Day 54 - Back Into Italy

Monday 18th August 2014 

Top tip from Mick: take your trolllies into the shower and give them a good stomp while you soap yourself down. Ring them out well and hang on the radiator, or if in summer, over the balcony. Voila, next morning a clean pair of grundies. Genius!
 

 
Veterans of the tournante
Anyway, it's Monday morning and we are heading out of. Switzerland for more equable environs. But not via the Albula Pass as intended. I had seen various warning signs on the roadsides yesterday and the folk at the campsite confirmed that the road is closed today.

So we backtrack and head up the road to Davos and the Flüella Pass. It's not a bad alternative, and soon we leave this playground of the rich and climb up and over Flüella.

It's one of those passes that are a bit sparse and unattractive and the run up from Davos is not very inspiring. But the run down the other slide is, as my mate Simon Fuller might say, twisty as a box of snakes.

 
On the road to Davos
It's cold but the sun is shining and we are on it!

From the bottom of Flüella we are soon through Zernez and head up the Fuorn Pass (aka OfenPass) towards the Italian border.
 
At the summit of Fluella Pass

The Ofen is much under-rated. It rises to over 2000 metres but quite deceptively on the west side. The temperature drop is the best indication of how high we are climbing.

We stop for coffee at the restaurant at the top of the pass, then continue on down some lovely curves into the Mustair Valley. Here a right turn would take us up the Umbrail Pass to the Stelvio heights, but for now we continue west and into Italy.
 
Pas dal Fuorn aka Ofenpass

I had hoped to find accommodation at the Gerda Hotel in Burgeis, where Charly, Mick and I stayed in 2012. But the dreaded Ruhetag strikes again.

In Germany, Austria and Germanic parts of Italy the Ruhetag, literally 'calm day',  is quite common in hotels and similar establishments. It is a day off for the staff and means the place is deserted. Guests can stay but there will be no restaurant or services on Ruhetag.

The doors are open but there is no-one around to check us in. So we leave and ride to the nearby village of Laudes. Here we find the Calva Residence. Fortunately their Ruhetag was yesterday so we are soon checked in.
 
Calva Residence


The view from the room

We take a stroll through the village and stop at a small bar for a few beers. They have the perfect menu for Mick.


Excellent House pizza
Then back to the hotel for a nap followed by good pizza in the restaurant. Nice place the Calva and an excellent starting point for tomorrow's ride up the Stelvio Pass. 


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