Switzerland to Italy by mountain passes

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We were sad to leave beautiful Switzerland today, but adventures in mountain passes lay ahead as we set off to cross the border into northern Italy. First up, we needed to retrace our steps from Preda back over the exciting Albulapass towards St Moritz. On we went over the Bernina Pass, which provided spectacular mountain views as well as the climb up one side and the hairpin descent on the other.
As we crossed the border into Italy, the Swiss border control officer stopped us to peer closely at the washing hanging above the back seat. Satisfied there was no smuggling going on, but looking quite bemused, he waved us on. His Italian counterpart had obviously seen it all before and with a nonchalant wave of the hand he welcomed us to Italy. This northern part of Italy is mountainous, green and beautiful. We found the towns and villages looked much more like Swiss or Austrian settlements than Italian ones, with just the Italian signage to remind us this was Italy.
Time for another mountain pass and we chose the Passo dell’Aprica near Tirano. Not satisfied with this, we continued up Passo del Tonale where huge gondola systems created patterns like spiderwebs up the mountainsides to ski fields. This area must be a popular winter playground as well as hosting many walkers and mountain bikers at this time of the year.
The final pass of the day was Passo della Mendola, heading towards Bolzano. It is hard to describe the impact of coming over the top and seeing the Dolomite Mountains spread out before us; a huge vista of stunning mountain peaks and in the green valley apple orchards spreading far and wide. After such scenery we were ready to find our hotel for the night. It is in a green valley not far from the mountains, and has turned out to be an apartment that is bigger than our little house in Woodend! What a shame we are not staying a week, but we will enjoy our upgrade for the night.

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