Passage

First leg of our journey: the drive from my hometown in Alsace through the length of Switzerland and into Italy.

In spite of the showers, Switzerland still always looks postcard perfect. This is just ahead of our crossing over the Gotthard pass (at 2,200m) whose still snow-covered peaks usually offers unimpeded views of both Switzerland and Italy. However, the pass was completely engulfed in clouds and fog so thick that we couldn't see further than a car-length ahead of us -- a scary proposition, given the sheer drop off the mountain side just a few inches to the side of the road.