Die große Radltour Tag 15: Maloja oder der Tag des Schneehuhns

I was already looking forward to today's stage at home, drove the road version on January 1st, 2020 with P in the car and still remembered it as beautiful. I had already imagined it romantically with wild camping a few meters of altitude towards Piz Lunghin. However, I quickly realize that we are not in Heidiland here, but in the real Switzerland:

My sleeping bag is warm, there was no night forest, everything is fine. In the morning +2° and light snow showers. No nasty surprise, it was announced. After breakfast - muesli and chai with garlic oil flavor, because the same leaked in my food box - begins the routine of "saddling the horse", as I call it for myself. Meanwhile, every action sits, every object has its fixed place and I will never again tease the neat freaks, at least not when camping.

I start in drizzling rain and quickly realize that the Swiss have a different definition of a bike path than we softies Germans. I take a few extra detours on "field paths", as it is called here, then I save myself the extra meters of altitude on hiking trails and switch to the road. Anyway, there's not much going on, tourists are not here yet, only the usual construction vehicles. Not only Austria, but also Graubünden seems to be completely rebuilt (yes, that also exists, power poles are cut down and replaced with underground cables).

Just before Celerina, I decide that it's time for a break, a coffee wouldn't be bad. But in the Coop there is no bakery counter with a coffee machine like with us or at M-Preis, and the restaurants are closed for holidays or open only in the evening. At least there is a piece of packed Bündner nußtorte, which I take with me, over 500 kcal, that should be enough for a few kilometers.

After Celerina, I see more meters of altitude coming towards me again. The sugar of the nut cake is not yet in the blood, my motivation is so-so. It's refrigerator temperature, so it's too cold for a picnic. Suddenly I become suspicious, what do I see there: some garden vehicles are parked in front of a pub, a lunch plate costs 15 CHF according to a sign in front of it. Happy that something is open at all, I ask what the lunch plate is: cod with rice and zucchini. I'll take it, and a large coffee please. The well-built men from the gardening company are all Italians, as is the restaurant owner, only the waiter is from Swabia.

St. Moritz welcomes me with snow showers and closed shops and restaurants. No reason to spend unnecessary time here. Only as probably the highest point of my tour - 1822m - this place will impress me.

The lakes before and after Sils Maria give me a feeling of Norway, but unfortunately there is no time to chill by the lake.

A small sign in the middle of the village of Maloja is very unspectacular, I still can't believe it, I have reached my second intermediate goal. From now on, it's downhill and hopefully warmer: Bella Italia, sunny south, here I come! And I know for sure that in a few days I will long to be back here, I'm more of a snow grouse and not really heat-resistant.

The very beautifully located, simple campsite in Vicosoprano is just before the border on the Swiss side. You can only pay in cash, but I still have way too many francs.

https://www.komoot.de/tour/760296633?ref=itd

Camping Vicosoprano, 13.20 CHF, WLAN at the reception, modern sanitary facilities, fantastic location