I couldn't sleep well during this stormy night. The wind still hadn't stopped, but at least, it wasn't cold.
The Route to Altstätten goes along the Mountains. On my left, rocks and the main street, on my right a steep slope down to the lake which is surrounded by snowcovered mountains. Despite the strong wind, I arrived soon in Erstfeld, where I decided to take the train over the Gotthardpass. I know it looks like cheating, but the wind was simply too strong and the top of the Gotthard was closed anyway.
While I'm in the train, I start to think. How easy and fast a train is, while the same way with the bicycle would have taken me at least half a day. The view on the Gotthardmassiv with its rocks, alp meadows and the firforrests is really beautiful and to me it's a little sad, that I couldn't do the route with the bike.
In Bellinzona, where I leave the train, is it cold and rainy. I roam around the city, which is very old and surrounded by ancient castlewalls and towers. It is an amazing look from close and from some distance. But I continue in order to find a place to sleep. It takes me a long time until I find a spot next to an old cabin, where I can put my tent.
In the morning, all my stuff is wet and the first step I do after taking some oatflakes for breakfast is to buy new stuff against the rain.
I start to drive over the pass in direction to Lugano. It is good weather and I'm pretty fit, so I can easily master this pass. Every hour or so, I do a little stop in order to eat some cookies. At eleven am I arrive at the top and from now on the route goes all downhill. the firs vanish and more palm trees appear and it's getting warmer.
My gps brings me sometimes to unnecessary steep tracks. In Mendrisio for example, I took a street with 15% ascend and half a kilometer long. 20 Meter walk, 1 Minute break, 20 Meters walk, 1 Minute break and so on. But at least I see some typical italian backyards, where the breed chicken in the garage and so on.
Finally in Lugano. I eat my lunch and roam a little around. I like the gardens around the lake and stay there for a short time, then i continue again. Without even noticing it, i cross the border to italy and arrive in Como. It is already a little late and I hoped to find a place to camp but I got disappointed. The banks of the comolake are steep and the few free spaces are overbuilt by villas. So I'm forced to continue soon.
After a long while, I find path, that leads to a meadow and my gps calls it a campsite, but a pothole filled with water and the way overgrown with bushes lets me turn straight around. Somehow i manage, that my bike falls right into the pothole and my jacket and cookies which I stored outside the bags are now filled with water.
Not far away I find a place on a meadow for my tent. I am surrounded by woods and there's a beautiful sunset. I even do some long-time photographing as the sky in this night is clear and it's still warm.
