Gotthard Pass

Sat 2 September

Swiss breakfast once more then Gilbert took us for a drive along Lake Luzern which is very beautiful to the Gotthard Pass where snow could be seen on the peaks above; and lots of waterfalls and mist again. There was also a lot of traffic so Gilbert decided to drive over the pass rather than through the tunnel.

We had a brief stop near Andermatt where the boys were all thrilled to come across a car rally with cars from Turin and one Ferrari specially built.

Andermatt has an airstrip. It is a mountain village in the canton of Uri. It is an important crossroad where 3 Swiss mountain passes join. The infrastructure for the High Command of the Swiss Federal Army in the event of war was built here and today it is the location of a training centre of the Swiss army.

It was getting cooler and cooler and by the time we got to the top, it was 2 deg C and we were at 2106 m and it was snowing! We had a coffee here and then descended to the Italian side of Switzerland where the weather was now much clearer. The rain stopped and the sun tried to come out!

At the town of Bellinzona, a city famous for its three castles (Castelgrande, Montebello, Sasso Corbaro) that have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2000, we visited the Castelgrande and also a lovely church: La Collegiata which dates from 1515.

There was a wine festival taking place and we lucked on managing some lunch before they packed up. We had a wonderful osso bucco (ossibuchi maiale) with polenta and some local red wine (Gilbert had to decline the wine as it is zero tolerance for drivers here). I had a Granato TI DOC and Andrew had a L'Ariete Viti TI DOC.

We also watched the making of wine barrels by a local expert who supplies to Switzerland and Italy. He was very generous with his explanation and Gilbert did a great job translating. I thought it would be like watching paint dry, but we were here for ages and it was fascinating.

Off we went then to Ascona - through the 5.5 km of tunnel that goes under Locarno which is apparently where one of the biggest film festivals in the world is held; they have the Golden Leopard awards.

Ascona is on the edge of Lago Maggiore - we can see into Italy, so it is almost 'Dash through 6 countries'!!! The temperature is a balmy 23 deg C! It is very beautiful - the lake and the Mediterranean-style architecture - and we stroll along the cafe-lined waterfront eating gelati.

It is a long trip back - through the Gotthard Tunnel - which had a queue of 5 kms!!

The tunnel is 16.9 kilometres in length below the St Gotthard Pass, a major pass of the Alps. At the time of the construction, in 1980, it was the longest road tunnel in the world; it is currently the 9th longest.

We have cheese fondue tonight. Sabine does herself proud. David has been hanging for this since he arrived.

It is a very late night and I don't think the grappa suits my head...