#Tag 2 Heading South with a Frown

Continuing southwards. If you choose the route through northern Italy to the Mediterranean, you have to tackle a little unknown - the mountains. Switzerland is known for having quite a few of those.

At the border, quickly pulled out the credit card and bought the vignette for the Swiss motorway for €39. That should guarantee 250 km of relaxed driving.

However, the word motorway can have a different meaning in Switzerland. It can sometimes mean single-lane road or expressway. But always with little traffic and relaxed.

The alpine panorama in the distance was initially beautiful. Snowy peaks in glorious sunshine.

But Switzerland wouldn't be a mountainous country if there weren't any uphill stretches.

And then the snow got denser the higher I went. The landscape presented itself in beautiful pure white. At the turnoff to the Splügen Pass, I passed by the ski resort's base station. Skiers were whizzing down the mountain in perfect weather. And here I am driving on summer tires. Good thing the sun is shining...

I couldn't get the direction San Bernardino out of my head. But surely I don't have to go that way?

Aha, a tunnel. So that's why I bought the toll vignette. It was worth it. By the way, it is located at an altitude of 1613 m. No wonder there is snow all around here in winter...

On the other side, you could feel it - the southern side of the Alps. The temperatures immediately rose, the snow became less, and it was a steep downhill ride. 14 km down. That would be great for a road bike.

Oh yeah, and it's still called a motorway, even though I allowed myself to be carried down the valley on lots of hairpin bends.

It's getting crowded slowly. Italy is getting closer and industrialization is increasing considerably. This leads to a lot of traffic on the road.

When the Lake Lugano eventually came into sight, my heart skipped a beat - what a panorama.

Just a few more kilometers over the border into Italy - the border guard (wearing a mask) made an almost imperceptible nod, which I interpreted as permission to continue. Mirror check - no sign of excitement. I'm in Italy.

In Como, I chose a pitch in a suburb. It looks really good and at 4:00 p.m., it was only half full (by evening, all 10 spots were taken).

It's about a 20-minute walk to the lake - that's what I'm treating myself to. And there it is, Lake Como.

It has something special!