Wallet Recovered
Yesterday I shared that I had lost my wallet. We were still juggling some logistics last night. The mountain huts we are visiting are cash only but our guides have been kind enough to loan us some Swiss Francs. We tried to get cash last night and that proved to be very difficult with the other credit cards we have.
This morning I woke up a little early and was thinking how someone would contact me if they found my wallet. My website is the first thing that a search engine would suggest for my name and I have this Hello page. My profiles at other sites are listed there and that made me think I should check various social platforms. I went to LinkedIn not expecting much and scanned my notifications.
To my astonishment there was a comment from Martin Lienhard saying he had found my wallet! 😲
Incredible! I found the Volg store he mentioned and they didn’t open for another 45 mins. Right at 7:30a I asked the hotel to please call the store and confirm they had it. They did! 🥳
I let our guides know and took a rest day from hiking (which I was considering anyway) and made the trip to collect my recovered wallet!
After a train ride back to Guarda, then the bus into the village, I ducked the rain and ran into the Volg Guarda where the nice cashier reached under the counter and produced my wallet! Joy!
So where was it? The whole thought about the train station in Ardez was a dead end. Martin’s wife found it by one of the city water fountains — the one that we dipped our feet in. That means when I realized I didn’t have it, as we were walking to dinner, it had only just fallen out of my pocket no more than a 100 feet away.
A huge thank you to Martin Lienhard and his wife and the Volg shopkeeper for recovering my lost wallet! 🙏🤩
Makes me wonder — we’re the Goats of Guarda watching over me while we were there? 😊
Switzerland & Italy Log - Day 5
Weather: Cooler day. Very windy on the mountains today. Raced to chair lift before storm and lightning arrived.
- Depart Guarda and take bus to train station
- Take train to Funicular.
- Guide Dave gets a lot of static from the conductor about having the wrong tickets.
- German lady that moved to Switzerland sits across from Tammy and I and starts a lengthy conversation with Tammy.
- Arrive at funicular and take it 1,000 feet up to start hike.
- Huge climb up to Segantini Hütte.
- Delicious lunch I’d Barley Soup.
- Hike traverse from hut through rock field and take upper trail.
- Mad rush down to chair lift before storm shows up and possibly shuts lift down.
- Get on lift and have a slow, cold, stormy, raining, anxiety producing lift ride.
- Rainy walk to hotel.
- Attempt to get cash and fail.
- Shop.
- Dinner at restaurant.
- Downtime in room.
Jump to day 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 or Switzerland & Italy 2023 collection.
Hike to Segantini Hütte and Pontresina
Another day of great hiking. Started with train ride to funicular and then a big hike up to the amazing hut followed by a traverse on the mountain and a cold, rainy, stormy descent on a chair lift.
Part of Switzerland & Italy 2023 collection. Also see Zuoz to Pontresina from Europe 2004 Collection collection.
Pretty simple calendar for this part of our trip.
Current POV. Wow!
Lunch at Segantini Hütte. So amazing.
Lost Wallet
Update: My wallet was recovered!
Yesterday morning I realized I had lost my wallet. The previous day we had finished our first hike and while waiting for the train in Ardez I gave Tyler some cash so that he could get small ice cream cups for the group from this self-serve stand. That was the last time I saw my wallet.
I realized I didn’t have it when walking to dinner that night, but assumed it was in the room and didn’t think much of it. The next morning I looked for it and started to worry when I didn’t find it right away. Where was it?
I traced my actions and remembered the ice cream. I also remembered that Tyler brought me change back and I put that in my wallet. But i didn’t. I found the change in my pants pocket.
So where did my wallet go? I suspect I set it down by the train station thinking I would put the change in it, then I didn’t. I also was rearranging my backpack at the same time.
Our guides did there best to try and find it. Dave actually took the train back to Ardez the next morning to look for it but no luck, and then hiked back to the group. The hotel called around as well, no luck. By the late afternoon after having looked everywhere multiple times I declared it lost.
I keep all my important numbers and info in 1Password and years ago read a suggestion to tag items with “Wallet” that are in your wallet. That paid off yesterday when I was able to confidently inventory all I needed to deal with.
Net it isn’t too big of a deal. Unfortunately I had a good bit of spending money in it and that is gone. But everything else is in the process of getting replaced now. And having everything on my phone gives a good backup.
Suggested Rule:
The quality of a social network decreases by the square of the quantity of posts about social networks.
Get above 10% and there is nothing left.
While we are in the Engadine Tammy has been hoping to find these amazing ceramic goats that we got and she adores from the first trip here 19 years ago.
Today, she found them and it is a great story. 🤩
Cold Therapy for Sore Hiking Feet
Every town in the Engadine Valley has multiple water fountains that have the most delicious and pure drinking water just flowing out of them constantly. It is amazing to be able to get fresh delicious water. It is also very cold. We saw some others dipping their feet in this freezing water and thought we would try it as well. It was amazing. It is painful to submerge them, but it made our tired feet feel so much better nearly instantly after hiking so long.
Switzerland & Italy Log - Day 4
Weather: Hot and sunny in the morning. Day cooled off a bit and was nicer in the mountains. Evening cool.
- Jamie realizes that he has lost his wallet and that sort of sucks a bunch.
- Breakfast.
- Jamie asks front desk person to see if they can help with locating wallet. They have some ideas.
- Dave, one of our guides, attempts to find Jamie’s lost wallet by going back to the train station at Ardez. Sadly no luck.
- We take off for todays hike up to Piz Buin.
- Everyone else hikes down on the service road, Jamie takes a mountain scooter and has a blast.
- Jamie gets back early and decides wallet search is over. It is lost, time to move on.
- Tammy and Mazie explore the town and Tammy has an amazing find! 🤩
- Cold therapy for our tired feet.
- Nice dinner at Meisser Hotel.
- Cool evening back in the room, getting ready for an earlier morning tomorrow.
Jump to day 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 or Switzerland & Italy 2023 collection.
After getting to Chamonna Tuoi I decided to take one of these mountain grade scooters back down. It was awesome! It took a bit for me to get comfortable on it. The shocks and disc brakes are a must since you brake nearly the whole way down. I got down in 32 mins!
Amazing spot for lunch at Chamonna Tuoi looking up at Piz Buin.
Hiking Guarda Out-n-Back to Chamonna Tuoi
Day 2 of our Engadine Hiking adventure and today we hiked up the valley toward Piz Buin ending at Chamonna Tuoi for a delicious lunch of rösti and grilled cheese. The day started with a serious uphill section right away, climbing about 1,600 feet over the first 90 minutes. We stayed at a steady elevation with a little descent, and then finished with a more gradual ascent up to the hut. This route was totally new, and part of the trip spending two nights in Guarda.
Part of Switzerland & Italy 2023 collection. Also see Zuoz to Chamanna Des-Cha Hut and back from Europe 2004 Collection collection.
My son Tyler has debated blogging for a long time, and today he asked me to set him up. He just wrote his first post. Proud papa!
Hiking Scuol to Guarda
We got into Guarda this afternoon just before 4pm. We made our way through the town to the Messier Lodge and unlacing the hiking boots felt so unbelievably good. We hiked 10.7 miles over 5h 25m. It was a long day and the last couple of miles my feet and legs were feeling it. It was a great accomplishment and I’m going to rest the legs and body for tomorrow!
Part of Switzerland & Italy 2023 collection. Also see Scuol to Guarda from Europe 2004 Collection collection.
At the Via Engiadina crossing the Tasnan River rushing down the valley. 🥾
Switzerland & Italy Log - Day 3
Weather: Warm and sunny. Cooler in mountains but still hot and sunny at prime of day. Evening clouds and breeze with much cooler temps.
- Breakfast at Hotel Guardaval
- Depart at 9a for day of hiking
- Hike Scuol to Guarda. We ended hike at Ardez and took train and bus to Hotel Messier in Guarda
- Relax with Coca Cola on terrace of Hotel Messier
- Delicious dinner at Hotel Messier
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Switzerland & Italy Log - Day 2
Weather: Hot and Sunny.
- Breakfast at Motel One
- Took Tram with luggage to Zurich HB
- Stored luggage at station (23-06, 23-09)
- S24 train to Kilchberg
- Visit Lindt Home of Chocolate
- S8 train back to Zurich HB
- Quickly retrieve luggage from storage, only 15 min stop
- Boarded IC909 to Landquart
- Transfer traina to Scuol
- Tammy published her first blog post in over 11 years! 🤩
- Taxi to Hotel Guardaval in Scuol
- Walk around Scuol a bit
- Meet fellow hikers and guides Dave and Erik for dinner
- Delicious four course dinner at hotel
Jump to day 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 or Switzerland & Italy 2023 collection.