Relaxing- almost

Return journey to Germany went pretty much to plan. Battery was relatively low at the start but enough to get to exactly 100km distant Tesla SC at Pisa. Then, instead of doing the coastal road to Genoa, headed northeast, inland, before again heading northwest towards Milan. The original planned route coming down.

Relatively fast  & upward gradient roads, thus consumption a bit high, and not knowing how busy Milan Ring would be, took a precautionary quick 15 minute stop after 184km, at a motorway service for a loo and fresh coffee break while car got small 12kWh/70km top up.

Then on to northern Milan for the main charge at a big fashion outlet store. Nice big new V4 Tesla chargers with full length cables that allow any car to charge easily regardless of where the plug is. While we went shopping and a coffee for 45 minutes,  car loaded to 94%, probably enough to get to Germany, but high San Bernardino Pass lay ahead. The BMW (most EVs) take gradients/terrain into account when forecasting range - it's a useful guide but an ever changing number depending on current driving style, wind & rain.

Now what do we need to remember??

Book data package for Switzerland, cheapest €5 one with a smallish data limit. However, if we needed to charge in Switzerland,  the Tesla App would only require a fraction. What could now go wrong?

Then into Switzerland, past lovely Lake Como, over the slow, twisting, single lane San Bernardino Pass, loving the hot sunny weather, large sunroof fully open, Spotify blaring out oldies from 60s-80s. Sensational.

After 240km, bladder & caffeine shortage made themselves noticeable. As we were about to pass the Tesla SC at Heidi Hotel, the first one that had failed totally on the way down, thought I could use up the unnecessary €5 data package I had bought earlier. Hooked up car, pressed the App and......? Zilch, niente,  nothing! 

Couldn't believe it! Then the penny dropped.  Having listened to Spotify for the entire 2½ hour drive in Switzerland, the data had all been used up! Cursing, I booked another €5 data package - the charge wasn't actually necessary but the old ABC rule kicked in - we had to use the hotel loo & café,  so car had to be charging, like it or not - Always Be Charging.

Then uneventful drive into Austria & Germany at Lake Constance. Some 771km, about 2½ hours faster than the outward journey and the average km/h increased from 65 to 100. 

Perhaps an interesting note for some: Tesla has always had to look for charging sites, the motorway service authorities very often didn't want them, so from earliest days they looked for slightly up market hotel and shopping areas, that might give them cheaper rent for chargers on their usually large carparks and benefit would mean, back then, rich EV drivers would spend money in the hotels and shops. This thus meant, most Tesla sites are off the motorway, occasionally with annoying local road rush hour/ roadworks jams.