Switzerland

 I'm back in the mountains again --- back where a friend is a friend.

Sorry -- couldn't resist breaking into song there.

I drove from Verona, Italy, westward across the flat Po River Valley. I could see the Dolomite Alps off to my right like a wall of mountains. I was sure anxious to get out of the flatlands and up into those mountains..

My route took me up to Lake Como, which some people say is Italy's most beautiful lake.

Mostly all I saw were little motor scooters in Italy. But now I am starting to see more motorcycles on these mountain roads. Odysseus is glad to see them. Look... he fits right in.

I thought I was all done with ferries on this trip, but I had to get to the other side of Lago di Como somehow. So look, here comes a ferry to get me.

Gotta be patient when you are waiting for a ferry.

Time to saddle up and get on board. Sigh ... another ferry trip.

Somewhere close to Lac de Como I crossed into Switzerland. I never did know when. I miss the good old days when they checked passports at border crossings (well, maybe not too much), but would a sign saying "Welcome to Switzerland" be too much?  Makes no difference really, because these mountain roads take your mind right off things like border crossings and send it soaring toward heaven.

There is something exciting to see around every bend.  Oh look, there is a cute Abominable Snowman. Must be a Swiss wild creature.

I love these mountain vistas.

With their waterfalls.....

The roads are as much fun as the scenery is beautiful.

I think this guy was going too fast when he came to the curve in the road.

Actually, it was just this mountain cafe's way of saying motorcycle riders are always welcome to come in and have a cold one here.

I really like it when I get to the top of a mountain pass.

Kind of cold up there though....

No lingering around too long. Time to head on down the other side.

It wasn't long before I got to Interlaken. It is a bustling little resort town between two Swiss lakes. Lots going on there. I had to stop and take a picture of this place. My wife and daughters love chocolate, and Swiss chocolate is their favorite.

There is a lot going on in Interlaken, like hang gliders overhead. That may be something I have to try before I leave the Alps.

Just to the south there is a famous set of glacier covered mountains. The highest is the Jungfrau, but maybe the Eiger is more famous because of the movies.

I am at a beautiful campsite there. It has to be the best one I have been in here in Europe.

Look at this waterfall. It is right behind my tent.

The mountains here are absolutely spectacular. They were just calling out to me, begging me to come hiking in them.

One thing I found on my hike was this waterfall. It drains the mountain glaciers, and it comes right out of the inside of the mountain. I got to go inside the mountain to see it. It was so noisy and powerful it made the mountain shake in there. It was a little creepy, actually.

My hike took me past some Swiss chalets. I like the garden in front of this one.

A watering trough. It was sure good water. It is actually a spring. I passed several of them as I walked along. I filled up my canteen and enjoyed some ice cold, pure mountain water. That farm back there in the back was selling homemade cheese. Several of the farms I passed were selling cheese but I didn't buy any. Maybe I should have. I bet it was good.

I decided to take this cable car to the top and hike down. That was a wise decision. Hiking down is better than hiking up any day.

They let their "lawns" grow full of wildflowers and clover. The plants get really high before they mow them.

I wonder if my wife would let me only mow my lawn twice during the summer. She could get out and rake it like this lady is doing, and sell it to a farmer to feed his cows. Maybe she could trade it for milk and then she could make cheese to sell. We could be wealthy.

Nah ... It would't work. She would want me to mow the lawn more often.

My computer is telling me that I am out of battery power, so I have to end this report.
But first, here is a map to show my route. You will have to look close to see the dotted red line.

By for now.
Ron