Tuesday 17th September - Wednesday 18th September.

Andermatt to Vaduz via Ilanz

140 kms

We are two days into our expedition and during that time we have basked in the glory of the Alps, climbed 700 metres to the Overalppass, descended the hairpins without colliding with the Ferraris, Lamborghini's, Maclarens firing their engines in competition, located our river, negotiated single track mountain roads with hundreds of feet drop to the floor, crossed a truly magnificent gorge and finally arrived in Lichtenstein fighting a nostril wind. Who could ask for more?  There was a little more- I fell off! again! Just grazed and my hero mended the stuck front brake.

We have been relieved to discover that we are still able to ride our bikes despite three days of sitting in trains, although it has to be said that the last ride into Andermatt was a stunning trip through the mountains. It also appears that this little train actually climbs to the pass as I discovered as I summited (that's sportsman's speak for getting to the top of something). Al kept that very quiet! More incongruous was the lighthouse that had somehow left the coast and plonked down at the top of the pass! Just to confuse the exhausted walker or climbed maybe. However, most folk seemed to arrive by car and what cars they were. I did not joke when I commented on the makes of the ones we narrowly missed. Truly a road for Jeremy Clarksons lot. (except for a little bit in the middle where the road became a track and we still don't know how some of the cars didn't ground).

We have encountered many a set of road works today. Must be the seasons for propping up the embankments - good job really. Today has seen us emerge from the high mountains and scenery which has been very mixed - fabulous gorges, beautiful hills, delightful houses, concrete factories and motorways! One constant is the river which is a beautiful turquoise but very low. These were the only two days of significant height gain, apparently which is a blessing on one sense but does reduce the amount of stunning views. 

Mary on the bridge