When Mr. Splendid suggested we take a ski trip to St. Moritz from Eze the name of the town made me think “glitzy, flashy, inauthentic…” I was a little leery. Well, I’m happy to report that there is certainly a nice vibe of wonderful golden age glamour, St. Moritz is refreshingly steeped a passion for alpine sports and the natural influences of the splendor of mountain life and a lauded history. Today I want to show you some interesting highlights of the most famous town in Switzerlands’ Engadin Valley.
The popularity of St. Moritz is the result of a legendary bet. Johannes Badrutt and his wife opened what is now the Kulm Hotel in 1855 {Kulm comes from the latin word culmen which means hill}. They had 12 rooms in the beginning and in the summer months British travelers would visit St. Moritz as a health retreat, a place to hike, take in the fresh air, sunshine and astounding views.
In the fall of 1864 Mr. Badrutt was sitting with 4 British guests and encouraging them to come back in the winter months. He promised that if they didn’t enjoy their stay he would reimburse them for their travel expenses. They accepted the challenge and returned for Christmas and ended up staying until Easter, thus winter tourism in the Swiss Alps was born.
The Sunny Bar is the meeting spot for the Saint Moritz Tobogganing Club, it’s also a fun bar with great food
decorated with cool relics from years of the Cresta Run which they race. The Cresta run was first built in 1884 near the hamlet of Cresta and was used for the skeleton event in the 1928 and 1948 Winter Olympics, both of which took place in St. Moritz.
The crest is a 1.2125 km track that is used for different events all winter, it starts in St. Moritz and ends in Celerina.
Each winter the track has to be rebuilt, they use the rocky ravine and the banks of earth as support for the ice pack.
The start of the course is marked by the landmark Leaning Tower of St. Moritz which tilts even more than the one in Pisa (5.5 degrees, to be precise). It was built in the 12th Century as a part of the old St. Mauritius church which was destroyed in 1893. It rises 33 metres into the sky behind the Kulm Hotel. The bells were removed in 1890 to lighten the tower’s load but it was still unstable, now it’s fortified by Swiss engineering.
On the other side of the hotel is the White Turf a dramatic outdoor horse racing track on ice.
When the horses aren’t racing, ice skaters can take a glide.
The racing teams each have their own tented paddocks. The other tents are bars and restaurants.
Enclosed walkways make it easy to access the different levels of the town.
The pedestrian roads in the village are filled with all of the luxury boutiques. But Louis Vuitton decided to set up shop in a yurt.
Grand homes in the traditional Engadin style set the architectural tone of the village. They are distinctive for their massive straight pale colored walls with decorative facades and elegant gables.
We stayed at the lovely Languard hotel, which offers all of the cosy charm of a classic Engadine home and arresting panoramic views over White Turf, Lake Saint Moritz and the distant mountain ranges.
There are plenty of restaurants where you can enjoy local fare.
Okay, that’s it from St. Moritz!
I hope you enjoyed our visit!
Take care,
