Thursday, September 4th, 2025
We were up early to catch our bus for today’s excursion. Our route took us from Milan up to St. Moritz. It was a scenic route and we passed small villages on our way.
The Adda River was in northern Italy and was a tributary of the Po.
Chiavenna was a scenic location at the foot of the Rhaetian Alps located along the Italian and Swiss borders.
We passed the Acquafraggia waterfall. It was a multi-tiered waterfall located near Chiavenna.
This waterfall was noted by Leonardo da Vinci who included descriptions and sketches of it in his notebooks.
We saw many homes in the Italian Alps roofs made from local stone slabs. These stone roofs were known for their longevity and resilience against the harsh alpine conditions, including cold weather, wind, and heavy snow.
Prata Camportaccio was a municipality in northern Italy. It was known for its Alpine beauty and outdoor activities.
On the Italian border was passed Castasegna. The town’s name meant chestnut grove and it had the largest chestnut forest in Europe.
We passed by Promontogno, a small village in Graubünden, Switzerland. It was located along the Maira River.
In the connecting village of Bondo we saw the Castelmur Castle. It was built in 1723 and was completed in 1854. Bondo purchased the castle in 1961 and converted it into a museum.
To arrive in St. Moritz our bus followed the Strada Cantonale Maloja road. This was a climb up in the Swiss Alps. The Maloja Pass wasn’t for individuals who easily get motion sickness because of the many tight hairpin turns. The pass was 14.78 miles long. Our driver was amazing on these turns. We were glad to reach the town!
It you took your eyes off the hairpin turns, the scenery in the Alps was beautiful!
We got off the bus in St. Moritz. It was a luxury alpine resort in Switzerland’s Engadin Valley. It had hosted the Winter Olympics twice. Our guide called it the “playground of the rich and famous”. The population was about 5,000.
St. Moritz was 6,089 feet above sea level and known for having 322 days of sunshine a year! It was sunny when we visited but it was windy!
The St. Moritz library was located in the old school building and was the largest building the Plazza Da Scoula. It has over 7,000 books in various languages.
It also was part of the UNESCO World Heritage site. St. Moritz was also the beginning site of Switzerland’s winter tourism.
The Schiefer Turm was a leaning bell tower in town. It was a 12th century bell tower of the demolished St. Mauritius church. It leaned at an angle of 5.5 degrees. The above picture really doesn’t show how it leaned but when we visited we could see the leaning of the tower.
St. Moritz has hosted the Winter Olympics twice. The first time was 1928 and this year was also the first Winter Olympics! The town also hosted in 1948.
The Cresta Run was a world-championship bobsled run and made from natural ice. It also had an outdoor Olympic ice rink.
The Cresta Rider was someone who tobogganed headfirst down the Cresta Run in St. Moritz. It was a dangerous and traditional ice course built anew every winter. It was run by the exclusive St. Moritz Tobogganing Club.
Our guide recommended if we wanted to have original Swiss cuisine, then go to the restaurant La Stalla. It was decorated in an alpine style.
We went here to eat and ordered the traditional Swiss cheese fondue! It was SO good!
After lunch we had time to explore more of St. Moritz. The Hanselmann Bakery since 1894 was located in a historic building.
Lake St. Moritz was located next to the edge of town. In the summer the lake was used for rowing, sailing, fishing, and stand-up paddling.
After our visit to St. Moritz we boarded the Bernina Express train! It was a UNESCO World Heritage route because of its scenic beauty and engineering.
Our Bernina Express train ride was from St. Moritz to Tirano, Italy and lasted about 2 hours and 30 minutes.
The Bernina Express traveled on the highest railroad tracks in Europe.
From the train we saw the beautiful landscapes of the Alps. This was September and we still saw snow covered mountains and glaciers.
There were many waterfalls from the melting snow.
Everywhere we looked from the train it was a fantastic view.
We traveled on the Brusio Spiral Viaduct. It had nine-arches and was a stone spiral. This viaduct was built in 1908 to manage the steep gradient of the terrain.
We exited the train in Tirano, Italy. We met our bus here and went back to Milan. It was a full day. By the time we arrived at our hotel it was close to 9:00 PM. Due to our big lunch in St. Moritz we opted to go to the hotel bar and enjoy a glass of wine with some bar snacks! It was a full day but we loved every minute.
