Heading through Switzerland for Italy it was amazing when you crossed the border, yes they had a border, with a guard looking at number plates, that was it. But everyone pretty much stuck to the speed limit, and fair enough too, the police had a radar/laser trap 5km up the road. My plan was to go over the St Gotthard pass, but alas it’s still too early in the year and is closed to traffic due to snow. So the next best option (probably the only one) was the 16km St Gotthard tunnel. Well, that had a 7km traffic jam to get into it.
I guess that’s to be expected being the Easter long weekend. The tunnel was completed in 1980, and is one lane in each direction. Hence the big jam. It was like any other tunnel, except it kept going. Perfect mobile reception of course. Popping out on the other side, still in Switzerland, but not for long. I soon passed into Italy.
Everything was different in Italy. Travelling through the Netherlands, German & Switzerland the look of the roads and infrastructure was pretty much the same. Instantly in Italy it all just looked older and tattier. This didn’t change much once I got off the freeway and headed into Como. The other countries have old buildings, but somehow they look nice and old. Como reminded me more of Bangkok with that feel of a filthy but vibrant city. Oh and the traffic! The GPS was telling me to turn left, I couldn’t as the police had it closed off, same at the next one, and the next. So I tried to circle around, no luck, still closed off. I was getting to the point of heading off and finding another place along the way. The traffic was gridlocked. Italians drive more like Thai’s too. But with more flair of course.
It was then I realised I had Armani jocks on, but they were fake ones, from Thailand. Could they tell that I was a fake? An Aussie (kinda) driving a German car in Italy wearing fake Italian underwear made in Thailand. I expected something to drop on me and any second.
After circling for over an hour, and as I said, about ready to run away the police suddenly opened up everything. So the GPS and I high fived and off we went. Wow, what a road to get there. Climbed to 975m. Super narrow in spots. Which isn’t good when you’re in a strange car on the wrong side of the road. Judging the distance on the other side was a skill I didn’t have. Being a Mercedes it told you off if you got too close to anything (that also went off when scooters passed in traffic, surprised I was) but I figured it would be too late for a beep to stop the wall from hitting the car. But I made it. What a spot. High above the city. So quiet. Just a perfect place for a couple to spend a day or two, chilling out, going for walks. . . .
I had a lovely dinner in their restaurant, with a glass of Italian red wine of some sort (the waitress didn’t speak English, I speak less Italian than I speak German). I then settled down to read and send the occasional email to my best friend.