Odd Job Italiano: The Bernina Express

Friday 18th Down to the train station bright and early for the 10am Panoramic Bernina Express to St Moritz (with the others of the jetset - as the song goes) Train, its route and surrounding countryside, is on the Unesco World Heritage list for the engineering skill involved and natural beauty Of course I took about 200 photos through the window, most pretty ordinary due to reflection, and try as I might my little camera failed to capture the majesty of the landscape. The train crosses the Swiss border about 3k up at Brusio viaduct. The Hotelier told us that after the war when the economy was poor townsfolk earned a crust by walking up the mountain track to Brusio at night and smuggling back coffee, 40 kilos at a time. Apparently Italian businessmen would order the coffee from Brazil, it would be shipped to Genoa on route to Switzerland and end up in this little Swiss town on the border for these poor buggers to take the risk. Anyway back to the red train - at Brusio the 360 degree viaduct allows the train to gain height rapidly. All along the route the views are spectacular, scenes of towns on the valley floor, snow capped mountains, including the Pau glacier. The train winds up from Tirano at 430metres above sealevel to Bernina at 2253 metres and then back down to St Moritz at 1800 metres. Trip takes two and a half hours and from my position of not having taken any other train journeys, other than up and down Italy years ago, ;it surely must be up there with the best. We had a couple of hours to stroll around St Moritz before the return journey. It appeared a nice town, swanky hotels, main street with full of empty tres chic shops. Pay in euros and get change in Swiss francs (what am I going to do with 5 francs?) We had our lunch by the lake, weather was perfect, just a bit crispy. Having trouble with the photos... think wifi too slow, will try later