A Little on the Wild Side in the Gitschi Valley

The Gitschi Valley is probably a lesser known side valley of the Reuss Valley, you can just see it on the right side of the valley near Flüelen (Lake Uri) as you head South toward the Gotthard Tunnel, a trip we often make. On each of these trips I look up into the valley and wonder what's up there, so on this August 31st (Wednesday) we decided to go have a look.

This is the view from across the valley, taken last fall. It's the valley on right I wanted to see. Below that massive rock wall.

For us avid hikers who don't want to first hike 2 hours straight uphill before our tours, the plethora of cable cars in Switzerland (and especially here in Canton Uri) is a real boon. So this 3.5-hour 9 km hike we did started and ended with an impressive steep cable-car ride in tiny 6-person gondolas. (The descent one is privately operated and you have to call the operator at home to come and bring you down).

Cable car from Attinghausen to Brüsti. In the background is the Schächen Valley, where we hike a lot.

This is one of the many person transports in this area (!) One day we will try this one out as well.

The start of our hike at the cable car summit station in Brüsti.

Wouldn't it be nice to have THIS view from your backyard?

Our first stop will be Alp Grat, the mountain farm just visible at the top of the green saddle in the back.

View to the Reuss Valley (below) and Schächen Valley in the back.

The first part of the hike took us up to a cute family-run mountain farm where we had a snack of homemade cheeses and sausage with bread served with seriousness by their 2-year-old, while his older sister (4) gave us the family history. This is what it's all about! As we often do, we bought some of their cheese to take home with us.

Alp Grat (name of the mountain farm). 

 

Ordering our early lunch. All the food is made here on the farm.

This is our view during our meal. South into the Reuss Valley.

Heading on Northward, a last look South to the farm.

Here at the little hut starts the steep descent into the Gitschi Valley

Then started the steep descent into the Gitschi Valley, where there is not much except a couple of mountain farms and the stunning rock formations of the base of Mount Gitschen. The valley is a large bowl and the "wild" lonely feeling combined with scattered grazing cows has an unusual but rather overwhelming effect. It is not the landscape you expect in central Switzerland.

At the saddle, before the descent, we get a view of Lake Uri to the North. We live not far from here.

Zoomed view of the clearing where the summit station of the Gitschenberg Cable Car is. We will head down from there. 

The Gitschi Valley is pretty wild and awesome.

Except for a few cows... they have a lot of room up here!

And lots of Marmots. Each pile of rocks was home to a marmot.

We had to cross a couple of wild streams. With high water, these would be hard to cross.

Back out of the Gitschi Valley, we are on the last leg of the hike.

There is another mountain farm here, where you can also get some home-prepared food.

Ahead, the Summit Station of the privately-run Gitschenberg Cable Car.

End of August and there is still snow up here. 

Just before the final descent we got an awesome view North across the entire Lake Uri (this is the Eastern Arm of Lake Lucerne) to Brunnen. And all this awesomeness is only about an hour away from where we live....

A beautiful place for a coffee break before heading down to the head of the lake.

Gitschenberg Cable Car. At the station you have to use their phone to call the operator to send the gondola up.

Steep ride down to Seedorf on Lake Uri. Flüelen in the back is the train station we need to get to.

Just 30 seconds before arrival, the hourly bus leaves the bus stop! The cable car operator was kind enough to drive us to the train station in Flüelen.

Our excursion started in Attinghausen with a cable car to Brüsti, 9 km (3.5 hours) hike and then a descent to Seedorf with the Gitschenberg Cable Car. 

Day Trip on the Rhaetian Railway, over the Bernina Pass

August 26, 2016 – When my sister was visiting us last summer (can't believe this was 5 months ago at the time I am putting together this album!) with her two youngest boys (16 and 18) we took them all on a couple of nice hikes like the ones we often do...

But the boys, not really seeing the point of hiking or mountains in general, soon got tired of this, so on this hot hot Friday we decided to leave them alone at home to build with Lego, and we procured a day pass for the train for Andrea, whose last train trip in Switzerland was about 25 years ago, and we mapped out a trip that would take us through as much of our gorgeous country with a variety of landscapes and languages and architecture somewhere where she had not yet been before.

Our trip started at 5:45 in the morning, and took us South to Canton Grisons to travel with the Rhaetian Railway through the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Albula Valley with its myriad of bridges and tunnels and railway loops, then through the Engadine (St.Moritz area) over the Bernina Pass and into the Poschiavo Valley and across the border into Italy. Altogether we traveled over 500 km, spent 13 hours on the train and made three stops of one hour each: For a cup of coffee at a village high above the Poschiavo Valley – to get there we did a side trip with the bus along hairpin turns; for a gelato in the Italian city of Tirano just South of the border; and at Lago Bianco (White Lake) near the Bernina Pass on the way back home....

It was a wonderful day, lots of sunshine and comfortable temperatures compared to the excessive heat in the North because we were at higher elevations. Only once on our approach to the Poschiavo Valley it looked like we might hit the “fog”, but that dissipated once we got there. The driver of the bus/van to the village of Viano was a friend of ours, so Andrea got to ride in the passenger seat for a frontseat view. When we boarded the Panorama Wagon in Brusio, we had it all to ourselves, what a treat! And on the way back we upgraded to 1^st Class for a stretch and got to ride in front near the locomotive driver. All in all, a super cool day!

And the apartment was still intact when we returned... and the boys had even cooked their own lunch!

We traveled over 500 km and spent 13 hours on the train.

Near Landquart before the Albula Valley

Landwasser Viaduct, always exhilirating!

Village of Bergün in the Albula Valley

After the Albula Tunnel, the train goes over the Bernina Pass

On the way to the Bernina Pass, we pass the Morteratsch Glacier and the Bernina Ridge

Crossing the Bernina Plain

Across the Bernina Pass

Lake Bianco at the Bernina Pass drains on both sides: One side into the Adriatic, one into the Black Sea.

Crossing the pass we zigzag down into the Poschiavo Valley: It looks like fog!

Those open air Panorama Wagons look like fun. Hope we get to ride in one later.

Down in the Poschiavo Valley, the clouds are gone and the sun is shining.

Along Lake Poschiavo in the Poschiavo Valley

This is the village of Brusio. We took a break here to catch a Post Bus (or van, in this case) to experience narrow roads with hairpin turns up to a small typically Swiss-Italian village called Viano, perched on the steep mountainside high above the valley. There are many such villages up in the hills and the drive is always an adventure.  

Waiting in Brusio for the bus to Viano

Waiting in Brusio for the bus to Viano. This was our cool conductor in the train, we called him Massimiliano. That was not his name though.

The real Massimiliano, a friend of ours, drives the Post Bus here, and Andrea got to ride up front.

The village of Viano is perched high above the valley.

To get to the village of Viano we have to drive a road with many hairpin turns.

In the village of Viano in the Poschiavo Valley.

This is the view North into the Poschiavo Valley: We came down from the Bernina Pass back there somewhere.

We had an hour in the village of Viano before the next bus back down, so we had a cup of coffee at a quasi-restaurant, well it was more like a private residence where the owners provided coffee and light meals out of their own kitchen!  

Coffee Break in Viano, Switzerland

Coffee Break in Viano, Switzerland

After an hour, Massimiliano picked us up again to head back down to the train station in Brusio.

This is the Brusio Viaduct, the next exciting part of our trip

Waiting for our train in Brusio: It has an open panorama wagon. YAY!

Not only did our train have an open wagon, it was pretty empty so no competition for window seats!

On the Brusio Viaduct, a 360 deg railway loop to get the descent required to continue on Southward.

Looping back on the Brusio viaduct, this is the town of Brusio.

Heading across the border to Tirano in Italy, here the train and automobiles use the same road...

Madonna di Tirano, the cathedral in Tirano, Italy, just South of the border.

In Tirano (ITALY!) we had an hour to walk around a bit and enjoy the popular Gelato.

And now it's time to head back home to Zug! By now we've been on the road 9 hours already, and have another 7 hours ahead of us

Heading back northward up the Poschiavo Valley, we pass over the Brusio viaduct a second time (no open wagons this time)

Heading back northward up the Poschiavo Valley, we pass over the Brusio viaduct a second time (no open wagons this time)

As we head back up toward the Bernina Pass, there are views South along the Poschiavo Valley, to Italy at the back.

Just before Lake Bianco, this side valley is one we've hiked twice before. Below the glacier at the back (Palü Glacier) is a beautiful little glacier lake. 

The train winds North along Lago Bianco toward the Bernina Pass. The train station here is the highest train station (altitude) on the Rheatian Railway line (2250m / 7380 ft)

We have another hour to take a break, so we are going to look for a good place to sit at the lake.

The Bernina Express (popular with foreign tourists) is just making its way past.

Our final one-hour break at Lago Bianco, near the Bernina Pass, altitude 2250m (7380 ft)

The water in Lago Bianco is very cold!

On the way back we have upgraded to 1st Class for a Driver's view (for about 1/2-hour)

Heading back past the Morteratsch Glacier. (There are ALWAYS people at this corner taking photos of the Red Train, because the cars have to stop at the crossing. Everyone loves the red Rhaetian trains).

Glimpse into the Morteratsch Valley to the Morteratsch Glacier

Time to change trains in Pontresina. Our way back takes us up the Engadine Valley, a different way home.

Our trip home is along a slightly different route, along the Engadine Valley, and through the Vereina Tunnel.

Our trip home is along a slightly different route, along the Engadine Valley, and through the Vereina Tunnel.

No photos of the boys, but this is what they built while we were away....