Day20, Italian - Austrian border

Border crossings among the countries of the EU do not include border patrol. One can blink and sometimes miss the signage marking entry into an adjacent neighbor. We crossed the Italian border into Austria at Brennero Pass (Elevation 4500ft) dropping out of the Alps for almost 2 hours without pedaling. Our top speed reached 74km/hr as the bicycles took the descent in stride. We recall the long six day climb from Venice. It is humbling to think that the majestic river valleys behind us flow to the Mediterranean Sea, while ahead the dropping waters will lead us to the North Sea. Such is the simple fact of a mountainous region; in our particular case, the boundary between Italy and Austria as marked by this divide. At one instant we stradddled the physical boundary that fed the waters of both seas. Now as we travel north we have made it to Austria, the fourth country of our bike ride.