Wednesday 2nd September: Cool misty morning, warm sunny day,hazy skies then misty rain: 12°C to 24ºC.
Weisstannen to Sargans (then Santa Croce): Jan and Ian 15K: 8.00am to 12.00pm: 4hrs plus 4hrs
Accommodation: Private Holiday Home Sante Croce
Hotel Gemse - our last APR hotel
Into the beech forest and mist
Don't go this way - but we did!!
Misty Forest walk
Time to smell the cows
Coffee break half way down to Mels
Been shopping in Sargans
End of Alpine Pass Route
Landwasser Viaduct Rhaetian Rail
On bus from St Moritz to S. Croce
Mark and Susan's House S. Croce
Celebrating the end of the APR
Highlight of the day was getting to Sargans, the official end to the Alpine Pass Route. However, the most fabulous scenery was on the bus then train from Sargans to Santa Croce. We travelled on the UNESCO recognised Rhaetian Railway over the Landwasser Viaduct near Filisur to St Moritz, then through the Bregaglia Valley into Northern Italy. Such a change of scenery from a misty morning walk to a stunning ride on the Rhaetian Railway.
Breakfast is at 7.30am at the Hotel Gemse and Ian and I have already decided to complete the last leg of our via Alpini and walk the last 15k into Sargans. Jenny walked this stretch yesterday after circuiting the Foo Pass and walking up the valley from Sargans. Graham decided to ….2b cont'd. Ian and I are off walking at 8.00am and Graham… well he's still fluffing around! Jenny and I agree with train/bus times to meet them in St Moritz to catch the 4.08pm bus to Santa Croce.
It's a cool misty morning as we head off down the road following the signs to Sargans, about 15k away and 400 metres descent. At Schendi, the sign seams to point to the left but after half an hour of trekking up hill and seeing a sign back to Weisstannen, we decide the angle of the sign was not quite right and retrace our tracks back down to the road again. It's still misty as we walk through beautiful beech forest that seems to eerily suit the mist. We can't see down to the valley anyway. After another half hour walk along a precarious track, we see the Swiss red and white walking sign at the end with a cross through it - Don't go this way! Well, sorry we’ve already been that way and yes, it was hairy scary! It's still misty and cool with so many damp meadows and cows interspersed with beech forests as we continue down.
After 3hrs, it's time for a coffee break. We can see Mels and Sargans in the valley below and another 30 minutes of trekking we reach Sargans with an hour to spare to catch the 1.33pm train to meet Jenny and Graham in St Moritz. There's time to shop at the local Coop before catching the train.
It's 20 minutes to Chur where we change trains to the Glacier Express (Rhaetian Railway) to St Moritz, built in 1901. The journey is spectacular as we travel through Thusis, Tiefencastel and then on to Filisur across the famous UNESCO Heritage listed Landwasser viaduct that spans the Landwasser river and is 65 metres high and 136 metres long before passing into the 5.8metre long tunnel. It was just a transit train for us going from A to B, but many tourists especially take this train as a return day trip just to see the Landwaser Viaduct.
On to St Morritz where we meet Jenny and Graham who have bussed/trained ahead of us. St Morritz is full of "seen-to-be-here's" and is really very expensive, but also very beautiful set on the lake. Twice the Winter Olympics have been here, in 1928 and again in 1948. Graham has been Coop Shopping, so we have double food supplies to take to Santa Croce.
Ten minutes later, we all hop on the bus leaving St Moritz in Switzerland heading to Chiavenna in Italy, en route to Santa Croce. The bus ride is like a tourist trip, passing over the Maloja pass with its countless steep hairpin turns. We pass through many small Italian villages, with streets so narrow there's only an inch to spare on either side of the bus.
An hour and a half later we hop off the bus at Santa Croce and Graham fumbles for the front door key. The stone house has been magnificently renovated by Graham’s friends Mark and Susan and is in a very quiet location with views from the patio up to the overhanging mountains. After a few beers on the outside picnic table, we have dinner of salad and salmon, washed down with a really nice red wine that Mark has bottled from 80 litres of the local brew. It's a cool evening when we go to bed.