Your descriptions and detail are great. I can hardly wait to leave - I have everything in hand, including a rail pass and hotel reservations. I am spending 3 nights in Pontresina, 2 nights in Zermatt, 5 nights in Lauterbrunnen and a final night in Morges, on my way to the Geneva airport for the trip back to the US. I am really looking forward to the alpine hiking. If anyone has any tips for things I MUST do or sights I MUST see - please let me know.

Thanks,
Martha

Maudie

Hi Mari,
I am still reading and enjoying.

Martha, where are you staying in Pontresina? We are going next year and I am looking for ideas.

Maudie

mjnbrown

Maudie -

I am staying at the Hotel Rosatsch for 3 nights. I will try to post a trip report when I return, plus I usually report hotels I stay in on tripadvisor. The Hotel Rosatsch has gotten good reviews on tripadvisor, so I'm hoping for a nice little hotel.

Martha