Alps 2008
 
 

Day 13

July 1

 
 

Now that I've got my alarm clock and the 'egg' business sorted out, I peruse the breakfast offering a little more. As I look around, I find some hot cocoa mix - right down my alley. It is so good and rich that I am tempted to fill up my pockets with the stuff - but I don't. I decide to experiment a little this morning and do my granola/fresh yogurt concoction with a new twist - I add some blueberry preserves to the mixture and it makes it ever more tastier. And I find something else I don't see back home - cherry jam. It sure makes the fresh croissants go down the old hatch very nicely if I do say so myself.

 
 
 
  After I finish up, I do what I do every morning - prep the Snow Bird for the day. Usually it's just removing the chain lock around the front wheel, turning on the radio for the day, and a short visual inspection of the bike. This morning I check out my chicken strips on the front tire and see that once or twice I got all the way out to the edge. While I'm at it, I fiddle with the Autocom and finally get it sorted out - at least I hope so!  
 
 
  Everything still looks pretty quiet over at the campsite, so I decide I'll walk a little ways into town again to stretch my legs.  
 
 
  As I make my way into town, a couple pulls into a nearby hotel on a trike quite unlike anything that I have seen. It has the name 'ZEUS' on the side which I have never heard of before. But it is a pretty slick unit at any rate.  
 
 
 

As I head back toward my hotel, once again I hear the bugle and see the mail carriage. I still find the hitching arrangement interesting - three in the front and two in the back. But if it gets them over the mountain passes, there sure ain't nothing to argue about. I always prefer things that work rather than all the text book theory in the world. As I've said many times -

"I'd rather go to war with the boys that have shot the guns regularly rather than the boys that have read the book about shooting the guns."

 
 
 
  Soon the crew is up, 'breakfasted', cleaned, and GPSed and we are out for the adventures of the day, with Bob taking the lead.  
 
 
 

We ascend up north through the narrow Schöllenen Gorge from Andermatt to the San Gottardo, or known in the English as Saint Gotthard pass. It connects the German speaking part of Switzerland with the Italian speaking part, What also makes this pass so interesting is there are actually three flavors of it - the 'original' cobblestone version, a more modern version, and a tunnel version. We ride the cobblestone version which I have learned from previous experience, takes a little different skill set in the hairpins.

 
 
 
  There's a beautiful lake and tourist village at the top of the pass and it is full of cars, campers, and bicyclists as we pass through.  
 
 
  The lake is a pretty deep blue that diffuses the reflection of the mountain peaks that surround it.  
 
 
 

As we make our way down the other side, we pretty much have the cobblestone hairpins all to ourselves - I just can't imagine why. I decide to stop and take a few more pictures, so Peter and Fi ride on ahead. I do manage to capture them just between turns as they are 'threading the needle'.

 
 
 
  This hairpin sure gives the illusion that it has tied itself in a knot - and it sort of feels like it when I negotiate it on Snow White!  
 
 
  Soon we are off the cobblestones and back to the smooth asphalt. It was a unique experience and I'm glad we did it. I just don't know if I want to do that particular version of the pass again or not. The cobblestone surface probably worked really well for those horses of old, but it sure is not a favorite of the 'horses' of new!  
 
 
  The next pass, the Nufenen Pass (also known as the Pass Della Novena) is about 15 miles away toward Brig as we head toward highway 19. (I guess things get multiple names when you use multiple languages). It is quite a bit higher pass that Saint Gotthard, topping out at over 8,100 feet.  
 
 
  The view from the top affords another one of those incredible Alpine backgrounds for another lovely shot of Snow White.  
 
 
  There's a stiff wind blowing off the peaks, chilled by the numerous large snow fields in the sheltered places.  
 
 
  Peter and Fi wander off to a beautiful observation point where it is easy to become lost in their thoughts and in the clouds. I notice that a gift shop to the left has a 'cat' sign, which is a really good indication that I might find something for my honey. I am not disappointed as they have several 'cat' items, including some small carved wooden "Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil" figurines. Living with 5 cats in the house, these seem very appropriate for my wife and the little innocent darlings that never ever know who scratched what or who made the latest mess.  
 
 
  When I come back out, the distant mountain peak is playing hide and seek in the clouds. With the thick layers of snow across its mantle, I would guess that it reaches upwards of 9,000 feet.  
 
 
  Soon it's time to move on, so we load up the things that we have purchased and get ready to roll again.  
 
 
  The road down has excellent pavement, as I have come to expect in Switzerland. They take great pride it doing things decently and in order and it reflects in the conditions of their roadways.  
 
 
  We pass through numerous small villages with names like Zum Loch, Niederwald, and Lax on our way to Brig. All have a well kept church in the center of things with a beautiful and ornate steeple.  
 
 
  Before long, it's time to feed the bikes and we take a bit of a break before we ascend to the Simplon Pass.  
 
 
 

On the way, we encounter the Ganter Valley Bridge, the longest spanning bridge in Switzerland. It's towers are almost 500 feet, and the span is a little over 1/10 of a mile long. But our lane is closed for construction, so we are detoured down the sides of the valley.

 
 
 
  We cross the valley floor on this very pretty, but less imposing bridge. The ride back up the valley side to the main road is pleasant and twisty.  
 
 
  The way to the pass has several variations of tunnels - some are of the enclosed, traditional type and  
 
 
  some of the open sided top that give shelter from whatever comes rolling down the mountainside.  
 
 
 

The Simplon Pass is not a dramatic pass as some we have been over, but it is still over 6,500 feet. It is one of the roads that connects Switzerland with Italy, where we are headed. Napoleon Bonaparte thought enough of it to have his engineer construct a road here to transport artillery pieces through the pass between 1801 and 1805.

 
 
 
  The view from over the top is another beautiful one, with the snow covered Italian Alps stretching out for miles.  
 
 
  While we are stopped for the photo op, Bob does some more checking of his GPS to get the route to the next pass.  
 
 
 

As we head down, we see a great stone eagle that Erwin Friedrich Baumann designed and led in constructing. Officers of the Gondo mountain brigade wanted to to erect a cenotaph for the golden eagle, the symbol of the brigade, from stone tailings of their historic fortification. Somewhere along the line, Mr. Baumann got into a hassle with them and did not show up for the 1944 unveiling of the monument.

 
 
 
  Off in the distant valley is the Hospiz von Stockalper, an interesting structure that had it's beginnings in 1235, was rebuilt by Jodok Stockalper in 1666, then restored in 1968. What tales this old building could tell of over 770 winters that have come and gone at it's doorstep!  
 
 
  Just as we pass into Italy, we stop at a fueling station that is familiar to Peter, Fi, and Bob. The folks that run the place took them in the last time they were through the area when the weather had taken a turn for the worse and the snow was falling.  
 
 
  Soon we are on the road again, following Bob through the streets of the small Italian villages.  
 
 
 

When we get into a small village called Re, it has a nice looking little cafe, complete with it's own watch cat. He looks pretty well fed, so it seems like as good as any place to stop for lunch.

 
 
 
 

It looks like the paninis are the best option on the menu, so I go for the prosciutto, cheese and mushroom one. Miss Fi, who is a vegetarian, tries to ask for one without meat. In broken English (sort of), our server tells her not to worry that prosciutto (which is Italian for ham) is not meat. We know what is going to happen, and sure enough hers comes out with ham. I guess ham does not count as 'real' meat in Italy. They were okay, but nothing to write home to Momma about. It makes me wonder where the cat eats ...

 
 
 
  But there is an impressive church near by, called the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Sangue. It is classified as a 'pilgrimage' church and was started in the eighteenth century.  
 
 
  Leaving Re, the roads really do seem to get a bit narrower - or else our sumptuous lunches made us and the STs a lot wider!  
 
 
 

As we come down out of the mountains to Locarno, located on the shores of Lake Maggiore, the temperatures really begin to rise as do the number of vehicles. Snow White is really turning into a 'cooker' in the traffic. And to make things worse, Bob's GPS seems to be sending us around in circles. The heat gets so bad coming from the bike, that I try to move to the back seat and keep my feet on the rear foot pegs. I'm beginning to think we should name this place 'Inferno' instead of Locarno! The heat is working on all of us, but we finally get out of town and out of the traffic. When we finally get to cooler place to pull over, I tell Bob -

"All I need is an apple in my mouth and a platter to lay me out on. I'm already fully cooked!"

Once we all cool off a bit, we continue our journey upward toward the Pass Lucomagno also known as the Lukmanier Pass, just before you come to the town of Disentis. I passed through Disentis on my way into Andermatt on Sunday. There numerous beautiful views from the high ground as usual, but I just never seem to get enough of them.

 
 
 
  At over 6,200 feet, it is a lot more comfortable up here than where we were!  
 
 
  On the way back to Andermatt, we follow the road into a luscious, green valley where herds are happily enjoying their pasture.  
 
 
  I stopped at Pass Oberalalp on my way from Misurina, but I figured I'd get another sign shot just for the memories. I don't know the significance of the cow on the sled, but I'll leave that for another day.  
 
 
 
As we begin our final descent into Andermatt from the pass, I see that it is hay gathering time. Apparently, they hand gather their hay up here instead of baling in round or square bales like they do back home in Tennessee. I guess as high as fuel costs here, a little sweat equity goes a long way in the farmer's mind. But I've done enough work in a hay field to know anything to do with it is major work.
 
 
 
  The small town of Andermatt is a much welcomed sight after our near meltdown in Locarno. Once we get to the town proper, it's a short ride through the narrow cobblestone streets to my hotel and their campsite.  
 
 
  It's good to get back to the room and stand in a nice cold shower for a while. After I get cleaned up, I walk back into town and snag me a few T-shirts, since this will be last evening here. They are the kind of souvenir that I will get some use out of, so they are my usual choice. When we go out for supper, Peter tells me that Dave is in possession of his bike now and will be leaving at 2 AM in the morning so he can get here before we pull out. Since I need to get things packed up, I turn in a little early this evening. It will be great to be back with my riding friend as we make our return journey to London via Germany, France and Belgium. I drift off into a blissful sleep, asking the Lord to take care of my friend as he has a long journey in the dark ahead of him.  
 

Totals For The Day -

Countries - 2 (Switzerland, Italy)

Miles - 214

Passes - 4 (San Gottardo, Della Novena, Simplon, Del Lucomagno) (Oberalp Again)

Hairpins - 46