Sometimes Mother Nature has to throw curve balls into what would otherwise be a well-planned trip. This is simply the way life works and this time, Jim and I got caught up in one of her more obstinate moments.
Therefore; this post is all about “How We Tried to Cross the Alps in May and Mother Nature Smacked Us Down!”
The plan……. (Black Line)
Leave Thun and head east and then south over the Alps using the Susten Pass and St. Goddard Pass, stopping at the lovely little alpine town of Andermatt and then on south to our planned destination in southern Switzerland, the Unesco Heritage Site of Bellinzona. This seemed a perfect plan with potential for fabulous views inside the Alps.
Therefore; this post is all about “How We Tried to Cross the Alps in May and Mother Nature Smacked Us Down!”
The plan……. (Black Line)
Leave Thun and head east and then south over the Alps using the Susten Pass and St. Goddard Pass, stopping at the lovely little alpine town of Andermatt and then on south to our planned destination in southern Switzerland, the Unesco Heritage Site of Bellinzona. This seemed a perfect plan with potential for fabulous views inside the Alps.
The reality……. (Blue Line)
Note to self….. always obey your GPS.
The month of May can be a tricky travel month in Switzerland. We had already had a week of warm sunny days bordering on downright hot, and of course we assumed this would continue through the entire trip, ignoring the fact that many times when we travel in Europe in May it has poured chilly rain. We also ignored the fact that we knew the Alpine passes can be closed in May, depending upon the weather.
With these two strikes against us, we stepped out of our hotel into a morning where the temperature had crazily dropped 40 degrees from the day before and what seemed like a monsoon was producing a deluge of rain. Our GPS was blinking a warning at the top of the screen “Passes Closed”. We convinced ourselves this did not mean “our passes” and headed off toward the Alps.
Note to self….. always obey your GPS.
The month of May can be a tricky travel month in Switzerland. We had already had a week of warm sunny days bordering on downright hot, and of course we assumed this would continue through the entire trip, ignoring the fact that many times when we travel in Europe in May it has poured chilly rain. We also ignored the fact that we knew the Alpine passes can be closed in May, depending upon the weather.
With these two strikes against us, we stepped out of our hotel into a morning where the temperature had crazily dropped 40 degrees from the day before and what seemed like a monsoon was producing a deluge of rain. Our GPS was blinking a warning at the top of the screen “Passes Closed”. We convinced ourselves this did not mean “our passes” and headed off toward the Alps.
How can veteran travelers do such a dumb thing? It depends upon how much you REALLY want to do something and we REALLY wanted to drive over the Alps. Well…. I did anyway. To give Jim credit, he was already worrying that I was pushing us into a less than optimal situation.
Note to self….. Sometimes listen to your husband. Occasionally they are right.
As we ascended into the foothills of the Alps, fog and mist enveloped us draping and blanketing the views we anticipated and made the wet tightly curving, cliffhanging roads treacherous. This didn’t stop us.
Note to self….. Sometimes listen to your husband. Occasionally they are right.
As we ascended into the foothills of the Alps, fog and mist enveloped us draping and blanketing the views we anticipated and made the wet tightly curving, cliffhanging roads treacherous. This didn’t stop us.
We headed up, up, up and the rain turned to sleet. Yes, I’m sure you can imagine the conversation…..
Jim “I think we should turn around”
Me “No, this isn’t so bad. We can get over the pass.”
Jim “The sign we just passed says “pass closed”
Me “That’s not OUR pass. That’s a different pass and we’re not taking that road”
GPS Blinking “Passes Closed”
Jim “I think we should turn around”
Me “No, this isn’t so bad. We can get over the pass.”
Jim “The sign we just passed says “pass closed”
Me “That’s not OUR pass. That’s a different pass and we’re not taking that road”
GPS Blinking “Passes Closed”
On we drove, with both of us very tense as we slowly wound our way further up the mountain. Soon the sleet turned to thick snow-flakes.
Me “it’s so beautiful!”
Jim “the car is beginning to slip”
Me “we can make it”
Me “it’s so beautiful!”
Jim “the car is beginning to slip”
Me “we can make it”
The car slides dangerously to the cliffside of the road.
Me “this is making me really scared”
Jim “we are turning around NOW”
Me “where? The road isn’t wide enough”
OK, I’ll admit, at this point I was really panicking, but the Travel Gods were with us and out of the snowy distance appeared a dirt road which exited our road, giving us just enough room to turn around. Relief flooded us and so defeated, we headed back down to the nearest town.
Me “this is making me really scared”
Jim “we are turning around NOW”
Me “where? The road isn’t wide enough”
OK, I’ll admit, at this point I was really panicking, but the Travel Gods were with us and out of the snowy distance appeared a dirt road which exited our road, giving us just enough room to turn around. Relief flooded us and so defeated, we headed back down to the nearest town.
Now the real challenge arose because we had no idea where to go next. As far as we knew, there was absolutely NO WAY to get over the Alps to Bellinzona, where our next hotel awaited us.
Luckily for us, a small café offered us a place to calm down, have a coffee and grill the lone café worker as to how to proceed to our destination. I think I fell in love just out of relief that she turned out to be incredibly knowledgeable and mapped out our route on our smeared, crumpled, dog-eared map. (Blue Line)
The really bad news was that we had to head north quite a distance to Luzern, then east all the way to Lichtenstein and then south over the lowest pass at the eastern edge of the Alps, which thankfully was still open. This grand detour around the Alps added an additional 250 kilometers to our drive. Traveler stupidity always has a high price!
Luckily for us, a small café offered us a place to calm down, have a coffee and grill the lone café worker as to how to proceed to our destination. I think I fell in love just out of relief that she turned out to be incredibly knowledgeable and mapped out our route on our smeared, crumpled, dog-eared map. (Blue Line)
The really bad news was that we had to head north quite a distance to Luzern, then east all the way to Lichtenstein and then south over the lowest pass at the eastern edge of the Alps, which thankfully was still open. This grand detour around the Alps added an additional 250 kilometers to our drive. Traveler stupidity always has a high price!
One ray of light in this adventure was that Jim was able to visit Lichtenstein, which due to time constraints had been left out of our itinerary. Maybe his karma was always intended to make sure he got there?
Jim's goal for the trip...... Eat at McDonald's in Lichtenstein. Mission accomplished!
Oh…. And those views…..
Even though the San Bernardino Pass does not have extreme peaks that reach the heavens and villages perched high on alpine slopes as do the higher passes, we experienced some pretty spectacular vistas.
Even though the San Bernardino Pass does not have extreme peaks that reach the heavens and villages perched high on alpine slopes as do the higher passes, we experienced some pretty spectacular vistas.
We finally made to to sunny Bellinzona on the other side of the Alps and as you can probably guess, The storm disappeared as quickly as it arrived and the weather was warm and beautiful from that point on. Typical May in Europe.
As usual, it was the road never planned that added unexpected fabulous beauty to this road-trip in Switzerland. I just love it when this happens!
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