The Alps
We were on our way again. Feeling like seasoned travelers now. We'd been through Germany, France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Ahead were Austria, Liechtenstein, Italy and Switzerland. There were a lot more miles involved in this trip and the American bases would be further apart. But, we had a better idea of what we'd need and what to expect. Or, so we thought.
We had agreed we wanted to spend as much time in Italy as possible, and that was where the army bases would be. So we crossed Austria where we could stop in Innsbruck. It would be too far east and mean a lot of extra driving to go to Vienna. Innsbruck sits in a wide valley in the Alps on the Inn River. It was our first stop and experience of the Alps.
What I said about the first four countries being distinct and seperate doesn't hold true for the Bavarian Countries of the Alps. Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are very much alike. In the way they look, the buildings, the land and the friendliness of the people. I've been studying my Atlas and searching the web and they haven't helped me sort our what I remember.
Innsruck, Austria is a university city. The Bavarian cities are beautiful with the large old buildings with their carved fronts and fancy stonework. But, I was still the country girl and it was the scenery in the country and the villages that I remember best. And that didn't change much from one country to the next in the Alps.
Liechtenstein, according to my web search is only 160 Sq. Kilometers. My memory is of going into the Rhine Valley, which is half the country, and then climbing a large mountain, which is the other half of the country, and sudenly we were no longer in Liechtenstein. But, we were still seeing the same views of cold mountains and summer time valleys. It was all so beautiful, and strange. In Switzerland, I got to see the Matterhorn from different angles and views and it took my breath away no matter how I saw it. Just because it's the most recognizable, it's not the hightest. It was a thrill just to know I was there.
But, my strongest memory is of the San Gottardo Pass in Switzerland. After we were there, they built a tunnel through the Alps. I can't imagine crossing the Alps through a tunnel. Our southern route across the Alps into Italy was a zig-zag of over and around. I will bring us back to Italy in the next blog, but this is about the Alps and I want to share what it was like to cross the San Gottardo Pass from Italy into Switzeland.
We left Italy on a very hot sunny morning wearing sundresses. (B.B. and I, not G or his Mother) Climbing the San Gottardo Pass was another "experience of a lifetime." Switchback curves so tight you couldn't pass another vehicle of the curve. Especially a tour bus. The bus would stop before attempting to come around a point of mountain. A spotter would get off and walk around to make sure no other vehicles were coming. Everyone else waited. If you arrived before the bus had maneuvered around the switchback, you had to stop and stay out of the way. Some were so tight, the bus would have to pull forward, crank his wheels and back and pull forward till he had gotten around the switchback. The whole trip was in low gear and slow. Much of the road was sheer drop off, narrow and dangerous. We crossed in July and there was still danger of ice slides and rock slides. The higher we climbed, the colder it got, till we were driving through snow deeper than our V.W. This was as close to the "top of the world" as I would ever get. There were some wide, parking areas so you could expereince the view. It was the only way a driver could dare look at anything but the road right in front of him. But, a quick look and a picture and you wanted back in the warmth of the car. The top was nothing but rocks and snow. Too many of each, especially snow, and more mountains, so that there wasn't much of a view from the top. The decent was every bit as scary and just like the climb. I'm sure the tunnel is safer, but I'm glad we had to take the pass road. It was beautiful and very frightening and I'm sure it was a stressful drive for G. But, it's still my most vivid memory of the Alps.
We had agreed we wanted to spend as much time in Italy as possible, and that was where the army bases would be. So we crossed Austria where we could stop in Innsbruck. It would be too far east and mean a lot of extra driving to go to Vienna. Innsbruck sits in a wide valley in the Alps on the Inn River. It was our first stop and experience of the Alps.
What I said about the first four countries being distinct and seperate doesn't hold true for the Bavarian Countries of the Alps. Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are very much alike. In the way they look, the buildings, the land and the friendliness of the people. I've been studying my Atlas and searching the web and they haven't helped me sort our what I remember.
Innsruck, Austria is a university city. The Bavarian cities are beautiful with the large old buildings with their carved fronts and fancy stonework. But, I was still the country girl and it was the scenery in the country and the villages that I remember best. And that didn't change much from one country to the next in the Alps.
Liechtenstein, according to my web search is only 160 Sq. Kilometers. My memory is of going into the Rhine Valley, which is half the country, and then climbing a large mountain, which is the other half of the country, and sudenly we were no longer in Liechtenstein. But, we were still seeing the same views of cold mountains and summer time valleys. It was all so beautiful, and strange. In Switzerland, I got to see the Matterhorn from different angles and views and it took my breath away no matter how I saw it. Just because it's the most recognizable, it's not the hightest. It was a thrill just to know I was there.
But, my strongest memory is of the San Gottardo Pass in Switzerland. After we were there, they built a tunnel through the Alps. I can't imagine crossing the Alps through a tunnel. Our southern route across the Alps into Italy was a zig-zag of over and around. I will bring us back to Italy in the next blog, but this is about the Alps and I want to share what it was like to cross the San Gottardo Pass from Italy into Switzeland.
We left Italy on a very hot sunny morning wearing sundresses. (B.B. and I, not G or his Mother) Climbing the San Gottardo Pass was another "experience of a lifetime." Switchback curves so tight you couldn't pass another vehicle of the curve. Especially a tour bus. The bus would stop before attempting to come around a point of mountain. A spotter would get off and walk around to make sure no other vehicles were coming. Everyone else waited. If you arrived before the bus had maneuvered around the switchback, you had to stop and stay out of the way. Some were so tight, the bus would have to pull forward, crank his wheels and back and pull forward till he had gotten around the switchback. The whole trip was in low gear and slow. Much of the road was sheer drop off, narrow and dangerous. We crossed in July and there was still danger of ice slides and rock slides. The higher we climbed, the colder it got, till we were driving through snow deeper than our V.W. This was as close to the "top of the world" as I would ever get. There were some wide, parking areas so you could expereince the view. It was the only way a driver could dare look at anything but the road right in front of him. But, a quick look and a picture and you wanted back in the warmth of the car. The top was nothing but rocks and snow. Too many of each, especially snow, and more mountains, so that there wasn't much of a view from the top. The decent was every bit as scary and just like the climb. I'm sure the tunnel is safer, but I'm glad we had to take the pass road. It was beautiful and very frightening and I'm sure it was a stressful drive for G. But, it's still my most vivid memory of the Alps.
posted by LeeAnn | 10:13 PM
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