1500 kilometers of driving later, we arrived last night in time to catch the last of the sun and to look out across the valley. We are in an amazing place and I think if I practice letting go, I will soon really be enjoying the best of what a vacation is. Henry and George are a little further ahead than I am at letting it all go. Perhaps I can learn from my dogs.

The drive was long, even with a break over night in the mountains of Germany. We nearly didn’t get our room because check-in closed at 2030 and we arrived at 2055. The Germans take punctuality even more seriously than the Dutch it seems. However, since I had paid in advance and they like to keep things in order, we were admitted. I have made a mental note for the way back that we need to be there by 2030. The hotel was high up in the hills in a town with an ancient Roman fort and mineral springs.

We left the hotel yesterday morning at 930 and had crossed the border into Switzerland by 1015. From outside of Basel we ran into vacation traffic and went through the Gotthard Tunnel. It is 17km long and only one lane in each direction. Yesterday there were delays waiting for and going through the tunnel because it is the high season for vacation still. At a rest stop in Italy, I accidentally drove over the sewer tank dumping pit for RVs which was rather deep and resulted in a horrible noise from Astrid as I then had to keep driving to get her out of the pit. There doesn’t seem to be any damage for which I am really grateful for! However, it gave me about 30 minutes of freak out thinking as we got back on the highway.

Luckily, driving in Germany and Switzerland prepared me for the Italian drivers. I did see a Ferrari, a Maserati and a Lamborghini. Of course, they flew right by me!

The boys are having a grand time. They roam where they want to and there are lots of exciting smells for them to uncover. We’re sleeping in an old farm building, complete with the 17th century doors and modern plumbing. There’s no regular Wi-Fi so I will have some practice being off the grid. You might look for postcards instead 😉 Or you might just look at this one