School Holidays: Italy! (Part IV)

The next day, we rushed and hurried for breakfast, had some time to play on the balcony, my mother cooking food we'll bring to our trip, packing our clothes, pampers and bottles, taking some croissants from the lobby for a trip to.....Switzerland! Yup, you guessed it. We went to the Swiss Alps!

The journey began with us taking a Metro to Centrale FS, aka Milano Centrale Train Station, where there are trains to further destinations. We went on the train to Tirano, a two-hour trip halfway to Switzerland. We boarded the train, and exited. Dogs. My mother insisted for another coach since two dogs were in front of us. So we entered another coach, and I unwrapped the croissants, and munched. I don't know why but I eat more than usual here than in Malaysia.

We didn't do much in the train. We chatted, enjoyed the view, ate, slept and chased Yusuf in the corridors.

Five minutes. The duration between our arrival in Tirano and the departure of our next train going to St. Moritz. We didn't even know where the platform was, and it's a good thing we  found it just in time. We ran towards the front of the train, I think it's the first or second coach. We practically ran. Well I did. The train was different than before, and we got special seats. Our seats were next to a big window, so we could see the view and take pictures. The toilet was right behind us, it's near to the exit, we could see the screen showing the stops, and it had a big space around, so Yusuf could wander about there.

Again, we didn't really do much. We ate the lunch Mom cooked back at the residence. Other than that we slept, or chased Yusuf again, preventing him from pushing the button to open the doors or falling down the steps. All the way to our stop, I felt very dizzy and always wanted to sleep. I didn't sleep much. The view outside was so dazzling, so my parents woke me up every time, and took photos as much as the mountains outside. I was very excited when I first saw lumps of snow on the roads, continuing as we rode along cities and villages. The window always looked like historical paintings of snow-capped mountains, always posing their best for my father's camera. We were all interested in the mountains, rivers and locals, except Yusuf. He's more interested in construction cranes than beautiful, natural mountains.

Our train stopped at many places including Li Curt, Campocologno (sounds kind of like Kampung Kuala Nyiur - joke we made), Alp Grüm, and the place we stopped, plus the last big town on the line, Pontresina. We got off the train after checking if we had all our things with us, but the cold air here really bit our skin. It had been -4°C or somewhere around that. We were wrapped in our sweaters, winter coats, jeans, scarves, gloves, thick socks and shoes, but again, Yusuf doesn't want to. Water vapor escaped our mouths when we breathe, and yet he was still stubborn to wear something comfortably warm! That's a superpower we don't see every day.

While waiting for a particular driver to bring us directly to our hotel, we walked about, taking photos of the scenery, the mountains, playing with snow on the side of the road, observing and counting skiers arriving at the station, and taking glances at our bags, although Switzerland isn't as bad as Italy's security, I think. When the driver arrived, I don't know why but Yusuf cried seeing him. I think it was just because he was really sleepy. The driver drove into a little town, with shops aligned on the roadside, excluding the cafeterias and hotels and other things. He stopped in front of a hotel called Schweizerhof. The driver helped us with our luggage.

I entered the lobby with relief as the sign of appreciation for the heating system provided. It was very fancy; mannequins behind glass doors in the wall wearing different outfits, white and yellow lights shining above a wide wall-to-wall carpeted room, a wide reception desk on the right side of the room with a receptionist behind it, broad stairs leading up to level 0 and behind them was a vending machine and a lift with transparent glass walls. The receptionist gave two keys to my mother; one was the room key, and one was the night key (I don't know how to explain that). She speaks fluent English. While she explained to my mother some other things, My father brought Yusuf and I outside, but I couldn't stand the cold consuming my fingers, so I came back in to re-feel them (no pun intended).

Finally, we brought our bags, Yusuf included, up to the first floor using the lift, room 110. The word I could use for that room: fancy. It was huge, with vinyl flooring even in the toilets! The was one king-or-queen-sized bed, a separate single-sized sofa-bed with a baby cot next to it, a closet with provided hangers, a long desk with a television positioned facing the bigger bed, a chair, a little table with provided drinks (of course we didn't drink any), a window that looks down on a snowy environment, with buildings and cars, and bathrooms, shower and toilet separated.

After unpacking the food we brought, we ate them for lunch, and organized ourselves in the room, not forgetting to perform Zuhr and 'Asr prayer first. We browsed the television, then one by one fell to sleep. My father was first. With his winter coat on top of him, he drifted to sleep, leaving the television on. Then my mother was trying to put my little brother to sleep, and when she did, she fell asleep beside him.

I was the last one to sleep, reading Killing Time on my own little sofa bed, until my eyelids couldn't stand it anymore and blocked my eyes from reading. So finally I placed my glasses in the baby cot next to me, hugged the duvet, and drifted to Dreamland.

I woke up in the middle of the night at the call of my parents to perform Maghrib and Isya' prayer. My mother said it was so cold she had to wrap herself! But my father and I wasn't that cold. My mother said she saw me wrapped in a blanket, but i argued that I had been hugging it.

That didn't really matter. It was cold.

We woke up in the morning, performed Fajr prayer, and ate a few things. We washed the empty food containers and prepared ourselves to have breakfast in the hotel. The breakfast wasn't until 7.15 a.m., so while waiting for the lounge to open, we pulled on our coats and gloves, readied the monopod and the smartphones, and stepped out of the hotel.

I was very excited as the chilly weather caressed my face, although it's kind of sharp. My fingers became numb again, so I came back inside before the others did. It was so cold, even gloves can't protect my fingers.

We all went up to level 0, using the stairs, where the lounge was. The lounge was huge, but barely anyone was there yet. We were one of the first ones to be there, so the baskets and containers were all filled with different kinds of food. We chose a table in the outer room, where one wall was replaced with ceiling-to-floor windows, looking out to piles and mountains of snow outside the hotel. I ate too much, but I think it's good; a buttered bun and croissant, one soft-boiled egg, and four hard-boiled eggs. I finished with drinking a cup of each Coffee Latte and hot chocolate.

After breakfast (and taking pictures with snow and a huge construction crane outside), we packed a few things in our room and went back out to explore the town. Pontresina wasn't exactly the best, but it's comfortable. I like it very much. Even the mountains can be seen from a great view up there. We took pictures of the scenery and the environment. I was really tired and cold after walking about in a negative weather. Then my mother beckoned us towards the snowy inclined path leading to the mountain peak behind the hotel. We were opposing the strong wind's direction, so we stopped a few times and my mother fished scarves out of her bag, so we wrapped them to cover our face. I kept touching or scooping the snow because I like how it felt. We passed a kids' skiing class. We continued walking until we heard a dog barking. Next thing I knew, we were rushing down the mountain and walked back to Schweizerhof. The reason we came back was actually to ask if the receptionist know any places nearby that we can play with snow, but I would really like to rest and get warm for a while.

My mother had got anything she needs to know, and we walked to a bus stop in front of a post office, withdrawing money in a little bank on the way. We were going to St. Moritz train station, and when we arrived, pictures were the only things we took. All I remembered there was a lot of walking and photos. While we walked on a path surrounded by snow to get back to the stop, we threw snowballs at each other, to entertain Yusuf. I scooped some snow there and dropped it in my pocket. There was also a roof of a small building next to the flyover we were on. There were icicles hanging under the roof, so I broke one off, and put it in my pocket too.

When we arrived at the station, my mother wanted to ask someone if we could go back to Milan earlier than planned, so we waited for her. I twiddled with my icicle and inspected it. It had broke and I found the other half in my pocket, then I threw both away. I was bored.

The bus came and my mother rand out of the train station to climb aboard the bus back to Pontresina. She didn't get to ask her question. The whole way, I played with the ball of snow I had scooped earlier, but I didn't throw them away. Yet.

We arrived back in front of the post office and walked to Schweizerhof. My feet ached and my fingers were numb to the bone and my cheeks are cold and my lips were dry. The warm air in the lobby was very welcoming for me that I was excited to back up to our room. We did, but we had to pack our things. My father opened the window for a while so that my brother would feel how cold it was, so I threw my snowball out of it.

We were done packing, so we descended to level 0 while my mother was downstairs to check-out in the lobby. My father and I waited, chased Yusuf, accompanied him on the stairs and sat on a couch. When Mom's done, we waited still, for the time for Zuhr and 'Asr prayer. We prayed there so that it won't be difficult later.

The same driver drove us back to the train station. My brother didn't cry. We arrived, took a few more pictures, searched for our train, and boarded on the same kind of seat; the one with the huge space. I had a headache and felt like throwing up.

Instead of waiting all the way to Tirano, we stopped at Alp Grüm, where there was a cafeteria with outside tables. We chose to sit on one of the outside tables, so it was very cold. But the view from up there was amazing! The snow-capped mountains were so near, and below, we could see a railroad, where trains came and went. It was beautiful.

Unfortunately, I didn't have much chance to enjoy the view. Yusuf kept wandering in and out of the cafeteria, and I had to follow him, in case he's in any trouble. We ordered two cappuccinos and one hot chocolate. The hot chocolate tasted very heavenly, and I drained the whole thing. When we all finished our drinks, we waited at our tables until it's close to the time the next train will come. We took pictures, chased Yusuf and enjoyed the cool breeze from up there. A few minutes before the arrival of the train, we brought our bags in front of the cafeteria to wait for it. Again, we took pictures. My mother had a n empty 2-liter bottle, and I used it to scoop snow so that I could bring it on the train. The bottle was only about a quarter full with snow until the train arrived. We sat on that same kind of seat again.

On the train, we predicted what will happen to the snow I've scooped up when we arrive back to Milan. I guessed it would remain the same. My parents' guess was that it would be half snow and half water. My mother said Yusuf's guess would be that all of it melts into water. So we waited to see the results, but I couldn't resist the urge to shake the bottle. At last, I shook it and it all became water. Very cold water. Before we arrive at Tirano, my mother wanted to use the toilet so she brought the bottle of melted snow with her and used it.

We have only five minutes to search for our next train going back directly to Milan. Well, we didn't make it, so we went to the toilets first, then entered a Halal cafe nearby. It was Indian. I ordered my usual French fries and we all ordered for Cheese Naan. We only ate some of the fries until my mother decided that it was time to go. We requested a takeaway for the fries and Cheese Naan so that we could eat on the train. And also a can of Fanta. We hurried to the train, not risking to miss it again. We boarded an unclean coach, which had been spray-painted on the outside, blocking a part of the window.

The train wasn't as huge as the one before, but comfortable enough. We were the only one in there, until a man came in. We only ate our food and looked out of the window. Also, Yusuf was too tired. My father calmed him down. Suddenly, the train stops in a dark tunnel to let another train pass through. My parents changed their seats because they wanted to see something before. Through the window on my side, there was a white square plate with the number 6 painted in red stuck on a wall. I immediately moved to my parents' seats. We remembered a video of a zombie prank people made on a train that we watched on YouTube.

After a few minutes, the train moved again, going out of the tunnel. Phew! That was creepy. It didn't happen again afterwards, as far as I could remember. The rest of the trip was normal.

(To be continued...)