Ticino-Switzerland : April 4 - trip to Bludenz, Austria

On April 4 Rick and I took our rented Smart car up through the San Bernadino Pass. I've never been through this pass on a sunny day - as usual, it was very foggy - which can be SO scary as we wind up to the pass. The actual open pass is still closed due to snow, but there is a tunnel also.

The last town before the pass is called Mesocco, and there is a very cool castle which guards the valley. From about 2006-2011, many of the stone walls were renovated - as much as possible. I remember stopping at this castle 10 years ago - it was quite a mess! This picture is taken from the castle, looking south, to another church on an outcrop of rocks. I'll have another picture of the castle on our return trip home blog date - April 7.

At least at this point is wasn't raining, and there was no wind. Here is part of the castle looking north.

We headed to Austria, via Liechtenstein, and stopped at the castle in Feldkirch, Austria, near the border. This is the inside courtyard of the castle.

Antoher view of the courtyard. We didn't get too many pictures here - it was cold and rainy and other parts of the castle had an entrance fee.

After we arrived in Bludenz, Austria, on April 5 we took a trip down the valley as far as St. Anton. A friend had recommended seeing the view from there, but we believe the view was probably from the local road, which is actually a mountain pass. Since we had the Smart car, we didn't want to climb a snowy pass, and took the LONG tunnel instead. This was a bad choice for us, since it cost 9,50 Euros each way as a toll for the tunnel, and then we had to buy a highway vignette. The next day, thinking the vignette was only for one day, I put it away. (it was for 10 days). We found ourselves taking a wrong turn and having to go on the highway again - just until the next exit, but lo and behold, we were pulled over and fined 120 euros for not displaying vignette properly! OUCH! Not good. :-(