Any Swiss on my Flist?

[elrhiarhodan]

I am working on a new White Collar story that puts Neal in Switzerland in the winter. I've tentatively set it in Bern, but I'm not married to that particular city. What I am looking for is an urban location fairly close to the Alps. A major plot poin has Neal leaving his hotel room and going for a drive at night on rather trecherous mountain roads.

In fact, it doesn't have to even be Switzerland.  Northern Italy or Austria will work too - I just need a city that is in the mountains with difficult driving conditions.

Many thanks in advance.

Comments

[attackfish.livejournal.com]

My dad spent a few years in Northern Italy in the seventies. The way he tells it, he spent most of it driving back and forth between Yugoslavia, Switzerland, and either Milan or Torino. If no one else comes forward, I may be able to drag info out of him.

[elainasaunt.livejournal.com]

I have a cousin who lives in the mountains above Lake Geneva. Gotta tell you, the Swiss keep those roads up like nobody's business - two minutes after the snow stops falling, everything's plowed and clear. There are even long overhangs in avalanche zones to make sure the road stays unblocked. Still, for someone not used to driving them, they might be pretty treacherous. I think you could go with one of the cities along the lake. Montreux, for example.

[kentucka]

I got those steep cliff, narrow road, tight turns by accident once. was driving from Kapfenberg (a small but nice enough city) to a tiny village called Pöllau. The Alps, even in summer and during the day can make you feel queasy, let me tell you. Should've taken the long way 'round instead of the shortest...

anyways, Graz and Salzburg lie at the edge, and Innsbruck basically right within the alps. I'm not sure how big your city should be, but Innsbruck has about 100,000 people.