So it's farewell to Italy, on a bright sunny morning, and all aboard the northbound train, this time not an Allegra, but two of the older units pulling three coaches, with the nice deep opening windows. It seemed like I spent more time on my feet than sitting:

Some more street running, attracting stares from the roadside:

to Le Prese, skirting the edge of Lake Poschiavo

Still more street running, where you look out of the back of the train to find you're being tailed by some cars:

To Poschiavo, where a little ballast wagon was shunted onto the rear of the train. Also in the depot there, one of two electro-diesels:

From Poschiavo, it's uphill and into the mountains, twisting and turning all the way:

to Alp Grüm:

where the ballast wagon mentioned earlier is seen heading off north:

Alp Grüm, with no road access, a station with a cafe, and a fantastic view back down the valley to Lake Poschiavo, passed earlier. I'll let the pictures and video do the talking:

After a brief coffee and nut tart, I continued north, past the mostly-frozen lake:

to the summit at Bernina Hospice/Ospizio Bernina, where there was track maintenance going on at 2253 m (7392 ft) above sea level. This might be the ballast wagon from earlier:

Then all change at Pontresina, where there were yet more logs, and an unexpected bonus of a crocodile with Pullman coaches:

On a Scuol-Tarasp train, loco + coaches + driving trailer:

to Samedan, where there was some complicated shunting going on:

Then picking up the Chur train as far as Filisur, here shown with the train in the opposite direction carrying a Gourmino restaurant car plus Co-Op supermarket food containers:

Stopped for a snack in the station buffet, hoping for something interesting, and the second bonus of the day snuck in from the Davos direction:

apparently being taken to St Moritz/Samedan/Scuol for a steam special the following day.

From Filisur, it was downhill all the way, my train carrying post containers on the back, across the Landwasser Viaduct:

To Chur, onwards on a double-deck SBB EMU down the Rhine valley via Buchs to St Margarethen, to pick up the ÖBB service to Bregenz, crossing briefly into Austria, change for another ÖBB service (Vorarlberg S-Bahn) across the border to Lindau, Germany, and change again into a diesel loco push-pull double decker to Friedrichshafen, and my hotel for a couple of nights:

Weather warming up nicely - there had been people swimming in the lake in Bregenz - so dinner was outside in a beer garden with waiters wearing genuine Lederhosen, and a view of distant Swiss mountains across the lake. And relax:

Italy - Switzerland - Austria - Germany. Four countries in one day: whatever next?