Grand Tour for 30th Wedding Anniversary - Bernina Pass

Chur, Switzerland. Wednesday/Thursday 11/12-October-2023.

Table of Contents:

• All posts
• Bari, 02-October-2023.
• Trieste, 03/06-October-2023.
• Padova, 06/09-October-2023.
• Tirano, 09/11-October-2023.
• Bernina Pass, 11/12-October-2023.
• Salzburg, 12/16-October-2023.
• Karlsruhe and Freiburg, 16/18-October-2023.
• Cologne, 18/20-October-2023.
• Amsterdam, 20/22-October-2023.

The fourth stage of the Grand Tour: Tirano to Chur through the Bernina Pass. The one fixed element of this 3 week journey since planning began 11 months ago and it lived up to all expectations.

The Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and rightfully so. It is an awesome feat of late 19th century engineering, breathtaking scenery and a bit scary at times especially if, like Mary, you are a bit scared of heights! The track snakes along vertiginous mountainsides with sheer drops alternating with tunnels and towering viaducts over deep valleys.

We travelled on a regional train rather than the Bernina Express. You pay a premium for the express with panoramic windows but the normal train has openable windows! We kept flipping from one side of the carriage to the other to look out at the best views. Before too long we reached the Brusio spiral viaduct, an elegant and graceful solution to the limits of gradient that the trains could manage.

Our train partway round the the spiral.

As you leave the spiral you can look back and get a real feel for the curve and height gain.

This aerial shot lets you see it in its entirety with the Bernini Express rather than the regional train that we took. 

Kabelleger / David Gubler (http://www.bahnbilder.ch), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

All along the route is fantastic alpine scenery, beautiful serene lakes.

Despite travelling in October we had perfect weather for this journey, no misty mountains; excellent visibility the whole way.

There were pretty little stations along the route, mostly request stops, I can't see them getting much footfall apart from maybe some hardy hikers.

We saw glaciers! Admittedly in the distance and apparently not what it was thanks to global warming.

We had a planned lunch stop at St. Moritz, playground of the rich and famous. I have to say I was disappointed, the setting was stunning but the bit of the town we saw was lacking in character and facilities. We walked some way into town not passing any cafes and ended up buying a salad in a supermarket and having an impromptu picnic on a park bench overlooking the lake. 

Then it was back on board the next train and continuing our journey to Chur. We passed over the spectacular, curved Landwasser Viaduct, 65 m tall - best not to look down!

Kabelleger / David Gubler (http://www.bahnbilder.ch), CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Chur was a single night because of the cost of accommodation (and everything else) in Switzerland. We rented an airBnB near the city centre, above an Italian pizzeria - the easy choice for our evening meal. The centre of Chur had some lovely old buildings.

The apartment was basic and made less enjoyable by a leak from the flat above. I was woken at around 2:30 am by a dripping sound; water was coming through the ceiling in the hallway of our apartment. Several visits upstairs elicited no response - pretty sure it was unoccupied. So I put a dustbin out to catch the dwindling leak and a towel to muffle the plink, plink. Mary slept through it all! We let the owner know but reading the reviews apparently it had happened before.

Next morning it was up and out for the next leg: out of Switzerland, passing through Germany and into Austria, ending up at our next stop, Salzburg.

Grand Tour for 30th Wedding Anniversary - Tirano

Tirano, Sondrio, Italy. Monday/Wednesday 09/11-October-2023..

Table of Contents:

• All posts
• Bari, 02-October-2023.
• Trieste, 03/06-October-2023.
• Padova, 06/09-October-2023.
• Tirano, 09/11-October-2023.
• Bernina Pass, 11/12-October-2023.
• Salzburg, 12/16-October-2023.
• Karlsruhe and Freiburg, 16/18-October-2023.
• Cologne, 18/20-October-2023.
• Amsterdam, 20/22-October-2023.

The third stage of the Grand Tour: Tirano wasn’t one of our destinations per se, it was more like a place to stay overnight before the Bernini pass section of our three week rail journey. 

Many travellers seemed to be simply passing through but members of the Interrailing for the older crowd FB group gave the impression it was worth a day there so that is what we did. We booked the quirky Old Town Apartments just off a little square on the south side of the river.

The afternoon of our arrival we went for a wander around town and up to Castello di Santa Maria on the outskirts of town. 

While there we spotted something bright red way up on the hill opposite. A quick Google map revealed it to be Big Red Bench Project #218. We decided that a trip to the bench would be our exercise for the following day. Hard to spot but it's up there! 

Meanwhile, we wandered around town a little more. Being on the border with Switzerland the town certainly had a very Swiss vibe, hardly surprising.

We went for supper at Parravicini, just across the square from our apartment. According to TripAdvisor it is the number one restaurant in Tirano and certainly we had an excellent meal.

Next day we packed a picnic lunch and set off through the vineyards in search of the Big Red Bench. We eventually found an encouraging sign.

As you will see from the zigzagging tracks, it proved difficult to find but we persevered. Satnav only works well for roads and well trodden paths. With a dodgy signal and goat tracks to follow we went back and forth through the village several times but persevered and eventually found it.

It is big! There was a clue in the name after all.

The criteria for a bench were that it should be on accessible public land, in the countryside and have beautiful views. This certainly fits the bill.

Simpler and shorter on the way back as we knew where we were going, in fact it only took half the time.

Amazingly four days later Mary’s sister stumbled across the only one in Scotland, near Arbroath, by accident due to her satnav giving dodgy directions!

That evening, it was another delicious meal this time in Posteria Del Rosso, on the north side of the river very near the train station. A great place with fantastic food and an interesting wine list

We used the Margi Bar café just outside the station for lunch and aperitif. The owner / manager was a real character, all the staff were friendly and the prices not too outrageous despite the location.

The next day we were ready for the highlight of the trip: The Bernina Pass.

Grand Tour for 30th Wedding Anniversary - Padova

Padova, Veneto, Italy. Friday/Monday 06/09-October-2023.

Table of Contents:

• All posts
• Bari, 02-October-2023.
• Trieste, 03/06-October-2023.
• Padova, 06/09-October-2023.
• Tirano, 09/11-October-2023.
• Bernina Pass, 11/12-October-2023.
• Salzburg, 12/16-October-2023.
• Karlsruhe and Freiburg, 16/18-October-2023.
• Cologne, 18/20-October-2023.
• Amsterdam, 20/22-October-2023.

The second stage of the Grand Tour took us to Padova (Padua) which was on our list for a number of reasons: it is one of the Shakespearean cities (setting for The Taming of the Shrew), rich in Palladian architecture, and hosts a parkrun (Farfalle).

It turned out to be a wise decision - Padova was stunning! The city centre has cobbled streets, lovely houses and lots and lots of bicycles. The street scene reminded me of Bologna with all the arcades.

There are a number of canals and rivers cutting through the town which brings a breath of the countryside into the heart of the city.

We spend a couple of delightful hours wandering round the Orto Botanico di Padova: founded in 1545 by the Venetian Republic, it is the world's oldest academic botanical garden that is still in its original location. A fascinating oasis in the middle of town and unsurprisingly a UNESCO World Heritage site.

There were lovely lily ponds, all that was missing were the frogs!.

Courtesy of Home Exchange, we stayed in a fabulous apartment in a quiet neighbourhood about 30 minutes walk from the town centre.

We wandered around town admiring the lovely architecture and cafè culture. We spotted information plaques all around the town explaining the history of the Carraresi family who held the title of Lords of Padova from 1318 to 1405.

We passed through the Prato della Valle at least twice a day on our way into the centre and back again. It is a 90,000-square-meter elliptical piazza, the largest in Italy and one of the largest in Europe.

On one of our walks we chanced upon the fantastic Palazzo della Ragione: a huge medieval market hall, town hall and palace of justice building. The upper floor was dedicated to the town and justice administration; while the ground floor still hosts the historic covered market of the city.

The outside of Palazzo della Ragione has beautiful tiered porticos.

Just a few minutes walk away is the square Piazza dei Signori is its famous 15th century clock tower the Torre dell'Orologio. The clock's dial depicts the Earth in the middle, the phases of the Moon, days, months. and the signs of the zodiac.

Luckily we had been advised to book in advance to visit the Cappella degli Scrovegni to see Giotto's amazing frescos, every square metre is covered in paintings.

My father was prone to sampling well-known paintings in his own paintings. Today we saw, in real life, one of his inspirations, The Annunciation to St Anne by Giotto. Normally the samples feature as small thumbnails somewhere in his painting however The Annunciation takes pride of place in his painting. 

I treated myself to a hot chocolate and cake at the famous 18th century Pedrocchi Café! You pay a premium for the experience and the setting but they were very tasty.

This tour was as much gastronomic as cultural. We enjoyed great food at Enoteca Dei Tadi, Osteria Nane della Giulia and Enotavola Pino.

The first Saturday of our grand tour was in a place with a parkrun, what are the chances of that! Farfalle is one of only 14 parkruns in Italy and is a short bus ride from the centre of town. It is four laps of a lovely wooded course.

Lots of tourists and a couple of local birthday and milestone celebrations so great fun. Mary volunteered as Camminatore di Coda (Tail Walker) and had a leisurely amble following two Italian ladies deep in conversation. She realised afterwards that she had missed a trick as she should had packed and worn her butterfly leggings - farfalle means butterflies in Italian

Arrivederci Padova! Next stop: Tirano.

Grand Tour for 30th Wedding Anniversary - Trieste

Trieste, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy. Tuesday/Friday 03/06-October-2023.

Table of Contents:

• All posts
• Bari, 02-October-2023.
• Trieste, 03/06-October-2023.
• Padova, 06/09-October-2023.
• Tirano, 09/11-October-2023.
• Bernina Pass, 11/12-October-2023.
• Salzburg, 12/16-October-2023.
• Karlsruhe and Freiburg, 16/18-October-2023.
• Cologne, 18/20-October-2023.
• Amsterdam, 20/22-October-2023.

For the first stage of our "Grand Tour" we decided to get a head start on our route with a long first day and head for Northeast Italy, to Trieste on the border with Slovenia. A sea port with a fascinating history as it was originally part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire for many centuries, and in the 20th century occupied by both the Germans and the Yugoslav partisans. It became a prosperous maritime gateway into Germany, Austria and central Europe and an important hub for literature and music [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trieste].

On an early stroll to explore the town we met 88 year old local, Rodolfo, on the Molo Audace. It was fascinating to listen to some of history of the town from a person who had lived through it. An interesting factoid was that the hole in this mooring post was created by a bullet from one of Tito's partisans fighting the fascists.

We found ourselves a brochure of walking routes, and proceeded to explore the history and buildings of central Trieste. The Canal Grande, now truncated, surrounded by impressive buildings and looking just like a Caneletto painting.

Of course we came across Roman ruins including an amphitheatre.

By a piece of serendipity we just happened to be in town while Barcolana '55, an annual regatta was taking place. There were lots of yachts in town and quayside stalls, music and general buzz along the harbour front. One of the more picturesque ships was Palinuro, the Italian navy sail training vessel - a three-masted, iron-hulled barquentine, named after Palinurus the famous helmsman of Aeneas's ship.

Even the local ice-cream shop celebrated the regatta though they reminded me more of sharks than sails.

On a bridge over the Canal Grande is a statue of James Joyce. Apparently he lived and worked in Trieste on three separate occasions . "Here he was teacher, lecturer, journalist, clerk, singing student, translator, aspiring entrepreneur (as well as ‘husband’, father, brother, and friend or acquaintance to many of the city’s economic, political and intellectual elite)." [Joyce Museum Comune di Trieste].

As you would expect in an Italian city - piazzas and cafes for relaxing and watching the world go by.

We walked up to the Castello di San Giusto along old cobbled streets - a complete contrast to the streets and buildings below...

... and across a proper drawbridge over the 15th century castle moat. 

The castle, of course, had the best viewpoint over the town and bay.

We found new beers to try. In fact seeking out local artisanal craft ales became a bit of a theme throughout this whole trip.

We had excellent meals out at Ristorante Ego and the family run Trattoria NerodiSeppia. There we discovered a grape variety that we had never heard of: Vitovska - an Italian and Slovene wine grape which is a cross between Prosecco Tondo and Malvasia Bianca Lunga.

We decide to visit the impressive Miramare Castle about 7k out of town. Instead of a taxi or bus, we walked out along the promenade the whole way.

Walking back in the heat of the afternoon the waters of the Gulf of Trieste looked too lovely to resist so Mary went in for cooling swim. The lack of a swimsuit wasn’t a problem as she was wearing leggings and a sports bra.

What do the police drive in Trieste? Lamborghini, of course! Blue and white police livery, blue lights and all. I can image the scene in the station house in the morning, "Sarge, it's my turn for the Lambo!" We subsequently learned that this car is old and no longer in active service but obviously wheeled out for festivals and special occasions.

Moored out in the harbour was Sailing Yacht "A", designed by Philippe Starck and owned by a Russian oligarch. Seized by the Italian authorities due to the war with Ukraine and moored here for about the last two years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_(sailing_yacht).

Then it was time to move on. Next stop: Padova.

Grand Tour for 30th Wedding Anniversary - Bari

Bari, Puglia, Italy. Monday 02-October-2023.

Table of Contents:

• All posts
• Bari, 02-October-2023.
• Trieste, 03/06-October-2023.
• Padova, 06/09-October-2023.
• Tirano, 09/11-October-2023.
• Bernina Pass, 11/12-October-2023.
• Salzburg, 12/16-October-2023.
• Karlsruhe and Freiburg, 16/18-October-2023.
• Cologne, 18/20-October-2023.
• Amsterdam, 20/22-October-2023.

To celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary we embarked on Interrailing for Seniors - a three week rail journey from southern Italy to Amsterdam. Neither of us had done interrailing as students and now was our chance.

Our interrail pass was booked nearly a year before as they were offering a discount. We booked the option for seven days first class travel to be taken over one month.

That left 11 months to plan the route which underwent many, many versions. There was only one fixed point - the stunning Bernina Pass - and one “must have” requirement - a city with a parkrun every Saturday. 

Part of the logistical challenge was where to spend our actual anniversary. Early plans included at night at the opera at La Scala in Milan, possibly the traditional romantic destination of Paris for a weekend, or ending up in London for a Michelin starred meal. 

There were a couple of factors that helped us make the decision. Firstly the difficulty of carrying the necessary posh clothes, shoes, etc on a three week train journey. Secondly our anniversary was on a Monday when many restaurants are closed.  In the end we decided to come back to Penrith for the Winter Droving festival, hire the chef from the cafe next door for a meal at home on our anniversary and drink some class wines from our cellar.

Fairly early on we decided to cross the channel on the overnight ferry from Amsterdam to Newcastle. This avoided the additional cost of the Eurostar and making the journey from London to Penrith which we have done so many times. This usefully gave us a fixed endpoint in Europe making the planning slightly easier.

The next challenge was which cities to visit. We decided to go for B-List cities. The A-listers like Rome, Vienna, Paris and Berlin are readily accessible and could be done any time as a city break. Better to go for the less obvious that we might not otherwise get to visit.

Once we had decided on the route Mary started to investigate Home Exchange house swaps to save on accommodation costs. Three and a half weeks of hotel costs would soon mount up!

Two invaluable resources for advice, tips and hints for the journey were "The Man in Seat 61" and the Facebook group "Interrailing for the older crowd". In the end this was our 3 week route: Bari > Trieste > Padova > Tirano > Chur > Salzburg > Karlsruhe > Freiburg > Cologne > Amsterdam then ferry back to Newcastle.

We made our way by bus and train to Bari the night before so we would be at hand for a prompt start in the morning for the first, long leg all the way to Trieste in the North-East of Italy.

A meal and an early night ready for the great adventure...

First stop: Trieste.