Day 33 - Ancona,Italy to Seeshaupt, Germany

Yes that's right Seeshaupt in Germany. Despite what I said in earlier posts about not revisiting sites because we had to return via Italy and France I changed the plan ! Angie's emergency passport has been issued to travel home via Greece, Italy and France but then I thought once in the EU you don't have to go through any borders so lets go from Italy to Austria then Germany to Belgium then into France to catch the train. This way is toll free and we know the campsites and it means we can still use the hotel in Belgium that I booked in August prior to leaving.
We left the Hotel at 9.00 after a very good nights sleep, worth the money in the end. Traffic was heavy with the rush hour but we managed to get on to the main road that leads from Ancona and then on to the E55 to take us north. We grabbed the ticket from the machine as we entered the motorway and as the barrier lifted I wondered how much this leg was going to cost me in motorway fees. The weather was dry, sunny and around 26 deg and we made good progress. This part of Italy doesn't have to much scenery from the motorway but we had the iPhone plugged in playing some good tunes that helped. Once up to Bologna and on the E45 things improved from the scenery point of view. The Italian alps loomed over us ,wrapped in a deep grey , heavy looking cloud. The original plan was to stop around lake Garda but we were making good time so decided to press on. With Muse blasting out and the scenery improving we were really enjoying the ride. Massive mountains rose up on both sides of the motorway with tiny villages clinging to the sides. The sun shone through gaps in the low cloud lighting up each of the pastel coloured houses making them almost glow next to the dark green of the trees covering the mountains.
We continued to push on and the motorway was now clinging to the mountain on huge concrete pillars as we pulled up at the pay booth. Still in Italy we handed over the ticket that we had collected in Ancona that morning. The young lad in the booth asked for 38.96 Euro , I said ouch and he shrugged his shoulders and laughed, "but I've only got two wheels" I joked. Not bad for 380 odd miles I suppose. I handed over the cash and off we went soon crossing into Austria with only a roadside sign to let you know.
Ten minutes later we stopped and but the warm gear on, it wasn't raining but the sky was looking threatening and the temperature dropping like a stone as we descended into the Austrian side of the Alps. Never ceases to amaze me how a line of mountains can be so warm one side and bloody freezing on the other ! Another ten minutes later we stopped again and ha to pay another 8.00 euro, this got us through the Brenner pass. No tunnels just a two lane motorway on massive concrete stilts stretching across the gorges. We descended quickly now and as the motorway ended we rode through typical Austrian villages and towns. The fronts of the wooden houses still covered in Ivey leaf Geraniums despite the cold.
We pulled into the campsite in Seeshaupt at 7.30, just managed to pitch as dark fell. Strange this morning it was sunny and in the mid twenties an now it was that cold you could see your breath, still it was dry at least.
As I write this post it's pitch black and deathly silent other than an occasional Owl hoot.
Miles today - an enjoyable 499
Hours in saddle - 9.5