Original subtitles

Majestic stillness welcomes the crisp daybreak.

The Alps adorned with crowns of ageless snow.

Their peaks ascending to the boundless sky,

where clouds enshroud the ancient crags below.

The grandeur of nature calms the wanderer's mind,

as a crimson thread flashes beneath the peaks serene.

Throughout the mountains, a train begins to wind,

giving visions of sights unseen.

Our journey begins in Chur, the older city in Switzerland,

and the gateway to the Swiss Alps.

With over 5,000 years of history,

Chur's charming old town

and alpine surroundings make it

the perfect starting point for

an adventure aboard the Bernina Express.

I am Marcus and I'm the fleet manager of the Rhaetian Railway,

which includes the Bernina Express.

We are in the capital of the canton Graubunden.

It's in the very east part of Switzerland.

We are in the heart of the mountains.

The very special thing about

the Bernina Express is you can go through spring

and winter and summer in one day.

It's one of the most beautiful journeys

you can do by train in the world.

Chur has long been a crossroads for travellers, merchants,

and now adventurers aboard the Bernina Express.

The train and its crew members welcome a quarter of

a million guests annually,

all lured by the breathtaking mountain scenery.

The whole train is panoramic,

so we have glass windows until their top on the roof,

and that will give you a special feeling

and a nice view outside of the cars.

You will see a wonderful landscape in beautiful weather.

The landscape changing from snow here in Chur,

but you will see trees and you will see glaciers

and you will arrive in the summer in Tirano.

Now we are going to depart.

It's going to be a very busy day today,

but it's going to be very fun.

WHISTLE BLOWS

TOUR GUIDE: Make yourself comfortable

and look forward to a fascinating journey through

the heart of the Swiss Alps.

Christmas is near and it feels it's get a more

Christmassy feeling right now, yeah.

TOUR GUIDE: Welcome on board the Bernina Express.

TOUR GUIDE: The Bernina Express team wishes you a pleasant journey.

TOUR GUIDE IN ITALIAN

The Bernina Express takes passengers on

a 90 mile voyage through shifting landscapes,

bringing together diverse regions and cultures along its path.

Well, I'm very excited to cross all the bridges.

There's so many to see and

we've been told that the Swiss build their trains very high up

and very close to the edge, so it should be an exciting ride.

TOUR GUIDE: The Rhaetian Railway is only the third railway in

the world to receive the World Heritage label.

Ascending into mountainous terrain,

the train navigates steep gradients

to over 2,000 metres above sea level.

Connecting two nations,

the railway has bridged Switzerland and Italy for over a century.

Beautiful train, with the panoramic views of all

of those mountains is beyond our dreams.

It's like a fairy tale!

And the journey, it's little bit more than four hours

from Chur to Tirano.

We met on a train, my wife and I, so we've been on many trains.

This is probably the most beautiful that we've been on.

TOUR GUIDE: The line takes us over 196 bridges,

through 55 tunnels and past 20 communities.

In the surrounding mountain towns,

the spirit of the season comes alive.

Artisans continued time-honoured practices passed down through

generations, infusing their creations with passion

and a touch of alpine magic.

I'm Ursina Mertz and I'm a chocolatier,

in our family business based in Chur.

Mertz actually was founded by Walter and Marie Mertz

and they started the business in 1946.

It was in a small shop about 500

metres away from here on the other side of

the station, where it was only a shop

and a little production of bakery and pastry.

And soon after that they made the step into the city.

The big city life wasn't already in this spot,

but they kind of already sensed that this would be

a great spot to have a shop and, yeah,

the history has proved them right,

because right now that's actually the city centre.

Chocolate is an amazing product

and there is a long history of Swiss chocolate becoming

the best chocolate in the world, because 150 years ago,

when a very smart Swiss chocolate maker,

invented a machine called the conche,

which out rolls the cacao beans over and over

and over again and by that process they were able

to take out bitterness of the cacao beans and,

of course, that made a huge difference.

It's the best.

I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it.

We cannot change the world or save lives,

but we can give happy moments

to our customers, or let them give a happy moment

to someone else, and that's really what makes it so special,

I think, to still help just in a different way.

Yeah, that makes me happy.

Coming to work is wonderful no matter how early it is.

It's a beautiful place and then there's the smells.

The smell, it hugs you,

it hugs you "good morning".

I mean it's like a soft, warm, hug.

It puts me in a good mood, it's wonderful.

Christmas, it's a beautiful season of the year for everyone,

everyone has very high expectations about Christmas.

And for us it means a lot of work to do,

a lot of beautiful work of course.

I mean I'm powdering angels with gold,

it's very nice, but it's a busy time,

we're also one hand has to work into the other.

Around this time the days become shorter,

obviously it becomes darker earlier,

and then you go outside,

and you see all the beautiful Christmas lights

and it's just kind of a different atmosphere.

You feel it's coming.

When it's raining in Chur around Christmas, you know you wake up in

the morning and you see the powdered mountains,

almost like powdered sugar.

So, yeah, it feels like being in a chocolate factory here

with a chocolate mountains powdered with sugar.

We rejoin the journey as the Bernina passes through

the Albula Valley,

distinguished by its forested slopes

and deep gorges shaped by glacial

and river erosion over thousands of years.

Traditional Swiss villages dot the landscape,

with chalet style houses and picturesque church spires.

And this is home to the journey's first iconic landmark,

the Landwasser Viaduct.

One of the most iconic engineering marvels of

the Swiss Alps.

This structure is not just a bridge,

it's a testament to early 20th century ingenuity.

Stretching across the chasm, the Landwasser Viaduct,

rises 65 metres into the alpine sky.

Built in 1901,

the Viaduct was designed to navigate

the challenging topography of the valley,

allowing trains to seamlessly transition

from one mountainside to another.

10,000 tons of limestone were quarried nearby,

creating an enduring structure that still blends with

the surrounding cliffs.

It's giving me Harry Potter vibes, I mean all of it.

So, it's fantastic.

It's a single track, curved viaduct,

136 metres long.

People feel amazing,

they always wants to take pictures,

and that's why we travel very, very slow.

TOUR GUIDE: It is one of the most impressive constructions on

the line as it curves elegantly above

the valley below, before entering a tunnel carved into

a sheer rock face.

Switzerland, nestled in the heart of Europe,

is renowned for its stunning alpine landscapes

and rich cultural heritage.

A land where soaring mountains meet serene valleys.

This country is a mosaic of languages

and traditions.

The Bernina Express meanders 90 miles from Chur in

Switzerland, passing through 55 tunnels

and crossing 196 bridges on its journey to Tirano, Italy.

As the altitude increases, the landscape transitions

from mixed forests of oak and beech

to dense coniferous forests of pine and spruce.

It's my second time in here.

I came in summertime, and this is a winter experience now.

The mountain is so beautiful.

We are travelling from Brazil,

enjoying my vacation here in Switzerland with my mom.

And we just decided to live this experience

and see these beautiful views.

Christmas for us is very different.

This is very Christmassy.

It feels like we are living in a movie.

Each season offers

a fresh perspective on these majestic peaks.

Yet, over time the changes witnessed, hint at a bigger story.

That is the Morteratsch Glacier.

It's a very important one,

people really like to take pictures, videos of it.

The journey on the Bernina Express reveals

a fascinating geological timeline,

with rock formations dating back millions of years.

The train passes through valleys formed by glaciers,

offering views of moraines,

rock walls and ancient glacial beds.

In recent decades,

climate change has accelerated the melting across the Alps,

revealing rock that hasn't seen sunlight that thousands of years.

One of the largest in the Bernina range,

the Morteratsch Glacier, is visible from the train.

The glacier has been receding by 30 metres a year,

making it a beautiful yet poignant reminder of

the Alps' vulnerability.

High in the alpine meadows,

where snow whispers across silent peaks,

a craft shaped by generations quietly endures.

Beneath the deep drifts of snow that veil the landscape,

a steadfast spirit thrives in the winter.

It's here in these mountains where tradition

and the land are woven together.

My name is Philip.

I am a farm helper up in the Alps of Switzerland.

During the summer, I'm making fences or cutting hay,

but then during the winter

feeding animals, or even carpentry projects

and fixing nets and things to get ready for the summer again.

Working on the farm, it's just so amazing.

Like every day, the view here is crazy.

This is by far one of the most beautiful places in

the world, I think.

HE LAUGHS

I grew up in New Hampshire, where it's pretty cold

and there's quite a bit of snow,

but the Alps are just so beautiful in the winter.

I would describe this area as a winter wonderland.

Deep snow blanketing the entire landscape.

When you're out on the farm, you can hear the wind coming through

the trees, or coming over the peaks making a "whoosh".

But when you're inside by a warm fire,

hearing the wind howl around the house,

it's just such a snug feeling.

Life on the farm kind of works in like a cycle.

We start out, the spring,

getting ready to make hay, make hay through the summer,

getting ready for the winter.

And then now we've just transitioned to doing

a lot of snow ploughing and then also harvesting timber.

Woo!

SAW BUZZES

This is our first really big snowstorm,

so we're going to move all the animals into the barn.

And this is really for their own health.

In the winter, it stays wet all the time.

They're either in the snow or in the mud.

When they're in the barn, they stay dry,

it's better for their feet,

and just overall the animals' health.

So, right now, all the sheep are in the barn

and now they're going to take off the bells.

The bells are a tradition going way back in Switzerland.

They also serve a lot of function.

During the summer,

a farmer will have his windows open as he sleeps at night.

And from the sound of the bells,

you can actually tell whether the animal's grazing,

whether they're sleeping, running.

If there's a predator chasing your sheep,

you want to be able to know.

But once the animals are back in the barn,

they don't really have a purpose and they're loud.

So, we're taking all the bells off

and then we'll clean them, repair them,

and then hang them up as decoration.

In the winter you can kind of relax and this is when people hang out.

They play music, play games together, and so

the winter is a more relaxed, family-oriented time.

The farm is owned by the Bichart family

and Eric is of course the boss,

Barbara, she does a lot of the behind the scenes.

And then the four brothers,

they do a lot of the work on the farm from making hay,

to feeding the animals,

and of course taking care of cleaning the bells.

All four brothers started playing folk music.

They all yodel and they all play different instruments.

It's really pretty incredible to see.

FOLK MUSIC PLAYS

Lago Bianco, the White Lake, gets its name from

the milky colour of its water,

tinted by fine glacial sediments suspended within.

TOUR GUIDE: We are now in the most spectacular part of

the Albula line.

We are just tackling

the last great climb before the top of the pass.

This man-made reservoir was created by damming natural lakes in

the early 20th century to produce hydroelectric power -

integral to the region's development

and the running of the Bernina Express.

TOUR GUIDE: You can see the dam wall at the end of Lago Bianco.

The lake's pale greenish colour is caused by water

flowing in from the glacier.

It's always amazing to travel here, as you can see.

And in every season it's totally different.

Now we have snow, but there's still water in the lake.

It's really, really nice to travel here in Christmas.

Could be like a Christmas postcard.

I think it's really, really nice.

I wanted to join this trip

because I think it's the only opportunity that you have

to see a view like this.

And only by train you can enjoy this lovely view.

We've been lucky because there is snow, as well,

we have been very lucky.

I come from India, we're doing a Euro trip,

and we thought we'd touch Italy, France,

and Switzerland. Switzerland has been amazing.

We're like on a Friday trip here

and this just seems to be the icing on the cake.

It's so beautiful to be on the Bernina Express.

You can just close your eyes

and take these memories with you every single day.

From fields where alpine farmers labour,

their work meshed into the mountains' fabric,

through lakes that mirror stillness,

reflecting peaks and boundless skies,

we ascend where winds and echoes combine.

Higher still to snow-capped summits,

travelling to horizons where nature continues to shine.

Travelling beneath clear skies

and leaving behind the azure blue water of Lake Bianco,

the Bernina Express continues along its snowy route through

the Swiss Alps towards Tirano in Italy.

TOUR GUIDES SPEAKS ITALIAN

Now people are getting excited,

because we are going to reach Alp Grum

and very interesting point.

And of course they have a break -

they can get off the train, they can take pictures.

The train rolls past Ospizio Bernina,

its highest point at 2,253 metres.

A symbolic threshold before the dramatic descent to

the alpine refuge of Alp Grum.

The journey towards Alp Grum is

a thrilling feat of engineering,

where the train hugs the mountainside -

its power meeting the challenge of gravity in perfect harmony.

The track winds through numerous curves,

demanding precise control from the driver.

The railway connecting to Alp Grum was completed in 1910,

with this station originally serving as a crossing loop

for trains travelling in opposite directions.

In 1923, it gained its now iconic train-side building,

drawing visitors eager to experience the panoramic views.

It is not possible to reach Alp Grum by car.

You can only reach Alp Grum by train,

or walking - if you like to hike.

There is one person who has always considered

the isolated positioning of Alp Grum

to be part of its charm.

Primo Semadini has been the custodian of

the restaurant hotel here for the last 18 years.

It's a nice place to work here.

I live in paradise.

We see here the glacier of the Palu,

the Piz Palu, the Lake Palu,

but it's very cold at the moment.

Years ago,

minus 20, 25 degrees.

Last winter,

not more minus eight,

nine, ten - the glacier is leaving.

LAUGHS

In a few years, we don't see more, its only water.

It's a problem that we know everywhere.

This location in the clouds may be defined by its beauty,

but its isolation creates challenges of its own.

If I forget to order bread, I don't have bread here.

I cannot go on the other side of the street

and buy something.

If it is forget, it's forget.

As life continues among the snowy peaks,

those that have made the Alps their home

have forged their path through life with artistry

and dedication.

By using their surroundings as their base,

they exemplify the true meaning of living at one with nature.

BELL TOLLS

My name is Babatunde Adewale, also known as Baba

the Cheese Doctor.

Originally from Nigeria

and now Swiss/Nigerian.

My cheese journey started around nine years ago immediately after

I moved to Switzerland.

My wife is from Switzerland, I met my wife when I was in UK,

so we decided to move from UK to Switzerland,

and this is where I had the first contact with cheese.

My father-in-law started the business over 30 years ago

and then when my father-in-law was close to retiring

and the business would just basically evaporate,

I decided to step up to the challenge

and get it going again.

So, this is a traditional Swiss cheese,

it's called Schaf Kaisli.

In German, "Schaf" is sheep.

And "Kaisli" is like a cheese, like something small.

It's 100% sheep milk,

and then it's one of our best seller.

You can see nothing is with machine,

we are handmade 100%,

and this is what people love about our product.

I'm not a studied cheese maker, but I learned

a lot - just like my father-in-law, he wasn't studied -

but you just have to have an interest in what you do

and then you learn along the way.

I never thought I would end up making cheese, you know,

but life is full of surprises.

You just have to be ready.

When preparation meets opportunity,

everything looks like magic, you know.

People in Switzerland like to eat cheese regularly,

but in Christmas-time is a bit more, I would say.

It's a really busy time - busy, busy -

from the production, from the order preparing,

we have a lot of things going on right now.

People are really interested in like eating something very good,

giving nice gift to the family member, to the friends, family,

so we are here for them to like make this wish come true.

Cheese is one of the biggest Swiss tradition,

so for me to be a part of it as a foreigner,

it's a great honour for me.

I'm one of the first African that stepped into

this type of business, so it's a great honour

and a pleasure for me to see how the people accept me,

like and respect me for what I do.

It brings me so much joy to see that you don't have

to be like born into it, but you can also be a part of it.

At Alp Grum, the red train remains at rest.

A brief interlude in the journey, as passengers

and crew enjoy the beauty of this alpine outpost.

This is the only - a 15 minute stop.

It's a good time to have a break, I think.

They can take pictures, as you see, they're taking lots of pictures.

They can stay a little bit here in the mountain.

It's very important for them,

because the journey is like four

hours long in between Chur and Tirano.

Though the scenery here is captivating,

the Bernina must remain on schedule.

WHISTLE BLOWS

Now it's time to go - my colleague is calling us,

and we have to go to the train before to stay here for the night!

The Alp Grum station is like being in a painting,

around the mountains and lakes, such a beautiful area.

The backdrop was really amazing, and my son had fun.

He had played in the snow!

We've gone to a lot of places in Switzerland,

but being able to do that in Christmas,

there's nothing like that.

It was unbelievable. The views were breathtaking.

There wasn't a bad spot.

I think the glaciers were really phenomenal to see.

I wasn't expecting that. We were really blown away.

As the Bernina leaves Alp Grum towards its next stop at Poschiavo,

driver Michael's shift is coming to an end.

Hi, guys.

Hi.

SPEAK IN OWN LANGUAGE

WHISTLE BLOWS

SPEAK IN OWN LANGUAGE

While the Bernina welcomes new driver, Etienne,

there's an important adjustment to be made to

the train during the stop.

On a journey with such differing landscapes,

there are constant mechanical demands on the train.

We come from Ospizio Bernina, the highest point,

then Alp Grum and now we are in Poschiavo.

From the highest point to here of course we have

a huge difference in metres

and that's why we also have a difference with pressure.

If you don't do this, the brakes don't work properly.

We have to be sure that the pressure is the right one.

With the pressure adjusted and the Bernina Express leaving

the last major Swiss town on the route...

In a half hour, we are in Tirano.

..the passengers are given a glorious memento synonymous

with the country of its origin.

We explained that this glacier,

they have on this chocolate train we give as a gift

that is the Morteratsch Glacier.

And it's a nice memory for them, they take it home.

The highest peaks, with air, clear and crisp,

a sanctuary for travellers far and wide.

Majestic landscapes from every viewpoint

across the visible mountainous divide.

A journey into new territories, with marvels to behold.

Sights and structures of wonder

and beauty welcomed into nature's fold.

On the final leg of its journey,

the Bernina Express gently descends into

the picturesque Poschiavo Valley,

where towering alpine peaks give way to lush meadows

and charming villages.

This valley down to Italy is

a patchwork of terraced fields and winding rivers.

Its beauty, a testament to the harmony

between nature and tradition.

As the train carves its way through the heart of the mountains,

a truly extraordinary sight awaits the guests just ahead.

And now it comes the spiral viaduct of Brusio.

A masterpiece of railway engineering

that's as functional as it is beautiful.

TOUR GUIDE: From now on, the train is gradually losing height with

a gradient of seven metres per hundred.

This unique spiral viaduct was ingeniously designed

to allow the train to handle the steep incline of

the mountain terrain.

The viaduct is composed

of nine stone arches, each spanning ten metres.

By looping over itself in a spiral,

The structure reduces the gradient to

a manageable 7%,

allowing for a smooth journey down the valley.

And all people are making photos.

As the train finds flatter ground,

the valley reveals its quieter side.

Vertiginous cliffs giving way to lush green slopes

framed by the ever receding peaks of the Alps.

Hidden deep within the rugged embrace of these mountains,

a quiet artistry thrives.

In the heart of these alpine villages,

skilled hands keep alive traditions passed down through the ages.

Here, craftspeople devote themselves

to techniques perfected over centuries.

My name is Brigitte Trauffer

and I'm a member of the Trauffer family

and I'm a member of the board of

the Trauffer Wooden Company.

Every family in Switzerland knows

the wooden toys of Trauffer.

It's I think a piece of, of history in Switzerland.

The place where everything started is next to the production.

But I will show you the birth house of our cow.

Here, everything started in 1938.

It was Alfred and Rosa Trauffer who started

a business here in their own house in the cellar.

He learned to carve bears. So, this was his job.

But in the World War, there were no more tourists to come here

and to buy those bears.

So, he thought about, "What can I do that also

"the local people can buy?"

They started with something that makes children happy,

and they started to make very simple wooden toys

that everybody can buy it in the hard times of the war.

He loved cows. He was also a hobby farmer.

And so, he started carving cows,

and his wife Rosa was painting them with red dots,

because it's Switzerland.

When the company was growing bigger and bigger,

they had to build a production - it's over there.

All those cows are standing here,

are moving now to a Christmas market in Interlaken.

Yeah, they're ready for decorate the Christmas market.

We cut them out by hand, we paint them by hand.

We put the bells on by hand and everything.

Every cow and every animal we have

and we produce is a little bit different to the other.

To go on with this tradition

is the most important thing for our company.

So, we stamp the wood manually and not with the machine,

so that we can be sure that every piece

of wood is perfect.

So, if it's not perfect, we cannot sell it.

Our Christmas preparations start in August,

because then we start to do a lot of stables,

because they're very popular Christmas presents for children.

The parents love to give them a whole stable,

with all the animals in there.

So, we have to prepare them.

This is my personal favourite cow,

because these are the calves and they're so cute, I think!

The best is when you see children who see the cows.

So, when you can see how they start to smile

and start to play with them.

So, they're not only liking digital toys or plastic toys,

when they see our wooden toys,

they're really smiling and happy and, yeah, that's the best part.

Oh, and our Christmas cows,

people love our Christmas cows.

We also have them with the dots,

and we also have them in gold.

At the moment, we are producing a lot of cows for Christmas,

or the big ones for the Christmas market.

But, I would say we are ready.

Christmas can come!

Passing from Switzerland to Italy is like turning

a page in the story of the Alps.

The sharp disciplined peaks soften,

embracing the rolling hills and vibrant charm

of their southern neighbour.

The valleys widen,

cradling quaint villages

with terracotta roofs that peek out from the frost.

We are now approaching Italy.

The landscape is very different.

We are at a different altitude.

We have different trees, nature and everything.

And also, as you can see here, we don't have snow.

Every day it's the same journey,

but also a total new journey, different journey for me.

So, it's I like it. I like it.

And here is the landscape between Italy and Switzerland.

Now we are in Italy.

Crossing an invisible border into Italy,

the Bernina Express approaches its final stop,

the town of Tirano, at 429 metres above sea level,

a descent of over 1,800 metres from its highest point.

As the train enters the town, it makes an unexpected transition,

leaving the railway to glide onto the road,

weaving seamlessly through the heart of Tirano.

You can see the Church of the Piazza Di Madonna.

And now we are driving in the front

of the church in the station of Tirano.

Nestled in the town centre,

the Basilica Di Madonna has been a refuge for travellers

for over 500 years.

Its spells call out, their song echoing through

the valley as the journey concludes beneath

the watchful shadow of its spire.

This is the end of the Bernina line.

Now we are in Tirano, the last station.

Goodbye, thank you for coming. Thank you.

This trip was amazing, from having some mountains

and lakes and it's just out of this world.

You get to see all that beautiful scenery,

with a lot of snow and the trees filled with the white,

it was magic, it feels enchanting to be on the journey.

The best part was the lake,

the view and the panorama was amazing.

It's once in a lifetime experience.

It feels like Christmas.

And it's one of my presents for myself this year.

I would describe the journey as beautiful.

It is extremely beautiful.

Goodbye, thank you for coming.

The Basilica di Madonna holds more than just history within its walls.

Its organ, one of the largest in Europe,

breaks the silence of the valley,

resonating through the Alps

and drawing to a close the 90 mile journey on

the Bernina Express.

ORGAN PLAYS

From ageless peaks, we traced a silver line

past crystal lakes that mirror the sky,

by quiet hamlets framed in centuries' glow,

across mountains, to where now soft meadows lie.

Over bridges spanned and borders gently crossed.

From Switzerland to Italy, we roam,

a route where hearts and terrains embrace,

a beloved red train now safely home.