Three days, over the Alps many times, and lots of trains, really a lot of trains

Thursday - 23 April 2009 - 3 trains and 2 buses to Davos and Lacarno

 

Started the day with a nice walk around Chur, meeting a new friend who seemed like of flat. Ended the day, many hours later, in Lacarno on Lake Maggiore at the northern (Swiss) end of the lake. The journey from Chur to Lacarno for us involved three train rides and two lengthy postal bus rides, but the luggage took an easy van ride. Our scenery over a number of the high Alp passes on roads that make I-70 and Rt. 40 over Loveland Pass look like, uh, flat as well. The temperature in Lacarno was in the high 70s when we arrived. (Rick Steves says, "Think New England for north of the Alps, Southern California south of the Alps." I think he is talking about the weather.)

 

 

Friday - 24 April 2009 - Lake Maggiore and Isolas Madre and Bella

 

It was cold and wet all day for our all day boat rides on Lake Maggiore to the palace and garden (one each) islands of Madre and Bella. The rain was never umbrella worthy, and we saw lots of flowers and two nifty palaces. It's good to be king.

 

 

Saturday - 25 April 2009 - Locarno to Interlaken

 

A two hour ride on an interurban type from Locarno to Italy is one of the most beautiful (and unknown) train rides in Switzerland. We did it in a dedicated car for our group. A matter of fact, the car was isolated from the rest of the train. Kind of a James Bond thing where I suggested that a villain would somehow throw us off the mountain. Actually, only a nice young woman with a food cart came on after we crossed into Italy and sold me a bag of potato chips for three euro. Everyone was jealous of my having euro and then of my chips. We took three or so more trains to arrive at a dowdy but very appropriate looking hotel on the shore of Lake Interlaken which oddly enough has more TV channels--including one with an Arap doing the weather--but also somewhat less costly Internet access, and most important nice local beer for 4.90 Swiss francs, about $400 dollars US if I calculated correctly. I unpacked my bag--which came by van in a much shorter time--and will be making day trips from here for the remaining 5 days on this tour.