June 8- June 15 2024
Some of my yoga family from Austin (Laura Forsyth/One Yoga Glaobal and Jenn Wooten/Viasomatic) hosted a retreat in the town of Potresina in the center of the Engadin Valley. It was both comforting and a bit surreal to have moved to Europe but to be on my mat with a beloved teacher every morning - thank you Jenn for such a beautiful, grounding week of practice, I didn't even realize how much I needed that time! Somehow you always know Jenn...
Given that we were a little busy and unsettled because we were getting ourselves prepared for our voyage - I did very little research or planning ahead of time for the week. This made for a lot of pleasant suprises. The other towns near by that I visited were Maloja, St. Moritz and Piaschiavo.
I went by train - seemed like there should have been a quicker/easier way but it was best solution. I went from Siena station, through Firenze Santa Maria Novella where I picked up the FrecciaRossa to Milan. From Milano Centrale, the very crowded regional train stopped at every town on the coast of Lake Como (a lot of tourists got off at the Varenna stop - not sure why, something to research). The last stop in Italy was Tirano Station where I crossed over in to Switzerland for my next connection...
Train from Tirano to Pontresina is amazing!! In Tirano there were people on balconies in there bathing suits then in less than an hour I was passing glaciers and frozen lakes - just beautiful. The train has big windows - there is a panoramic version with even bigger windows but I took the regular one which was much less crowded and I could see everything. There were just a handful of us in the car and we were even able to open the windows to feel the fresh air and hear sounds of the waterfalls, crackling ice and cowbells. People were getting on a off in hiking gear at the little stops, as if they are walking between towns and using the train a little in between (also something to be researched, might be fun).
We werein the valley just before the summer season started which left us in a very peaceful environment, but there were many hotels, shops and restaurants that weren't open yet - I learned they close after ski season until the weather is again reliable and the summer vacations have started. We had beautiful weather the week of June 8-15. On paper the temps looked cold but in reality it was lovely when the sun was shining and we there was little rain. This was a wonderful time for our retreat but, if we can ever make it happen, I would love to go back when the rest of the hotels are open - I love a good hotel lobby/bar!
Besides yoga the week was full of local sites, food and experiences arranged by our hosts Andreas and Ulrica of Inspiration Engadin local residents and enthusiasts of their beloved Romansh language - one of the official languages of Switzerland that is spoken by a very small percentage of the population centered in this valley. The history of the valley is fascinating - we were really lucky to have such enthusiastic local guides.
Where I slept:
Hotel Allegra, Via Maistra 171
Very nice hotel with a helpful and friendly staff. Nice breakfast in the morning, bar in the evening
It is connected to a spa directly across the street.
Places we ate:
Hotel Steinbock, Via Maistra 219
Gondolezza, Via Maistra 219 (across the street from Steinbock, in an old cable car)
Here we ate the very traditional Raclette - cheese melted at table with boiled potatoes, pickles and cocktail onions. There is a lovely garden out front as well which looks like a nice place to take an aperitivo (aperò)
Gianottis Wilerei, Via Maistra 140
My favorite! Everything I ate was delicious - I ate here 3 times
Restaurant Diavolezza, Talstation Pontresina
Cable car to arrive at the restaurant with a glacial view, surrounded by the highest peaks of the valley - the clouds developing and dispersing made quite a show. We ate bratwurst,potatoes, beer from local brewery. A few people reserved a spot in a hot tub and all said it was an amazing experience. Maybe something to try?
Burgrestaurant Alp Languard, Alp Languard Pontresina
We had a lunch of pasta with yet another incredible view.
Panoramarestaurant Muottas Muragle, Muottas Muragle
Stunning restaurant with the most amazing view. To arrive you take a funicular to 8500 feet. We were entertained by parasailers outside our window.
Ristorante Pizzeria Albrici, Via de Mezz 18 Poschiovo
Here we ate a very traditional regional dish of buckwheat pasta (pizzoccheri), potatoes, cabbage and cheese. When the plates arrived I just wasn't sure but it in fact was delicious, I actually finished it!
What I did:
Immediately behind our hotel was a cable car to take us up to Alp Languard for one of many incredible views of the valley. We hiked back down.....quite steep, a lot of switchbacks but it made for a great story and lots of sore knees and quads! We all decided to never trust a Swiss man (Andreas) when he says "a light hike."
Diavolezza for lunch and glacier viewing - some took train back one stop and had a hike up to the glacier that they all raved about - I was feeling lazyish - took the train the other direction to the frozen lake, Lago Bianco at the Ospizio Bernina stop. It was SO quiet and beautiful but nowhere to go, nothing to do so I spent 20 mins at the train station.
Muloja - I took the bus to this town which was completely closed. The bus ride was pretty, along the lakes where people were kitesurfing (maybe even a race or competition was going on?) There was a beautiful view at the end of town where I saw a different crossing into Italy - eventually decided to train home that way - and it saved me at least 2 hours travel time.
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