Down from Stelvio and onward

So after a slight blogging "detour", I did want to describe our descent from the top of Stelvio Pass. We had been assured that we went up the more difficult side, naturally leaving one to assume that the way down would be easier......

Things went wrong from the beginning. First, there was a fork in the road after only about 5 switchbacks.  A fork in the road at the top of the pass -- who does that!  Somehow we weren't totally sure which way our two fearless leaders went--and of course, that was compounded by the fact that our formerly trustworthy GPS was strongly recommending that we take the right fork, while we (or at least I) thought we had seen our leaders head left.  We headed left.....knowing we had no cell phone service at this point.

The way down was strangely more frightening than those 48 switchbacks on the other side.  The primary reason:  there were tunnels, and these tunnels were narrow and winding!  When I say narrow, let's just say that usually there wasn't room for two cars to meet!  We actually met a car when we were 3/4 of the way through one of the tunnels and that car literally had to back up.  We still aren't sure of tunnel traffic etiquette here -- how does one know who has to back up?  What happens when two tour buses meet in the middle? (and yes, we saw large tour buses on this road)

We did see great scenery, or at least I did!  Gordy couldn't take his eyes off the road.

Thankfully our leaders were waiting for us toward the bottom of the pass and we successfully navigated our way into Switzerland and to the Cube.

Assorted road and scenery pix!

There are so many awesome views here... with each day and each road providing a new wonderous panaroma.  As I try to post each night, sometimes it gets overwhelming trying to adequately describe the beauty of the Alps.  I can only say that Joyce was right, with every corner you turn, you "ooh" and "aah".  I'm taking the blog photos with the little camera set on its lowest setting to make sure I can easily upload photos.  On my good camera, I'm up to 500 pictures (thanks Jim for the 16 gig card!) and still have three days to go!

So here are just some random photos taken over the past three days....

and p.s. to Blogger -- thanks for letting me download the newer version that makes uploading pictures in the right location so much easier!!

Can you spell M-O-T-O-R-C-Y-C-L-E?

As some of you know, we have two die-hard motorcycle buffs along.  Both Rodger and Rusty have taken most of these roads on various motorcyle tours.  I've learned a new motorcyle term as a result -- and hopefully Blogger won't censor it -- motorcycle porn.

Lest you worry, all that means is that these two gaze longingly at all sorts of motorcycles that we see here, as many of them apparently are not available in the US.

At one point, they even enlisted another into their motorcycle discussion!

This is apparently motorcycle "season" -- we have seen literally hundreds!  Let's just say, some have better driving etiquette than others.

The Cube

We arrived in Sauvignon Switzerland and have checked into our hotel, The Cube.  The Cube is a unique experience and deserves its own post.  Remember the James Bond movie "Die Another Day" and the ice hotel with the various colors?  This reminds me of that hotel in a strange way, although thankfully it isn't cold or melting!! 

The outside of the building is unique, but it is hard to capture that in a photograph.  Suffice it to say, it is a very modern design, with metal blinds serving as shutters.

You walk into the lobby and the uniqueness of the hotel is immediately apparent....

Everything inside is based on color-- breakfast is in the green area tomorrow.  There is a center opening to all four floors....

The rooms are also color coordinated although I'm not sure if there is a significance to the colors.  Each side is a different color and our room is a "green" room.  The lock on the door is strange -- rather than inserting the card, you wave the card in front of the lock!

Here is our room....please note the clear green glass -- then the interior door does not lock, but goes into the actual room.

I'm sure you may be wondering what this outside area is for......hopefully the picture below helps!  This outside area is for storing bikes (yes, even on the upper floors), skis, shoes, etc.  There are racks and little posts to hang all sorts of gear.  And the hotel has ramps that go from floor to floor for moving those bikes easily!

Other views of the hotel interior....



Our hotel key also gives us free access to the ski lift that is operating next door.  So if the weather continues to be good, we may all try that tomorrow to see the view!!

Stelvio Pass....need I say more

After leaving the relative safety of Bolzano and the early passes and switchbacks, we headed up to Stelvio Pass. According to Wikipedia, Stelvio Pass is the highest paved pass in the Eastern Alps at 2757 meters or 9,045 feet. Now realize I didn't know this at the time we started up!

One of the early clues that we were in for a unique experience were these signs which typically count the number of switchbacks. So what does this number below mean? It means we already have completed 3 switchbacks and have only 45 to go. Yes, I'm serious...this pass has 48 switchbacks to reach the top. That is 48 switchbacks, of which, about 99% required us to be in first gear. We can only hope our clutch has survived.

Thankfully on this side of the pass, there were atypical 'rails' -- rather than being out of mere metal, the rails on this side were built of stone! Another clue we should have picked up on and didn't....

About halfway up, we are starting to realize that this isn't your everyday mountain pass...and still watching those little signs counting down.....

At the top, Bruno's -- the best bratwurst and sauerkraut in the world, or so he says! And I can testify having now experienced that culinary masterpiece! There is a 'pretender' across the road, but always stick to the original!

And then we peeked over the edge to see from whence we came.....this first picture shows only a small number of the last few switchbacks. For someone (like me) who gets very car sick, just surviving this is a feat unto itself!!

And another view to preseve our accomplishment! As good as the brat was, I am quite confident that this is a once in a lifetime experience.

We leave Canazai and head toward Switzerland

Today, Wednesday, started innocently enough. We had breakfast, packed the cars and headed out of Canazai. The initial drive was no different than previous days. We see quaint villages, gorgeous scenary and have wonderful weather.

We even spent time on an Italian freeway and got to spend some quality time in 5th gear. We drove through the large, industrial town of Bolzano and somehow misplaced Rusty and Pam!

We drove through some smaller mountain roads with our now, more boring, switchbacks. I even managed to get a few pictures of us meeting a tour bus or tour buses meeting each other on the narrow roads.

Little did we know that our day was just beginning......

Signs, signs..everywhere signs

Some of you know that I love to take pictures of interesting road signs....well here are a few from our drive today!

I love this one -- we started seeing this several places today...our response "No duh"

Exclamation points are big here for road signs -- best we can tell (being non speakers of Italian) they mean Attention! This one is right above one that apparently tells you that you may see snow plows as well as to use chains on your tires in winter.

My new favorite town name -- Dont. In Italy, you see the town name when you enter it. When you leave the town, you see the same sign, but with the slash across it. So does that mean Don't Dont?