Day 10 - Arrivederci Italy – it’s been fun!

After spending five days and four nights in Italy today we had to say ciao and head into our next county, Switzerland. We meet in the lobby of the Hotel Cruise at the somewhat dreaded hour of 6 a.m. in order to make our time schedule for the day. The hotel wasn’t open for breakfast but had arranged boxed breakfasts for us to take on the bus. We departed at 6:15 a.m.; few words were spoken for these first three hours of our day.

We arrived at our first destination, Tirano, Italy at 9:30 a.m. The station for the Bernina Express Mountain train was there. We enjoyed this small town for about 20 minutes while waiting to board our train. It was a quiet Monday morning, the air was warm and the sun shone brightly. Everyone was just beginning to wake-up as we had been promised the next part of our day would be breathtaking.

We entered the Bernina Express Mountain train at 10 a.m. and found our seats. The Bernina Express is a famous Swiss train trip through high alpine regions.

The trip was absolutely stunning. We saw the most breathtaking views from waterfalls to mountains to farms. Some of the highlights included the hairpin turns, the spiraling sections of track and the old villages we drove through. We made a couple stops along the way before ending in Saint Moritz, Switzerland, one of the most unique and beautiful places in the entire world.

Just a few scenes from the train.

The city of Saint Moritz is famous for its skiing and hiking. There is a small city center with very expensive shops but the real draw was the incredible Lake St. Moritz. Many of the players walked around the lake, had lunch there and just rested, taking in the landscape of mountains and hillside. We had about 3 hours to explore.  

There was a sense of tranquility as we climbed back on to our bus for the 3.5 hour bus ride to the Allegra Hotel in Kloten, Switzerland, our final destination for the day.  Once again we wound through the Swiss Alps as we headed to our hotel.  Pictures cannot show the beauty of the country we passed through. 

We arrived at the Hotel Kloten at 6:45 p.m. after having been on the move for 12.5 hours.  After checking in and getting settled in our rooms, we were treated to a wonderful buffet dinner at the hotel.  The team had so much to choose from including green salad, potato salad, raw vegetables, rice, baked potatoes, steamed vegetables, ravioli with meat sauce, and roast pork with gravy.  The meal was thoroughly enjoyed by all.  It was said by many that this might have been our best meal yet!

Everyone left the dinning room full and happy.  Best of all, tomorrow we have free time in the morning - no 6am bus ride!