A short day today that was going to be a morning trip and
back by lunchtime but due to ongoing road works on the road into Samnaun we are
limited on our access. The road is open from 11:00 until 14:00 and then again
at 19:00 this evening. The plan is to arrive just after 11:00 and stay a couple
of hours before leaving in time for the 14:00 closure.
All a bit of a pain but also a little exciting!
One of the group, Peter, has decided to hire a bike today
and go cycling in the mountains. He passes Hollie and I this morning in
Charly’s car on his way to the bike hire place.
We depart at 10:30 and I take the road towards the Swiss
border and the Engadine Valley which involves driving down 12 sharp hairpin
bends to the border and then driving through a gorge that is a bit of no mans
land.
We arrive at the border but do not cross into Switzerland
taking the road back towards Landeck again. This road seems to be in Switzerland
going one way and Austria the other! Hence no mans land. At the bottom of the
hairpins we pass through an Austrian border building and when we reach the end
of the gorge road we drive through another Austrian border post!
The ride out of Nauders is stunning and we manage to stop
for a snap, by the chair lift, as it offers
the best view of the village.
The drive along the no mans road is again stunning but in
a different way as it is through a steep gorge where we can see the main road
high above going through the various galleries.
Samnaun is isolated from the rest of Switzerland and
because of this enjoys a tax free status. A few years ago Samnaun was a poor
town with little tourism due to its location. They held a referendum in
Switzerland to see if they could be granted tax free status and the vote went
the way of Samnaun. They then improved the two roads into the town (there is no
other way in) with one of them having its road tunnels heightened and widened
so they could accommodate lorries and more importantly coaches with lots of
eager tourists ready to have a bit of a spend up.
It is now a very wealthy town where you can smell the
money! You can buy cheap tobacco, drink and various other goods although a lot
of the clothes and watches are very upmarket and even if cheaper they are still
extremely expensive. The Austrians buy sugar by the box full as it is much
cheaper and fuel is definitely cheap.
I think there is now a bit of resentment towards Samnaun
from the rest of Switzerland because of the money it is making.
The one thing you can’t take away is the beautiful
location especially on a day like today.
Of the two roads that lead to Samnaun we can only use one
because of the enlarged tunnels. Todays road works are something to do with one
of the tunnels.
I wait at the bottom of the road where the no entry
roadwork sign is across the road but it does say it is open at 11:00. Nothing
seems to be happening so I take the plunge and turn into the road, driving
around the no entry barrier, and begin the steep road with its very tight seven
hairpin bends. I love this drive as you don’t realise how high you drive so
quickly until driving along a road with a very long drop down one side! It is
only about twenty minutes to the centre of Samnaun but it is a fantastic drive.
Love it!!
We are okay until we reach the main tunnel and wait at a
red traffic light for what seems ages.
A couple of vehicles jump the lights (which in the sun
were a touch hard to see) and I think the same thing happened the other end which
caused the hold up.
Eventually we have a green light and through the tunnel
we go, through the road works that narrow the road down and then as we start to
come out of the tunnel some cars have jumped the lights and are coming our way.
You can tell they are in the wrong as they won’t look at me. Probably just as
well as I’m a tad annoyed and may say something I shouldn’t! The first car down
manages to move out of my way and he is definitely a guilty man as I’m trying
to make him look at me but he doesn’t! Ha! Cock!
As we emerge from the tunnel we can see where the road
shutting works are and it is very tight squeezing through but a nice feeling
knowing we can now reach Samnaun and also know where the problem is. This is
the point we need to be at before 14:00.
We drive into Samnaun and drop the passengers off close
to the coach park and give them a couple of hours to have a look around and
grab a spot of lunch.
Hollie and I stroll into town where she buys some fancy
lipstick and I buy lunch!
We sit in the sun with Doug and Penny before walking back to the coach to await
everybody.
It really is a lovely sunny day and the scenery is
magical with green mountains framed by an absolutely clear blue sky.
We are due to leave at 13:15 but are one person short so
I hang on a bit longer, sending Hollie out to find our lost gent!
We finally see him scampering across a field towards us
and once he is on board, out of breadth and worried, I pull forward hoping
Hollie will see us or we will see her!
No problem, we pick her up and proceed to the tunnel
where we wait for a green light again knowing we are early enough to get
through.
Even though we are early I still have a feeling of relief
when we exit the tunnel and all the road works.
It has actually worked out well today and we had just long enough in Samnaun.
We are back in Nauders by 14:30 with the rest of the
afternoon free to do as we please.
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