T is for Tirano

Tirano, Italy.  Another good place to find gelato.  This small town on the Swiss-Italian border is the place to catch the Bernina Express train to St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Here we are approaching the city from the highway.



The Bernina Express took me over the Bernina Pass and on to St. Moritz where I visited the glacier in the Pontresina Valley.  'Express' does not mean faster as driving is actually faster.  But I am sure that the scenery cannot compare.

Waiting for the train in the town square.  The station is on the left.

Boarding the train, notice that this is another UNESCO site.

And we are off:

Miralago:

A town along the way:

At the Ospizio Bernina station.  It is the highest station on the railroad line at 2253 meters (7391 feet).

The view in St. Moritz.  Unfortunately the blue skies were left behind on day 5.

The glacier in the Pontresina Valley:

On my Bucket List:  Turkey

S is for Stanserhorn

Stanserhorn, Switzerland.  Before I got there I had never even heard of it.  But while everyone else in Lucerne was heading to more popular peaks, I was heading up the mountains in a CabriO car.  Unable to take  a picture of the car, whilst in the car, I had to take one of the brochure.  But first we boarded a funicular (above) to take us the the transfer station.

The following photos of the trip up the mountain and the gorgeous views are all self-explanatory. Going up. Enjoy the ride.

On terra firma.

Looking down at the plaza.

Off hiking the mountain to visit Heidi.

Tip:  DO NOT take the 2 minute trip.  It is nearly straight up.  Of course, like an idiot, that is exactly what I did and then took the 20 minute walk down hill.

The view from the summit:

Me at the summit:

An old quarry seen on the way down:

After the hike a reward was in order:

Beautiful even in black and white:

Heading back down into the clouds on day eight:

On my Bucket List:  Sweden

A is for the Alps

I am only guessing here, but I think that when you ask folks to tell you what they know about Switzerland, the Alps might be one of their top answers.  Others might be money and Swiss army knives.

The Alps go right across the landscapes of Switzerland, France, Liechtenstein, Italy, Austria and Germany.  I visited each of these countries on the trip I will be blogging about this month.  (They also go into Slovenia, but I did not.)

While some of my favorite vacations have involved mountains, I think I am now almost 'mountained out'.  But I am definitely a mountain person, not a beach person.  The only mountain range I have missed visiting in the USA is the Alleghenies.

Here I am in  Zermatt,  at the start of the trip to the top.  Alps - Zermatt - A to Z.

  The Matterhorn:

What a view:

We were pretty high in the sky:

Living below the peaks in Zermatt:

Zermatt was day four of my trip.

Each of my posts this month will have a country or large city in country that I want to visit.  It will be titled 'On my Bucket List''.

A is for Argentina