ASMO fall trip 2024

Von Major Werner Reiser, Arbon September 2024

Once there, we provided the train driver and the train supervisor with coffee and croissants. The RHB crew must be well looked after. Our ASMO journey to the Puschlav and Engadin could begin without any problems.

The journey began by passing through the Prättigau region via the Vereina Tunnel into the picturesque Engadin valley to Samedan.

The first discussions took place in small, cozy groups.
Old and new stories were exchanged.
Simply beautiful every year.

We arrived in Samedan slightly late at 12.15 p.m.. Our colleague Pierre-Dominique Hool gave us a warm welcome. As a resident of Bever in the Engadin, he took over this part of the organization. Pierre-Dominique took us directly to the Hotel Terminus opposite the train station, where we had lunch, a cold platter with red wine and mineral water.

Thanks to Pierre-Dominique’s excellent organization, we were able to start eating immediately and our delay had no impact on the rest of the programme.

The “vegetarians” were also quickly found and fed with a nice big salad.

After only a short time, we boarded the Postbus to Poschiavo in Samedan.

Despite reservations, seat allocation was still a bit of a challenge for us all.
Several passengers were forced to reschedule their journeys due to a power cut on the RHB network and had to continue their journey on “our Postbus”.

In the end, however, all participants had a safe seat and so the journey over the Bernina Pass could begin.

Our friendly chauffeur then drove us safely over the Bernina Pass.
A comfortable ride with a full Postbus!

The PostBus ride gave us many wonderful impressions and a magnificent view of the Poschiavo Valley.

We arrived safely and in good spirits in Poschiavo after 2.00 pm.

We were welcomed there by Carlo Isepponi, a native of Poschiavo.
Thanks to Carlo’s good connections, we were able to move into our 18 rooms in the Hotel Albrici, the most beautiful hotel in Poschiavo, and spend a night in a wonderful hotel.

What we didn’t know, of course, was that the church bells of the Protestant and the Catholic churches competed with each other every hour throughout the night. For some, this certainly had an effect on their deep sleep.

A satisfied group gathers in front of the Hotel Albrici!

At 3.30 p.m. we were able to enjoy a tour of Poschiavo under the very competent guidance of Carlo Isepponi and Moreno Raselli, the director of the museums in Poschiavo.

Passing the churches and beautiful houses, we learned a lot about the history of Poschiavo.

Afterward, we had some time to freshen up in our room and prepare for the evening program.

At 6.30 pm we were able to enjoy an aperitif in the Casa Console museum. A fine fruity white wine from the region with aperitif pastries: sfoglie – and focacce miste from the Hotel Albrici, rounded off the tour of the very interesting museum with its many beautiful and valuable paintings.

The participants were amazed by the unique art collection, which nobody expected to see in this form.

Afterward, Moreno gave us another interesting and heartfelt introduction to the history and important facts about the Puschlav. Especially the flood of the 18. – 19. July 1987 was an interesting story.

In Poschiavo, huge masses of debris burst out of the Val Varuna in the late evening of July 18 and dammed up the Poschiavino, which was carrying flood waters. After the Poschiavino broke through, unimaginable masses of water and debris rolled through the village center, causing devastation and destruction.
Streets and squares were torn open several meters deep and the foundations of buildings were washed away.
Facades collapsed.
Most of the houses had flooded cellars and uninhabitable rooms on the first floor.
A highlight of the trip!

We then went back to the Hotel Albrici, where we were informed by Ms. Valentina Guerranti about the exciting history of the Hotel Albrici. It was then that we realized that we had arrived in a museum!

In the middle of the Borgo of Poschiavo, a townscape of national importance, lies the Hotel Albrici on the Piazza comunale.
Alongside the church, the well-balanced building is the most important building on the square.
Its cultural and historical significance and its architectural qualities are exceptional.
The imposing patrician house was built in 1682 by the Podestà (mayor) Bernardo Massella as a prestigious residence and furnished with extraordinary state rooms.

The so-called Sibyl Hall on the second floor is particularly unique, containing a richly decorated Renaissance paneling and an impressive coffered ceiling as well as twelve Sibyl paintings, which were created in southern Germany around 1700.
Through marriage, the house passed to Baron Franz Maria de Bassus in the second half of the 18th century.
The first Italian edition of Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther was printed in the print shop he set up in 1780.
From 1828, the residential palace belonged to the Albrici family, who set up a hostel there.
This conversion marked the beginning of tourism development in Poschiavo, supported by the expansion of the Bernina Pass into a carriage road, which was completed in 1865.
Since 2004, the hotel has belonged to the current owners, who are dedicated to preserving the historic rooms.
Inside, the stately need for representation of the aristocratic families of earlier times can still be experienced. The young architects have succeeded excellently in respectfully building on the existing listed building.
Back in 1998, the hotel received a special award from Icomos “for the preservation of the valuable Sibyllensaal and the targeted restorations throughout the building”.
The Hotel Albrici has been a member of Swiss Historic Hotels since it was founded in 2004. The evening meal with a specialty from Poschiavo: sliced veal “Baron de Bassus” with black polenta (buckwheat flour) was very tasty for everyone and so the very interesting day could be enjoyed in a relaxed atmosphere after the meal.
On Sunday morning, after breakfast at 08.30, the day continued.
An illustrious group hiked over the Poschiavino and along the main road to Poschiavo railroad station.

Once there, we didn’t have to wait long for the Bernina Express to Pontresina.

Together with tourists from America and India, we enjoyed the beautiful trip and could hardly get enough of the beautiful pictures of the Alps.
It’s always a beautiful sight and it makes us realize again how nice we have it in Switzerland with the different landscapes and lakes. In Pontresina, we then changed to a Postbus reserved especially for us.
With great effort, we were able to prevent the Chinese tourists from boarding the bus.
After a short ride, we arrived in Bever, where we had a nice hike towards the Spinas inn on the way to the Albula Pass. We were able to enjoy the 4 km together in secluded larch forests and under the watchful eye of “Eichhörnli” (squirrels) to the Spinas inn. A welcome change from sitting on the train and eating fine food in the various restaurants. When we arrived at Gasthaus Spinas, we were warmly welcomed by Graubünden cantonal councillor Martin Bühler. Martin was a UN military observer in the UNTSO, but not yet a member of ASMO. Martin introduced us to the history of the canton with an “official greeting from the Graubünden government”. Together with former instructors at the SUNMOC 2003 in Stans, some old memories were exchanged and refreshed.
Finally, we were able to welcome a new ASMO member!
Thanks again to Martin.
Again, the food was excellent and so we were able to head back to Spinas station at 3 p.m. refreshed, where the RHB was waiting for us with an old train carriage.
The journey now took us via Thusi and Tiefencastel via numerous helical tunnels in the direction of Chur.
In Chur, we only had a short time to change trains to Landquart.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to meet up again in the reserved compartment.
So ended a weekend full of wonderful impressions and experiences between “SBB children’s play cars” and other SBB passengers standing around. Participants: Urs Casparis, Ralph Ganter, Martin Greber, Beat and Madeline Haenni, Christine Heggli, Pierre-Dominique Hool, Gregor and Anita Kaufmann, Bruno and Arlette Moor, Hansjörg Oettli, David Pavlik, Werner Reiser and Michaela Schadegg, Brigitte Rindlisbacher, Pius Rohner, Felix Rosenberger, Roger and Ursula Sauder, Beat and Elise Spycher, Franz and Beatrice Zürcher, Adrian and Naa Dedel Zurmühle.
Guest: Martin Bühler