Engadin, Mon Amour!

This is what happens when you take a girl who was born and bred in the city and drive her to the famous Swiss region of Engadin: She will not stop blabbering about how lovely it is.

We spent last weekend in the small town of La Punt, next to St. Moritz and deep in the heart of Switzerland’s most iconic valley. Although I have seen mountains before, I am not a big fan and I didn’t expect the kind of amazing, postcard-like places they have up there.

Our apartment was small and cozy, kindly offered to us by a friend of mine. I loved the interior decor and the clever use of spaces. It really felt like living in a farmer’s house. Lots of wood, antique brass pots, a stove. So nice.

We explored the surroundings a little bit, and it was love at first sight. Meadows full of flowers, cows grazing nearby, snowy mountaintops in the background and foamy clouds in the distance. Blue skies, fresh air. Small, quiet village roads with ancient houses.

That’s what the whole valley is like: Picture perfect and amazing. You know the image of Switzerland you have in your mind, with all the cows and the mountains and the little wooden houses and lakes? It’s not fantasy. It’s Engadin.

We drove around St. Moritz with its romantic lake, the fashion shops in the main street, the classy hotels and the pine-tree woods surrounding it. While we took a small hike around the lake at Silvaplana, some crazy windsurfers had the time of their life in the choppy water.

Finally, we pigged out on fondue, Rösti, hand made ravioli and other hearty mountain delicacies that included loads of double cream and/or melted cheese:

You pay for such beauty, of course – as we painfully found out when asking for the check at the restaurant, or even at the local bar. Four francs for a (rather crappy) espresso is enough to make any Italian burst into tears.

But then you just soak in the amazing splendor of the Alps at their best, the sun shining on you and a fresh breeze stroking your hair. You feel like you could spend your whole life there, a modern version of the Heidi story...

I was told that Engadin gets crazy in July and August, and super crazy in wintertime. But right now, while the weather is still nice and there are not too many tourists around, it is just perfect.

So yeah, as you can see, I will not stop blabbering about it...