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Greina Plateau, Surselva

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Cavardiras, Disentis Sedrun

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A warm welcome to Graubünden

Whether you want to research a specific topic in Graubünden or whether you are still looking for the right story – we are here to help you.

Thalia Wünsche

+41 81 254 24 32

Cornelia Keller

+41 81 254 24 57

thalia.wuensche@graubuenden.ch cornelia.keller@graubuenden.ch

Graubünden Ferien

Alexanderstrasse 24

CH-7001 Chur

www.graubuenden.ch/en On the following pages you will find summer news, ideas for individual research as well as a trip centred around a specific topic that we have put together for you and which takes place on a set date in a group. Please take note of our guidelines for supporting press trips at www.graubuenden.ch/en/media.

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News

Hotels and Restaurants

Arosa: Brunch and cocktails in the goods shed

The name has stayed, but otherwise everything is different in the goods shed: where the Rhaetian Railway once had its factory, brunch, charcoal grill specialities and cocktails are served today. The new restaurant in the historical heritage building charms with an international menu and a cosy atmosphere; including a modern fireplace lounge.

www.gueterschuppen-arosa.ch/en

Brigels: Hotel Mischun

The new Hotel Mischun offers its range of eleven double rooms, apartments and wellness area to nature lovers and connoisseurs who are looking to take a break in the mountains. It is located in Brigels on a sunny mountain plateau. Thanks to the absence of through traffic and its small size, this mountain village is the perfect place to switch off and relax.

www.mischun.ch (in German)

Engadine: Hotel Maloja Kulm

After the former 5-star hotel Kulm on the Maloja Pass has been left vacant for more than ten years, it will come to life again this summer. The new owners have invested several million Swiss francs into the accommodation. It will reopen as a lodge geared towards families, sportspeople and athletes.

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Müstair: Hotel Münsterhof

After a comprehensive renovation, the historic Hotel Münsterhof in Müstair is celebrating its reopening this summer. The valley's oldest hotel will offer new cosy hotel rooms, spacious apartments and a café-bistro with a small menu. The nearly 130-year-old house is managed by Kevin and Linus Meyer in the sixth generation.

www.muensterhof.ch/en

Surselva: Reopening of the Bifertenhütte

For 90 years the Bifertenhütte stood lonely on a sunny mountain terrace above Brigels. After a renovation last year, it will open in fresh splendour in July with a new wooden extension. The charm and simplicity of the original mountain hut have remained. The Academic Alpine Club Basel was responsible for the construction work. The club owns the mountain hut.

www.biferten.ch (in German)

Viamala: Alp Nurdagn Agritourism

The Beverin Nature Park is home to one of the highest alpine meadows and moor landscapes in Switzerland. Starting this summer, hikers can eat and rest in the new Alp Nurdagn Agritourism. The cowshed has been turned into a mountain restaurant and the former stable serves as a dormitory. The alp is connected to the public transport network through the Alpine Bus.

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Experiences and Infrastructure

Mountain Bike World Championships in Lenzerheide

Full sun, full speed and cheerful spectators: the best mountain bikers will compete for the sought-after rainbow jerseys of the world champions at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships 2018 from the 5th to the 9th of September in Lenzerheide. Around 30,000 spectators are expected along the downhill and cross-country course.

www.lenzerheide2018.com

Arosa: Bear Sanctuary

Below the middle station of the Weisshornbahn in Arosa, an animal-friendly enclosure is being built for up to five brown bears rescued by the organization “Four Paws”. From summer onwards, guests at the Arosa Bear Sanctuary can look forward to an attractive visitor platform, educational elements, play opportunities for children and unique animal experiences.

www.arosabaerenland.ch/en

Arosa: The million-star hotel

Nothing but stars above you. In this new experience on the Weisshorn in Arosa, guests spend the night under the stars. Before they slip into their warm sleeping bags in the evening, guests climb the mountain in the afternoon with a hiking guide and strengthen themselves with a dinner prepared over the campfire at the summit.

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Bad Ragaz: Light Ragaz

For “Light Ragaz” in summer, the Tamina gorge becomes the world's largest natural screen. With modern technology, light artists project millimetre-accurate 3D effects onto the up to 80 meter-high rocks. On the walk in the gorge through the sea of lights, visitors are told a fantastic story between illusion and reality.

www.lightragaz.com/language/en/home

Bergell: Arte Castasegna

After the “Arte Albigna” last year, the Progetti d'arte association in Val Bregaglia is preparing an artistic exploration in the border town of Castasegna for 2018. For the project, renowned artists from Switzerland and Italy are invited to showcase their work in different exhibition spaces in the village of Castasegna.

www.arte-castasegna.ch (in German)

Engadine: From goat trekking to goat yoga

In Upper Engadine, Nicole Buess from Basel has set up an animal project with her five goats. With “Mini Geiss – Dini Geiss” (my goat – your goat) she offers a variety of activities with the cuddly animals: from day trekking where the goats serve as pack animals, through introductory walks all the way to goat yoga.

Lenzerheide: New adventure trail for the Swiss children's hero Globi

There are countless books about the most popular Swiss children's hero Globi, a blue parrot with plaid trousers, and on Lenzerheide he has his own adventure trail. The trail has been redesigned just in time to celebrate its 20th anniversary. For this, 14 new stations for experiencing, discovering and learning are planned.

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Parc Ela: Survival experience

Together with other outdoor enthusiasts, this survival experience takes hikers away from civilization for two days. In the high mountains of Parc Ela, participants learn all the necessary skills to survive in nature: navigation with a map and compass and the gathering of food. Accommodation is in tents.

www.savognin.graubuenden.ch/de/veranstaltung/survival-experience (in German)

Safien Valley: Art Safiental

From July to October, the Art Safiental 2018 shows temporary works of art amidst the ephemeral landscape. From the “Ruinaulta” (Rhine Gorge) via Versam, Tenna, Safien Platz and Thalkirch to Z'Hinderst in the valley, around 15 contemporary land artworks will be exhibited by international artists.

www.artsafiental.ch/en

Savognin: New themed trail about alpine life

Which cows graze where? What happens with the milk? And why do the animals carry bells? These and other questions are answered by the new themed trail centred around alpine life located from Somtgant to Radons near Savognin. There are 17 informative and interactive stations waiting for young and old hikers to learn about the alpine way of life.

www.maps.graubuenden.ch/de/tour/themenweg/alpleben-somtgant-radons/23578574 (in German)

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Savognin: Theatre at 2,300 masl and Wakker Prize

Origen is one of the most idiosyncratic cultural institutions of the Alps. It works with archaic theatre forms and reinterprets these, far from the humdrum of urban cultural life. Many of its productions stage in the temporary theatre tower with a floating stage on the Julier Pass at 2,300 masl. But the focus of Origen is the mountain village of Riom near Savognin. The vacant buildings in the village have been recognized by the “Nova Fundaziun Origen” foundation as an opportunity for the future and they have decided to cultivate the existing heritage site and to respectfully re-use it. In spring, they were awarded the prestigious Wakker Prize of the Swiss Heritage Society for their commitment.

www.origen.ch

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Anniversaries

10 years UNESCO World Heritage Albula and Bernina line

Ten years ago, the Albula and Bernina routes of the Rhaetian Railway (RhB) became the third railway line in the world to receive the UNESCO World Heritage title. With its 196 bridges and 55 tunnels, it is a masterpiece of railway technology. The world-famous highlight is the 65 meter high Landwasser Viaduct near Filisur. RhB celebrates the jubilee year amongst other things with a special exhibition in the Albula Railway Museum.

www.rhb.ch/en/unesco-world-heritage

10 years UNESCO World Heritage Tectonic Arena Sardona

Nowhere is the history of the Alps as comprehensible as in the Tectonic Arena Sardona above Flims. On the occasion of its 10-year UNESCO World Heritage anniversary, around 20 mountain huts will host art exhibitions this summer. Anyone who wishes to see them must embark on a hike from hut to hut.

www.tektonik.ch (in German)

25 years Cavaglia Glacier Garden

Big, bigger, huge. The glacier mills of Cavaglia, also called “the pots of giants”, were created by the Palü Glacier. For thousands of years, glacial water, debris and gravel have worked through the rock and dug huge holes in the ground. 25 years ago, the glacier mills were exposed and a circular path was made so that visitors can admire this impressive natural phenomenon.

www.ghiacciai.info

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25 years British Classic Car Meeting St. Moritz

Each year around 150 Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin & co come together in Upper Engadine at the British Classic Car Meeting in St. Moritz. During excursions, rallies and the “Concours d´Elégance” in the village centre, their owners celebrate the joy of classic cars. The anniversary edition will take place from the 5th to the 8th of July.

www.bccm-stmoritz.ch/en

125 years Engadine Golf Club

This year, the Engadine Golf Club, the oldest golf club in Switzerland, celebrates its 125th anniversary. Since its inception, guests and locals putt with enthusiasm on Graubünden soil. In addition to the sophisticated, modern facilities the region boasts eight 18-hole and seven 9-hole courses accompanied by the view of the mountains and fresh alpine air.

www.graubuenden.ch/golf (in German)

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Exceptional women from Graubünden

Music: Chiara Jacomet

Last autumn, Chiara Jacomet from Rabius, supported by an all-female band, released her first CD. On it you can find melancholic ballads, complex arrangements and rock songs. The lyrics are all in her mother tongue Rhaeto-Romanic and, like the melodies, were all written by the 18-year-old herself. Among other things, she financed the production of the CD through a crowdfunding campaign.

soundcloud.com/musicchiara

Culinary: Migga Falett

Migga Falett is an organic farmer, board member of the Swiss female farmers' association and mother of three adult sons. As part of Swiss Tavolata, she serves four-course meals with specialities made from regional produce in her own dining room in Bergün. Since she speaks four languages, she also regularly hosts international guests and gives them exclusive insights into Swiss country life.

www.swisstavolata.ch/tavolata/10018-migga-falett-berguen.html?language=en

Illustration: Lorena Paterlini

Since four years, the independent illustrator has spent her summer on the Alp Duranna in Prättigau. Her experience as a shepherdess inspired her master project “Take your dog on a leash!” at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences. The visual essay with illustrations and texts will be released as a book this summer. Lorena Paterlini's motivation is to give a deeper insight into the everyday life in the alps and to overcome stereotypes.

www.lorenapaterlini.ch (in German)

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Tradition: Eva Gredig

An old craft is cultivated in the Safien Valley: the making of wood shingles. Eva Gredig is an expert in this. She became one due to the Safier Stables Project, which aims to cover the landscape-defining stables of the valley with wood roofs as they were in the past. As a trained carpenter, the mother of three was asked if she would like to be involved. Her answer was yes, and she was subsequently apprenticed to a regional specialist.

www.safierstaelle.ch (in German)

Nature: Cilgia Marti-Rauch

Cilgia Marti-Rauch from Lower Engadine enables customers to rent a vegetable patch and have it planted according to their wishes – without ever having to garden themselves. The young woman takes care of the plants for them. Once the vegetables have been harvested, the customers receive an SMS. All they have to do is pick them up. With this concept Cilgia Marti-Rauch has been nominated for the Bio-Grischun Prize.

www.cruschada.ch (in German)

Culture: Lucia Netzer

After training as a dressmaker in Chur and Zurich, Lucia Netzer returned to her home Savognin. Today she is responsible for equipping all the productions of her son Giovanni Netzer for the festival Origen (see page 9). The custom-made robes are created in her studio Pôss, a manufactory that specializes in the processing of local sheep's wool. Lucia Netzer is also the founder of the sheep shearing event in Savognin.

www.poss.ch (in German)

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Group Press Trip, 16th to 19th of August (optional until 20th of August)

From hut to hut between the Flüela and Albula Pass

Far away from the villages and frequently travelled paths, you can experience the mountains differently: majestic, rough, quiet and wild. The Kesch Trek leads into this impressive high alpine world. In four days we will hike from Davos to Bergün through a striking mountain landscape around the Piz Kesch, the highest peak in central Graubünden. We will spend the nights in the Grialetsch, Kesch and Es-cha huts.

An experienced mountain guide will accompany us. The tour is safe, but requires good stamina and experience hiking in the mountains. The hiking time is between two and six hours and we complete up to 1,000 metres of altitude per day. The participants themselves must carry their luggage.

Those who want to end the hike with relaxing in Graubünden can stay one more night in Bergün (from Sunday to Monday), get to know the mountain village and enjoy a Swiss Tavolata (refined farmer’s dinner) with Migga Falett.

Highlights of the programme ⋅ Overnight stays in SAC huts in the middle of the mountains ⋅ Hike through high alpine landscapes, remote valleys and past clear

mountain lakes ⋅ With some luck, encounters with alpine inhabitants such as marmots

and ibex ⋅ Optional stay in Swiss Historic Hotel Kurhaus Bergün und farmer’s

dinner Further information and registration: Graubünden Ferien Thalia Wünsche +41 81 254 24 32 thalia.wuensche@graubuenden.ch

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Individual Research Idea

World championship fever among bikers in Graubünden

After three UCI Bike World Cups, Lenzerheide is ready for the crowning event: the world championships. From the 4th to the 9th of September, the cracks – including local matador and Olympic champion Nino Schurter – will battle for seconds in the cross country and downhill disciplines in the Graubünden mountains. Where the pros feel comfortable there are also enough trails for hobby bikers. With Arosa Lenzerheide, Davos Klosters, Engadine St. Moritz, Flims and Scuol Samnaun Val Müstair, five different bike destinations form the single trail paradise of Graubünden. Lenzerheide stands for bike park action, Engadine St. Moritz makes flow addicts happy, in Flims families bike between glaciers and the Rhine Gorge and in Scuol Samnaun Val Müstair, the country's only national park serves as a spectacular setting for bike tours.

What do the destinations have in common? Each offers a large number of single trails and bike routes. After all, Graubünden has been trail-building for centuries. Everything in the mountainous region has always revolved around the connecting trails. The Romans built roads for their troops and mountain farmers made paths for their animals. Today the path constructors are referred to as “Trail Crews” – as in Davos Klosters, where six local bikers peck, shovel and build new paths and maintain existing ones. For example, the 45-kilometre “Alps Epic Trail Davos”, the longest single trail in Switzerland and one of the best in the world. All in all, a network of 17,000 kilometres is now available for bikers, 4,000 of which are marked throughout.

Thanks to the Rhaetian Railway and Postbuses, bikers can quickly get from mountain village to mountain village. Therefore, and because Switzerland is small, you do not have to limit yourself to one destination for a bike holiday, but can explore two or even three. And once you get there, e-bikes or cable cars serve as energy-saving aids. Thanks to all-inclusive offers, the latter even transport bikers and their bikes free of charge to the summit in many destinations.

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Individual Research Idea

Chosen by fans: the most beautiful hikes in Graubünden

Graubünden is a hiking paradise – for families who are looking for paths to crystal-clear bathing lakes, for alpinists with summit ambitions and for connoisseurs who prefer to walk from one mountain restaurant to the next. On hikes, they all experience nature first-hand: be it at the source of the Rhine in Disentis Sedrun, in the Beverin Nature Park in Viamala or in the Rhine Gorge of Surselva. And since being in the midst of mountain peaks is particularly spectacular, many cable cars transport overnight guests up the mountains free of charge.

More than 10,000 kilometres of marked trails run through the region and more than 800 tours are recorded on the Graubünden Hiking Portal. Hikers therefore have the proverbial agony of choice in Switzerland's largest canton. To make things easier for them, Graubünden has let the experts – the Graubünden hiking fans themselves – vote on which are the best routes. More than 1,500 people have shared their opinion. The result: the top 10 of the most beautiful hikes in Graubünden. An extract:

To the source of the Rhine: At Lake Toma near the Oberalp Pass, a 1,232-kilometre journey begins which ends in the North Sea; that of the river Rhine. On the way to its source, one can jump over one of the most important waterways in Europe with only a single step.

Over the untouched Greina Plateau: In three days the path leads from Val Lumnezia to the Lukmanier Pass. The highlight of the tour: the crossing of the Greina plateau. A landscape untouched by man, through which rivers run and cotton grass sprouts.

Through the Swiss National Park to the Macun Lakes: The high altitude hike to the Macun high plateau requires surefootedness and no fear of heights. However, the climb is worth it. Once reached the top, hikers are rewarded with views of the national park and 23 deep blue little lakes.

The complete list: www.graubuenden.ch/en/top10hikes

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Individual Research Idea

Wildlife watching made easy – in the Arosa bear sanctuary and Pontresina’s ibex paradise

Graubünden is home to many furry inhabitants. Ibexes, chamois, lynxes, deer and wolves; just to name a few examples. However: many of these animals are rarely seen in the wild. They are masters of camouflage and prefer to avoid humans. This is especially true for animals of prey.

But soon you can observe the largest regional omnivore in Graubünden very easily. For in Arosa, a bear sanctuary will open below the middle station of the Weisshornbahn in summer. The first bear conservation centre in Switzerland will provide a new home for rescued animals from the organization “Four Paws”. In the midst of the mountain landscape with pastures, shrubs, trees, rocks and streams, the up to five bears can find their way back to their natural behaviour. Guests can watch them from the visitor platform. Through educational elements, they can also learn more about the bears during their visit.

The heraldic animal of the canton, the mountain ibex, can even be observed in the wild in Graubünden. If you happen to be in the right place at the right time, even without a strenuous hike. At the Piz Albris above the Engadine village of Pontresina, the largest ibex colony in the Alps resides – with 1,800 animals. While there is still snow at high altitudes, whole herds come down within a few metres of the village to graze between the end of April and the beginning of June.

In honour of these animals, Pontresina’s ibex paradise was opened last summer. On the capricorn promenade one can learn interesting facts about the alpine inhabitant, in the playground on Alp Languard, children can romp around on large wooden ibex horns and with the capricorn-pass, guests can walk from hut to hut and solve tricky puzzles.

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Individual Research Idea

One canton, three languages, five idioms

There are many figures about Graubünden: almost 1,000 peaks, 615 lakes, 150 valleys and 3 languages. The latter seems low in comparison, but is actually exceptionally high. Graubünden is the only canton in Switzerland in which three of the four national languages are spoken: German, Italian and Rhaeto-Romanic.

Until the mid-19th century Rhaeto-Romanic was the major language of the region. In the last survey in 2013, 15 per cent of the population still cited it as their main language. Nevertheless, Rhaeto-Romanic is still very much alive: it is the official language and is taught in schools. There is Rhaeto-Romanic media – newspapers, television, radio – as well as books and music. The entire Romanic vocabulary has been collected since 1904 in the Institute of Dicziunari Rumantsch Grischun. The archive contains two million excerpts that fill 1,000 shoebox-sized containers.

This collection is so big because there is more than one Rhaeto-Romanic language. Due to the former remoteness of the valleys, five idioms have developed that differ both spoken and written: Puter and Vallader in Engadine, Sursilvan in the Surselva, Surmiran in the Surses and Sutsilvan on the Schamserberg. In 1982, the standard Rumantsch Grischun language was created based on these idioms, but has become only partially established since.

Guests interested in the language can attend intensive courses in the Romanic regions. These holiday offers are very popular because they give tourists new insights into the region and culture. Especially immersive is the “A Sent be Rumantsch” offer in Lower Engadine. Here, the language students take an oath to speak only Rhaeto-Romanic during their entire stay. Even with each other.

Next year, Lia Rumantscha, the Rhaeto-Romanic language institution, will celebrate its 100th anniversary.

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Individual Research Idea

Co-working: Working in the mountains

Spending the day in the office and the evening in the mountains. For people in Graubünden this is the everyday life. For those who do not live in the Alps, only a dream. At least until recently. Thanks to digitalisation, work is increasingly less dependent on locations and co-working spaces offer perfectly equipped temporary offices – new colleagues included. In cities, such shared offices have long been a welcome alternative to working at home for the self-employed. In recent times, this model is also making its way into the mountains.

And co-working spaces in the mountains have their special appeal. Because they enable city dwellers to share the privilege of the people of Graubünden; namely to combine work and mountain sports. For example, in the Mia Engiadina in Scuol. From the office you can reach the trails of the Swiss National Park in less than 30 minutes on the Postbus. Co-workers in the BockBüro in Davos saddle up onto their bikes after work in summer or strap on cross-country skis in winter. You can only get even closer to the mountains at The Bridge @ GALAAXY. Opened in January 2018, this open workspace is located in the Crap Sogn Gion cable car station in the middle of the ski and hiking region of Flims Laax.

There are other co-working spaces in St. Moritz, Laax, Samedan and Chur. They all have modern workplaces, fast internet, coffee machines and some meeting rooms as well as food options. Therefore, nothing stands in the way of productive work. And that is exactly why they are the ideal place to withdraw to work, concentrate and develop new ideas. Be it alone or as a team. For being away from everyday life and in the unspoilt nature of the mountains – without houses that block one's view of the horizon – your thoughts will soar more freely.

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Our Travel Partners

Swiss International Air Lines

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is the airline of Switzerland, serving over 100 destinations in 43 countries from Zurich and Geneva and carrying more than 16 million passengers a year with its 91-aircraft fleet.

As “The Airline of Switzerland”, SWISS embodies the country’s traditional values, and is committed to delivering the highest product and service quality. With its workforce of 8,564 personnel, SWISS generated total operating income of CHF 5 billion in 2016. SWISS is part of the Lufthansa Group, and is also a member of Star Alliance, the world’s biggest airline grouping.

SWISS and Graubünden Ferien are working together closely to make Graubünden better known as a tourist destination and to promote its positive image further. As a top quality airline, SWISS connects Graubünden and Switzerland with Europe and the world, making it an important ambassador of the alpine country. Media contact

Swiss International Air Lines Ltd. +41 84 877 37 73 mediarelations.swiss@dlh.de More information: www.swiss.com

Swiss Travel System STS

Switzerland comprises the densest public transport network in the world. It extends over 29,000 captivating kilometres, linking city centres, tiny tucked away villages, mountain resorts and lakes. Especially for travellers from abroad, the Swiss Travel System offers visitors the opportunity to discover the many diverse delights by road, rail and waterway. And with just a single all-in-one ticket – the Swiss Travel Pass. The world-famous panoramic routes through Graubünden, such as the Glacier Express and the Bernina Express, are also included (excl. seat reservation fee) and are a part of the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland (www.mystsnet.com/gttos). Furthermore, the Swiss Travel Pass offers free admission to more than 500 museums nationwide (of which 29 in Graubünden) and 50 % fare discount off most mountain railways. Media contact

Swiss Travel System Ltd. +41 44 225 80 61 media@swisstravelsystem.com More information: www.mystsnet.com