6/19 -- A Day in Switzerland

Tirano is only a mile from the Swiss border, and there is a train that originates here that goes to San Moritz with lots of stops in between, notably in ski country. There are two Bernina stops servicing gondolas to ski areas, and one of the, Diavolezza, is open year round. It can be used as a jumping off point for hiking, or just for sight-seeing in the Alps at 10,000 feet, which is exactly what we did.

The red train is narrow gauge and was built in the early 1900s with an eye toward tourism. The maximum grade it can handle is 7%, so there are two major sections of switchbacks and one train circle to manage the gain when the terrain is too steep. There were wonderful views everywhere we looked, up, back, and at the top and we took nearly 300 photos between us. We had 'light' lunch at the top (maybe light for serious hikers, but not for us) along with an hour or so to enjoy the view.

An original engine on the left

Fancier cars that go farther. Ours had windows we could
pull down for better photos.

Entering Switzerland

The circle that helps the train get more elevation

The round things were very old storage sheds.

The helicopter picked up a tree to transport.

 

 

Looking back at where we came from. We saw this view
several times from increasingly higher elevations due to
the switchbacks.

A popular route for bikers and hikers.

The little person here waved to the train.

The restaurant at the top of the gondola run

Another gondola coming in

View from the trip back down.

 

On the way back, we got off for a short hike at Cavaglia to see a gorge with a bunch of very round hollowed out spaces due to water flow that was called a 'Glacier Garden'. Afterwards, we headed back to Tirano for exploration and dinner.

The covered area is to protect from avalanches

Above/below: we thing these pits from water circulation
are the 'garden' elements. There were a lot.

 

Above/Below: Carol investigates one of the deep holes

 

I doubt that purple was an original color.

These two houses above a village looked really peaceful.

A defunct hotel and restaurant near Tirano