I was so excited about this trip. I had been looking forward to taking my first big-time train trip. And oh, what a train to ride. We were taking the Bernina Express through the Swiss Alps into northern Italy. This trip was going to epic!
We woke up super early. The sun wasn’t even awake yet. We had to drive to the Chur train station, which was about 45 minutes away. As we made our way to Chur, the sun finally began to wake up. And oh boy, was that spectacular. Seeing the sunrise as we wound through the Alps is something everyone should see (in my humble opinion).
On the Train
We finally made it to Chur, parked the car somewhere, and made our way to the train station. Pa needed his coffee and Ma needed some breakfast. Then it was off to the train platform to get ready to board. The train was already there. It was a beautiful bright red color. The day before, we were out hiking and saw the Glacier Express as it came through the mountains. The way the red of the train “pops” against the snow makes for a beautiful sight.
When it was time to board, we found our car and got settled. Our car, thankfully, was only about half full. I was able to bounce back and forth between the windows so I could catch the views on both sides. The windows were huge. They ran to the top of the car and curved over parts of the roof. I guess with scenery like that, you have to make the windows extra big.
As we started, I grabbed my breakfast to munch on as the train slowly made its way out of town. Rollie was with me too. He had his nose glued to the window. He was ready for some snowy mountain views. So much so, he was probably plotting an escape plan to go roll around in the snow!
After about half an hour, the mountains were in sight. The train did not travel fast. But that meant we were able to take it all in. We pasted Alvenaeu, the town in which we were staying, which meant one of the best spots on the trip was coming up: the Landwasser Viaduct.
Landwasser Viaduct
The Landwasser Viaduct is where we hiked the day before and caught the Glacier Express passing by. The viaduct is an amazing-looking bridge that crosses a river with large beautiful arches on a dramatic cliff before passing into a tunnel in the mountain. From the train, it was just as cool. Because of the curve, you could see arches from the train. From there, you could also see all the way down. If you’re afraid of heights you should not look down!
On top of the World
At this point, we began climbing. Probably my favorite part of the trip was the stop at the Bernina Pass. We weren’t super-high up, but it did feel like we were on top of the world. It was good for me, ‘cause a four-year-old cooped on a train for too long can be dangerous. At the pass, I was able to get off and stretch my legs. We had views of some of the largest peaks in the Alps. That day the weather was beautiful; bright sunshine bounced off the snow-capped mountains and created such a surreal scene.
From the top of the world, it was downhill from there, literally! We had started our descent to our final destination in Tirano, Italy. One of the other cool sites was another viaduct. The Brusio viaduct made a giant circle as we headed into Italy. There was no more snow on the ground and could see the small town as we looped around.
We came into the train station just a few minutes later. Our 5-hour journey through the Alps had come to an end. My first “real” train adventure is in the books. We would take the Bernina Express back to Chur the next day, but now, it was time for 24 hours in Italy.
