Traveling through the Alps on bus & train

We left Chiavenna, Italy, somewhat reluctantly yesterday. There was so much more to explore, such as the large trekking area that is next to the town. In fact, many of the tourists that we saw in the town were there with hiking poles. One interesting phenomenon we noticed was that the average age of these trekkers seemed pretty high. Many people who appeared to be in their 60s or 70s were there with their backpacks and hiking poles. The average age of these people might have been about 65 or so.

After some debate about our options, we decided to travel by bus directly to St. Moritz, Switzerland, rather than take two trains to get to that point. We decided to take the easier option. The train ride was long enough from St. Moritz alone. Roughly nine hours- including waiting at stations- and three changes of trains.

The views on the trip were just spectacular. Of course, the other part of riding in the mountains is that the speed is fairly slow, and the swaying of the train can get intense.

We spent very little time in St. Moritz itself, really just enough time to get a cappuccino. The coffee that Margaret sips here cost the equivalent of $8 for a cup. Good coffee - but just a cup of coffee served in a very ordinary railroad station buffet.

We arrived on time - of course - in Salzburg, but the hour was late and today we've been extraordinarily lazy, taking a leisurely walk around the our neighborhood in the old part of town. It's like you might expect: Lots of references to Mozart & Salzburg's place in musical history. We hope to more extensive exploring tomorrow.