Bad Salt, Suedtirol - May 20

Egads, second night without WIFI - oh but you should see the view... I'll be doing some text only entries and update with pictures when I get home. So for now, just imagine a spectacular view of a long green valley, surrounded by snow tipped mountains. If you can't wait, google Kaunertal, Austria.

I said goodbye to the amusing little town of Spluegen to complete my tour of southern Switzerland. I barely managed to avoid my motorcycling friend from the night before, which was good, as I didn't want to find out how little he could handle that bike - watching him pull out the previous night, everyone waited for him to drop it in the driveway.
I rode through some really spectacularly nice countryside. Everything is very green and framed by mountains. Rode through St. Moritz, another enclave of the rich and famous - sorry Cortina, you loose. Gorgeous lake, mountains. It IS pretty nice.

The first pass of the day was the Julierpass (2284m). Highest one yet, but the approaches aren't nearly as technical as Spluegen. This makes for a much more fluid, rapid, and more enjoyable traverse. The road is wider, as are the serpentines. The descent on the south side is very open and fast. I was cooking down the mountain at 70+ - and still got passed by an AMG Benz and a 911 convertible. I then rode on through a Swiss national forest to the Ofenpass (2149m). and back into Italy.
I was heading towards Meran in Suedtirol for no particular reason, mostly a somewhat convenient setup for the next day. About halfway along a fairly boring and busy road I suddenly had enough. I wanted ot get off the bike NOW. I pulled over and pondered what to do. I was at a place called Martelltal, so I thought what the hell, I'll take a right and see where it goes. Stopped in a village called Morten and managed to strike out at two places. One didn't have a room ready, at the next one no one could be found - I was starting to get ticked off. I rode up the valley, stopped again - all sold out - grrrr. Another 5 km up the road, a nondescript old hotel/restaurant. Sure they have a room, in fact they're all free. 25 euros incl breakfast - excellent, done. I went for a nice walk up the valley, which made me feel better. Had a prosecco at some bar, even better. The valley seems to specialize in growing Strawberries, in fact there's a festival there every year. In addition, its claim to fame this year is that the Giro stops by as part of the monster mountain stage on the 27th. After riding up Stelvio, they finish in this valley, which has a serious climb at the end. Had a simple but tasty meal of cold cuts and the landlady talked my ear off till 10pm. Another fun day in the books.