Summer returns - and so does the hiking

A glorious April weekend loomed, so, temporarily spouseless, three of us decided to celebrate with a two-day hike in the Graubünden, selected from many on the very useful wandersite.ch website. With snow still at around 1600m we chose a low route, the first day following the Burgenweg Domleschg, and the second the "Via Spluga".
The Burgenweg, famous, as its name suggests, for its proliferation of castles, was a gentle start to our hiking year, a three and a half hour wander through pretty villages, blossom-covered trees and flowered fields. We took a couple of detours upwards to stretch the limbs, and to continue our habit of getting "lost" on our hikes. And then we arrived in Thusis, to the welcoming and very comfortable Hotel Weiss Kreuz, in time for a beer or two on the sun-drenched terrace.
Our helpful hostess next morning explained that there were in fact two routes we could take to our next destination, and the two vertigo-sufferers in the group, paling merely at the photo of the famous Traversiner-Steg, opted for the easier western route through the Viamala gorge, on a narrow road between touring cliffs far above the Hinterrhein, famed for its Verlorene Loch, a tunnel cut through the rock in the early 19th century which opened up the trade route. We spotted the 60 metre long Traversiner-Steg from across the gorge and agreed that, for Rebecca at least, it would have been an impossibility. I'm tempted to try it next time - another test for the vertigo that seems to be improving slightly with age.
The rest of our walk followed the Via Spluga, through the pretty village of Zillis, famed for the 153 wooden paintings on its ceiling, depicting life in the middle ages. We ate our nuts and chocolate beside a pond broiling with tadpoles, and then made our way towards Andeer, crossing the covered wooden bridge leading into the village, stopping to buy cheese from a farm, and finally to the thermal pool, where we luxuriated in the warm waters and the stunning vistas.
We'll be back later in the summer, I think, to continue the hike across the Splügenpass and into Italy.