Switzerland – WOW
The Swiss government has organised a planning App called “The Grand Tour”. It is very helpful for planning where to go within Switzerland and what to see. It weaves its way through backroads, B roads and generally mind-altering scenic places. I mean, Switzerland is the manifestation of your most wildly vivid, idealistic alpine dreams.
The buildings, the views and the natural environment.
Every stereotypical thought, every cartoon, every child’s book that described or depicted a fairytale world…is here. Thankyou Switzerland, we are so happy to have visited your splendour.
Buildings
This stage of our trip was purely driving. We hired a car in Geneva and followed the Grand Tour path. GPX files can be downloaded from the Swiss site. We used these as a guide with only a few deviations. The Tour can also be done via train I believe.
Poking around the back roads may take a little more time, however it does allow you to see the variety of dwellings through out the country. Being in Europe, you do have an expectation for Castles and Churches, and yes there is certainly more than a handful of these. The timber barns and stone buildings within the smaller towns draw my attention. Some so tightly arranged, that only a small car can squeeze through, one at a time. Patience is needed, for there is always the ever present necessity of some very important persons to be the first to squeeze through. It is just that most B roads that we are on are only just wide enough for one car either way, throw in some rain, make most roads 80Km/h, chuck in a heap of bends, put a stone wall directly on one side of the road and a vertical drop off on the other; oh then add runners, walkers and cyclists. And that was the easy road.
LOL! The views made up for it and the cars… so many Porsches, Ferraris, Bugatti’s, a few Lambo’s, Alpines, Lotus, every BMW and a million Fiat 500’s.
Italy
Approximately half way around the tour, Mandy asks if we can take a detour. She feels like having breakfast in Italy. No problem. We turn right instead of left for a bit and wander along toward Lake Lugano. A latte macchiato, sunshine, seat by the lake, crystal clear waters and sky. Snow topped mountains greet us a little further down the road, towards Lake Como as well as a couple of very friendly ducks. Don’t tell anyone, this was one of the best coffees we had during the entire trip. This was well worth the effort.
Upon returning the Switzerland, the border guard wanted to know what we wanted to declare. He didn’t believe that we hadn’t bought anything. Then we remembered, ‘oh yes, Pizza and Coffee’. He let us go through whilst shaking his head.
Driving
What a variation of things on the road. You do expect cars, trucks and bicycles of all shapes and sizes. Green initiatives are very important here. There is a massive push for electric vehicles and alternative ones as well. Bullet shaped bikes, tiny cars with two or even one seat are surprisingly common. Switzerland has embraced the e-Mountain Bike aggressively. They are everywhere. There is never a dull moment seeing what is just around the corner.
One pass we wished to drive through was closed. No problem, just drive onto the train that takes you through a tunnel to the other side of the mountain. They don’t strap your car down. The car does move around a lot. We did *&^% ourselves a bit, LOL.
Driving
Nothing can eclipse the sensation of driving though mountain passes; switchback after switchback, view after view. Time stops in the old alpine towns. You wish you could stay here forever. I do wish I had brought my Go-Pro.
Snow Fun
Mandy did it first!
Apparently summer has arrived here. The ski season has finished and it is supposed to be getting hotter. No one told the people still skiing :-).
A fresh snowfall the night before made this pass all that more fun. We could see the layers of snow from each day, like rings on a tree. Whack!!!! I was being very environmentally educational, taking a photograph of the freshly fallen snow when I was hit on the side by a fresh snowball. Followed by, “WOW they are so easy to make”. Right, it was on!
To be continued……
Two hikes that really moved us. One in my head, one in Mandy’s stomach.
They deserve a separate post.
Suitability for loaded touring bikes, Les? Or would they be better off down by the Bodensee?
Hi Geoff. There is so many fully loaded touring bicycles here, with riders of all ages and abilities. So many retirees are on fully loaded bicycles. You can also take the bikes on trains fairly easily. It amazed me the number of road cyclists climbing the really massive passes, none of them had any spare body fat and looked like they had just come off the tour of France. E-bikes are everywhere as well, with many tourists using these as well.
Its a nice place.