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Day “P” in the Adventure Countdown

    The words for today are: Purely Peaceful and Pulse-Pounding in Preda! I have heard from an expert on the matter (Erika of course!) that Preda consists of the train stop and a hotel. Great Googly Moogley! There won’t be much around besides nature! The two pictures in this blast are of the two main attractions in Preda: the hotel and the train station… By the way, these snowy pictures were taken in May… IN MAY!!!!!!

    Preda is a railway station on the Albula Railway line, which runs from Chur to St. Moritz. The station was opened 1 July 1903 and electrified 20 April 1919.

    Yesterday, I mentioned the Historic Preda to Bergun Railway Trail. However, this is only half the fun! And this train ride is actually the second half. So do you think this speedy ride in a train from 1903 racing through 39 tunnels, 55 bridges and covering a difference in altitude of 1123 meters is the peaceful portion or the pulse-pounding portion? What could possibly be more [[exhilarating]] … OR … [[calming]]??

    I’ll leave it up to you to decide. What is the first half? Well, I’m glad you asked! 🙂

    Beginning in Preda and extending to Bergun is Europe’s longest floodlit toboggan run. How far do you think that is? Nope, your guess is incorrect… I couldn’t read your mind but if you guessed right, just let me know and I will give you a prize; I’ll give you my airline pretzels. Yukkkkiiiiiiii! Was your guess 6km? If so, you would be correct! What is that in miles? You would be tobogganing for about 3.72823 miles. Um what? seriously? That’s pretty pulse pounding AND peaceful, as long as the run is downhill and you don’t have to get out and walk/drag the toboggan and all your lazy friends. That would be pulse-pounding for the dragger and peaceful for the freeloaders. If Mr Dragger starts to complain, the Freeloaders can ring their cowbells to drown out Mr Dragger…er… I mean encourage him 🙂

    There are floodlights to allow longer hours to ride each day and there is a snow making machine to allow a longer season, but there is no guarantee this is open in September (and is quite doubtful!). I haven’t been able to find the open season for this Preda-Bergün Schlittelabenteuer – I think it may be only December.

    Well, in Preda, we can travel around the area and see Bergun, description follows: (the following excerpt from: http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/berguen-albula.html)

    The unspoilt alpine village of Bergün lies at the foot of the Albula Pass at the gateway to the Engadine. You do not have to be a railway historian to be amazed by the Albula railway line, which is still maintained in its entirety in almost its original condition, 100 years after its construction. In winter, the resort of Bergün is a mecca for sledgers

    Bergün (1376 m) – the location in the 1990s for the filming of the TV series “The Director” had already been in the spotlight before, in 1952, when the first Heidi film was filmed in the nearby village of Latsch. The heart of the village, with its picturesque Engadine houses – lavishly decorated with sgraffito, frescoes and oriel windows – an 800 year old Romanesque church and a Roman tower, is amazingly unchanged.

    In summer there are many attractive walks and themed trails such as the popular Heidi Trail or the discovery walk about the history of the railway. The spectacular Albula mountain railway winds through switchback tunnels, through covered sections and over lofty viaducts. For one 8 km stretch, the Railway History path runs alongside the impressive and fascinating alpine railway line. Model railway demonstrations on the (nearly) scale model in the local museum give railway enthusiasts an overview of what is, at first sight, the truly bewildering course followed by the Albula line. The “Cultural Landscape of the Albula-Bernina Line” is a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage listing.

    In summer, sports fans can hurtle down from Preda to Bergün by scooter. For bikers, there is no shortage of challenges, with the Albula, Flüela, Julier, Bernina and Maloja passes nearly on the doorstep.

    Highlights

    • Picturesque village – in the historic centre of the village of Bergün are fine Engadine houses, many decorated with sgraffito (a decorative scratching technique).
    • Albula Line – it took numerous viaducts, tunnels and bridges and three spiral tunnels to overcome the difference in altitude over this distance.
    • Albula Railway Museum – right beside the Albula line of the Rhaetian Railway, the new Albula Railway Museum is a must for all railway enthusiasts.
    • Bergün local history museum – the large model railway layout gives an overview of the spectacular route of the Albula line from Preda to Bergün.
      Ela Natural Park – unspoilt nature and agri-tourism in the Albula valley and Surses (Oberhalbstein).
    • Latsch – one of the first and most original Albulatal mountain villages.
    • Kesch Hütte (2625 m) – a masterpiece of alpine architecture and the most ecological hut belonging to the SAC (Swiss Alpine Club), not far from Bergün.
    • Skateline Surava – a 3 km long and 3 m wide outdoor natural ice track that is laid down on a footpath in winter.