Bernina Express

The Bernina Express isn't a dining train per se, but rather a scenic train with panoramic windows . For your trip, you will likely want to travel from Milan to Tirano to catch the Bernina Express. You can take it to Chur or St. Moritz and spend the night. What do you plan to do after you spend the night? If you have wifi access again, take a look at this link.

http://seat61.com/BerninaExpress.htm#.V0r1mJD3aK0

I am still at the restaurant while the wind blows and it is raining. I have been looking at the map, and it does not look like the actual Bernini Express starts in Italy, but in Switzerland? I will be in Trento, Venice, the Dolomites, heading home out of Milano. From a couple I met, I got the impression they caught the Red Train out of Milan. My TIM sim card is very confusing and every office I go to tells me different things, so calling seems out of the question. I had 400 minutes, but they now say I have a .10 credit only. They said when I ran out of credits, I could not use the 3 GB I have left! No explanation, but there it is. Sorry, I got off track. Hopefully the next apartment will have good internet and i do not need to track it down. In this area it is difficult, and it is not easy lugging around a computer, and I do not enjoy using an iPhone to research, as it is difficult and different. I will check this forum when i get a chance.

Thanks.

Jeanne,
The Bernina Express runs from Tirano to St Moritz and Chur. Tirano is in Italy, but only just. Within 5 minutes the train is across the border in Switzerland. It is important to realise this is not the only train on this line. It is an extra limited-stop tourist train with panoramic windows and optional food on board. As with all Swiss rail lines, there is one train per hour. You will see the same mountains out the window whichever train you choose. If you take one of the "normal" trains you may need to change somewhere.

In order to get to Tirano, Milan is the best place to start, the trains to Tirano run from Milan. Trento, Venice, the Dolomites are way east near the Austrian border, and you would have to double back south (from Trento or the Dolomites) and west via Milan. All travellers should carry a map!, especially those who make up their route as they go along.

From St Moritz, you can go west through the Alps, or north to Chur at which point you leave the Alps, and the next big city is Zürich. It all depends on where you are finally heading for.

And yes, the weather this May is all over the place. Alternating between April and June weather. Here (north of the Alps), a few days ago was 25°C, yesterday was OK (20°C), but today it is raining all day.
I looked up the weather for the Berninapass, snow and continuous rain, so you might not get to see much. Link here (if you can get the internet): http://meteonews.ch/de/Wetter/G2661543/Pass_dal_Bernina

Jeanne,
I've come up with a "plan B". the problem with travelling east-west in the Alps is that all the rail lines and roads follow the valleys, which run north-south as all the rivers head for low ground. But there is one back route not a lot of people know about.
Assuming you are starting from Trento, which is on the main North-South route to the Brenner pass and Austria, you can do the following (all by train unless stated otherwise).

• North to Bolzano / Bozen (this is German speaking Italy, everywhere has two names).
• West up a side valley to Merano / Meran.
• Change trains and further up the valley to Mals/Malles.
• From here a Swiss post bus runs over the Pas del Fourn (2150 metres) through the Swiss National Park to Zernez.
• Zernez is in the Engadin valley, same as St Moritz, so you can now catch a train west to St Moritz.

You can overnight in St Moritz, and either head north via Chur, or even double back south over the Bernina Pass to Tirano and Milan.
You need to look this all up on the Swiss Railways website ( www.sbb.ch ), but if you do it you can them claim to have crossed the Alps on a route only the Swiss know about.