Mountain Castles, STELVIO! And a quick Nespresso in Lake Como

After being turned away almost a month ago due to poor weather I was finally on track to cross some serious Alps passes! But before I could run around in the snow I still had to cross Austria - thankfully the weather was amazing!

And in the distance a castle appeared! Neuschwanstein Castle rises above the area built onto a small hilltop; built as a private residence in the mid 1800s the castle itself is now open to the public. And wow...a lot of public had turned up! Tripadvisor told me they take groups of 30 up every half hour and judging by the crowd I was in for a long wait!

So deciding not to wait in the 2 hour line I jumped right back on the road and headed to the Austrian / German Border. ​

Amazing stroke of luck because as I had just crossed the border I noticed a suspension bridge HIGH above the road. Weirdly it seemed to connect two castles and decided to stop for a quick explore!

Some others may have had the same idea too!

So up I climbed...

And kept going, apparently a 15 minute walk...it was more...an hour...

But arriving at the top was spectacular!

Apparently there are not two castles up here but actually three; two forts which overlook the road underneath (which I could see from the ground) and MUCH higher up the main castle which is hidden back from the cliff face and looks down on both smaller forts. I'd managed to skip all the lower stuff and hike the back way up the mountain to the highest point.


The view was incredible!

And the walk over the bridge was terrifying!

The sun blocked the castle view but geographically its hard to imagine how they moved so much stone up to build a castle!

I made my accommodation with minutes to spare before closing (why do people cut off check in at 7pm!?) and next morning decided it was time for a quick check up on the bike - it'd had oil & filter but brakes were running...very low.

Unexpectedly they only charged me for parts! And whilst I was inside I got to see the new models, the salesman was very upset that I couldnt buy one, and I was equally upset that I couldnt test ride one. Unfortunately these are $20k AUD bikes but they look and sound incredible; apparently they've distilled their race bike feel into a package which looks like an old cafe racer but with none of the reliability trade offs.

Christmas present? Also the Stig was here! Or at least his black cousin! Can I say that?

Also the dealer had a huge collection of old bikes and leathers! I quite like the green ones!

So brakes now once more...braking... I was back on the road, racing south through Austria towards the Italian Alps

Quick stop for lunch because Austrian service stations have AMAZING food and I was back at it.

On the Austrian / Swiss / Italian border I saw a strange sign and went to investigate. Technically in Switzerland but historically only accessable via Austria is the village of Samnaun, which due to its difficult location has been anexed by Switzerland for tax purposes - meaning everything here is duty free! With the introduction of the Eurozone this status was never changed and so fuel here is practically half price!

There was also a huge street full of shops, however everything they stocked was...expensive... irrespective of the lack of tax so sadly no souvenirs!

Passing right up to the Austrian-Italian border I hit my final Austrian castle!

And then crossing the border! Finding this; an artificial lake which sunk a town - all that remains is the peak of the church tower!

And very thoughtfully they had a photo booth - press the button, wait 10 seconds and they photo is uploaded to their website; all you have to do is find the day & time and you have a selfie!

And then, creeping up from the horizon, the sign I'd hoped for!

PASSES ARE OPEN!

Deciding to call it for the night and blast around the mountain in the morning I grabbed the nearest accommodation, put my boots outside to air and grabbed a beverage!

Next morning, well, a photo tells a thousand words and all!

And so...game on!

And the road...wow...scary but incredible!

And so, rusty bits and all, it was time to fly!

Satellites...none...

Satellites SOME!

The guys in the very very stealthy car disappeared pretty quickly when the camera came out; I'd love to know what was underneath all the black blankets as it sounded amazing!

Check out the drops!

(continued on pt2)