It is a new year and I have a lot of things to share with you! Some of which took place before the new year began...let's go!!
Trains
In my last post, I mentioned that we were planning a trip on the Bernina Express, which is a train ride through the Alps. The Swiss rail system has been around for a long time. And as a system that travels through the country of Switzerland there are many tunnels and bridges through the mountains to make the trip possible. Whether you choose to travel in the summer and experience the beauty of Alps meadows filled with flowers or the winter where you will experience frozen lakes and snow covered trees and valleys, the trip is wonderful. Our journey began in Chur, the capital of our canton (state) of Graubunden and ended in Triano, Italy. 
Snacks on the Train
It's a four and a half hour trip and people get hungry and thirsty.
On the train there is a cart that goes up and down the aisles selling drinks and snacks. The cart on the Bernina Express is 'dressed' as a goat, which is a symbol of Graubunden.
I wanted to share some of the sights as we traveled along the rails of Switzerland. The number of tunnels and bridges is amazing. And remember they were built a long time ago and are maintained in pristine condition. See the roof over the tracks on the right? That is to protect the train from avalanches! Apparently wherever there is a location along the railway that is prone to avalanche snowfall, they construct 'roofs'. We have seen the same 'roof' constructions on roadways, also.
Circles
This is a circular bridge that gets lower and lower as it goes around. The gray line under the train on the ground is the track as the track winds around and goes under the track above.
Tunnels
See the tunnel entrance on the right? The entrance is on a shear rock wall. This is a famous tunnel. The ravine that the bridge crosses is very deep. I wonder how they built the bridge and and tunnel. (hint: remember this pic; you may see it again)
Glaciers and Frozen Lakes
The views are beautiful. The Bernina Express trains have panoramic windows, which means that they go up over the roof of the train so you have a bigger, better view.
The first 2 hours the train is steadily climbing the alps. The last 2.5 hours the journey gently moves downward toward our destination, Italy. When we arrive in Tirano, there is no snow and it feels kind of pleasant outside. In fact, we saw palm trees! The strange thing to us was we discovered that the town of Tirano closes (yes, closes) for 3 hours each afternoon, so when the Bernina Express arrives at 1PM the town is closed for their lunch break!!! Notice I am the only person walking on the street.
Heading Home
After a two hour stay in Tirano, we board the train and head back to Davos.
What now?
This concludes Part 1 of Trains, Planes & Automobiles. There are too many other adventures to put in this one post, so I leave you now. But I have a question: what do you do with a Tannenbaum when it has dried pine needles, you live on the 8th floor and carrying it will make a huge mess? Stay tuned. The answer even surprised us!! (hehehe)
Auf Wiedersehen und Guten Rutsch ins Neue Jahr!
Marybeth
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