How best way to get to Italy was the decision we had to make. There were a few options we could choose from. We were going to drive through Switzerland, but Lino would have needed a new pet certificate to travel outside of the EU, as you only have 10 days to travel through. Switzerland has a hard border with other EU Countries, and although we'd heard that not all were manned, we thought best not risk it.
Back to the drawing board - We knew we wanted to see Austria; however, if we did the East of Austria, this would have meant missing out Italy. So we decided to drive along the top of Switzerland and drop down into Austria, hugging the Swiss border South into the Italian Alps.
Looking at the maps, there were two routes we could have gone the free 180 road or a toll road, which went over 2000 metres into the mountains for £28 I think it was.
I consulted my paper road map of Europe, which is great as it shows all the different route types, including the scenic ones and toll roads. Highly recommend you do this if you ever go.
Another factor in the decisions was the cost of a Vignette, which is essentially a pass to drive on the Motorways in Austria. You would need to pay for a Vignette and the tolls separately, which would soon add up.
After lots of umming and ahhing we decided to opt for the free route and were so pleased we did. The views were stunning!
Not long after setting off there was a news alert which said the Swiss had closed the mountain roads due to a huge dumping of snow which we could have been stuck in!
There were pull-ins along the way where we were able to stop and enjoy the scenery in front of us. You can't see it on the photos very clearly, but this was the first glimpse of the Alps we had.
We had what we call a Balkan Breakfast for lunch, sitting overlooking the view. The Balkan Lunch consists of Bread, Cheese and Pickles - Delicious
Not long after we entered Austria, we decided we park for the night before waking and heading to the lovely Urisee Lake. The lake was dog-friendly and only a 10-minute drive from where we were.
I do wish I had gone for a swim, though, as the water was so much warmer than the lake in Italy where we went for a Swim. I was sat on the wooden deck thinking that I will regret not going in but ahh well another day!
The lake below is the first lake we stopped in once we had crossed into Italy. It had a stunning backdrop of the mountains and green hillside, but as I mentioned above it was rather cold at first.
But as seasoned Welsh outdoor swimmers, it didn't take us long to take the plunge. It was so refreshing!
Lino loves to Swim and as you can see in the picture, he was doing an excited roll around ha ha
So if you are ever in the dilemma of which way to go to Italy and you want to save as much money as you can I highly recommend this route 💚