"Dolphin Sands Road!": Aboard the Bernina Express!

We are BLOWN AWAY after travelling on the Bernina Express from Tirano, northern Italy to Chur, eastern Switzerland. On the journey you are immediately amongst beauty, surrounded by ice capped mountains, turquoise lakes, quaint villages and a fantastic glass roof to view it all through. (The roof is not entirely glass, much to the disappointment of the young girls in our carriage, “Dad, where’s the glass roof? You said it was glass!”) The train is a narrow gauge train run by the Rhätische Bahn.

Excited to board the Bernina!

On-board with the view-enabling windows

It was easily the most scenic train trip I have ever done. The journey had been a travel dream of mine since before my first trip to Europe in 2010. At that time, I had decided to skip Switzerland to concentrate on slower travel through France, Italy and Spain. It was well worth the wait and something I would highly recommend.

Along the way, Rob and I were entranced by the spectacular scenes outside our window as we rapidly climbed out of the valley near Tirano and up the steep track (at a rate of up to 70 metres per mile). We marveled at how clever it was to use the twists and turns to ascend the mountains (see the Brusio Spiral here). The railways architectural and civil engineering achievements are actually what made it find a place on the UNESCO World Heritage list. At one point early on in the trip we even “became a tram.” Across the route there were several tunnels and bridges (one is the longest in Europe.) We also went past a glacier, some castles, villages, a hydroelectric power plant and the highest airport in Europe! It was a beautiful area and one that you would be lovely to see via hiking, mountain biking, cycling or driving. Travelling by train was a brilliant way to experience it.

Rob’s favourite part of 122km journey was the steep ascent at the beginning. Even though we had some idea of the route we were still surprised as we watched the front of the train go up and up and up – it felt like a plane taking off! Not long after leaving Tirano, we encountered the Kreisviadukt Brusio, an amazing construction that sees the train spiral around on a 360 degree curve, allowing a rapid climb within very little space. During this part it was hard to know which way to look!

Perhaps even harder was when we got closer to the highest point of the journey, Ospizio Bernina at 2253 metres above sea level. This was my favourite part. The sun was shining on the beautiful mountains and the contrasting mix of colours from the pine trees, rocks, grass and snow was stunning. Some people might prefer the journey in winter to see more snow, and no doubt it would be beautiful, but I rather liked the view with a little snow and lots of other colours.

Travelling through Alp Grüm our surrounds included Palü glacier and lake Palü and we had views of the Italian alps. Once at the highest altitude station on the railway network, Ospizio Bernina, we had crossed from Italian speaking areas in Italy and Switzerland into the Engadin region where Romansh and German is spoken. From Ospizio Bernina you can see two neighbouring pools of water, one draining to the Adriatic Sea (Lago Blanco) and the other to the Black Sea (Leg Naire). The colour of the water in each was markedly different which was a strange sight. Apparently we owe that difference to the fact that Lago Blanco is filled with glacial melt from Cambrena Glacier and Leg Naire is a peaty depression which collects murky brown water.

As well as a fantastically scenic ride, I can only imagine what this train route did for small villages once isolated by the Alps. It made me think about Mongolia and how influential further transport development could be for the country.

Tips:

If you can, INCLUDE THIS TRIP IN YOUR LIFE!
Pack some snacks. There is not much choice on board. (No ice creams for the kids in our carriage as promised.)
There are some spots where you can take photos without a window in the way, but you’ll have to stand up and might not be worth just enjoying the view.
The Man at Seat 61 provides some great information. Including a cheaper means of riding on the Bernina. We did this and despite a bit of confusion in Tirano, it worked a treat.