Switzerland

2 September 2013.

Switchbacks

We decided to take the car and head north to St. Moritz in Switzerland. It turned out to be a beautiful drive. It was a bit like being in Colorado when we got to the mountains. We had to cross Maloja Pass to get to St. Moritz. The last few kilometers was one of the windier roads we have ever driven. There must have been 15 switchbacks, many of them effectively 180 degree turns. It was crazy. It was hard to get a good picture, but Caroline took this while we were coming down. On the right side of the picture you can see the road in the valley. It would be an epic bicycle ride. And, we saw some bikers riding up, one of them not likely to make it to the top it seemed to us.

The view from the pass was magnificent. Of course as Coloradans, we are used to magnificent mountain views. As we drove toward St. Moritz, we came to lake which provided more views.

Pass Lake1

Top of Maljo Pass looking into Italy.                                               The Swiss Alps.

LunchStop

St. Moritz was a bit of a let down, mostly because it was modern hotels. In our wanderings around the town we didn't find a place that looked inviting to stroll for a bit and eat lunch. We ended up at a cafe in a small village on our way back where we had a nice lunch with a good view. Our waiter, who was from Estonia, told us that the tourist season had ended the day before and that the city was very quite today. I image the area is bit like Vail--very busy in quiet winter with skiers, somewhat busy in the summer, and then quiet the rest of the year.






cows

A visit to Switzerland would not be complete without seeing some contented cows.


We headed back towards Italy and stopped to take pictures of a beautiful waterfall we had noticed on the way up. Notice the crossover of the two streams on the upper right of the picture.

waterfall

It was a long day of driving, but worth the effort because of what we got to see.


© Charles Eklund 2012