For the six people on the main tour who were not on the pre-extension, this was an opportunity to spend a day in Switzerland.  I’m sure I could speak for the other nine of us that we were excited to see the Swiss Alps again!

This day was what Bruce and I had looked forward to the most: Riding the Bernina Express.  It is one of the few rail journeys designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Not only is it the world’s highest Alpine crossing (reaching an altitude of 7,400 feet), but also the steepest, with gradients up to 7%.

The journey took us over bridges and viaducts (including a full 360 loop over one of them), through tunnels, past glaciers and alpine meadows, and through tiny villages and vineyards.  I did not take this ride sitting down or with the window closed!  Fortunately, I was sitting across the aisle from another photographer in our group, so we shared windows on both sides of the train, jumping back and forth when we saw something worth shooting—which was often!

Our local guide, Roberto, was awesome!  He rides the train six days per week as a guide, so he knew exactly when our cameras needed be ready for a spectacular scene.  At times, it was a blink-and-you-miss it photo op, so he gave us a countdown, so we could capture the best shots.

Remember what I said in one of my Swiss blogs about trains being on time?  Well, $#@* happens and it did happen on our journey.  At one point in the 30-mile ride, we came to a complete stop and didn’t move.  We waited, and waited, and waited…  Roberto finally went in search of the conductor to ask what happened.  The news wasn’t good.  The driver of a huge crane truck didn’t lower the crane enough to go under the railway’s electrical lines, so he got in a tangle with those lines and the lines won.  They came down and lost power, and a crossing arm was destroyed.  It was a mess.  Kudos to the efficient Swiss, though.  They immediately called for a bus to pick us up and take us to the next station where the lines had power.  To compensate for the inconvenience, we were upgraded to first class.  I didn’t notice much difference except the restroom was quite large and nice!

If that’s the worst that would happen throughout our three-week trip (and it was), it was all good! 

What was fabulous was our luck with the weather!  Normally, there is no snow in mid-June, but it rained for two months straight, late into the season.  Lucky for us, it stopped just in time.  Come along on our journey and see for yourself!

(For all photos, click on the image for a full screen view.)

Maria shared a local spiced eggnog with us to celebrate during our journey back to Tirano.

Next up:  SWITZERLAND & NORTHERN ITALY #14: EDOLO AND LAKE ISEO