Romance and Romansh

Today is a train day, much to David's enjoyment. Our eventual destination is St. Moritz (Sankt Moritz) the playground of the well-to-do and one of Europe's most romantic locations. No fewer than six different trains, and the associated baggage transfers all by hand, will take us through mountain passes, across glacier lakes, through tunnels and a series of anti-avalanche galleries (snow sheds with a view), over the world's greatest stone viaduct and plunging through the longest canyon in Switzerland.

The Duck leads us to the station at Locarno, thankfully "a little downhill" and a short 10-minute walk, to meet up with our luggage. Our first goal of the day is Andermatt using the regional train to Bellinzona, the Intercity train to Goschenen and finally, the Cog Railway to Andermatt which leads us through the Oberalp Pass. Cog railways along the Glacier Express route are not only necessary to help climb mountain heights but are most useful for braking on the downhill portion of the trip.

Wooden fences help keep falling snow off the railroad tracks.

A snow shed and tunnel down below

The scenery is spectacular to say the least. At the top of the pass is Oberalp lake and above it is Toma Lake, the source of the Rhine River. Intermittent fog, snow, sunshine, waterfalls and breathtaking drop-offs dot the anterior Rhine valley. 

We did spot a golf course on our way, however, but no time to stop and play a round!

Here the ancient language of Romansh (Roman/Latin based language) is spoken. Romansh is the least known of Switzerland's four official languages; if you've been following along so far, you know the others are German, French, and Italian. Romansh itself is actually a collection of several different dialects rather than a unified single language, but the written form has been standardized for use in the media and in newspapers. In St. Moritz we were able to watch a number of American television shows that had been dubbed into Romansh. Today, the number of Swiss who still speak Romansh is dwindling, but there are efforts to keep the language alive.

The video includes a recording of a Romansh folk song, but also some wonderful scenes of Switzerland in the wintertime, something we did not experience.

At Disentis (Muster in Romansh), the Rhaetian Railway begins as we pass the Benedictine Abbey founded in the 8th century. We're headed for Ilanz, the first town on the Rhine founded by Celts in 765. Peggy and I, having Celtic roots in our families, found this market town most interesting. If you have Celtic genes, traveling must be in your blood; we were being true to our heritage. Heading for Richenau and another train change, we descended through the wild gorges of the Rhine created in prehistoric times by immense rockslides.

Time for a romantic lunch! Boarding the Abula line, we were seated in a historic dining car with wood paneling, antique lighting providing ambiance through the tunnels, crisp linens and tableware. Seared steak, potatoes, green beans and a salad accompanied by beverages in spotless glassware was topped off by  - - chocolate! Our guides passed through and distributed small sticks of Branche L'originale from the Cailler Chocolatier. These were enjoyed with a small kaffe as the scenery of the Anterior and Posterior Rhine along the Albula River passed by.

There were lights for when we were in the tunnels
and holsters for our drinks if it got bumpy!

Our trip was a series of mind-boggling numbers and engineering feats including passing the highest aerodrome in Europe. Starting with the top of the Oberalp Pass at 6,670 feet, we crossed the stone Landwasser Viaduct (442 ft long and 213 ft high) with a curve radius of 328 ft and built in 1902. The Albula tunnel was the highest transalpine tunnel in Europe at 5,971 ft and 3.6 miles long after a climb of 2,296 ft over 8 miles. A literal "train ladder" of five helix tunnels, two standard tunnels, nine viaducts and two galleries made for some exciting photography. By the end of the day at St. Moritz, your digital camera chip was probably full.

The following video is long, but because it's filmed via helicopter, you really see the gorgeous scenery. Stick it out until the end (or fast forward); you don't want to miss the last 30 seconds or so.

After passing Samedan, the capital of U Engadine where the river Inn watershed flows northeast and joins the Danube at Passau to flow into the Black Sea, we arrived in St. Moritz. 

Luckily, the hotel transport took our baggage "a short distance, slightly uphill" as we walked, once again as part of our 5-mile per day regimen, to our accommodations. Slightly uphill at St. Moritz is a bit of a misnomer. Through the parking garage, you are greeted by a series of escalators steep enough so as not to see the top; thankfully, they were in operation. Once at the upper level the route continued uphill to the Hotel Soldanella with a breathtaking view of the lake and surrounding mountains.

But finally, we checked in to our charming hotel and got a glimpse of why St. Moritz has been such a popular stop for so long.

View from our window

Edelweiss

The balance of our afternoon was spent on a walking, self-guided tour of trendy shops in St. Moritz where money is no object to storekeepers catering to the rich and famous.  Jimmy Choo, Dolce et Gabbana, Gucci and Chanel are available along with $45,000 watches that vie with more moderately priced souvenirs. We did manage a souvenir or two.

Dinner and a restful evening led to a morning breathtaking view and  - - snow showers on the mountain!

Our route today:

View Locarno to St. Moritz in a larger map

Crossroads of Europe

The key to financial security in the Middle Ages centered around control over the trade routes of Europe. There is no better example of this in Bellinzona where the Duck has led us this morning. First established in 5500 BC, control over the valleys leading North out of Italy was much contested and resulted in the building of Castelgrande in the 14th century. Overshadowed by the castle Montebello on a hill 300 feet above the city, ramparts and gates literally sealed off any movement North and South. In short, you had to pay the piper to be able to trade along this route which opened Europe to the Mediterranean.

The hillside with views of the fortifications

Bellinzona as seen through the ramparts of Castelgrande

During one of the periods when Milan fought and controlled this valley, Sasso Corbaro was constructed, adding another imposing castle structure 750 feet above the city itself. Coupled with Castelgrande, these fortresses extended walls reminiscent of The Great Wall of China with room to ride horses to deploy against any attacker. With the exchanges in control, the arts, culture, traditions, food and the economy flourished with a variety of influences from Baroque to Baronial. The sunny side of Switzerland was a key factor in the eventual development of the European continent as we know it today.

We enjoyed perfect weather to wander around Castelgrande and discovered several school groups doing the same. 

Grapevines planted along the stone walls

Viewing the modern city from openings in the thick stone walls.

Because the three castles together are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, great care has been taken to preserve the castles, and yet integrate them into the more modern city of Bellinzona. The result is a sometimes jarring juxtaposition of a medieval castle with an ultra modern outdoor event space used for concerts and other gatherings. 

In order to install elevators to make the site handicapped accessible, this shaft was drilled into the rock.

City planners even managed to build a modern parking garage and feature the ancient foundations of the castle as part of the architecture!

This short video features aerial shots of the Castle which really give you a sense of the scope of the fortification.

After touring Castelgrande and its ramparts, a leisurely lunch at the Migros left time for shopping and sightseeing in the old part of Bellinzona. Tucked in among the many delightful shops, Peggy finally found fabric to make the kind of lace curtains we had seen in many windows of chalets throughout Switzerland. It was a difficult choice between two beautiful patterns, so we bought both! They now adorn windows upstairs in our home, reminding us each day of our honeymoon trip.

Our curtains

But we had more to see! Part of the development of the "Crossroads of Europe" is the new Gotthard Base Tunnel where the Duck led us for a private tour of the AlpTransit Control building. Amazing is most likely an inadequate word for this new Wonder of the World. The Gotthard Base tunnel is the world's longest railway tunnel composed of two 57 kilometer-long tubes connected by cross tubes every 325 meters. With all the cross tunnels and shafts, emergency exits and stations, the complex is over 152 kilometers of the most modern system in the world.

Still under construction, the visitor's center is a marvel all its own

The walls are filled with rock excavated in the digging of the tunnel

Almost completed, when open, the Gotthard system will quadruple the traffic into and out of Northern Europe with trains running every three minutes under computer controlled directions from the AlpTransit control building. Built to last 100 years, the system is the result of modern technology with two special boring machines built solely for this undertaking. Aided by satellite-based engineering, the tunnel sections constructed over 4 years have only a deviation of no more than 137 millimeters over the entire length.

The final connection is made:

We also had another reminder of how seriously the Swiss take the protection of the environment from the perils of global climate change. Knowing that climate change threatens the very core of the Swiss economy, they recognize that transportation using more environmentally friendly methods like electric trains rather than that which burns fossil fuels will both preserve the natural beauty of the Swiss Alps and create revenue.

The engineering involved was astonishing, but it was simply one more example of the Swiss perspective on problem-solving. Why let a little thing like the Alps stand in the way of progress? No problem! We'll just dig a hole right through them! No endless debates from politicians--just a recognition that it needs to be done, and therefore we will find a way to do it.

So we end the day where we began: the key to financial security in the future is to control transportation across a difficult terrain. Then it was Castelgrande; today it is the Gotthard Base Tunnel. 

The following is a short video produced by AlpTransit, the corporation responsible for the Gotthard Tunnel:

We board the Postal bus to Biasca; a train to Bellinzona; and a train to Locarno. Upcoming will be the last stop of our journey to the high fashion and high society resort of St. Moritz before our return to Zurich and our flight home.

Today's trip:

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