Europe Trip 2012 Day 6 (June 27, 2012): From the Top

St. Moritz continues to amaze me. When Jenn and I woke up today we could not have asked for a more beautiful day. There was almost no clouds in the sky and the sun was shining brightly over the lake and surrounding town. From the gloom of yesterday the majestic summer morning made us even more excited for our final full day in St. Moritz.

We headed down for breakfast at around 8:30Am and were shocked to find the dining room almost completely empty. Breakfast once again did not disappoint and we made sure to fill up before embarking on yet another hiking adventure.

With the weather being as perfect as it was we heading out right after breakfast and seemed to stop every few steps to take more pictures. We made our way to the St. Moritz Dorf tram in the middle of the town and took it up to Piz Nair. I estimate we took at least fifty photos on our walk and did a good three hundred for the day.

Over breakfast we decided to test our limited hiking abilities by taking the tram up to Piz Nair (highest peak in St Moritz you can reach via tram) and hike down the mountain to the Signal Station that then drops us right off at our hotel. Conceptually we had the right idea. Hiking down the mountain should be easier then hiking up right? Not necessarily.

When we arrived at Piz Nair a little before 11AM the views were even more stunning then on Monday. The landscapes almost seemed endless and the nearby lakes as crystal clear as if they were photoshopped in. We took a lot more pictures, purchased two waters (no gas) and began the descent down the mountain. The first half hour of the hike was some of the most difficult. First you forget how much gravity is pushing you in the same directions down the mountain which isn't always advantageous. Second at 10,000ft above sea level there is still a good deal of snow a lot of which is turning into slush which also isn't easy to hike on. And third and most importantly we neither dressed nor prepared well enough to what laid ahead on the hike.

There were at least a dozen times where I genuinely was concerned if completing this hike was a good idea. Much of the initial hike had us winding the mountain top with not much between us and falling down a couple thousand feet. The good news is we are very much alive and still coming down the high of successful making it down the mountain. After forty five minutes to an hour we made it to much flatter and safer ground. From there we got a little lost, made our own trail, found our way and then passed the Corviglia station which then had us make our way to our destination the Signal Station.

All in all our total hike lasted just over three and a half hours. More then anything it was an incredible experience. There were so many times we would stop to take a break and there was nothing but silence. It was both incredible and refreshing. I think the best way to describe it was magical. We worked together, took tons of breaks, laughed hysterically on multiple occasions, never stopped taking pictures, and genuinely enjoyed the journey. We did make it down the mountain no worse for wear and have some amazing experiences and pictures from it.

Jenn was pooped when we got back and took a good two hour nap before our dinner reservations at Entoca a up-scale restaurant at the hotel. While Jenn slept I was able to catch up on my daily posts for the trip and start to catalog the pictures. We started to get ready at 6:30PM and went down to the restaurant a little after 7PM.

Entoca has two different dining options. First you could do the three course menu we did at the main dining room a few days ago or you could do their tapas menu which is three mini dishes for appetizers, entree, and desert. Jenn made an identical order that she had on Monday of Consume of Swiss Spring Chicken with Root Vegetables, Roasted Mountain Lamb Chops with Pinot Noir Jus, and Crème Brule. She really loved it on Monday and seemed just as happy with it this evening. We also started with a bottle of Merlot which was another fantastic choice.

I chose to do the tapas menu and am very glad I did. The three mini starters were Yellow Fin Tuna with Mixed Vegetables, Cocktail of Canadian Lobster and Green Asparagus, and Carpaccio of Val Mustar Beef with Summer Truffle Vinaigrette. The Yellow Fin Tuna was my favorite of the three although the Lobster was pretty great as well. For the three entrees I had Grilled Scallops on Fregola Sadra, Roasted Mountain Lamb with Artichoke Ragout, and Roasted Pousin on Forrest Mushroom Ragout. The Pousin and Scallops were delicious but once again the Lamb took top billing. For desert I had Mascarpone Parfait with Wild Blueberries, Exotic Fruit Salad with Citrus Grantine, and Pistachio Cake with Ragout & Sorbet of Blackberry. By far the Pistachio Cake was the best desert, not only for the night, but one of the best deserts I have ever eaten.

The dinner lasted almost there hours and when we came back up to the room we started to pack up and get ready for our travel to Venice, Italy tomorrow. From the top of the mountain in the morning to the exquisite dinner we could have asked for a better send of in St. Moritz.