Alpine Adventure- part IX

Part IX

Sunday, July 24,2016- Innsbruck, Austria

         An early morning start found us driving along the INN River Valley into Switzerland. The River Inn, like most of those fed from glacial run off, shown an opaque and milky jade color, due to the large amount of sediment from the eroding mountains. The valleys here are steep. They are formed in two characteristic types. A sharply etched and vee-shape resulted from a river carving the rock and soil for centuries. The broader and wider, “U shaped” valleys were carved out my massive sheets of ice, retreating up the alps after thousands of years of melting since the last ice age.

       At Samnaun, we crossed into Switzerland. Made up of  of 26 seperate cantons, and eight million people, it is only one tenth the size of California. Banking and tourism of course are the major industries here. We needed to convert our Euros to Swiss Francs. The Swiss Francs are roughly equivalent to the Euro. And though Switzerland is not a part of the European Economic Union, free passage through its borders is still allowed. The Red Cross had been founded here in 1863.

      We stopped at the head of the Roseg Valley and glacier. There, we boarded several horse-drawn, leather carriages for the ride up the scenic, u-shaped valley. Larches and Tamaracks grew along the steeply eroded sides of the valley. Small piles of rocks dotted the landscape. They are the classic morain of a retreating glacier. Along side of us, hardy souls walked and biked up the rising trail.

      At the trail head, a barn and small restaurant were chock a block with visitors. We enjoyed some Apfel Kuchen and sparkling water in the brilliant sunshine of a warm Swiss afternoon. Four kilometers from here, arose the base of the Roseg glacier. The white, snow-crusted surface glistened in the afternoon sun, high above us. We walked a small path somewhat closer but settled for an enjoyable afternoon in the Swiss sun. The restaurant displayed samples of Eidleweiss. It is  a velvet-surfaced and grey flower that grows only on the high valleys of the alps. Because of its rare and delicate appearance, it is considered a good gift for lovers to each other. The horse drawn sleighs ferried us back to the base of the valley. A light rain speckled us on the way down. It was not unpleasant in the heat of a summer day. In winter, they equip these horse-drawn carriages with iron skis, for use on the frozen lakes and snowy trails of the alps.

      Late afternoon,  found us  heading towards the fabled village of Saint Moritz. The Winter Olympics had been held there in 1926 and 1946. A benevolent climate allows some 322 days of sunshine every year. On the way into town, we passed our first golf course on the tour. It was filled with happy duffers. It looked something of an anomaly in the high Swiss Alps.

     The Palace Hotel, here in Saint Moritz, caters to the carriage trade. It has Rolls Royces available for use by guests. I don’t think we were staying there tonight. Instead, we pulled into the much more modest “Laudinello” (songbird) Hotel. We got our rooms, unpacked our gear and relaxed for a bit, enjoying the view of the distant alps from our room window. We could also see a small lake, in the downtown area, and a large, oval, athletic track, now in use.

      We walked over to the lake and sat on its banks. Small sailboats were tacking back and forth across the surface, in a timeless summer ritual. A young boy was fishing from the bank near us. We sat and enjoyed the clean air and warm sunshine. After a time, we retreated to our room. I wrote up my notes. We enjoyed a glass of cabernet and prepared for dinner in the hotel. The affair was pleasant enough, talking about our day’s adventures with fellow travelers. Thoughts of an early morning call drove us all to bed at a respectable hour.

                                    -30-

                              (678 words)

                      Joseph Xavier Martin