Leaving for the free

Back to the boat, cross europe travel from one end to the other by car.

Finally we moved out from our apartment when we finished, more or less, updating our paperworks and setting up for the free. Our car and camping tent is our home until we arrive at Vela Nautica driving the long way back to the boat in Portugal. We decided to visit some extra places and do some deviations to see some famous European places. Some people ask me if it is safe to travel europe these days after what was broadcasted in US media. Yes it is still safe to travel, there are no riots you need to be scared about. As in all countrys there are places with critical social problems but these are mostly not the ones usual tourists visit. For us the usual car burglary is the more serious problem because it´s obvious that our car is pretty packed and that was always a problem to leave your packed car unattended in Southern Europe. Eventually things get worst also in the northern european countrys.

You dont believe how many things we gathered in these 8 month in a house. We needed to get rid of so much and still need to get rid of more… is a sad and a happy eye but mostly a relief. And also family and some new friends to leave behind and say goodbye.

The first stop was in Switzerland to say some family goodbye and when we drove over Sankt Bernardino pass to go over the alpes we choose the pass instead of the tunnel to see the marvelous high alpine and its founa and flora. We got famous Swiss Almcheese from a local Bio farm that tastes so good and served as a small lunchsnack when we made it over the pass. We enjoyed fantastic panorama views of the sourounding glacier.

The San Bernardino mountain pass, built between 1817 and 1823, was the first road for wheeled vehicles over a Grisons pass. It connected Bellizona with Chur or – on a larger scale the port of Genua in Italy on the mediterainian coast with southern Germany north oft he Alps. Set in the magnificent scenery between Hinterrhein and San Bernardino, examples of impressive road building scills from thw 19th century can still be admired today. Imagine all the centuries before the only posibility to cross the A lps was hiking or best horseback, and that was also the way to transport goods.

Then we drove down and down to the Italian side and camped for an overnight stop in Pavia Italy and had fantastic pizza in a small local trattoria.


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