Beautiful Brissago! Yep, what beautiful part of the world. Casa Laauser is perched some 280 metres above Lago Maggiore. Around the lake, the towns cling to the sides of the mountains with narrow winding roads, usually only 1 car width, with passing zones scattered infrequently! A challenge to drive, definitely. The main road along the edge of the lake linking the towns, carries a heap of traffic. At one stage, we were held up, by apparently buses heading in opposite directions, trying to pass each other at a difficult place. It took some careful steering and all was well. All in a day's experience here.
We visited some beautiful valleys with mountain rivers rushing down to the lake. At Lavertezzo, we had a picnic lunch by the river, next to a bridge built by the Romans and where the local lads delighted in jumping off boulders into the deep pools.
Of course we went into Italy, which was only about 2 km from Brissago. We hadn't been concerned about crossing the borders, after all, it's now all about the EU isn't? Well, not quite. The Swiss still watch their borders and we have to drive slowly through, hoping they don't stop you. We also started carrying our passports with us as we cross the borders, after some 'horror' stories about being detained for days for not doing so!
Connobio, just over the border is great. There is a lovely promenade along the water, with cafés and shops along the way. Then turn into some of the ridiculously narrow streets and you could imagine you are anywhere in Italy. And some drive these streets in their Fiat Punto's and Smart cars, streets which are designed more for Vespers and bicycles. Italian shoe shops galore, fashion shops, coffee shops and other interesting curiosity shops.
The weather has been so warm, Rose decided she needed to buy some bathers. So, off to Connobio and she found some, which she promptly tried out back at Casa Laauser in the pool. Not bad, need bathers? Go to Italy! We had not anticipated it being so warm so we hadn't packed anything like that.
Suse and Winfried were amazing. Fantastic meals, served in delightful settings. They are both 'foodies', so we enjoyed them displaying their talents. On Friday we were joined also by Heidi and Stefan (see prior post - Freiberg). A special time, in a special place, with some very special people.
On Sunday, we headed to Liechtenstein. Why? Well, it is another oddity that I have always found curious. Why does it exist as a separate country? It has an open border with Switzerland, yet is a part of the EU. It uses Swiss money, Swiss power points and relies on the Swiss army for defence (they don't have an army). Everything feels Swiss here, in this very beautiful and picturesque country, yet it is a sovereign country. It is ruled by a monarchy which oversees the elected parliament.
Tomorrow, we head into Austria, to Innsbruck. We had a 'taste' of Austria today, venturing to Feldkirch. It is a very attractive town, with nice plazas and amazing paintings on the walls of some of the buildings. The Rathaus (town hall) displays some that appear quite medieval. I wonder how many times they have been 'touched up'?
2 weeks to go! It feels like a long time, while also feeling like it has gone so quickly.