Sunny skiing in Breuil-Cervinia

Breuil-Cervinia

For the last few years, I have wanted to try skiing in different countries, rather than the usual Switzerland, Austria and France that we have been going skiing to. So this time we went to Breuil-Cervinia, in Italy. Though it's still the Alps, at least the food was better than the ski resorts in other European countries 😂. Plus the skiing was enjoyable - sunny weather, fabulous slopes, and the ability to cross-over and ski in the glaciers of Zermatt.


Getting there

We took a flight from London to Geneva, which flew over the Alps. It all looked so calm, so serene down below, with the white peaks peeking through the clouds. We also had to register at check-in kiosks before immigration, which was a new addition. Thankfully the queues weren't as chaotic as they became by springtime.

We had to drive about 3 hours to reach Breuil-Cervinia. We had rented a car from the airport, and picking it up was an interesting experience. First, the car was parked in a car park, 200m from the rental shop - it’s the first time I have seen something like this. Second, the car was extremely dirty, especially the wind screen and windows, which were completely covered with flowers and leaves stuck to them. When we pointed it out to the rental staff that the car should be cleaned before handover, they had a very shocked look! Thankfully they did clean it a bit for us.

And then we were off to the Alps. We first drove on flat plains, with snow covered mountains right next to us (well they were far away but looked near!). The plains were mostly farmlands with some industries in between. The far off peaks accompanying us the whole way looked stunning. The driving was bad though. It felt like no one drives properly in Italy! People speed, change lanes without signalling and quite often break the rules. I have had this experience in Italy a few times before but it still shocks me that such driving exists in Europe!

Ivrea

After some time, we took an exit and started driving through the alpine valleys. We first stopped at Ivrea for lunch. It was a small town and quiet empty at that time. We walked to a few restaurants and all of them refused to let us eat so late as it was already 2 pm 😂! So we had a snack at the station food shop (so much for good Italian food on this trip 😂).

We walked a bit in town. It had a few castles, one within the town and one slightly outside of town. The streets were all cobbled and looked lovely, with the red-orange houses around, and the snow covered Alps in the background. It was quite a scenic though short (and hungry) halt.

Thereafter, we mostly drove through Aosta valley through a scenic route which passes through the local villages and is dotted with castles. The scenic route runs alongside the highway but is a smaller and slower road. We drove through small villages, all charming and rustic, surrounded by mountains on both sides.

The houses were wooden and different from the Austrian/Swiss alpine chalets. The vegetation was mostly brown. The mountainsides were lined with vineyards. And there was no snow in this valley. We also drove past loads of castles on the mountainsides along us, including the famous Bard castle. They looked so majestic, and so cute - perched in brown on the hilltops. I enjoyed this slow drive, through charming villages, with the sun setting behind the mountains.

The gradient on the drive till now was gradual. Then suddenly after the town of Chatillon, we turned and went up quickly to 2000 m. We crossed a pass and suddenly there was a lot of snow everywhere. The last bit of the route was quite winding but not too tough to drive on. And then we reached our village, Breuil-Cervinia. We should have seen the Matterhorn (known as Monte Cervino in this area) as we arrived at our village but we couldn’t, as it was quite cloudy that day.

Snowed out view

We were staying in an airbnb in one of the apartment buildings in town. It was tough to find as the location shared was wrong! But it was very well done up, close to the ski lifts and we had a gorgeous view of the mountains around us. It started snowing right after we reached, so everything around looked heavenly. The temperatures were freezing though.

High street

On our first evening, we walked into town for dinner. It looked so cosy and active, with loads of people around. There was a small little high street, all lit up at night, with loads of eating places around. There was music playing in the evening. It felt like being in winter wonderland as it was snowing lightly all evening!

We first walked to our ski rental shop to rent skis and the staff there were so unfriendly. The owner was just not willing to store our skis and even started shouting at us when we asked him questions! They were also upset that we came late in the evening, even though the shop was still open. It wasn’t a great experience, and till now, I wasn't impressed by the service and hospitality of northern Italy.

After renting the skis, we walked into 5-6 restaurants and they were all fully booked! Finally we found a place, the Sporting Bar, which was willing to accommodate us 😂. Dinner there was simple but at least we got to eat!


Skiing in Breuil-Cervinia

Overall, I loved the skiing in Breuil-Cervinia. It was snowing the first day, but the next three days were gorgeous and sunny. The slopes were wide, the snow was fresh and the Alp views magnificent. On two of the days, I even skied the other side of Monte Cervino, in Zermatt valley in Switzerland, where the skiing was even more amazing.

Breuil-Cervinia

On the first day it was snowing and the slopes were covered in clouds the whole time. It wasn't too crazy weather but we still couldn't see where we were skiing. So we mostly did blues all day as we could not risk skiing blind on unknown slopes! I didn't enjoy it much that day as I couldn't see much around. So I skied only 4 hours, one of the fewest hours I have skied in a single day.

We had lunch at La Grotto, a fancy Italian restaurant in town. And the pizza there was so tasty. Finally we got a taste of the great Italian food we had dreamt of! Also I always say, I like Italian food only in Italy (otherwise I don't like pasta and pizza much) and this trip proved it. The pizza here was so thin and tasty, I loved it!

The last day too, I skied on the Italian side. I took a few connecting gondolas and went all the way till the village of Valtournenche. The gondolas on this part of the resort went quite far, they took a long time to navigate. The runs here were amazing though. And so long! I had a nice day skiing here in the sun.

Love Apres

I went on a very long run, all the way down to the village. Valtournenche looked delightful from the top, it even had a lake visible from the mountain. There was less snow here though than Breuil-Cervinia. As we were leaving the same day, we started early and it took a while to ski back to town, after taking a mix of gondolas and lifts to get back. I had lunch on the slopes that day at Love Apres (a place I had skied past everyday but never stopped at). It was lovely to sit there and enjoy the last view and feel of the mountains before heading back to the plains.


Skiing in Zermatt

It is possible to ski from Breuil-Cervinia towards the Zermatt valley in Switzerland. There are a few gondolas which can take one over the high peaks to the other side. To do that, one needs to buy international ski lift tickets for the day. A lot dependd on the weather and of course winds though, as quite often these gondolas are shut down due to bad weather.

On days 2 and 3, the weather was brilliant and we could have a full day of skiing. So I ventured to the other side. I had to take a few lifts and gondolas to cross the border. I also took the Matterhorn Glacier ride which takes you all the way up to the mountain peak of Klein Matterhorn, at a height of 3800 m. In fact when you get off, you have to walk through a tunnel inside the peak to reach the ski slopes.

Matterhorn

It was fun to go there, and I spent the whole day skiing around the Zermatt ski resort. From the peak, you can ski on the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise on the top, which is open for skiing all year around. Around it are 5-6 other glaciers which one can see from one of the lifts at Hohtalli. Skiing on the glacier was like a dream. Cruising on wide slopes, with stunning views around. I mostly did reds all day today and they were stunning. The only time I fell was on a flat slope while I was admiring the Matterhorn 😂. One can see the Matterhorn while skiing down, and it was stunning. It looked like a sphinx to me. And over the next two days I kept admiring it from various different angles.

I skied down to Furgg and Schwarzee lifts. The marking on the slopes was a bit off here. So as I was skiing, I got on a very flat blue slope (51) which went all the way down to Furi. It was not fun at all, as I had to push on the poles the whole way down.

When I reached Furi, it felt nice to be back there as I had visited the place in summer 2021, when I had hiked this area. It looked so different now with a completely opposite vibe. I was looking for the same restaurant that I had eaten at then, but I couldn't find it. So I had lunch at the Gitz Gadi restaurant near Silvana hotel, in the sun. It was lovely. It felt so nice to be there.

As it was my first day on the Swiss side and I was a bit anxious to get back to Italy, I left early on and took a few lifts to get back to the Italian side. I had to take the Trockener Steg gondola to the Klein Matterhorn peal but this gondola approached from the other side. I could see a lot more of the glaciers around (I had done a hike in the same area during the summer of 2021 when the glaciers had receded a lot more).

The gondola went through a few ups and downs and we could see the peak of the mountain far off. And boy, was it scary. So scary, that I decided not to look outside of the gondola even! The weather was brilliant that day, but now I understand why most of the time this gondola does not work. It would be quite scary on a bad weather day. After I got to the top, skiing down on the Italian side was quick as most lifts closed by 4 pm (even though sunset was after 6 pm!). So I just cruised down on the blues, all the way down.

The second day I went to Switzerland, I started earlier and skied much further, across many mountains to get to Schweigmatt. I went all the way through Furgg, Riffelberg, Gant and Hohtalli till Schweigmatt. The whole ski route was lovely. The valleys were wider with more panoramic views. They even had a ski train on the Gornergrat mountain, which looked cute. We got a magnificent view of the glaciers and peaks around from Hohtalli. Skiing here was just fabulous, with some easy but many challenging slopes. The weather was colder here though as the sun set here earlier.

While skiing back to Breuil-Cervinia, I stopped for lunch at Alphitta Zermatt, and it was heaven. We ate with a direct front view of the Matterhorn. And there was live music playing there. I think this was the highlight of my ski trip. I also chatted with some Germans who had taken a train all the way up till the restaurant and were also going to walk back down. They were on a holiday taking mostly trains to get anywhere (including the famour Glacier Express and Bernina Express), it sounded like an interesting travel idea. After lunch, I started the long trek back to Breuil-Cervinia via the Matterhorn Glacier.

The slopes on the Swiss side were generally longer and wider. The slopes felt easier too, maybe because they are wider. Surprisingly the snow felt less than in Breuil-Cervinia (other than on the glaciers of course). Also there were regular patches where one had to go speeding down to be able to naturally ski up the mountain. It was good practice for me, especially to get comfortable with skiing at high speeds. But still surprising.

Also, there were far more gondolas than ski lifts on the Swiss side. Which led to a lot of time wasted queuing for them. But as the slopes were longer, we didn't need to use them often. This side of the mountain was also more stunning than the Italian side. The Zermatt valley is definitely one of the loveliest in the Alps. And I think it's because I was admiring all the scenery around, I ended up skiing a lot, almost 8 hours from 9 to 5 pm. And I totally enjoyed it.


Breuil-Cervinia town

Monte Cervino

One of the evenings, I just walked around town for almost an hour and a half, all the way up one of the mountains. And I loved the town. Monte Cervino is the name given to the Matterhorn on the Italian side, and is quite a key attractor of people here in town. The town is quite huge, and spread out along a few of the mountainsides around. There were many other activities going on around here other than skiing, like snow tours, snow walks, glacier walks and so on. Overall, it seemed quite calm and convenient town. 

There are apartments in the centre of town, and also along four of the mountainsides. I walked up one of those mountains (where our airbnb was), and there were apartments and hotels there, right next to red slopes coming down! It would have been nice to stay at such a “ski in ski out” place. The sun also came out during this walk and the skiing on the other side of the mountain still in the sun, looked amazing.

High street

When we went into town in the evenings, we could see many apres ski and other restaurants alive and kicking. One evening, I sat outside Casa Montana next to a fire and sketched the hotel in front, the Da Compagnoni. The high street felt so lively with all the people around, the snow falling and the music playing there. It was so atmospheric, I loved it.

The second evening, we had dinner at La Barbaroque, where I ordered an Aosta soup and it was so bad. There was no soup in it, no liquid 😂. But the service was really good, our waiter was from Argentina. So she changed the order for me. The next evening we had dinner at Casa Montana apparently the oldest in Breuil-Cervinia. The vibe was so fun there though the food was quite average.

Leaving Breuil-Cervinia

On our last day, we had an interesting experience at the ski shop (again!). When we went to return our skis, we realised they were closed from 12-2 pm! That was a shock. It is Italy, but still we hadn’t expected this. Thankfully the owner picked up our phone and came back to take the skis, so that worked out OK. But if she hadn't, we could have even missed our flight.

The drive back to Milan airport was quicker, as we drove through the highways. Even that was as beautiful as the scenie road we had taken earlier. There were snow covered mountains and gray clouds all the way. Apparently, there was a storm approaching and the next few days, skiing was going to be limited in Breuil-Cervinia. At least in that respect, we had good timing.

At the car rental, after we dropped our car, the receptionist offered to drop us at the airport in the same car. And he drove so crazily, that now we knew why traffic was so bad all around! We had our dinner at the Milan airport. There were just so many nice restaurants - Italians do love their food! And by then, we started felling our trip was now over. 


Overall, I loved the experience of skiing in Italy. The views were great, the sun was welcome and the food yum. I would definitely recommend this ski resort anytime.

Swiss driving trip (2): Italian Swiss lakeland

Swiss driving trip (1): St Moritz

Day 6: From the Swiss Alps to Swiss Italian lakes, Brissago on Lake Maggiore, via Lake Como

In the morning before leaving, I went for one last walk in our village Celerina/Schlarigna, among its ski chalets and wildflowers. It was gorgeous. And then we were off for our next destination — Brissago, a lakeside town on Lake Maggiore, in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. The drive was different than the drive till St Moritz. For the first part, we drove through some magnificent alpine valleys, with huge blue-green lakes glimmering in the sun, and slowly descended into the alpine valleys of Italy. Our plan was to drive through the Lake Como area of Italy, and stop at some of the famous towns there before heading back to Switzerland.

Domaso

We stopped in the towns of Domaso and Tremezzina on the way. We took a longer break at Domaso, it was so colourful and bright. We walked on the promenade with multi-coloured houses all along. We also went into Lake Como for a bit. We then drove along the lake to Villa del Balbianello in Tremezzina, where Deepika Padukone had got married. It was fenced off though and we couldn’t get into the villa. So we just spent some time along the lake, enjoying the sunshine and the Italian vibe. We could see Bellagio across the lake. It looked pretty but also felt too cramped and crowded to enjoy properly. I felt the same for most of the places along the lake, the roads were narrow and the towns felt too posh and crowded, somehow it didn’t appeal to me.

Around Lake Como

Driving through Italy was a bit of a mess too, The roads were too narrow with a mountain cliff on one side, and a drop down to the lake on the other. Also, there were loads of tourists around and it was crowded. And the driving was too aggressive. I got honked at multiple times for stopping for tourists to cross the road and even for driving within the speed limit! It was crazy. 

The second lake on our way, Lugano, was huge too and we drove for a while next to it. We were thinking of stopping at Lugano, the city, but it felt too crowded and busy, so we skipped it. We made a quick supercharger stop and finally reached our Airbnb in Brissago in the evening. This area is known as Ticino, and has huge Italian influences. Also, the Italian border was just a few kms away from Brissago.

Brissago waterfront

Brissago was quiet and peaceful. It was a small village with a population of just 1600 people! It had a nice promenade on the lake, and a slow life around. The lakefront walks were the best places to walk, with some grand palazzos there and loads of watersports happening on the lake. We were staying at an old Ticino house, located right on the lake. And there was a chuch next door to us. As luck would have it, the church bells would ring at night, all night, every night – that was irritating.


Day 7: A Day Around Ascona

Ascona

We had two days around Brissago, which we mostly spent exploring the area around, in a leisurely fashion. The first day, we drove to Ascona, a small cute little town just a short hop from Brissago. It was on the same Lake Maggiore as Brissago. The road was a bit difficult to drive on, with cliffside curves and fast drivers but the scenery was fabulous. The blue waters with sailboats, some boats parked on the sides and grand houses all along the lakeside. 

Ascona

At Ascona, we spent a couple of hours walking along the promenade. It was sunny and relaxing, though there wasn’t a whole lot to do beyond just soaking it in. We walked along the restaurants and the lakeside, sat on a local swing and then in the park for a bit. The place felt more Italian than Swiss, in the style of the buildings, food, and even the vibe. But it was also more chaotic and definitely more touristy. Parking was a pain here too. I liked it though I felt it was overrated and was surprised how it was so crowded with tourists.

Houses on Lake Maggiore

Later in the day, I went for a run till the next village, Ronco Sopra Ascona and came back walking. The walk was fabulous, with greenery around, stunning views of the lake, boats and yachts moored on the sides, villas perched on the cliffs above the lake, narrow paths leading to the lake, small villages, and even a small island in the distance. The clouds changed colour by the minute and there was even a small thunderstorm, adding to the drama. I just fell in love with the grandeur of this place. It felt so luxurious too, but not in a Lake Como kind of way.

Brissago waterfront

We spent the evening in Brissago, and our dinner was pizza at Bahia café right by the lake; simple, perfect, and with a view. The owner was an Italian who said he came every day to Switzerland to work. And it was interesting for us to see how easily people moved countries, something we from the Indian sub-continent can only dream of.


Day 8: Exploring Locarno, and around Brissago

On our second day in Ticino, we headed to Locarno. We spent some time in the city centre, the Piazza Grande. There were just some colourful buildings and a lively square there, but not much else. We also visited the ruins of the Visconteo Castle nearby, which, interestingly, was said to be built by Leonardo da Vinci.

Parco delle Pace in Locarno

Then we went to Parco delle Pace, a beautiful lakeside park. It was quite picturesque with trees growing in the water in calm surroundings. And the water in the lake was warm! It was so serene, we sat in the sun for a bit and then went in for a swim. Later, back in Brissago, I swam in the lake again. There were a lot more waves here, but it was just as fun to swim in such captivating surroundings.

Lake Maggiore

In the evening, we took a walk all the way into Italy, it was just 4kms to get there! The walk was beautiful, with the familiar lakeside villas, the hills on one side, water on the other. It was lovely. And when we came back to Brissago, a jazz concert was being held on the lakefront, for free. It was surreal to just sit there and enjoy the music in the stunning summer setting. And then we took our last walk along the waterfront. The villas there were seriously gorgeous, and I could walk this path every day. The bells were still ringing though but somehow everything else made up for it.

Brissago

There were a few places around to visit which we couldn’t, like Brissago islands, Lido Brissago, Parco delle canellie (a walk through blooming parks) and the Lido Locarno (for outdoor swimming). Maybe for the next time.







Day 9: Brissago to Baden-Baden, with stop at Lake Lucerne 

View from Gotthard Pass

We left Ticino today and it was a 2 day drive back to Amsterdam. The first day, we were stopping in Baden-Baden in Germany. During the initial part of the drive, the highway was closed for repairs. So we had to take a diversion, an old scenic route instead through the St. Gotthard Pass. And what a gorgeous detour it was (It’s at times like these I realise that the real beauty of countries lies in the old longer roads, not the new short highways). The pass had snow, even in June. And the roads were narrow and winding, but with spectacular views of the valleys and mountains around. It was so much fun to drive here, the views made the long drive worth it.  

On the way down, we passed through beautiful alpine villages — Hospental, Goschenen and others. With wooden chalets along the slopes, the kind of Switzerland you imagine when you close your eyes. And soon it was back to boring hours of highway tunnels, flat roads, and not much to see.

We did take a lunch break at the Lake Lucerne waterfront, not in the city but in Ennetbürgen (since all the other parkings were full). This lake felt a lot more open, as it was wider than Lake Maggiore and the mountains on the side were less high. It was also so warm. We sat in the sun by the water, had our lunch, went for a swim and it was bliss.

Baden-Baden

Soon we crossed into Germany, and the landscape changed again. It was three hours of straight, boring drive on the highways. We reached Baden-Baden quite late. It looked like a sweet little town, with huge old mansions, green parks and calm roads. A very relaxed kind of place. We took a nice evening walk, saw some beautiful houses and gardens, and had a nice Indian dinner at Taj Tandoori. After a long time.


Day 10: Driving back to Amsterdam, with stop in Rhine Valley

We went out to explore Baden-Baden in the morning, and it looked even greener and grander then. We walked through the high street which had some amazing shops. But it was a short stop as we had a long drive ahead.

Rhine Valley

On our way back, we were looking for a place to stop for lunch. When I found a castle on the map next to a river, we decided to drive there. And then I discovered something I didn’t know of before – the Rhine Valley. The views were just gorgeous - green hills, castles in the distance, the Rhine below glimmering in the sun, and vineyards and castles dotting the hills. It was an absolute pleasure to drive here after all the boring highways.

Sooneck Castle

We stopped at Sooneck Castle, perched above the river. It was small but still elegant. We walked around a bit, had our lunch and were off (with me hoping to come back someday). The rest of the drive was the usual. The driving through Germany was so smooth and well-organised. One thing I noticed this time, when there’s an accident in Germany, everyone pulls to the edge of the road to make space. Such a contrast to where I come from! After Germany, we entered France for a bit when things changed again, with more traffic and slower speeds.

View from Sooneck Castle

And then soon we were back to known places – the amazing roads of Netherlands, driving through boring flatlands. It was a long, full day on the road. And then, we were back in Amsterdam. Tired, happy, and already missing the mountains.

Engadine Valley

Overall, I wasn’t very impressed with Brissago and its surroundings. It was a gorgeous place but there wasn’t a lot to do there other than eat and shop. The Engadine valley though, I loved. And can’t wait to be back!

Swiss driving trip (1) - St Moritz

Swiss driving trip (2) - Brissago

Engadine Valley

In the summer of 2023, we did a one week driving trip from Amsterdam to Switzerland, spending a couple of days in the Engadine valley around St Moritz and then a few days in the Ticino area around Brissago, the Italian part of Switzerland. On the way there, we stopped in Belgium and France and while coming back, we stopped at a few places in Germany. It was a great vacation, and the beauty of Switzerland was mesmerising. We also enjoyed the road tripping, being able to stop where ever we wanted, and explore the not-so-touristy places on the way.

The detailed itinerary is as follows:
Day 1: Drive from Amsterdam to Strasbourg (7.5 hours); explore Spa (Belgium) on the way; stay at Ibis Styles, Strasbourg
Day 2: Drive to Celerina/Schlarigna (5.5 hours); explore Strasbourg, Zurich Lake on the way; stay in airbnb at Celerina/Schlarigna
Day 3: Walk around St Moritz Lake, Silvaplanarsee lake, Sils village
Day 4: Bernina express from St Moritz to Tirano, explore Poschiavo and Alp Grum on the way
Day 5: Up the Diavolezza cable car, explore Pontresina and Samedan village
Day 6: Drive to Ascona (4.5 hours); explore Ascona, Domodossola, Villa del Balbianello; stay in airbnb in Brissago
Day 7: Explore Ascona and Brissago pier
Day 8: Explore Locarno, walk to Italy
Day 9: Drive back from Brissago to Baden Baden (5.5 hours); stop around Lucerne Lake; stay in airbnb in Baden Baden
Day 10: Drive back to Amsterdam (5.5 hours); stop in Rhine valley at Sooneck castle


Day 1: From Amsterdam to Strasbourg, with stop at Spa

We left early from Amsterdam and drove all day through a few countries today, from the Netherlands to Belgium to a short stretch in Germany and then onto our destination for the night in France. Netherlands as usual was flat and cloudy. As we reached Belgium, the scenery quickly changed. The land became more hilly and green, with cute little colourful houses and churches dotting all the villages on the hills along the way. There were loads of windmills in Belgium too. We drove through Ardennes through some stunning green valleys.

Town of Spa

We first stopped in the Belgian town of Spa. It was sunny and hot when we reached. We just walked around town and explored it on foot. The city had a very relaxed, old-world charm, and was famous for its many hot water spas, from historical times. It had some casinos, some spas, a busy high street, some street art installations and some charming cathedrals. The town was quiet, with older people slowly walking through its shaded streets.

Street Art in Spa

We saw the Église Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Remacle de Spa, a small but beautiful church. There were fountains and springs all around. We walked into one of the spas too, the Pouhon Pierre-le-Grand. After that before leaving the area, we stopped at the Source de La Sauvenière, which is a well-known spring, with mineral water coming from deep below. We tasted the water there, but it wasn’t as refreshing as we expected.

At night, we were looking for Indian food and found a restaurant nearby called the Asian Classic which had great reviews. But it turned out to be a huge disappointment. Probably one of the worst Indian meals I have had in Europe. On top of that, our hotel receptionist wasn’t very helpful either and declined every request we made (for an AC, for a water kettle, for directions to an electric charger and so on). It wasn’t the most exciting end to the day, but we were in France, so what could we expect 😜. Anyways as it had been a long day, we were tired and happy to sleep early.


Day 2: From Strasbourg to Celerina/Schlarigna, with stop near Zurich Lake

Strasbourg canals

We began the day with a couple of hours exploring Strasbourg. The city centre was gorgeous, especially Petite France, with its old colourful wooden houses, canals and the narrow streets. Most of the buildings there seemed to have an old timber framed wooden architecture. There were bright colourful flowers everywhere and the whole place was full of tourists. It was so vibrant, as enjoyable, just like my first visit there, in 2007.

Strasbourg Cathedral 

We walked around the canals and the churches and then went in to see the Strasbourg Cathedral (Notre-Dame). It looked so majestic, on the outside and the inside and the stained-glass windows were just outstanding. It was fun to explore. It was a hot day, so we left soon as we had a long drive ahead.

After we entered Switzerland, the first half of the drive was through the flat Swiss plateau, flat and boring. My father commented that Switzerland wasn’t as gorgeous as it is famed to be. And I just told him, just you wait till we get to the real Switzerland. We also had to buy a Swiss vignet to drive in Switzerland on the border.

Zurich Lake

We wanted to stop on the way somewhere for lunch and ended up stopping at the Zurich Lake as I thought that would be fun. The traffic was bad in town. And the lake was crowded like crazy that day as it was a sunny weekend. So, we had something to eat but were off soon, not really impressed by the lake.

And after that, we drove through some tunnels and slowly turned away from the highway towards the mountains, the Swiss Alps. The drive got interesting and the scenery magnificent, as we drove past lakes and rivers and high peaks covered with snow. The mountain roads got winding and the weather turned cooler. The supercharger we stopped on the way was also so picturesque. It got dark quickly though as we started driving up the mountains.

After a long and tiring drive, we finally reached our Airbnb in Celerina/Schlarigna, a small village near St Moritz. It started raining a bit, and by the time we reached our Airbnb and managed to get in, it was already past 10 pm. We slowly settled in, and even though we couldn’t see outside much, the place already felt peaceful and completely different from the bustling cities we had left behind.


Day 3: Exploring St Moritz and Silvaplanarsee lakes

Breakfast with a view,
our airbnb in Celerina

The Airbnb was a multi-floor wooden chalet, well stocked with everything we needed and a postcard worthy view from our balcony. We were right next to a small stream, then there were some green pastures, some chalets, a historical church and then the snow-covered peaks around the valley, hidden by clouds. We ate our breakfast sitting outside. Every day. Sipping on a hot drink with the view in front was so calming, like being in a dream.

St Moritz Lake

Our first day was a rainy day and so we decided to mostly explore the neighbourhood. We first drove to St Moritz and took a walk around the lake. Despite the clouds, the scenery was stunning. The lake was still, with reflections of the mountains and buildings on its surface. There were green pastures all around with wildflowers adding colour to the pastures. And the alpine wooden chalets all around felt so enchanting. The air was fresh, and it felt great to just walk. How much more amazing it may be to live here?

Silvaplanarsee Lake

Then, we drove to the next lake, the Silvaplanarsee, not far from St Moritz. There was a small camper park nearby, and it was also in a valley with high peaks all around, all snow-covered. We took a short walk near the lake, then went to the village of Sils for a quick tea stop. The villages in this region were quiet, and most restaurants and hotels were shut by the late afternoon.

Reflections, St Moritz Lake

In the evening, I bought a small cake from the local bakery, which was a local speciality. And I think it was one of the best cakes I have ever eaten. It’s a local type of cake from the area, and I would recommend any day, except I don’t remember what it is called 😁.

One of the evenings, we decided to eat dinner in our village but there weren’t a lot of options around. When we explored a bit, we found many of them closed too as it wasn’t tourist season yet. So we chose one which was open and went for dinner to a place called Bo’s Co in our own village. There weren’t many options to choose from the menu, but we managed. But also decided we should research more before we eat out anywhere 😁.  Another interesting thing I noted was that our village had electric charging spots! It was surprising that such a small village could have that too - showing how advanced things are here. 


Day 4: Bernina Express to Tirano and Back

Bernina train

This was the loveliest day of our stay in St Moritz. The day before, I had bought tickets for us to travel on the Bernina Express – one of the two most picturesque trains in Switzerland. It is a 4-hour train connecting Switzerland to Italy, from St Moritz (at 1800 metres) to Tirano (at 400 metres) and is an architectural marvel. It passes through 55 tunnels and over 196 bridges, riding on multiple viaducts during the travel. 

There are two types of trains that run on this Rhaetian railway route. The Bernina Express which has windows all the way to the roof and provides a panoramic view of the mountains and valleys it goes through. It also has fewer stops as it runs essentially for tourists. And the other are the local trains which do not have the same panoramic windows as the Bernina Express and stop more. Its windows open also, which helps when taking photographs. The Bernina express is more expensive than the local trains (CHF 56 vs CHF 32). We bought tickets for the Bernina Express one way, till Tirano and for the way back, we took the local train so we could get off at places and explore them on our own timelines. We left early in the morning to get onto the earliest Bernina Express and spent the whole day between Switzerland and Italy. And what a day it was!

Views on the way

The first half of the ride is the ascent to the Bernina pass. The ride passes through majestic mountains, lush green valleys and vibrant green forests, with views of some glaciers and high peaks in the region. We went through many tunnels, viaducts connecting mountains, passing by small streams and huge turquoise lakes,with some random wooden chalets appearing randomly through the vegetation in the mountains. Each turn, each scene was like a picture postcard.  

Bernina pass

The train took us up to 2200 metres, till Ospizio Bernina pass, the highest stop for the train ride. We were above the clouds by then. There were two lakes there, lot of snow around and the weather was cold and cloudy. We could see people hiking there even in the cold and wind, though we chose to continue our journey. The next stop was Alp Grüm, with a view of Palü Glacier and Lago Palü from there. You can hike down to the lake from here, though we planned to stop here on our way back.

Italian valleys

And then slowly, we started descending into Italy. The landscape changed again. Everything got softer, both the mountains as well as the houses. The valleys were greener and wider. There were strawberry fields, rivers, churches, and even small palaces dotting the landscape. We rode along the Poschiavo lake for a long time, that part of the ride was stunning.

Italian palaces

There were a few small alpine towns and villages on the way like Poschiavo, Le Prese and Brusio, each with their colourful houses, their many old churches and fields all around – each looked charming. Around the town of Brusio, we also passed by the famous hairpin railway bridge, and it was so interesting to see the end of our red train while still on the bend.

Tirano

The train terminated at Tirano and we explored the town for a bit. We walked around the old town and next to the river. They had some grand old buildings including some palazzos. It was already different than Switzerland – rules were bendable, standards were lower, and things didn’t feel as efficient 😁.

Poschiavo

And then on the way back, we took the local train, and the landscape was still as stunning and enjoyable as the first time. We also got off from the train at Alp Grum and Poschiavo, to take our time and enjoy the places on the way. We first stopped at Poschiavo which was such a cute little village, with a stream flowing through. It had a few churches, a nice high street and many restaurants in the city centre. We had lunch at Hotel Alfrici and the food was excellent. It started raining soon though, as we returned back to the train. Our short stop there had felt so magical, with the green mountains and rain around.

View at Alp Grum

We next stopped at Alp Grüm. It was a picturesque stop with the glacier and lake around, but the cold and rain got to us. We sat inside the train waiting room for a bit and got back onto the next train. We didn’t stop anymore that day as the weather had packed up already. The ride back felt prettier too, as we could open the windows of the trains, and the air felt fresher.

We finally reached St Moritz in the evening after a full day on the train and loved it. To be honest, I had been a bit unsure if I wanted to go on this Bernini Expire as it was clearly made for tourists, but I absolutely loved it. It’s an absolute recommend.


Day 5: Diavolezza Glacier and Villages Nearby

Glacier

The day the weather improved and the sun came out, we drove to the Diavolezza base station and took the gondola to the top of the mountain. At the base there wasn’t much snow, but as we moved up, it was all snowed out and we could see the glaciers in the distance. The sun was out, and the air was so fresh.

On the top

There weren't too many crowds up the peak though. There were some platforms to view the glaciers far off, and some cafes which were already open. We also saw some people working on clearing the hiking trails, getting them ready for summer. We spent some time there, playing snowball games and just falling on the snow, and loved the time there, the fresh air and the majestic views. After coming down, we went for a short hike up the mountain and came across a small snake on the trail too.

Going up the gondola

Around the base

Pontresina

Later in the afternoon, we drove to Pontresina for tea. The village had some charming cliff-side houses. But it was too empty, there wasn’t a lot of activity happening there yet. The drive there was charming though.

Church of San Gian

Back in Celerina/Schlarigna, we walked to the old church of San Gian, the one visible from our Airbnb windows. It was in ruins but had a quiet charm to it.

On the walk

In the evening, I went out for a walk to the neighbouring village of Samedan, and it was such a lovely walk. Along a stream, lined with wildflowers, with ponies here and there and peaceful reflections everywhere. On the way, there were people running, mountain biking, fishing, and hiking. It was clear that this area is popular with outdoor enthusiasts.

Views on the walk

While coming back, I also explored the other side of our village of Celerina/Schlarigna. It was quite huge. With wooden chalets everywhere, some beautiful churches, wildflower fields and so many birds everywhere. There were no local people outside though, only tourists mountain biking. the walk experience was just so stunning, it was so refreshing to be out and about on a sunny summer evening.

There were a few more villages nearby to visit, like Piz Nair, Piz Corvatch, Lake Staz, Hahnensee, Zuoz, Ardez, Ftan Guarda and Sils. But we didn’t get time. Also, we really wanted to go up the cable car to Muottas Muragl, for a meal at the restaurant on top but it hadn’t opened yet as it wasn’t summer yet. Like I say, to next time...

Our village

And just like that our stay in the Engadine Valley was over. I absolutely loved it – the village, the airbnb, the days out. It was a mind-blowing place and I can’t wait to be back.