Bernina Express

Bridges. Tunnels.  Snow.

We decided to take a trip on one of Switzerland's iconic train routes this past weekend.  Called the Bernina Express, it runs from Chur, Switzerland over the Alps to Tirano, Italy via St. Moritz.  The route, created between 1898-1910, crosses 196 bridges and goes through 55 tunnels.

We started our journey Friday evening with a short train trip to Chur.  The weather was nice all week, but as the weekend approached the rain set in.  By the time we arrived in Chur it was pouring rain, and by the time we finished dinner the rain turned to snow.  We woke up early Saturday to a solid dusting of snow!

We departed Chur Saturday morning.  The train had panoramic windows that curved into the ceiling and the food cart had a big stuffed mountain goat on the end of it (it's the mascot of the Bernina express - awesome!).

The snow made for a pretty trip into Italy.  The trees were freshly flocked and the Alps were all white with snow (unfortunately the mountain lakes were frozen over, so it was one big white landscape).  As we descended the Southern side the white turned to green and Italy came into view.

 

We had some time before our train back to St. Moritz so we had a lovely lunch in a small cafe in Tirano, Italy - a true Italian lunch with panini, pasta with fresh asparagus, wine, chocolate cake and cappuccinos (all for the price of one entree in Switzerland).  Love the Euro!

Bobo's pub in Tirano!

We made it to St Moritz in late afternoon.  After checking in we took a walk around town.  It was cold, and unfortunately in between seasons (ski season had just ended and summer season doesn't start until May/June).  As such, it was a ghost town.  Most of the stores were closed (there were a lot of high-end designer stores) and many of the restaurants were closed as well.  We managed to find a cute wine bar for drinks before heading back to our hotel for dinner. 

We're not sure what the jet-set eat, but on the menu were steaks of kangaroo and horse.  ???

The trip back to Chur on Sunday was sunnier than on Saturday and provided for some good pictures by opening the windows and hanging out (watch out for the tunnels).

Berlin

East.  West.  Burritos.

We enjoyed a nice weekend in history-filled Berlin.  The city is more American feeling than any other European city we've visited, with no pedestrian-only area or cobblestone streets.  The city was decimated during WWII, and since the wall came down in 1989 it has been a constant construction zone (everywhere you look there are cranes, elevated pipes and general construction activity).  We stayed in the trendy Mitte area, formerly part of East Berlin next to Museum Island, which is now full of restaurants and boutique stores.  Since we got in late we went out for a quick dinner at a Mission-style burrito place called Dolores, which is decorated with the map of the San Francisco bus routes on the wall.  There was even the 30X route that runs from the Marina to downtown!

We made reservations to visit the Reichstag dome on Saturday morning.  The Reichstag is the German parliament building and was burned down as part of the Nazi’s rise to power.  After the war the building was rebuilt in its classic style with the addition of a big glass dome on top.  It's hollow inside with a spiral staircase leading to the top (there's a hole in the ceiling to allow for ventilation and a column of mirrors provides light to the main meeting hall).

The Reichstag is located right next to the Brandenburg gate, the icon of Berlin.  The statue on top is a symbol of peace, something that hasn’t quite worked out.

We then hit the holocaust memorial, a city block filled with different sized monoliths evenly spaced throughout the park.  Underneath is a museum dedicated the those killed in the holocaust, focusing on stories from different families from across Europe who were sent to camps.

We also took one of the famous "free" walking tours (a new favorite city activity) learning about the tumultuous past of the city while seeing the corresponding sites (including the location of Hitler’s underground bunker, now a car park).  Surprisingly, there are still a few old buildings standing.

 

Checkpoint Charlie (reproduction)

Throughout the city are parts of the wall - either the actual wall itself or a brick outline where the wall use to be.

"Tear down this wall!"

 

On Sunday the sun came out and we decided to head to Charlottenburg Palace, the largest palace in Berlin and the only surviving royal residence in the city dating back to the 17th century.  The entry fee included a comprehensive audio guide that provided details on the palace, its owners, and the reconstruction efforts following the war.  The palace is located on a big park with flowers, walking paths, various buildings and a lake.  

On the U-Bahn back from the palace there was some sort of issue where the train stopped at the station, they said something in German, and most people exited.  We caught a different line in the attempt to transfer at a different station, but once we get to the station the line we wanted was not working, so we took a third route back.  Lots of running around and not getting anywhere!  We finally made it to our destination and ended up getting another burrito at the second location of Dolores (yes, we got our burrito fix this weekend)!  Yum, and since it was a such a gorgeous day we could sit outside and enjoy our burritos with German beer in the sunshine!

We then made our way back to the hotel via a walk through the Tiergarten, a large park in the center of Berlin.  It must have been one of the first sunny days in some time as the park was full of people playing in the grass. 

For some reason the city is obsessed with their walk / don't walk lights.  There are whole stores devoted to merchandise with the walking man / don't walk man on them  (called "Ampelmännchen = little traffic light man).  The "walking" version looks quite dapper in his little hat!