After a delicious breakfast at the hotel, our first stop is the Grand Tour photo spot in Engadin St. Moritz. And we have to admit: with the deep blue lake reflecting the town and the mountain panorama in the background, it really is beautiful here.

Gabi’s family used to holiday regularly in St. Moritz, where her parents always enjoyed nut cakes from the Hanselmann patisserie. So we buy a nut cake each for Gabi’s mother and father – her mother is already looking forward to it, while her father is still unaware of his good fortune.

Then we set off for the Julier Pass. We wind our way higher and higher along countless hairpin bends and finally reach the top of the pass. It looks very different here than it did yesterday on the Flüela Pass, much greener, with a beautiful mountain lake hidden behind a small hill.

On the way down from the Julier Pass and to our next photo stop in Val Surses, we also pass through Savognin, home of our friend Elena. We are still impressed: her sister has just been appointed the new director of the Federal Office of Communications. What a beautiful area this is! And everywhere we see villages, not only in the valley but also high up on the slopes.

We make a quick toilet stop in Thusis before driving into the Viamala Gorge. When we stop to take photos, we are amazed: here, the rock faces drop almost vertically down to the mountain stream. Even from a distance, we can hear the horn of the post bus long before it rolls over the narrow bridge.

Further along the route, we suddenly encounter cows coming towards us: of course, it’s the time of year for the cattle drive down from the alpine pastures. Fortunately, it’s only a small herd, but they come dangerously close to LucY. Still, it’s a great experience – and Gabi had been hoping to see cows. Now her wish has come true.

Now we are heading for the San Bernardino Pass. Here, too, the further up we climb, the more inhospitable the terrain becomes. Soon we are above the tree line. In contrast to the previous passes, the vegetation here is more yellowish-orange. LucY stands out even more than usual. We stop at the ‘Grand Tour’ photo point and are disappointed: it could just as easily have been located in a more accessible spot, or a proper path could have been built to get there. And the disappointment continues: we actually wanted to have lunch at the hospice with the St. Bernard dogs, until we find out on the way down that this is the wrong pass (it would be the Great St. Bernard).

After far too many hairpin bends on the way down, we finally arrive in Bellinzona. We grab a few slices of pizza and an arancino from the takeaway next to the car park. Then we explore Castel Grande. A brutalist concrete tunnel leads to two lifts that take us up to the defensive wall. Hmm… it’s a shame they don’t go all the way up to the courtyard, perhaps into one of the buildings. As it is, the stony ramp up to the top is too bumpy for a wheelchair.

Now we treat ourselves to a gelato in Piazza Grande before driving to the second castle, Castello di Montebello. This is where the next ‘Grand Tour’ photo spot is located. We don’t have the energy to explore the castle. We want to go to our hotel in Locarno. Hotels here are expensive, which is why we are staying at the Ibis. We stay here for two nights. It turns out that despite the Titanic picture on the wall, it is the most unloving, uncomfortable and impractical hotel room we have had on our trip so far. It is also impossible to turn into the narrow hotel car park spots, which is why LucY has to spend the night parked in the street next to the hotel.

We walk to the beach promenade and stroll up and down before having a burger and chips for dinner.