The beautiful Alpine devil and a quaint little Italian lady.

Day 3

Started at 9 am. Took Post bus 2 across our apartment and after around 35 minutes, got down at Bernina Diavolezza station. Took the gondola (Cable car) to Diavolezza Mountain from the base station. (No discount here for Swisspass!) Seems to be one of the longest in the Engadine region’s cable rides with some really stunning views as the gondola went up and up over valleys and deep gorges! The temperature was also getting colder as we went up and when we reached the summit at 3000 metres, it read -14C!

We were lucky today as the weather was clear and when we got down the Gondola and went to the panorama terrace…what a spectacular view of the dazzling glaciers and the peaks! No doubt the place is named rightly so- beautiful Devil (Diavolzza)!

This spot seems to be a popular choice among skiers and there were quite a number of skiers along with us, who quickly got into their gears and started skiing. Enjoyed views walking down the foot-deep snow and watched the skiers (looked like tiny colourful ants) skiing down almost 90-degree vertical slopes! Had some hot soup and snacks at the terrace restaurant (justifiably expensive!) and came back to Diavolezza station to continue our onward journey to Tirano.

A very scenic train ride descending from 1800 mtrs to 440 mtrs as the train drops down from high mountain terrain travelling over curved viaducts, winding tunnels, wild gorges, icy glaciers, beautiful valleys and Alpine meadows. During the 1.5 hours journey, the train stopped at several tiny picture-postcard stations; two spots come to my mind- Alp Grum, where you can watch the train taking a 180⁰ turn. Another place is after Poschiavo town where it takes almost 270⁰ bend over a bridge!

There is a visible difference as you move from the Swiss side to the Italian side. You can notice how the homes look different, how the streets and the shops all look different.

We knew in advance that the Palazzo Salis is closed during winter and so we walked through the historic part of Tirano towards Santuario Madonna. Located at the crossroads of busy streets, this church has lots of beautiful carvings in the ceilings and walls and a very big intricately carved wooden pipe organ. In fact trains to and from St.Moritz actually cross near the Church! Spent some time in the church and walked back to the station through the tree-lined avenue and took the 5 pm train back to St. Moritz. Half way through our return journey, it started snowing quite heavily and continued through the night.