SEA STAR TRAVEL LOG: A BIT OF BEAUTY IN SWITZERLAND July 2013

Italy, France, Andorra,- Savoie, Switzerland --"SO WHERE ARE WE NOW", I keep asking Dan as he bends the GPS Zumo to his will with some difficulty. " Oh, there is another Saint Bernard?"

Yes, and it happens to be a reasonable place to ride on the way back to Germany, and Heidelberg.

from Wikopedia

Great St. Bernard Pass (Fr. Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard is the third highest road pass in Switzerland. It connects Martigny in the Canton of Valais in Switzerland to Aosta in Italy. It is the lowest pass lying on the ridge between the two highest summits of the Alps, Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa. The pass itself is located in Switzerland in the canton of Valais, very close to Italy. It is located on the main watershed that separates the basin of the Rhone from that of the Po.

Great St. Bernard is the most ancient pass through the Western Alps, with evidence of use as far back as the Bronze Age and surviving traces of a Roman road. In 1800, Napoleon's army used the pass to enter Italy, an event depicted in Jacques-Louis David's Napoleon at the Saint-Bernard Pass and Hippolyte Delaroche's Bonaparte Crossing the Alps, both notable oil paintings. Having been bypassed by easier and more practical routes, particularly the Great St Bernard Tunnel which opened in 1964, its value today is mainly historical and recreational.

Straddling the highest point of the road, the Great St Bernard Hospice was founded in 1049. The hospice later became famous for its use of St. Bernard dogs in rescue operations.

Some photos From Switzerland. At the end is the perfect guesthouse before we moved on back into more high mountains.

Pitete St. Bernard, Grande St, Bernard 5

So here are our keepsakes of a wonderful trip- very light to carry! Below you may see 13 pictures of stickers we purchased for Sea Star red mobile BMW and see three individual flags I wish we had bought- that represent where we traveled. Hopefully I can later add maps, too.

Europe stickers

This is Germany's flag. We flew into Frankfurt and stayed in Heidelberg, then traveled south through the Black Forest.

Germany Flag clipart
from Clker.com

Next came Switzerland where we rode Alps on the way to Italy, and again on our way back
after French Alps.

From blog maps

Basque is an area spanning the France- Spain border with their own traditions and language

Basque. The degree to which they self-rule has been contested through the region's history.

SO- WHAT's Next?

Dan and I flew out of Germany 87 days after our arrival in the same place without a mishap during the trip. We are awaiting Stefan's return trip to Orlando by January 2014 to re-welcome Sea Star mobile to Florida- or not- if we decide to return to Europe for another round of travel.

From blog maps

The famous hostel at Bernard

Switzerland can certainly build roads!

Finally we arrived here for just one night unfortunately. A working farm. Adorable animals! Our little private cabin had a great view of the animals aand the owners allowed Dan to park the bike in a covered shed.