The Italian Lakes - Maggiore

We wanted to end our cycle trip by spending a relaxing week in Cannobio on Lake Maggiore. This was a two day ride from Como via Lake Lugano. After a long hot ride we arrived at a camp site on the western side of Lake Lugano with just enough time to put the tent up before it got dark. We ate breakfast by the side of the lake but had to move twice because of two very aggressive swans that wanted to share our breakfast.

Approaching Cannobio by ferry

We stayed in Cannobio a few years ago and thought that it would be a good place to use as a base for our last week. After a bit of searching around the town we found a self contained flat that was reasonabled priced to rent for a week. Cannobio is a small quaint old town on the side of the lake with mountains all around. These we used for day trips by either cycling or walking.

View of Cannobio



Relaxing on the beach in Cannobio










Friendly goats whilst walking in the mountains

 

Day trip to Villa Taranto in Verbania



After our week in Cannobio we cycled 20km to Verbania where we packed the bikes in bubble plastic and caught the airport coach to Milan Malpensa airport. Our cycle trip had come to end after 1200km and amazingly no puntures! 



Bikes ready for the flight home

Goodbye to cycle touring for now



The Italian Lakes - Como

The road out of Chiavenna was surprisingly good since it was a pure cycle path. This surprised as we thought that our cycling in Italy would be on normal roads. We had been spoilt so far in Germany, France and Switzerland with excellent cycle paths with good signposting.

First and only river crossing

The long straight road to Lake Como

20 minutes out of Chiavenna and we had our first experience of taking the bikes through water. It was difficult to see how deep it was but luckily the water didn't come up to the bags. The cycle path continued for about another hour but then suddenly stopped when it joined a main road. That was it. The rest of the time in Italy was spent on normal roads as we had suspected. The only advantage of this is that you can actually go faster as there are not so many places to stop and when it is a bit busy you just want to keep going to get it over with as soon as possible. We stopped at a small bar at the northern end of Lake Como and asked whether it was better to cycle down the east or west side of the lake. We were told that the west side can be very busy and therefore we headed for the east side and stopped in the town of Colico for the night at a B&B. This B&B turned out to have the best breakfast of the whole trip. The owner made almost all the food herself and it was a shame we were only staying for one night.



Varenna, Lake Como



Bellagio, Lake Como

iTranslate enables new friendships

After cycling down to Varenna we decided to take the ferry over to Mennagio on the west side of Lake Como and spend the night there. Mennagio was very busy and the only places left to stay were not so nice and expensive. So we cycled south to the next small town and stayed there. The next morning we caught another ferry over to Bellagio. After seeing all the tourist sights in Bellagio we cycled onwards where we eventually arrived at the town of Como at the south western corner of the lake. The weather was not supposed to be very good for the next 3 days so we decided to stay in Como for 3 nights. It wasn't very easy to find anywhere that wasn't fully booked but we eventually found a B&B. The room was self contained with a little kitchen and was part of the owners house. She didn't speak any english and so after trying to communicate we decided to try the iTranslate App on Phil's iPhone. This worked really well and the owner was so pleased that we managed to "talk" together. We used the App alot for the next 3 days and Phil installed it on her iPod and showed her how to use Google Translate on her PC so that she could use it for her next non Italian speaking guests.

In search of some better weather

The Galleria Vittori Emanuele, Milan

The impressive Milan Cathedral

The weather turned out to be as it was forecast but we still made the trip up the funicular to the top of the mountain overlooking the town of Como. The fog came down thick at the top so we didn't get to see the view of the lake. The next day we took a return train trip into Milan where the sun had dedided to come out so we spent a hot day looking around the sights. The last time we were in Milan we weren't allowed into the Cathedral because we had shorts on. This time we also had shorts on but now it didn't seem to be matter so at least we got to see the wonderful interior.

Leaving Como

No, only one, please!

Our last day in Como was spent picking up supplies for our ride west over to Lake Lugano. The rain had now finished and so justified our little break from cycling. It was good to get back on the bikes again and feel that sense of freedom when you start out in the morning not knowing quite where you will end up in the evening.

Over to Italy

About 25% of the way up to the pass

The day started with low cloud so that we couldn't see the top of the Splugen Pass when we got up. The forecast was supposed to be good so we just hoped that by the time we had loaded up the bikes and were ready to start then the cloud would have lifted. Luckily that was exactly what happened! The temperature was comfortable for our hardest ascent yet and we were strangely looking forward to it.

As before, the lightest gears on the bike made the cycling easier than we thought.


What a road!

 The serpentine turns obviously help alot. You have to give respect to those that thought of and built these roads all those years ago.

We read that it can be dangerous to cycle because of holiday traffic and particularly the groups of motorbikes. However, this being the end of the normal holiday season meant that the road was relatively quiet with just the odd motorbike that caused us no problems at all. The video below shows a little of the serpentine road on the way up and manages to give a good impression of how steep the road is in places.

After lots of short stops to take pictures, eat energy bars and to catch our breath we finally made it to the top. It only took a couple hours. At the top was just a desserted boarder control post. Ahead of us was the long downhill glide into Italy and to the town of Chiavenna where we will stay the night.



Iren with a big grin at the top!

The Splugen Pass is about 170 years old and was an important route over the Alps between Switzerland and Italy. After the San Bernardino tunnel was completed in 1967 (to the west) the pass lost its significance and is no longer open in the winter. It's now mainly used by tourists and a minority of people like us that think it's fun to struggle over on a bike with all our luggage rather than taking a leisurely drive or zooming over on a powerful motorbike.
 


The road down looked like giant steps

Down hill all the way into the distance

There was quite a wind blowing over the top so we put on our coats, and long trousers and free-wheeled for several hours downhill. It's actually hard work cycling downhill for long period of time as your forearms soon get sore with applying the brakes all the time. In the early evening we came into the old town of Chiavenna and after a couple of failed attempts found a great Bed & Breakfast.

From Lake Bodensee to Splugen village

Statue in Konstanz harbour

Phil in his waterproofs

After schaffhausen the Rhein cycle path continues to Konstanz at the western end of Lake Bodensee. From here we decided to take a ferry over to the northern shore to the town of Meersburg. The weather was unstable on leaving Meersburg so we cycled for a couple of hours in our waterproofs. In addition to the weather, the cycling wasn't so good here either as it was on a fairly busy road that didn't follow the contours of the lake.

Lindau harbour

The snow(!) covered Alps

When we reached Friedrichshafen we decided to cut our loses and take the ferry the rest of the way to the eastern shore of Bodensee to Lindau. The early evening sun cast a lovely light on the harbour as we came in on the ferry. In addition, much to our dismay, we could see the size of the Alps in the distance and that the rain had fallen as snow on the peaks. We had left our winter spike tyres at home and so trusted that the weather would be better and the snow melted by the time we would cross thr Alps. Lindau was the only place so far that we struggled to find any accomodation. We eventually got a room and found out that a conference in town had accounted for the lack of free rooms. Lindau was also popular for tourists as it is a lovely old city. We were keeping a close eye on the weather forcaste to try and make sure that we would cycle over the Alps in good weather.

Fantastic alpine views from the cycle path

The forecast for the next three days was fine but after that it was supposed to rain for a few days. To avoid cycling the Splügen pass in the fog and rain we needed to save a day. Therefore we cycled from Lindau and briefly through Breganz in Austria and up to St. Margarethen in Switzerland where we took the train for an hour up to Sargens. The train saved us about a days cycling and would hopefully mean that our trip over the Splügen Pass would be in fine weather. By now the scenery had become very "Heidi like" as this was in fact the area that the Heidi books were based around.

Shortly after leaving the train station we found ourselves cycling in what most people imagine cycling in Switzerland to be like. It doesn't really get much better than this. A dedicated cycle path along the Rhein slowly climbing up with the choclate box alpine mountain scenery all around. Phil was cycling with a big smile on his face for the rest of the day.

An alpine vineyard on the way to Chur

iPhone powered cycling

The cycling was now all up hill but using the easiest gears on the bike meant that we could manage all the hills albeit at a slow speed of about 5kpm at the steepest parts. We had a good nights sleep at Chur before the next days ride up to the start of the road up to the pass in the village of Splügen. It was pretty hard going and hot at times on the road up to Splügen village.  One long never ending hill towards the end of the day required a new tactic to help us up. We used our iPhones with headsets and music to give us that extra "umph".

Well kept old wooden houses in Splugen village

Leaving the Rhein at Splugen

We ate a good dinner and breafast in Splügen to prepare us for the last day of climbing up to the Splügen pass before the reward of cruising downhill for hours into Italy.

The High Rhein

After leaving Mette and Basel we soon discovered that Switzerland is expensive and that the Swiss franc is particularly strong at the moment. A very basic hotel costs much more than in Germany and France. Therefore, we've had three nights in a row in the tent. The Swiss campsites are all very good and are surprisingly cheap at around 17 euros. The weather has been hotter than normal for Switzerland and so rather than heading straight for the Alps and sweating up its steep roads we decided to follow the advice of one of Mette's friends and so we changed our planned route and stayed with the Rhein for a few days until the hot weather was due to get a bit cooler. This gave us the added advantage of being able to jump into the Rhein to cool off when we got overheated. The Rhein was surprisingly warm at about 21C considering it is fast flowing and comes from water in the Alps.

Ceiling of Bad Sackingen Cathedral

Phil obscuring the bridge in Laufenburg

Painted statue in Schaffhausen

Some of the notable small towns along this part of the Rhein that we cycled through were: Bad Sackingen (on the German side) with its historic covered wooden bridge over the Rhein and the impressive interior of the gothic cathedral. Laufenburg is an old town with two parts separated by the Rhein; the German part and the Swiss part. Schaffhausen has a domineering castle looking down at the rest of the old part of the town with many decorated building and statues.

Painted shop fronts in Stein am Rhein

Close-up in Stein am Rhein

Stein am Rhein is unusual with its many painted buildings in the centre of the old part of the town. The paintings are all very detailed and must take a lot of looking after! We did'nt see any graffiti here - I suppose it's difficult to compete. 



Cooling down in the Rhein

We have enjoyed following the Rhein. It runs wide and calm.The sides are lush and green so that sometimes it looks like the Amazon. You can sense the power of the Rhein both in history, by its location between different countries and by its physical presence.


The wide Rhein

Even so, we were awed by the "Rhein Fall". Although the fall is only 23m high, it is 150m wide, powerful and frightening. Just a short distance from the "Rhein Fall" we had swam happily unaware of the size of the fall upstream.



Cooling off by the spray of the "Rhein Fall"

 The "Rhein Fall" is the largest waterfall in Europe measured in terms of volume of water (600 m3 per second).