Iconic Bernina Express

A world-class, scenic railway: the Bernina Express and its terminus, the city of Chur.
bernina express entering tunnel on the albula railway --> A highlight of the trip: the Bernina Express passes over a viaduct before entering a tunnel. (Image from the web - it's hard to take pics of your own train while you are on it!) bernina --> The Bernina Express route that we followed went south from Chur to Tirano, just across the border into Italy. chur.town --> Chur - said to be the oldest city in Switzerland (image from the web). We could see the bell tower of the church, middle left, from our hotel room window. IMG 20170908 181159 --> Pedestrian only street in old town Chur. IMG 20170908 181244 --> We're heading towards an old church at the end of the street. IMG 20170908 183702 --> Church tower in the old part of Chur.
IMG 20170908 184029 --> Statue in front of church. We ate dinner at the sidewalk cafe, visible on the left. IMG 20170908 192212 --> A coaster from the sidewalk cafe. IMG 20170908 183441 --> Street going towards the church - streets in the old section of the city are open only to pedestrians. IMG 20170908 183228 --> Intricate brick work on the street. IMG 20170908 182633 --> Whimsical wood carvings in front of a government building. IMG 20170908 182807 -->
IMG 20170908 182826 --> A fanciful wood carving along the way in the old town. IMG 20170908 180617 --> Play area for kids in downtown Chur. IMG 20170909 211000 --> The entrance to the Chur train station has a neon light which portrays the outline of a map of Switzerland. IMG 20170908 182914 --> Scantily clad manikins in the Chur shopping district. IMG 20170908 182330 --> Bench made from snow boards. IMG 20170908 175506 --> Another fanciful carving of an animal playing a guitar.
00002IMG 00002 BURST20170908194411 --> Public restrooms in Chur, Switzerland. DSCN0539 --> We approach the famous, spiral, Bursio viaduct in Bursio, Switzerland. The viaduct was built to lengthen the track and ease the descent as well as with an eye towards making it attractive to tourists riding the Bernina Express. DSCN0542 --> The Bernina Express travels the famous spiral viaduct. In this image, the tracks curve around to the right and pass back under the viaduct under the point at which the front of the train is traveling. brusio.viaduct --> The Bernina Express passes over the world famous Brusio Viaduct   ( credit ). The stone viaduct bridge spans 360 ft (110 m) over 9 arches, each of which span 33 ft (10 m). DSCN0543 --> We continue down the viaduct spiral. DSCN0503 --> We round a sharp curve en route to Tirano.
DSCN0548 --> Passing under the spiral viaduct. 00001IMG 00001 BURST20170909123549 --> Leaving the viaduct behind. DSCN0544 --> On the return trip, we climbed back up the spiral. DSCN0507 --> Much of the railway is one-track so our train had to go onto a side track to let an oncoming train pass by. DSCN0510 --> 00000IMG 00000 BURST20170909100201 COVER --> Betty takes a picture of the Bernina Express approaching a viaduct with Roger's reflection in the train window.
DSCN0421 --> A young conductress checks tickets on the Bernina Express. DSCN0436 --> This fellow takes orders for drinks and snacks on the Express. The youngest and prettiest / most handsome people worked on this famous train. IMG 20170908 093042 --> Betty catches Roger checking his cell phone - probably looking at a map of progress on the trip. DSCN0482 --> A German couple ham it up during the trip. DSCN0487 --> View from high on a mountain side looking across a valley; there's a lake in the middle foreground fed by the river cascading down the mountain on the opposite side. DSCN0472 --> Lago (Lake) Bianco viewed through rain drops on the train window. The green hue of the lake water is due to small particles of rocks washed down from glacier runoff.
bernina express by mountains and lake --> The Bernina Express passes Lago Bianco (image from the web). DSCN0522 --> View of a valley village. 00002IMG 00002 BURST20170909093128 COVER --> We passed over river and highways in the valley below, traveling on a remarkably high viaduct. IMG 20170908 111454 --> A highway with an avalanche shelter parallels the railway. IMG 20170909 143346 --> Water is conveyed down the mountain side. DSCN0439 --> Church spire viewed from train window.
00001IMG 00001 BURST20170909123259 --> DSCN0470 --> DSCN0517 --> DSCN0529 --> As seen before, e.g., in pictures from Zermatt, this building has thick, stone slabs forming its roof. DSCN0528 --> IMG 20170908 115843 -->
IMG 20170909 131450 --> At the end of the Bernina Express line in Tirano, Italy - we had - guess what? PIZZA, of course. ticket.stub --> The Bernina Express is part of the Rhatsche Bahn (rail road).