Autobahn Alps - Switzerland

We passed through the Italian and Swiss Alps on our way home from Italy. We did nothing more than stop at the McDonald's for food and fill our tank with some Swiss gas, but I still felt the need to take pictures. These are the Alps that you will see if you drive from Como, Italy to Basel, Switzerland.

This is right outside Como, Italy crossing over into Lugano, Switzerland.

And the Alps begin.

Pause for a little science here. The Alps are a crescent shaped mountain range in Central Europe. They stretch from the Mediterranean Sea north then curve east separating Switzerland and Italy and defining the eastern half of Austria.

The Alps were created when the African plate collided with the Eurasian plate causing all this uplift which is still happening today. The Alps are getting taller every year.

And we climb higher and higher. Notice the appearance of snow?

We switched back around and around.

During the three hour drive through Switzerland I kept begging my husband to pull over and let me get out and take pictures. After taking the picture I would stand there and stare (on the side of the autobahn) and gape in wonder. 

 Oceans are for some, rivers for others. Mountains are for me. Mountains are my holy place. 

I was born and raised at the foot of 11,000 foot mountains. Every morning I would wake up to watch the sun peak out from behind Lone Peak.

And every evening I would sigh as the sun slipped behind the Oquirrhs. 

I hiked in them. Skied in them. Escaped to them.

During this whole drive my feet ached. Not from walking in Italy, but from desire to discover what was around the peaks and valleys I couldn't see from the car.

I guess that just means I will have to go back. 

Right?