Switzerland and Germany

Bergün, Switzerland 2005. RHB Ge6/6 Baby Crocodile

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:08:10 +0000

by Ed Waldrup RHB Ge6/6 Baby Crocodile. Featuring an articulated nose and rod drive these electric engines were built in 1925 and are still pulling special tourist trains. Yes, I bought the model in Ho narrow gage.

Bergün, Switzerland 2005. UNESCO World Heritage site.

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:08:07 +0000

by Ed Waldrup This is the view to where the movie 1954 movie Heidi was filmed. Bergün is on the route to St. Moritz and is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. In summer there are many attractive walks and themed trails such as the popular Heidi Trail or the discovery walk about the history of the railway. The spectacular Albula mountain railway winds through switchback tunnels, through covered sections and over lofty viaducts. For one 8 km stretch, the Railway History path runs alongside the impressive and fascinating alpine railway line. Model railway demonstrations on the (nearly) scale model in the local museum give railway enthusiasts an overview of what is, at first sight, the truly bewildering course followed by the Albula line. The "Cultural Landscape of the Albula-Bernina Line" is as of July 2008, a UNESCO World Heritage listing. In summer, sports fans can hurtle down from Preda to Bergün by scooter. For bikers, there is no shortage of challenges, with the Albula, Flüela, Julier, Bernina and Maloja passes nearly on the doorstep. The unspoilt alpine village of Bergün lies at the foot of the Albula Pass at the gateway to the Engadine. You do not have to be a railway historian to be amazed by the Albula railway line, which is still maintained in its entirety in almost its original condition, 100 years after its construction. In winter, the resort of Bergün is a mecca for sledgers.

Preda to Bergün, Switzerland Alps hike 2005. Unesco World Heritage area.

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:08:04 +0000

by Ed Waldrup The Rhaetische Bahn Albula Line. An engineering marvel of the late 1800s. This is the entrance to the Albula tunnel 5865 meters long. In summer you can rent a push scooter here to use to go to Bergün. Spiral tunnels were cut under the mountains so the trains could gain 1600 ft of altitude in 12.6kms between Preda and Bergün. http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/john.whitby/preda_walk.htm

Mustard fields from fast moving train, Germany, 2006

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:44:44 +0000

by Ed Waldrup Shot on a tripod from a fast German train at 800 asa this is one of several views which took my breath away.

Bergün, Switzerland 2005

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:08:12 +0000

by Ed Waldrup The beautifully painted buildings in this hamlet of 550 which features a cow parade daily thru the streets. Think Norman Rockwell with a Swiss twist. Bergün (4515 ft.) – the location in the 1990s for the filming of the TV series "The Director" had already been in the spotlight before, in 1952, when the first Heidi film was filmed in the nearby village of Latsch. The heart of the village, with its picturesque Engadine houses – lavishly decorated with sgraffito, frescoes and oriel windows – an 800 year old Romanesque church and a Roman tower, is amazingly unchanged.