Walks, Hikes and Wanders #24: Public Transportation and Hiking

Our next Swiss hike was one of my favorites of the whole trip. Before I share photographs from the day, I have to tell you about how we got to the start of the hike. First, we took a bus from Pontresina to Celerina, a nearby town. Then half of our group (Mr. D, the adult nephews and niece, a nephew's girlfriend and her friend, visiting for the day from Italy) started up the mountain on foot. My mother-in-law, two sisters-in-law, the seven year-old nephew and I took the cable car up to Marguns, where we started our hike. Why am I telling you about how we got to the hike? Well, thanks to a transportation pass provided by the hotel, all of the public transportation was free! In fact, every train, bus, cable car and ski lift that we took while in Pontresina was completely free. What a wonderful perk from our hotel!

Anyway, from Marguns, we planned to take a short but steep trail up to Corviglia. If all worked out as planned, both hiking groups should arrive there at about the same time. I started hiking with my mother-in-law, who, at 84, is a slow, but steady walker. My sisters-in-law and nephew paused for a few minutes at the little playground at Marguns.

The trail we took was well marked and easy to follow.

We passed by a pretty little stream running down the mountain. I've included a bit of video, so you can experience this small part of the hike with me. (That's my mother-in-law hiking above me on the trail.)

 

 

After a while, the rest of our group caught up with my mother-in-law and me. Here they all are:

The views of the mountains as well as the small details of the landscape were spectacular.

After about two hours of hiking, we reached Corviglia, and within ten minutes, the rest of our group arrived, too. From Corviglia, we took another cable car (more public transportation!) to the top of Piz Nair, where the views were, once again, spectacular. Here is my favorite scene, a life-size sculpture of a steinbock, perched at the very top of the mountain.

After we enjoyed a satisfying lunch of Bundner Gerstensuppe, a barley and bean soup, we headed back down the mountain, taking the cable car the whole way down.

A great way to end another wonderful day of hiking in the Alps!