Dan Will Travel

I'm Dan and I WILL Travel

BERNINA EXPRESS

This is one of the two or three most famous scenic rail journey’s of Switzerland.  I traveled the route from Chur to Tirano Italy, and then back to Chur.  (As the rail line says, from glaciers to palms) It is one of only 3 rail lines that are classified as a Unesco site for its historical and engineering aspects.  In less than 100 miles, it travels over 196 bridges and through 55 tunnels and includes the highest elevation rail mountain pass in Europe.   It goes from 1500’ at Chur to the pass at 7,500’ and down to Tirano at 1300’ all without the use of any cogs or other support systems.  Just a very creative use of spiral tunnels and such to get up and down. It takes 4 hours each way to do all of this, so the term “Express” is a bit of a stretch.
The shots with this blog are not the best as it is tough to do good photography inside the train due to the glass and it’s reflections.  But, I think you can see that the scenery was quite astounding, even with the weather issues.
If you want to see better shots or learn more about this travel experience, go to their site, www.rhb.ch.

Yes, it is really that green here.
The famous Landwasser Viaduct
Higher up the first pass in the area of repeated spiral tunnels used to gain altitude without cogs or other helpers.
At Alp Gum near the Bernina pass.  Waterfalls running straight from glaciers.
A close up of the glacier at Bernina pass.
Lago Blanco at Bernina pass. The white water is due to the glacial sediment in the water.
Alpine view from the train.
Overlooking a beautiful valley going down from Bernina Pass.
Another village heading into Italy
The Brusio Circular viaduct uses a full 360 degree loop to change altitude in a limited amount of space.

Posted: September 21, 2015 by admin

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GO WEST YOUNG MAN

Isn’t that what they said when the American west needed to be explored?  Well, I am doing my version of it now, but the “young man” aspect has got to go, huh?  So, how about a revised title:
 GO WEST OLD MAN.
 Anyway, that is what I am doing this trip.  Going west until I go totally around the world.
 Leg one is done, a week in Shanghai for a furniture trade show.  It was probably the nicest, clearest weather I have experienced there in my many visits. We always stay at the Grand Hyatt, in the Jin Mao tower, which used to be the largest building in Shanghai at 88 floors.  Now, with the 105 story Park Hyatt building and the brand new unbelievably giant 128 floor tower each across the street, from a distance the Jin Mao looks tiny.  The new one, at least for now, is number two tallest in the world. 
 Leg two began with a nice flight from Shanghai to Zurich, and a quick overnight in Zurich before picking up my car and starting the driving portion of my Swiss experience.  The first leg was back through Zurich, without freeways in the city.  Fortunately, it was Sunday morning, so I did not cause too much trouble as I wandered around trying to understand the navigation system’s directions.
After finally getting through the city, I was off to Chur, the oldest city in Switzerland, and the hottest. (Trust me, they mean temperature, not anything else.)  As far as I could tell, it seemed a bit too much like Seattle in late October.  Drizzle, low clouds, people bundled up.  You all know that time of the year.  But a good base of operations for some of the train trips I wanted to do.

Seattle to Shanghai
Shanghai to Zurichch
One of the first store fronts I saw in Chur. Welcome to Switzerland!
The 14th century cathedral in Chur.  Do not even ask about the clock. Of course it works correctly.
Its Switzerland.  There will be flowers everywhere.
Just a nice old mansion in Chur

Posted: September 18, 2015 by admin

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PERU FINAL THOUGHTS

After 11 flights, 2 train trips, 2 bus trips, 2 days of hired drivers, 12 hours on speedboats on the Amazon, and 9 different hotel stays, I am home. The ONLY variance from plan was one flight that was 30 minutes late!  All else was totally on schedule.

I highly recommend Peru as a travel destination.  After doing 3 weeks there, it is clear that there are still many very valid destinations that could be done on a second trip.  Huge variety and really pretty easy to access most sites.  If you are a more adventurous traveler, it is even better for you as there are so many things to see and do that I was not up to doing.

There are nice aspects of a developing country and access to fairly primitive villages and such, but, except for the Chachapoyas area, really quite a good infrastructure.  3 major airlines serve nearly all of the airports all with newer jet equipment.

So, I hope that you have enjoyed my posts and I hope that you will look in on the next version in July when I do my annual Redwood journey and in September when I travel to Switzerland.

Thanks!

Posted: June 18, 2015 by admin

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