Tarasp (Engadin, Switzerland)

Tarasp is a sleepy town in the canton of Graubünden and part of the lower Engadin, a valley that stretches from St. Moritz northeast towards Austria. We stayed at the family owned Hotel Chastè, that offers very quant rooms, most of which have a wonderful view of the castle.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday they offer a Gourmet menu that truly deserves recognition from Michelin. The chef paid attention to preparing all the courses with locally grown ingrediencies. It was quite a culinary treat. The wonderful dinner was completed with a local Chardonnay, a surprise when considering the canton of Graubünden is very mountainous.

Visiting the museum Susch will surprise most first timers, as one would not expect to see this kind of art exhibited in such a small village. We can highly recommend a stop to check it out. 

One of the most picturesque villages in this valley is hands down Guarda, which kept its charm. One parks outside of the village and its very easy to explore it on foot.

Right above the village there is a short hike of about 1:30 hours, called the Schellen-Ursli Weg. The view over the valley is great. The trail is based on the children's book, written and illustrated by a local artist.

Because the weather was nice and we were in the neighborhood, we decided to take the aerial tram from Silvaplana up to the Corvatsch, from where you get an unobstructed view of Piz Bernina with the Bianco Ridge to the left. Years ago, were hiked on the other side of Piz Bernina down from the Diavolezza onto the glacier right in front of Piz Palü.

Nowadays, the Corvatsch is not only known for its fabulous 360 degree panorama, but also for the Orma whisky, some of which is distilled at the top (3303 meters). It took me quite a while to get someone from the (due to illness) limited staff to open up the gift shop so that I could buy a bottle of this unique liquor.

One day, we hiked from S-charl via Alp Astra through God da Tamangur again, and this time, it was a wonderful day. 

At the end of this trip, nothing is more refreshing than a local specialty from Appenzeller Beer with a wonderful view of green meadows complimented with the gentle sound of cow bells from the other side of the valley.

Medieval Castle in Tarasp

This year we decided to go hiking in the Swiss National Park, which is located in the canton of Graubünden. We found the family owned Schlosshotel Chastè in Tarasp, located in Unter Engadin (Lower Engadin).

Believe it or not, the luxury hotel comes with its own castle that towers over the valley. Just kidding, but the hotel is located in the lower right corner and it's only a stone through away. Obviously, guests can see the castle from the hotel.
The rooms are lovely and the staff is outstanding. The Parzeller family who owns the hotel is proud to makes sure the service is impeccable and we can confirm it: it's impeccable.

Without a doubt, the tasting menu deserves one or more Michelin stars. The chef mixes local and seasonal specialties creating culinary delights, that is best enjoyed with a wine paring. They offer a great selection of local and imported wines.

The castle is owned by a Swiss artist called Not Vital. His art collection together with his own art are displayed in and around the castle. The beautiful castle is decorated with art from Andy Warhol, Picasso and others.
The moon in the castle pond, where they used to raise carp, is one of Not's sculptures.

The local architecture is unique and includes traditional engraving into the concrete facade, called Sgraffiti, paint would fade during the harsh winters with such an intense alpine sun.

Even though we drove through the Swiss National Park, we never made it on hiking boots. However, we hiked from S-charl along the river to Alp Astra and then back through Tamangur (National Forest). This is one of the oldest and Europe's highest ceder forest. It started to rain while we were in the forest and it just added to the mystical surrounding.