Eisenharz to North Italy Somewhere
Friday 4th May
We pack. I get an hour guitar playing while Zita finishes. We go to Isny for last minute stuff. And then south. First to Austria where we fill up on cheaper diesel, WE stay off the Autobahn here as we don’t have a vignette – which would cost us E50. If we are caught without it we will be fined E100. This means we are in slow traffic for about an hour.
At our petrol station stop I see the “Drei Schwestern” mountain group above the valley. 9 years ago with the Seelbach family, I made a traverse of this small range. Lots of ladders and cables to hang on to for security at steep bits and tunnels through rock to walk through. It was a great day marked by early nerves which gave way to later mountain walking pleasure. At one point we had someone else take a photo of our group. He had his boots off at the time – resting his feet at lunch. As he stepped back to frame the photo better he kicked one of his free boots which rolled and then fell over the cliff edge and flew down hundreds of metes out of site. We last saw him starting his afternoon walk wearing about 6 socks borrowed from his companions on the bootless foot.
In the car we soon cross the border into Switzerland. This also requires an Autobahn license payment system. However we are told it is not heavily enforced so we take the risk. The pass would have cost us about E120. This is a years pass and there are no alternatives. We would be on Swiss Autobahns for a few hours.
The weather now closes in as we head up valley towards San Bernadino Pass. On either side of our valley are fantastic mountains holding remnants of winter snow. We travel through a couple of huge gorges. So wild. So narrow. Vertical. 100’s of metres high/deep.
We have the choice to pass through a mountain tunnel or drive over a high pass. As we approach the turn off to the pass the rain is heavy and the cloud thick. I can see new snow on the ground 100 metres above us. The pass is several 100 metres above us. Driving conditions would be pretty dodgy. And it is already late. We take the tunnel instead. 7 kms underground. As we emerge from the tunnel on the other side, here is snow on the ground beside the road and a heavy coating of fresh on the hills and mountains above. A spring surprise. It was the right choice.
We are now in Italian speaking Switzerland. Down we go. A sign tells us – 8% for 17 kms. There are warning signs beside the road showing trucks with brakes on fire.
Later we check camping grounds in Lago Lugano but nothing available. After some getting lost on small back roads, we arrive in Venassa. We find a reasonable priced hotel room. The hotel is in Alpine style. We are now in Italy but could be anywhere in Alpine Western Europe. We find a Piziera for dinner.
Friday 4th May
We pack. I get an hour guitar playing while Zita finishes. We go to Isny for last minute stuff. And then south. First to Austria where we fill up on cheaper diesel, WE stay off the Autobahn here as we don’t have a vignette – which would cost us E50. If we are caught without it we will be fined E100. This means we are in slow traffic for about an hour.
At our petrol station stop I see the “Drei Schwestern” mountain group above the valley. 9 years ago with the Seelbach family, I made a traverse of this small range. Lots of ladders and cables to hang on to for security at steep bits and tunnels through rock to walk through. It was a great day marked by early nerves which gave way to later mountain walking pleasure. At one point we had someone else take a photo of our group. He had his boots off at the time – resting his feet at lunch. As he stepped back to frame the photo better he kicked one of his free boots which rolled and then fell over the cliff edge and flew down hundreds of metes out of site. We last saw him starting his afternoon walk wearing about 6 socks borrowed from his companions on the bootless foot.
In the car we soon cross the border into Switzerland. This also requires an Autobahn license payment system. However we are told it is not heavily enforced so we take the risk. The pass would have cost us about E120. This is a years pass and there are no alternatives. We would be on Swiss Autobahns for a few hours.
The weather now closes in as we head up valley towards San Bernadino Pass. On either side of our valley are fantastic mountains holding remnants of winter snow. We travel through a couple of huge gorges. So wild. So narrow. Vertical. 100’s of metres high/deep.
We have the choice to pass through a mountain tunnel or drive over a high pass. As we approach the turn off to the pass the rain is heavy and the cloud thick. I can see new snow on the ground 100 metres above us. The pass is several 100 metres above us. Driving conditions would be pretty dodgy. And it is already late. We take the tunnel instead. 7 kms underground. As we emerge from the tunnel on the other side, here is snow on the ground beside the road and a heavy coating of fresh on the hills and mountains above. A spring surprise. It was the right choice.
We are now in Italian speaking Switzerland. Down we go. A sign tells us – 8% for 17 kms. There are warning signs beside the road showing trucks with brakes on fire.
Later we check camping grounds in Lago Lugano but nothing available. After some getting lost on small back roads, we arrive in Venassa. We find a reasonable priced hotel room. The hotel is in Alpine style. We are now in Italy but could be anywhere in Alpine Western Europe. We find a Piziera for dinner.
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