Last week I made an unforgettable journey ๐๐๏ธ
Traveling back from work meetings in Italy ๐ฎ๐น, I decided to go back to Brussels ๐ง๐ช the slow way. And that obviously means up the #BerninaBahn
A photo-thread of one of the most beautiful alpine railways, winter wonderland edition โ๏ธ
Trip starts in Tirano ๐ฎ๐น
Early start to catch the first train of the day, the 7:41 R train to St Moritz ๐จ๐ญ
This early departure will allow me to arrive to Brussels ๐ง๐ช on the same day.
The sun is just rising and I see no clouds around. It's time for #FensterAuf and ๐ธ
Across the square and up we go!
We start "low" at 429 meters above sea level. In roughly 1ยฝ hours, we will be up at 2253 meters above sea level.
The Bernina is the only alpine railway crossing that literally goes up to the top of the mountain pass, instead of using long tunnels
At Campocologno station we officially enter the quadrilingual country with a name in Latin, and obviously, no free roaming.
Confoederatio Helvetica ๐จ๐ญ
[And actually, I'll get to interact with 3 of the 4 languages of CH on this short journey ๐ค]
First main sight of the line is the impressive Brusio spiral viaduct.
A 360 degree loop that enables our little red train to gain (even more) altitude.
๐ฅ And obviously the video as we go around? up? the viaduct.
Bernina moments. The R train to St Moritz waits at Brusio station, as an early morning mixed (passenger/cargo) train enters the station and clears the line.
#Bernina #RhB @rhaetischebahn
First snow already visible from Miralago.
Il trenino rosso โค๏ธ๐
One of those "only in Switzerland" moments in Le Prese.
Tram-train, quite literally.
Street running, Swiss style ๐จ๐ญ
Short stop in Poschiavo, but with just enough time to take some pics.
From here, it's really up up the mountains, and it will start to get VERY scenic.
Bernina Pass I
Bernina Pass II
Bernina Pass III
Note that the points are heated to avoid freezing and keep the line operational.
Bernina Pass IV
Another crossing. The line is single track but efficient timetabling and frequent passing bays, allow for high capacity.
Remember, this may be a super scenic railway, but it's not a tourist attraction in itself. It's a normal railway running hourly services.
Bernina Pass V
We only get higher and higher. And the views only get even impressive.
Seeing a glacier from a train window? โ
(Ok in summer you can see it better ๐
)
Bernina Pass VI
Last tight curve as we approach Alp Grรผm station. And the glacier in the background. There's just no words to describe the beauty of this place.
Alp Grรผm, a station at 2091 meters above sea level that is only accessible by railway. And amazing views over the Palรผ glacier.
We reached the top! Lago Bianco!
Rather than an hourly regional train, at this moment, at this point the trip feels as if it was a little bit of an adventure. Crossing the Alps at 2253 meters above sea level, and with roughly -15ยฐC outside.
And yet, we're running spot on time.
Lago Bianco.
The train continues its trip, battling against wind, cold and snow.
And the meanwhile the mountains, so peaceful. So remote.
Ospizio Bernina. The highest station in the line, in Graubรผnden, and one of the highest in Europe!
2256 M.รผ.M.
Bernina Pass VII
We approach the actual Pass, which not only is the border between Val Poschiavo & Engadin, and between Italian & German speaking Switzerland.
But also, the watershed border between the Adriatic and the Black Sea (via the Danube). So, willkommen in Mitteleuropa!
Bernina Pass VIII
Once again, another crossing. Another allegra EMU southbound. Fortunately for me, my Regio train is lead by a pair of retro locos pulling some RhB einheitswagen coaches.
Bernina Pass IX
Down we go through the upper Engadin.
Glaciers and waterfalls in the same trip? Why not!
Even if I'm in a #FensterAuf train, @MrTimDunn still gets these better than me ๐
Bernina Pass X
Last minutes on this train. Stereotypically Swiss scenes at Surovas.
And now that it's not so freezing outside, time for a #FensterAuf souvenir selfie ๐
Pontresina station. Changing trains at 1777 meters above sea level.
Even here, Swiss taktfahrplan works perfectly. In less than 10 minutes, my connecting train to Samedan arrives.
Short ride on the "shuttle" to Samedan.
This avoids changing trains at St Moritz, where you'd have to wait for almost 1 hour.
Waiting in Samedan station. Here I'll board the InterRegio to Chur, the canton capital.
And here stars my trip on the Albula Line.
Parallel running as the R & the IR both leave Samedan at the same time on parallel tracks.
But make sure to turn the sound ON ๐ and hear this announcementโฆ in Romansh! One of the four national languages of Switzerland, but still a very very small one. Nice language policy RhB!
[ Thread continues tomorrow. Buna notg! ]
Allegra! ๐๐ผ
Time to continue the trip from Tirano ๐ฎ๐น to Brussels ๐ง๐ช via the @rhaetischebahn โค๏ธ๐
After changing train in Samedan, it was goodbye to the Bernina line and into the Albula line. Both are listed as UNESCO World Heritage. And both are simply stunning.
Unlike in the Bernina, almost all of the trains in the Albula (at least those making the express InterRegio services to Chur) are quite modern
However, @rhaetischebahn knows their business, and they included a panoramic "fotoabteil" with windows that open #FensterAuf. Perfect ๐ธ
Albula Line I
It doesnt get more "winter wonderland" than this. ๐ฒโ๏ธ๐ฒโ๏ธ
The Bernina is all about height and epic views, the Albula is more about the viaducts and valleys. Incredibly charmful. As if we were on a winter-themed model railway.
Albula Line II
The InterRegio to Chur riding down the valley.
Albula Line III
In Bergรผn/Bravuogn station there's the "@bahnmuseum Albula", a place that I'd love to visit next time I'm on this line.
Albula Line IV
Roads are fully covered with snow on this remote valley of Graubรผnden.
The Rhรคtische Bahn, however, is running perfectly on time.
Albula Line V
We approach Filisur. A connecting station with the line to Davos.
And also the prelude to the highlight of this line...
Albula Line VI
โ Taktfahrplan once again working perfectly. The three trains meet in Filisur: down the Albula, up the Albula and east to Davos.
Albula Line VII
In Europe there are many railway viaductsโฆ and then there is THE railway viaduct!
Ladies and gentlemen, the Landwasser Viaduct.
A curved viaduct that enters directly into a tunnel, in the middle of the Alps. One of the jewels of Swiss railway engineering.
Albula Line VIII
Some more pictures of the epic #LandwasserViadukt
๐๐ธ It's just pure beauty.
Albula Line IX
And after 1ยฝ hours crossing endless viaducts and tunnels, we arrive at Thusis, were our train rides on a flat valley, and the UNESCO World Heritage area ends.
A little note on the train.
As all trains on the @rhaetischebahn, they're narrow gauge, but these IR sets are incredibly comfortable.
1st class & 2nd class with big windows and comfy seats. A foto compartment and ski racks. Theres even a slide for kids. Gotta love Swiss trains!
And that was it! Bernina & Albula
At 7:41 I took the train from Tirano ๐ฎ๐น. After literally climbing 2,000 meters high above the Alps, we arrive to Chur at 12:04. Merci vielmal @rhaetischebahn, it was fantastic!
And now time to speed up, so I can be in Brussels ๐ง๐ช in the evening
If you don't like DB ICEs, you can stop reading now, because there's a lot of that coming ahead ๐
First ICE from Chur to Basel SBB. A very modern ICE-4 to be more precise.
There's plenty of snow as we cross Kanton Sankt Gallen...
But snow is gone by the time we arrive to Zรผrich HB.
Basel SBB station, where ๐จ๐ญ๐ฉ๐ช๐ซ๐ท railways meet.
There's even one sector of the station that is considered part of ๐ซ๐ท, with customs & border checks before boarding (even if rare, since ๐จ๐ญ is in Schengen). ๐ฉ๐ช got their own station on the other side of the river, Basel Bad Bhf.
It doesn't get more stereotypically SBB-CFF-FFS than this.
The classic ๐จ๐ญ Re 460 loco, with its iconic #DoubleArrows livery.
It is nicknamed "Lok 2000", as it was part of the "Bahn 2000" project. In the 90s, this was how the future looked like.
Second ICE. From Basel SBB to Kรถln Hbf.
A four hour ride through the Rhine valley and then up-and-down the Frankfurt-Kรถln High Speed Line.
And as @DB_Bahn reminds us, these ๐ trains are "the fastest climate protectors of Germany" ๐
(all ICEs are powered with green energy).
As we cross the ๐จ๐ญ๐ฉ๐ช border (note the +++ on the floor) it's time to say, auf Wiedersehen Schweiz! ๐๐ผ ร bientรดt Suisse! ๐๐ผ A presto Svizzera! ๐๐ผ A revair Svizra! ๐๐ผ
Arrived in Kรถln Hbfโฆ and somehow it feels like Switzerland is chasing me ๐ง
I have now 38 minutes to basically walk across the platform, since my next trains departs from there.
And here it is. My last train on this transalpine trip.
ICE 10 Kรถln Hbf - Brussels South. Just 2 hours and we're there.
And as we cross the border between the bundesrepublik and the plat pays, there's time for a visit to the @_DiningCar.
I guess that "Currywurst mit Pommes frites" is a very appropriate choice for this route ๐ฉ๐ช๐ค๐ผ๐ง๐ช
And that's it!
At 7:41 I boarded the "trenino rosso" on the other side of the Alps
At 21:26 I arrive at Brussel Noord
What a wonderful day on the rails, and what a wonderful way to enjoy the beauty of our continent
We all need a bit of #FlyLess & #SlowTravel from time to time
P.S. Let's talk tickets ๐ซ
This cross-Europe scenic trip may seem really expensive. It doesn't have to be, if you know which tickets to buy. And it's not really complicated
The key to cheap train tickets that go *through* Germany is the @DB_Bahn website: bahn.de
Even this trip that doesn't start nor end in ๐ฉ๐ช can be bought on DB's website, with DB's cheap international fares.
Super Sparpeis EU fares offer unbeatable fares for cross-europe trips.
Now let's get into detail on how to use DB fares in the Bernina and Albula.
When buying tickets, like in my case from Tirano to Brussels, make sure to click on "further options" and Chur as "intermediate stop". This will ensure that the DB ticketing system routes your trip via the Rhรคtische Bahn lines.
Voilร : Tirano > Bernina > Brussels from 69,90 โฌ
And this is obviously a perfectly legitimate ticket. Your ticket will state an endless list of "via X, via Y, via Z".
As long as you follow that route, it's a valid ticket ๐๐ผ
Another advantage of the DB Super Sparpeis EU fare, is how ridiculously cheap are the upgrades to 1st class.
On this hypothetical trip on the 26th of January:
2๏ธโฃnd class ๐ซ 69,90 โฌ
1๏ธโฃst class ๐ซ 83,90 โฌ
That's just 14 โฌ for making the whole 13 hours trip in 1st class โผ๏ธ
As always thanks @seatsixtyone for discovering these odd ticketing mysteries and explaining them to the general public ๐๐ผ
There's just a little "but" if you want to buy the online tickets for this exact route (I'm not sure if the system also has this issue going southbound).
As @eliasvandeun warned me, the DB website will sell you the ticket from Tirano (as shown above). However !! for some random reason, it doesn't give you the e-ticket option. You can buy it, but the ๐ซ will be sent by post to you. Like in the old days. But there is a solution ๐๐ผ
Instead of buying the ticket from Tirano ๐ฎ๐น, enter Poschiavo ๐จ๐ญ as departure station. This is the first main Swiss station that you'll stop on this route.
And voilร , now it works. You get your print-at-home (can't-get-lost-on-the-mail) e-ticket. And you're good to go.
And for the Tirano to Poschiavo bit? Just buy one standard ๐ซ at the ticket office in Tirano station. Around 9-10 โฌ, depending on the EUR / CHF exchange rate. And that's a standard fare, never mind if bought 5 minutes before departure.
So yeah, rail ticketing isn't the easiest thing ever (#EUYearOfRail ๐ค)โฆ but there are fantastic deals if you know where to look for them, and where to use them!
And seat61.com is a great place to plan your rail trips across Europe.
See you in the rails! ๐๐ผ
Ends/
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