Zurich & a train ride around northern Italy
- Ian
- Jan 20
- 57 min read
Zurich: Milan: Genoa:
A month or so from Zurich, around the top of Italy and back by rail. Incredible scenery, fabulous food and great people along the road less travelled.
Zurich (& Milan, it hardly deserves it's own page given we were only there 24 hours)
30 March 2024
After a painless 12 hour flight from Bangkok to Zurich, we were welcomed by the snow-capped Swiss Alps and the lovely staff at the Central Plaza Hotel. Our early arrival time meant leaving the bags and making full use of the reception girl’s marked-up Zurich map.
The Central Plaza is located really conveniently, across the river from the train station and with a large tram & bus stop at the doorstep.
So off we went, nearly the only people out & about at 8am, our only hindrance being the trams and remembering that cars drive on the other side of the road.
We headed toward the lake, crossing the river at intervals and admiring the beautiful stone architecture from the 15, 16 & 1700’s. A quick stop for a cuppa and we made our way to the lake & a jetty that didn’t start to operate until 1pm. We continued around the plaza outside the Opera House (Opernhaus) and wondered about the manacled chairs, in random locations & gathered numbers strewn around the plaza.
Finally made it to an operating jetty so boarded the short term cruise, which actually was a normal commuter route but sounded far more attractive to tourists, such as ourselves. Fortuitously we grabbed the 10am cruise as when we returned to the jetty, it was full of queued patrons awaiting the 11:30am cruise.
Cruising the shoreline bore some lovely examples of obviously old money homes, complete with manicured lawns reaching lapping lake edges. A number of stops later and we realised a number of common denominators about Zurich.
You are almost obliged to smoke; there are ashtrays everywhere including at every table on our ferry.
Dogs go everywhere with their owners, including ferries.
And the weather can drop a number of degrees very quickly, making me thankful for dragging my heavy overcoat half way around the World.
After disembarkation, we strolled back to the hotel for a lovely lunch and were handed our room cards around 1:30pm. Bags unpacked, Mandy’s recharging on the bed and I’m writing this. Out & about later and for dinner.
The failed day trip to Jungfraujong, the highest weather station in Europe
31 March 2024
I woke (as in woke-up, not the other hijacked friggin’ abused phrase, starting well here hey) with slight trepidation ahead of a bus ride to the snowfields, something I haven’t done since 2019 in Chile. That day was interesting to say the least; wrong bus, wrong language, get left behind at a pathetic ski-field (worse snow for years in Chile), pass out, get my arms butchered by a part-time nurse, need a blood transfusion due to the amount of blood that she let (not really but close) and get helevacted to hospital (without taking 1 photo during the ride) and being discharged 4 hours later as the wonderful doctors & nurses couldn’t find anything wrong with me.
(Read more here: https://www.theweirytraveller.com/post/santiago-chile-cuzco-machu-picchu-peru-july-2019 & scroll down to Friday 19th July)
So you understand my trepidation now.
The body clocks have started to correct themselves so Mandy & I were up moderately early, still dark outside and not too cold.
Unfortunately the hotel breakfast didn’t commence service until 8am, the same time our bus left so we’d have to wait for an opportunity down the road.
We started walking the 1km to the Zurich Bus Centre, which we found still Under Construction, and soon located our appropriate bus, or should I say the mini-moke of buses (compared with all the others). The driver, Alex was a lovely guy and great driver; we felt really comfortable with his driving given that we’re both (or someone) is slightly nervous with others driving.
We headed off in the direction of Interlaken and the ultimate destination, Jungfraujoch (photo courtesy of some website, though wish I’d taken it from a helicopter, though not while being helevacted), the one place I was really, really, really looking forward to going on this trip. We did have a bit of concern as to whether we’d actually make it given the weather report we saw at 6am back at the hotel (see below).
The bus took us from amazing scenery to incredible scenery and back as we twisted through tunnels, around bends on cantilevered sections of road, sheer drops thousands of metres (nothing to freak out about though) until we made a roadside stop for a photo opportunity (see pic below) We reboarded the mini-moke, sorry, bus/coach (though I think I’m embellishing a bit) for Alex to inform us that unfortunately Jungfraujoch was closed due to 190km winds. And with that, as though sent by a higher power, a gust hit the bus, and I mean HIT, and gave us a serious shake up; then it was gone. Options were given, none of which sounded exciting so we’d just have more time in Interlaken and look forward to a refund.
We carried on nonetheless and made our way to a lovely little village, Lauterbrunnen, to stretch our legs, take photos and have a cuppa and some absolutely delicious carrot cake. We disembarked to the sight of numerous waterfalls, apparently there are 27 in this and the nearby area. An hour later we were on our way to Interlaken, & once there, be told that we’d be there for 5 & 1/2 hours.
So off we went, walking who-knows-where and enjoying the sights. It is a beautiful town and all around you see incredible mountainscapes, however, for one who rarely wears shoes (and then only for a few hours) the pace declined as the day grew longer. We eventually found ourselves back near where we started, opposite the main park, at the Schuh Grand Cafe Restaurant, which was obviously extremely popular with locals. The food was spectacular so we just locked in and took our time, observing the natives which watching the parachutists landing in the park, and the dogs bark at each other.
Time was quite static throughout our stay in Interlaken however after 4 & 1/2 someone was getting a bit twitchy, so we made our way back to the bus pick-up spot to find the bus not there. I immediately, internally, exploded with tremors and flashbacks of wandering a bus park in the Andes for hours looking for my bus, only this time I didn’t pass out. My wife, on the other hand was threatening numerous options of physical torment for our poor Alex if he was 1 minute passed the 4:30pm promised departure time.
In the end, is was all good, a great day, incredible scenery, great lunch and I’ll only need a couple of sessions with my specialist when I get home to work through a couple of issues.
Around Zurich for the day
2 April 2024
After the disappointment of the failed mission to Jungfraujoch, we decided to have a rest day doing absolutely nothing, other than reading, watching downloaded videos and going our for dinner & early to bed.
Mandy is starting to evolve and learn to sleep for 8 hours, so I end up getting up at 5:30am and reading the newspapers from home.
The day started as a wet one with a solid breeze as well, it didn't augur well for our next day of activity.
So breakfast was had in the hotel then we made our way to the transport vending machine located in the middle of the tram/bus island opposite the hotel. Numerous attempts were made, success coming around 10 minutes later due to total incompetence on our behalf and the fact that the people nearby who we asked for help were the only people in Zurich who didn't speak English. So with tickets in hand, we realised that we had to validate them, after walking a couple of hundred metres. We returned to the scene of stupidity, validated the tickets accordingly and took the Polybahn (a funicular train) up to the university.
Since opening in 1889, the slightly cute tram/train has made it way from Zurich street-level up to the Zurich University and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, so highly popular with students. And it's a short 100 second ride. Once at university level you're welcomed to a lovely view over Zurich.
The University building were beautiful as were the views, our Hotel noticeable (upper right passed the pedestrian crossings). Once back to earth we walked over to the railway station and found the train to Uetilberg, which rises 2,857 feet (871m) above sea level & the city rooftops. The 20 minute train ride from Zurich Central runs every 30 minutes and is an easy day out.We disembarked and started the last climb to the top, up uneven stairs, past the telecommunications tower & opening to a panorama of Zurich with the snow-capped Alps in the background. I noticed a very dark cloud nearing us from the south so some quick photos were taken and we headed into the Hotel Uto Kulm, a lovely old hotel at the peak. undergoing renovation of it's outdoor decking, this hotel would be absolutely pumping in summer. The building itself appears to have been built is phases but even so, it is truly worth the trip to witness the views.
Some refreshment was taken then we made our way back down to street level, the hotel, some afternoon resting and bag packing as we head off tomorrow to Milan and the Last Supper.
Train trip to Milan & The Last Supper
3rd April 2024
An early train had us both up at stupid-o'clock, Mandy as she had a terrible nights sleep and me because she had a terrible nights sleep. Nonetheless, trains had to be caught & someone decided to take over the management of the hard-copy print out of our tickets, without looking at them, then finally looking at then and whinging about why we were at the station so early & previously berating me while I whinged prior to the tickets being looked at about being at the station so early! Moral; I think we can work that one out.
The train headed out of Zurich along the west side of the lake, similar to the way we went to Interlaken the other day, and almost immediately the scenery became breathtakingly beautiful; something that would change at a given point down the tracks.
Lakes & tunnels gave way to more tunnels and lakes and lakes & tunnels & snow caps & freeways right beside the railway going in and out of more tunnels. Avalanche fences are built just above roads & railways, yes there's often another railway up or down from the one we're on, and roads with roofs cling to mountainsides.They're quite unusual but must keep the roads clear of snow in winter.
Clouds lingered low in valleys and waterfalls start to appear everywhere, some trickling while others making streams fuller while distant Alps slowly become invisible as the snow & sky merge into one. And the temperature drops, rather quickly, down to -6 degrees. Fortuitously we are in the cocoon of European engineering and design and no minus temperature is going to disrupt the display of awe that we're witnessing; it is truly one of the most incredible scenes I've ever seen.
It also reinforces the head start Europe has, or lag we have in our country (although we've done incredible well for our time) but the engineering feats in, around, over and through these mountains is totally gobsmaking.
We pass through villages full of classic old houses, still maintained, classic Swiss design & beautifully manicured gardens surrounding them.
I could go on and on but I think some photos could speak far more words than I could use to describe Switzerland.
It's been 23 years since I called into Switzerland to see old mate, James Turner, who was living in Verbier at the time. A different area in Switzerland, more near the Italian/French border and I remember getting the train around Lake Geneva and being driven up to Verbier, only to sit on his balcony for the night with my eyes bulging & my jaw open in sheer amazement of the view; this was a very similar experience.
Meanwhile, my lovely wife announced to me that she was "a bit Alped out"; each to their own I suppose.
After a few hours, 3 or so, the rain greeted us to Italy and the terrain became totally different; flatter by the moment until there was no form of elevation anywhere. Green fields abounded in all directions then the start of the urban sprawl began, with apartment blocks after apartment blocks, the less salubrious housing areas slowly making way, like any city in the World, for more attractive options until the suburban railway corridor took over and welcomed us to Milan.
Our hotel, The Hyatt Centric Milan Centrale was only a couple of hundred metres away from the station, so the map told us, so we had a nice 10 minute stroll around the Milan Railway Station building and down another street and we were there. On the way we saw the most epic display of Roman stone masonry: a hotel completely covered façade by at least 3 different kinds of granite (see picture below). It was absolutely appalling, but someone must have liked it.
The Hyatt staff at the Hotel, I must say, treated us like royalty upon arrival, to the point of Mandy & I looking at each other as though neither of us knew the joke. But not to be, they were incredibly welcoming.
We drop our bags, well actually the bellboy did, dropped our bags in our room and then headed out, grabbed a taxi & headed to the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie, completed in 1469 & a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to view The Last Supper. The ride there was really bumpy due to the brick roadways, no idea how old but they must play absolute havoc with car suspension systems. It was like driving on a corrugated road, and I mean everywhere.
We arrived hoping that the rain would stay at bay. A hearse arrived and a coffin was wheeled out and into the Convent followed by quite a number of mourners leaving the hearse drivers & staff on the footpath smoking; it is Italy after all.
Our hopes were dashed when the rain commenced and we finally found our tour guide, who issued radios & earpieces to her tour group and began the history of Leonardo de Vinci. As knowledgeable as she was about Leonardo, the major points we took out of it was the facts that Milan used to have a canal system, similar to Venice until 1922 (!!!!), and that Leonardo made it work correctly, and that Milan was right in line for foreign invaders of Italy to destroy it while making their way to attack Rome, or for the Romans to destroy it while they were making their way somewhere to attack & destroy somebody else. Either way, Milan copped if both ways, and also frequently.
Our turn finally came to enter the Convent via the security machines, airtight sets (3) of glass doors to finally stop outside the doors leading to the Refectory, which eventually opened for our 15 minutes of viewing. The actual room that is was house in was roughly 30 metres by 10 metres and approximately 8-9 metres high. The Last Supper takes up one complete end whilst the other is home to Crucifixion by Giovanni Donato da Montorfano, 1495. These 2 paintings are both incredible but in the same breathe both completely different. The Crucifixion is done in the fresco style of painting while The Last Supper, painted between 1495 & 1498, Leonardo tried an experimental technique using tempera or oil paint on two layers of dry preparatory ground. Unfortunately this compromised method meant it didn't permanently attach to the wall and began flaking a few years late. To the point that now only around 60% of the real painting remains for us to view.
We made our way back via another taxi and saw some interesting buildings, both old and new, along the way. Unfortunately we were feeling tired from our days adventure, so we didn't explore any further & decided to have an early. We walked around the corner and checked out some restaurant until we came upon the Norin Bristro and had some beautiful prosciutto followed by a Spaghetti Bolognese & Carbonara, good old traditional pastas, all of which was sensational, while Mandy had 4 wines, all for the luxury price of around 60 Euros; welcome to Italy!!
4 April 2024
Had a bit of a sleep in in Milan then went downstairs for breakfast, which was lovely. Had a very lazy morning in our room before finally checking out at 12:30pm. We walked back to Milan Centrale Railway Station to find a seat and stare at the departures board. That got boring pretty quickly so we resorted to reading out books until, finally, with 20minutes before our departure, the board told us that we were leaving from Platform 22.
We made our way through the suitcase towing hordes, and I mean hordes, to locate our train, an amazing come-down from yesterday's transport. After hauling our cases aboard we made our way to our seats, sure that there was something seriously wrong with the booking sheet, and squeezed ourselves into our seats. 15 minutes after the train departed we moved our cases and selves to different seats, apart, and settled in for 1 hour & 45 minute trip.
Apartment buildings appeared in row after row, street after street of 6-8 storey public housing style abodes through the railway corridor again until pastoral areas took over. Green fields, of who-knows-what, stretched with houses interspersed & a freeway flashes by carrying semis laden with goods from the Port of Genoa of heading to the Port for another load, either way, the bitumen is getting a serious workout.
To the left, south-east, mountains start to rise & flatlands make way for ambling hills, getting larger & larger, nothing quite like Switzerland, but enough to be unable to hike through without the help of a machete, so dense was the foliage. Villages with more apartment blocks start to appear with family homes on the outskirts of villages & towns. Tunnels are passed through as we get closer to Genoa, we've got to get down from these hills to sea level.
Passing through the Genova Piazza Principe Railway Station we make our way outside to the taxi rank where a nice young man loads our cases in his station wagon. We make our way down to the road that curves around the bay and adjoins our street. Our driver makes us aware of the old town area that we're staying in and warns us, seriously, that if we go out at night to turn left out of our street, not right as that's a dangerous area; comforting. He makes sure we take him seriously and reinforces to NOT take small lanes at night. He drops us off & I notice a Carabinieri, the national gendarmerie, Station 3 doors down from our apartment building; hopefully this will help the safety stakes.
We meet the owner of the Stayz apartment (https://www.stayz.com.au/holiday-rental/p8725817?dateless=true) , Sonia, who shows us around and points out the nuances of the building, from the front door, to the lift (which is approximately 700mm x 800mm and takes us 2 trips to get us both, and our bags, to the correct level). However, there are stairs that take us up to the final level so we have to heave our cases up then around turns and corridors to the front door. The apartment is 2 bedroom, a bonus if either of us decide to snore, with terrazzo flooring and has a rooftop deck with views across the Port.
Space is of apremium when everyone lives on top of each other and most apartments have a small rooftop space where tables & chairs & washing can be put out.
We unpack as little as possible & head downstairs for some supermarket shopping then some dinner at a great little restaurant, Cacio & Pepe just up our street, and an early night as there's thing to see & do tomorrow.
5 April 2024
While preparing for this trip, I researched quite extensively, not just the usual tourist magnet attractions but some more slightly obscure things to do. So we headed out at a leisurely time to try & find one of these; the Zecca - Righi Funicular (proclaimed to be 'the best way to feel like a real Genoan). The Old Town, where we are living for our 6-day Genoan experience, is a labyrinth of lanes (as previously mentioned) however we manage to 'stumble' on the lower Station, being located about 150 metres away from our apartment. It's around a corner, across a road and through a nondescript doorway to a ticketing machine (for non-locals only) that again tests the non-Italian tourists to a game of 'work me out'. With tickets finally sorted we awaited the funicular tram to arrive.
The train/tram line is 1,428 metres long and services 5 stops, all mainly on the upper half of the line. It connects Largo della Zecca to several station on the Righi hill making life a lot easier for locals who reside on the steep slope, hence they don't pay to use the funicular.
The train arrives and we board, the first section of track is a tunnel and finally we see sunlight again. We make a couple of weird stops in the middle of no-where, but realise shortly thereafter that there are 2, two-carriage trains on the line, each acting as counterweight for the other. So when the other train stops at a station, that we mightn't see, we stop in the middle of nowhere. There is a station (San Nicola) were both trains stop adjacent to each other; this is so they can pass each other and get back onto the single line above & below that station.
Built as two different sections of track, the upper was finished in 1895 with the lower section, a totally tunnel section, opening two years later, 1897.
From 1963-65 the whole line was totally rebuilt to merge both section and include a 'passing' section at San Nicola station.
It was again rebuilt in 1990 to accommodate longer trains, stations and higher speeds of the modern times.
As the train reaches higher level you get to see the amazing panorama of the city and harbour, until it arrives at the top station, Righi, where the views are absolutely spectacular.
The views over the Harbour and to the north east showing the centuries old fortification network that surrounded Genoa, something we only discovered once we were at the top.
Constructed in the 17th century to protect the City & it's Port basin, surrounding Genoa with more than than 19kms of walls, the longest city wall of Europe. Within the walls is the Protected Natural Area of local interest "Parco delle Mura", the Park of the City Walls.
The park includes 16 military forts & in all, 85 Bastions, built between the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, gems of a crown that has seen the wounds of time; since 2008 the Park has protected 617 hectares of green hills between the two main city valleys, Val Bisagno and Val Polcevera. The walls and forts are connected by over 16 km of roads and paths immersed in a landscape of meadows, pastures and woods, populated by animal and plant species, some protected because they are rare or endemic. (Source: https://www.visitgenoa.it/en/walls-and-forts)
The Forts are clearly seen from Righi, as are various parts of the wall.
If you enlarge the photo then zoom in, on the left you will see 4 forts while there are 2 large forts atop hills just to the right of the river.
There are also a number of walks from the Righi station, none of which we decided to take.
The extent of the Walls can be seen in the photo below; it's quite remarkable.
The return train arrived and we made our way back down to street level where we walked along to the Palazzo Reale, the Royal Palace, which I'd seen on a television program. In fact the same program basically set our minds to seeing Genoa and the surrounding areas; thank you Michael Portillo & his terrific series.
The Palzzo Reale, built in the mid-17th century, became a royal palace in 1824 when it was pruchased by the King of Sardinia, Carlo Felice. The builders, Stefano & Giovan Battista Balbi collected an amazing and one of the most important picture galleries in the city, as well as incredible furniture, objets dárt and Baroque sculptures. The building has been a national museum since World War 2.
It did remind me of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia (part of another trip that I must finish writing about) but less ostentatious out gold leaf everywhere. Nonetheless, the Museum is beautiful, with a view over the harbour, it also has some small lovely gardens. The major room that I wanted to see was having a photo shoot taking place in to and was closed; hopefully I can get back there this afternoon to take some more pictures.
Leaving the Palace we made our way back to the Genova Piazza Principe Railway Station where a lovely young girl at the ticket office sorted us out for tickets to Cinque Terre for the next few day, so you know what's coming next.
6 April 2024
We arose early as I had a terrible night's sleep, waking at 1am & not getting back to sleep, only to realise I hadn't taken my sleeping & painkiller tablets, adult supervision required at tablet time.
Nonetheless, walked to Genova Piazza Principe Railway Station & waited for our train, assumingly from Milan, to take us to Le Spezia where we commence our trip through Cinque Terre. The platform looked as though the youngsters were still going home from last night, we on the other hand feeling lacking due to us being the few older crew that didn't have hiking poles, of were they ornate crutches to help them not fall over; either way, we felt inadequate.
We boarded and started our trek, or do we have to have hiking poles to call it a trek? We started our trip through a tunnel which seemed to last forever going all the way under Genoa before stopping at the first station, a town with Genoa something in the title. The the next stop also had Genoa in the title and I was starting to hear alarm bells go off for those (me) who didn't have a clue as to where they (I) was going.
We made our way to Le Spezia without incident, thankfully, and Mandy decided that coffee was needed before boarding Cinque Terre Express. A short stroll out of the station and there was a plethora of choice. Back to the station and all of a sudden I recalled that it was Saturday and the platform was crowded accordingly. It was one of those moments when you realise you should've picked another day to go to the biggest tourist attraction outside of the Last Supper or the Leaning Tower of Pisa, competing attractions in the mid-west of Italy.
Americans, Chinese, some Australians, though we managed to hide, Europeans and even some local Italians graced the platform and jostled for space in the next train to turn up.
We decided, like 99.9% of the train, to go to Manarola first. After alighting, you walk through a tunnel and exit in the next bay to a inclined street, well pedestrian street as there aren't any cars or other sort of vehicles in the town. So we start our hill climb, or mountain climb if you like, slowly upwards thinking that it's going to end around the next bend, only to be proven wrong at that and every ensuing bend. The walk is fine today, slow & steady, and a lot easier than the walk up Uetilberg to the Hotel Uto Kulm in Zurich where I had to stop about 5 times to catch my breath.
We continued making our way upwards, turning & checking out the view every 50 metres or so. The view was incredible back over the town and also up towards the higher pastures and working allotments where wines & lemons were cultivated.
Once deciding that we'd gone high enough we digressed onto small alleys, and I mean between 700mm and 1.2m wide, that avail access to locals to get to their homes, up and down, weaving in & out of buildings and small plaza, again small being the operative word. Some gave fantastic vistas, like the one in the photos above, & some were just places to have a quick repose.
At some point, we started making use of the handrails that were embedded into the house walls either side of the stairs; it was either that or potentially take a nasty fall of a few metres down stairs. Directionally challenged seniors, such as us, had to make life threatening decisions as to which way to go, left or right, at T path intersections. But I supposed, eventually, that all paths & stairs had to go down, which proved to be the correct scenario.
Back on the main street, we made our way down towards the water and the crowds, and I mean crowds. Decided to remove ourselves from the throng by ducking into a lovely restaurant, order lunch and watch the rest of them dawdle by. Maybe I should carry a calendar or get a watch with one attached or something that will make sure I never do a tourist thing on a weekend again.
The restaurant, the Alla Marina Restaurant was fantastic and the staff wonderful, but the food was awesome & incredibly well prices. We ate until sated then walk up the hill a little to have desert, a coffee for Mandy, then make our way back to the Manarola Station for our next stop.
Next stop, Monterosso al Mare, 3 stops up the line, at the end of the Cinque Terre stretch of coastline. And what a beautiful village this is. The only village that has access by car, as well as train, it appears to be far more popular and has a lovely beach-side promenade with restaurant, hotel and souvenir shops. Heading south you eventually come to a tunnel that takes you through to the next section of beach, Monterosso al mare Beach, and a larger town area with roads, streets & lanes providing far more commercial opportunity. Mandy found one shop where she tells the owner that she'd like to take the whole shop home with her, fortunately the owner has no idea of English.
We stop for a cuppa then make our way back to the station after a couple of hours & catch our train to Levanto, where we have to get our train back to Genoa. We decide to buy an extra ticket and catch an earlier train as we are both pretty tired from the days walking however the ticket vending machine picks the wrong Genoa for us, remembering earlier that we was at least 3 Genoa somethings. Well we were allocated the wrong one and had to alight at one of them and ask a girl in the ticket office, who obviously really needs a career change, which train to get (we had NO IDEA) and she begrudgingly informed us. We had to go 1 station and it was a total ordeal for her, I hope she finds something she likes soon, or pity the ignorant travellers like us.
Back in a territory we partially knew, we made our way home then out, across the street to a small plaza (where we've come to know the owners of one of the small bar) for pre-dinner drinks, then around the corner for dinner of prosciutto and the sweetest melon (entrée) followed by mains of Spaghetti alle vongole (Mandy) & mussels (me), both delicious with a couple of take home treats, pistachio and chocolate canoli's. Then bed, dead tired and fulfilled!
7 April 2024
After a big day walking yesterday, 12,115 steps (8.2kms), we decided to have a sleep in & a very lazy day. Mandy & I leant long ago that sometimes it's best for us to sleep in separate beds, in separate houses, in separate suburbs with a small mountain range between us or we both will have a terrible night sleep; last night was one of those. So I made my way to the snoring room only to be woken by the kettle, whose volume was only a couple of decibel short of an Audioslave concert; (I watched them live from side of stage watching Tom Murello absolutely go nuts, of the best bands I've seen. Enough of that.) Boots does enjoy the additional attention too, when this occurs, of being picked up twice a night starting with me then transferring 1/2 way through the night to Mandy & having to be picked up again. But I digress.
Our day consisted of a late breakfast, me writing this blog, Mandy reading her Kindle, going across the road to the harbour markets, strolling around, having some lunch and returning home. I'm currently expecting Mandy to start whining for wine on the rooftop or maybe we'll go across the road to the small plaza for pre-dinner drinks, dinner then bed before another day at Cinque Terre tomorrow.
8 April 2024
We decided to head back to Cinque Terre and try to explore some of the other villages, so we headed to Vernazzola. After nearly 2 hours and 2 trains we arrived to an insane number of people, crowded street and cafes. It was amazing!! For a Monday. So glad we didn't go there on the weekend. It was actually a lovely town that wound it's way down, gently, to a small harbour, cafes & souvenir shops lining either side until you were met by hordes disgorging themselves from ferries at the water end of the main street . And that was the moment we decided to get out of there. So back up to the station to get the train one stop to Monterosso.
The little we did see, in the short time, of Vernazzola was beautiful. We just couldn't stand the crowds. It's no wonder it's a UNESCO site, this stretch of coast is truly spectacular and well worth a visit if you're in the vicinity.
After a 20 minute wait for the Cinque Terre express (a term everyone has their own definition of) we made our way to Monterosso, where we alighted and decide to walk along the promenade to the right of the station given that we didn't go that way the other day we were there. This village is really nice, less people (or maybe we were in front of the crowds) and very pretty. We eventually turned around and strolled back to the station and continued on south along the beach where closed restaurant, who had obviously made their weekly profits over the last 2 days, the weekend. We made our way through the tunnel under the Convent of the Capuchin Friars to the other half of Monterosso, the 'beach section (even though the other section has a longer and wider beach, go figure). Passing the Hotel Pasquale, the only hotel I've ever seen where you have to apply on the internet to stay at (???) we made our way under the railway viaduct into the town proper, well shopping area, to find some scarves that Mandy had seen the other day, and find somewhere for lunch. This was going to be the hardest thing we did all day. We circumnavigated the village, which was nice as we got to see bits of it that possibly no other human, other than a resident, had even visited, and made our way back to the start and there it was; the scarf shop. I continued on to find a table for two (finally) then went back & collected Mandy for lunch. Post lunch we strolled around the corner only to find a beautiful area with hardly anyone, restaurants, kid's playgrounds & beautifully manicured gardens & trees. Always the way.
We headed back to the station however taking the route up and around the headland past the San Francesco d'Ássisi, who's origins date back to over 800 year ago. It comes complete with it own WW2 turret below the Torre Aurora Restaurant 'castle'. It was the lovely end to our time at Cinque Terre and somewhere that we can cross off our list of places to witness & experience. Plus the train was waiting and Mandy was getting thirsty for some wine; unfortunately that was going to have to wait the 1 & 1/2 hours it took us to get back to Genoa and make our way back to the little plaza, the Piazza di Fossatello, adjacent to our apartment, and the lovely couple who own Fossatello's Border Cafe, that we'd become quite endeared with, especially at this time of day.
Pre-dinner drinks then off to Laiolo Antico Caffe for a quick dinner then home to bed.
Tomorrow is our last day in Genoa, so it'll be a day walking around and seeing what we can find for the last time, next stop, Bologna.
9 April 2024
Our last day in Genoa and there were a couple of things I wanted to check out that we'd either missed or were closed when we went to see them first time around. We first headed to the station to try to talk to someone about our tickets back to Milan, for today, and how we had nowhere to put our luggage; unfortunately no help whatsoever from the ticket office clerk, so we headed across the road to take the ride on one of the most unusual, and incredible pieces of engineering I've ever come across. The Balbi - Dogali Ascensore Montegalletto: The Balbi to Dogali Elevator.
I'm not sure what it is with entries to funiculars or elevators but the Italians like to hide them from tourists, they are, loosely, located on maps (within a 50m area) but fortunately I stumbled upon both that we've visited so far. This is the entry for the one, just a random doorway in a random lane. You walk 30-40m into the hillside, the light you can see in the dark entry is were the car will be when it arrives. It's only small as it trundles down the tracks towards the glass entry doors from about another 230m away, so you can see it coming, then you realise you're going some 280-300 metres under the hill (or small mountain, either way, you feel like a miner going deeper & deeper).
The carriage moves swiftly along a straight piece of rail, 230m (as mentioned) then slows to go into a 90 degree curve where it very slowly moves to a platform, that you can't see under you, and a roof section. The carriage then rises vertically nearly 70 metres to the little room up the hill at Corso Dogali where you walk out of a building, like an everyday natural occurrence. It really is quite spectacular.
Across the road from the elevator 'station' is the Castello D'Albertis Museo delle Culture del Mondo and a terrific view over the Genoa harbour. Originally the home of Captain Enrico Alberto d'Albertis, it was donated to the City of Genoa upon his death in 1932 and since 2004 now home to the Museo delle Culture del Mondo.
The view are spectacular as is the 'castle' and it's gardens. After a short stay we head back to the elevator & down the Ascensore to street level.
The other day we went to the Royal Palace, however 1 section was closed due to a film shoot being staged. Unfortunately this was really the only room that I wanted to see, I saw it on a television documentary, and it was rather ostentatious, so we headed the 200 metres down the street to the Palace. Mandy, alas, had left her ticket at home so I raced up 4 huge flights of marble stairs and checked out the room. It was nearly too much, again reminding me of the Hermitage, sans gold leaf, but what it lacked it certainly made up for in other areas or features, see below.
Heading back to the Principe Station, we purchased tickets for the Hop-on, Hop-off bus. Yep, that old tourist chestnut and essential mode of transport that shows you a lot in an hour which we make the most of when our legs are getting tired. We purchase 2 tickets from a vendor, which was an experience in itself, then hop-on and head through the Old Town with a strange man speaking Italian then English in our ears; though very insightful. We head through areas we would never have got to with the HOHO bus, incredible architecture, beautiful gardens and the coast, with an ominous storm brewing to the north-west. These buses are in every major city in the World and someone is making a truckload of money, however they are a great way to see any city.
Back to Principe Station and a walk home so Mandy can enjoy her regular, nightly wines from Fossatello's Border Cafe, some dinner & bed.
10th April 2024
We wake & pack, tidy up the apartment, take the rubbish out, it looks like serious rain coming. I notice an amazing little shop on the way back from the communal rubbish bins on the main road; a typewriter store with an incredible array of machines in the window; something you don't see every day. Down the 1 person/1 suitcase lift &, fortuitously, a taxi pulls up and takes us to the Principe Station. We head back to Milan, through tunnels carved into mountains, past villages, towns, with more apartment living. It’s hard to say how old these tunnels actually are but given the stone masonry, around the entrances & exit, one would assume they’ve been here for many years. These Intercity trains absolutely zip along the rails, when they can, though it’s hard to take photos from the train as the windows haven’t been washed for months, but at least we can see out of them, unlike to train back from Levanto the other day, the entire train was wrapped in vinyl advertising the Giro Italia. Unfortunately, they don’t use the same wrapping vinyl that we have in Australia, the Italian version you can’t see anything through, except an extremely blurry nothing. Trenitalia, not the best train service for intercity travel.
They have a serious lack of space for the storing of suitcases so we had to lie them down on the floor; the overhead racks are just enough for our carry-on luggage and the only other option is the space between back-to-back seats, which is taken very quickly by passengers who weren’t waiting at the wrong end of the platform for carriage #1, a common occurence. Rural setting open up after some tunnels as we make our way back through the mountain area to the flat plains of Milan and the centre of Italy. Towns appear with apartment building after apartment building creating a living zone while shortly after a commercial area is obviously the area of employment for those accommodated in the apartments. Then the scenery turns to paddocks again; this continues, again, and again, and again. Farmland, commercial zone, apartments,Town/village centre, apartments, commercial zone, farmland. It all flashes by as we do a couple of hundred kilometres an hour.
The train stops at Voghera & Pavia where waterlogged rice field abound either side of the train, apparently, as told by the elderly gent across from me. The Fermaggi factory, we soon pass, obviously processes the local crops of rice for risotto.
We arrive at Milan, which we are familiar. Once alighted, we make our way to the video information boards, the centre for hordes to congregate and see which platform their trains are departing from, then they’re off, racing, dodging and pushing their way to the relevant platform, with little regard for anyone in their way, just in case the train leaves without them. Eventually Platform 8 is the lucky winner for us, however the LED screen displayed carriage 1 being at the far end of the platform; we head that way. The train arrived & carriage 1 was at the other, near end creating a game of cross-over in the middle of the platform with an incredible log-jam in the middle, friggin’ chaos!
The second part of our journey, Milan to Bologna via Piacenza, Parma, & Modena will follow these plains, at 244kph. To the north, fields upon fields of crops while to the south (south-west) are the mountains we’d past through on the way from Genoa, the mountains that stretch down the west cost of Italy. The major stop appeared to be in the middle of nowhere, with a vast car park, recently planted trees and a spectacular station structure; Reggio Emilia Station. It's in the middle between Parma and Moderna, maybe a satellite station for the two larger cities. Either way, the structure is incredible and the hero of the stop. Steel beams are arranged to flow in and out toward and away from the train for the entire length of the platform, both side; it really is spectacular, in the middle of nowhere!
The Bologna Station is huge, underground and a labyrinth with up to 19 platforms. We find the taxi rank and, what seems like 10 minutes, we exit the station facility. We wind our way through Bologna and eventually arrive at our AirBnB destination; or at least what we think is.
Several phone calls to our host and we find our way to a young girl who shows us how to access the apartment, we drop our bags and head out. We're right in the centre of it, towers around us, even the one that recently decided to tilt one way. It's surrounded by beams and scaffold holding it up as well as to stop it from leaning into the largest tower in Bologna. It's like a sink hole opened up three months ago and the tower just decided to lean over.
University student are everywhere, restaurants and cafes servicing people, including us after a short walk. We end up back in the plaza outside our building, nice & handy for pre-dinner drinks, then off to Clavature Restaurant for dinner; Spaghetti Bolognese for Mandy & ricotta & pistachio filled tortellini served in a sage & butter sauce; both were great.
Home for a cuppa then bed, only for me to be woken around 12 by people still dining downstairs; unfortunately the apartment was really warm when we arrived so all windows were opened and A/C isn't available until May, who knows why but it isn't turned on somewhere and doesn't work for another 3 weeks, go figure. It's only going to be 20+ for the next 3 days culminating at 28 degrees on Sunday; thankfully we'll have gone onto Rimini by then.
11 April 2024
We've settled into our abode for our short, 3 night, stay in Bologna, though there are some deficiencies, like the verandah door doesn't lock and the wind can blow it open, like it did last night and woke Mandy up 4 times to inspect. ( https://www.airbnb.com/trips/v1/4bb80848-68a7-44f7-8bdf-8ae5903ee621/ro/RESERVATION2_CHECKIN/HMWMHXKE2X )
A lazy morning was followed by a walk for a late brunch, just across the plaza from our apartment.
We strolled around the local neighbourhood and took in some beautiful sites including arches, arches & more arches. Real estate piqued Mandys interest at one stage with some beautiful houses for sale in the window of a local realtor, couple of acres, beautiful house, pool, gardens but I don't think Bologna is really a relocation option.
Off we headed again taking in the Museo Davia Bargellini, unfortunately I was unable to take photos of the multiple Jesus murder paintings, blown glass pieces from the 16th century, ceramic plate pieces or the 17th century horse-drawn carriage, the feature exhibit. I was permitted to take a photo of the advertising poster however.
We took a few turns and found a nice place to have lunch, some pastries and a drink.
Continuing on we saw more beautiful architecture and came upon the big tower with the smaller leaning one; we immediately knew where we were. Taking another turn, we ambled down 'éat street', packed with lunchtime diners. Eventually we came out in, what was obviously, the main city plaza, Piazza Maggiore. University students sat on the ground everywhere so we had to weave our way across to the Sacrario dei Caduti della Resistenza per le Liberta e la Giustizia, obviously a photographic memorial to those who died in the cause for freedom and justice between 1943-45 (or as best my Italian can translate). One also has to remember that Bologna is quite a communist leaning city, mainly because of the university, the oldest continuously operating university in the world, founded in 1088.
Leaving the students behind, we made our way down several lanes & streets and eventually found ourselves in the Santo Stefano & Mercanzia Square, outside our apartment.
Downstairs for pre-dinner drinks at 051 restaurant/cafe and we stayed on for dinner, an amazing veal schnitzel with prosciutto & a cream sauce on top (wish I'd ordered it) and a sliced steak fillet for me, which was really nice also. Off to bed now & hopefully some sleep after last nights interruptions.
12 April 2024
A very lazy day spend doing very little, though we both did get haircuts, separately. I went to Sala de Barba across the plaza from our apartment while Mandy went to the other side of the apartment, on Strada Maggiore, to the Etoile Salon.
The sign on the window said in neon, or LED, Gino, so I suppose that was my barba's name. I always love rocking up to a barbers in a foreign country and getting a haircut; you never know what you're going to get as neither of you can properly converse to direct the other in what is required. I've been fortunate so far and never walk out looking like some Albanian punk.
His barba shop was over 100 years old, as he showed me with great pride, the 100 Anniversary book that had been published showing him with, amongst others, the former Italian Prime Minister, the Bologna Mayor and numerous others. There were also pages upon pages of letters from, obviously, famous Italian people, jazz musicians etc who had sung the praises of him & his shop. There were also photos of the original owners, I don't know if they were related as neither of us spoke a word of each others language.
He did have a great collection of old shears that I managed to espy & photograph.
The usual pre-dinner drinks were consumed at 051 restaurant/cafe with our lovely waitress, Silvia, then a meal in 'éat street', then home to read & sleep. The town is starting to get hectic tonight, Friday, and seats are scarce at all the restaurants.
Off to Rimini tomorrow around midday for a couple of day on the Adriatic Coast and a visit to the 5th smallest country in the World, San Marino.
13 April 2024
For our last meal in Bologna we decided to head to 'eat street' and have a feast of pasta. We strolled past a shop we went into on our first night, Mandy admiring all the hand-made pastas and chatting with the ladies who operated the premises. She was sure that she'd seen the shop in a Rick Stein show where he is amazed, as Mandy was, about the pasta so they take him upstairs and cook for him. The shop is astounding with dozens of displays of dozens of pasta varieties, amongst other delicacies. The front window display is pictures below; just gobsmacking.
The next day started with packing, then breakfast on the street on which we were staying; weekends must mean less traffic as cafe vendors lay their tables & chairs out on the road, delicately balanced on cobble-stones. I noticed an interesting method of moving that removalists just down the road were utilising; similar to a roofing tile lift but larger & could carry furniture to windows instead of carrying items up stairs; very clever! (see photo)
It was then that I had a light bulb moment, while trying to work out how to get a taxi to Bologna Centrale station: UBER. And with that, we were booked via my phone and 22 minutes later, Stefano and his lovely Audi A6 arrived, and we were off. Some 20 minutes later, while passing numerous sections of ancient walling that we hadn't seen in our travels, we arrived at the Centrale Station. But the walled sections piqued my interest, so I searched the internet to find out more about these, obviously very old, fortifications.
Apparently there were three sets of city walls that protected Bologna, all constructed at different times, the earliest believed to have been constructed around 189 B.C, about the same time that the Romans settled in the area, who called the new city Bononia. There is interesting reading in the 2 links below, I won't go into it, without sounding like some know-it-all.
For more on the walls and maps thereof, see these 2 website below:
We waited, as is now custom, with the other local passengers travelling anywhere & everywhere, at the large display boards until our platform number came up; and off to Platform 6 we went to await out train. After heaving our cases onboard we found our Economy seats in the Premium section and were served refreshments while sitting in leather seats; who's to argue with what our ticket said?
The countryside flew past at 178kph, as verdant as anything we'd seen anywhere in the World, crops & vineyards taking up every acre available while being overlooked by the mountains to the south travelling down the Italian spine.
It was only 55 minutes between Bologna and Rimini, with 1 stop, and a short 300 metre stroll, suitcase in tow, to the Card International Hotel; railway station up the road one way and town centre up the road the other, central again! We checked in, unzipped the cases and changed into some summer clothes as the day was already 26 degrees and sunny.
Heading back via the station, our untimate goal the beach, we ambled down a couple of streets until we came across the river and a nice pathway, though shared with bicycles. Private yacht moorings changed into a fishing fleet docking closer to the river-mouth followed by the 18th century, white, 27 metre high lighthouse, whose light shines for more than 15 miles. Built on the foundations of an older lighthouse, erected in 1754 and was destroyed during the 2nd World War.
We wondered why a crowd had gathered and found out that it is only open to the public
on special occasions such as Sea Day on 11 April, though today is the 13th it may have carried over the weekend, or for special guided tours.
We continued on towards the beach and came across the Routa Panoramica, the Ferris wheel in English, which was looking very bleak with no passengers. 10 euro each and were loaded into one of the gondola carriages, which seated 6 I'd say. Now, I'm sure that I've mentioned previously, maybe not during this trip but some other, that I have a fear of heights (if I haven't before, I have now). Mandy finds this most entertaining, especially when we stop at the top of the trip and swing in the breeze. The view, however, is spectacular up and down the coast bordering the Adriatic Sea; not really a Sea we'd considered previously but here we are. This part of Italy is a massive summer destination with something like 70 kilometres of wide, sandy beaches just waiting for Italian butts to be placed on it, and they currently are. Nothing like the height of summer but a lot nonetheless. Graders are parked towards the back of the beach, marked areas denote who has what section to cater lounges and umbrella's for however many Euros per day; a small fortune is to be made to the right entrepreneur.
After returning to Earth and alighting, we found a lovely little bar across the road, the Havana, where refreshments were taken, and in Mandy case, taken again, and again.
There are numerous bar & restaurant set-ups on the sand but we decided to opt for one on our way back to the hotel.
The barmen were both fantastic and when we were ready, the owner, who follows the sun to New York and Miami, once summer is over in Italy, called us a taxi, save walking in the heat. The hunt then began for a supermarket, for essentials, for the mini-bar fridge in our room. A change of clothes later & out for a nice pasta dinner, when in Rome, at Bar Tazza dÓro, very cheap price & delicious, then bed.
14 April 2024
Mandy had been doing some basic research and found some things she wanted to see in Rimini, so after breakfast we headed out, down the same street the hotel's on towards the 'old town', some 300 metres away. The day was starting off beautifully, light breeze and a top temperature around 25 degrees predicted. We walked to the Piazza Tre Martini, a large handsome plaza with shops, cafes and some barricades lining down the centre. There was a 'fun walk' happening for some reason, but I fail to see thee fun in the walk, but Mandy assures me that it is there, just harder to find for me.
A quick shopping spree in Danish shop in an Italian seaside resort with John Paul Young playing over the shop PA, an out-of-body-experience with we picked up a carrot sharpener; the lucky door prize for one Weiry Traveller reader; might not be steak knives but who wouldn't want this!! Competition rules & how to enter shortly!
Out of the shop & down the Corso d'Augusto to the Augustus Arch where we are informed that the Arch was built by the Roman Senate to glorify the emperor, Octavian Augustus and is one of the gates to a Roman City, not an honorary arch.
This gate, a symbol of the propaganda promoting peace & stability, was a section of the walls that was always left open; there were no enemies to fight. It's ruination was due to another Emperor from 1937. What's left of the wall are section that meander through the centre of a residential area one side and a park the other. If you follow it west you'll come across the anfiteatro, ampitheatre, that has obviously struggled to survive over the years.
We return to the station to buy tickets for the bus to take us to San Marino tomorrow, sorted, then back to the Piazza Tre Martini & lunch at Bar Dovesi which was fantastic, Tortellini in prosciutto & cream while Mandy had Penne Arabiatta, which was quite warm courtesy of the enormous amount of chilli.
Time then for a relax in the sun on our rooftop terrace overlooking the city, this hotel is great value. Plus Mandy is so happy to be back in a hotel after our Bologne AirBnB sweat-box with stairs and no tea towels.
SAN MARINO
15 April 2024
Up & at ém early as we had to breakfast downstairs then head to the bus station, only 300 metres away, but wanted to be there early to ensure we got good seats for the drive to San Marino!!! The sunrise over the Adriatic was spectacular and augured well for the remainder of the day, 25 degrees forecast in San Marino & 27 degrees on the coast. I took a zoomed in photo of a mountain inland from our hotel only to discover later, when we were on our way, that it was our destination.
The bus collected us from across the road from the railways station and drove around the fringes of Rimini picking up at various stops. 20 minutes later we were actually in the lower ground level of San Marino, then started our mountain climb, hairpin bends and guardrail-free, couple of hundred metre free-fall drops on one side. Nonetheless, the driver could probably have driven this route in his sleep given how adept he was.
We were dropped at a mass bus stop and left to fend for ourselves; with no ýou are here' on any information boards, we headed off. Feeling like sheep we eventually broke away from the pack and made our way inside the defensive wall of the City of San Marino, the country's capital city, located atop Monte Titano, located on the north-eastern side of the Apennine Mountains, at 749 metres.
The fifth-smallest country in the world with a land area of just over 61 km2 , it has a population of 33,660, as of 2022, with the capital hosting around 4600 residents. It is probably the oldest existing republic in the World and was founded in 301.
We meandered through cobblestone streets, climbed stairs and passed huge stone walls until we came across a beautiful lawn, complete with statues then the Crossbowmens Quarry & Loggias (look it up). Now I can't quite remember but I know that I have seen this range previously on television, maybe an Anthony Bourdain show; can't confirm 100% but I know I've seen it. The quarry was used after the crossbow tournaments, had been staged from around 1339, moved from the Pianello (the main square) to this location. Stone was extracted from the last twenty years of the 19th century and used for the reconstruction of the Public Palace.
We started towards the First Castle and, noticing how steep the walk was, headed up the road to the Second Tower and our comeuppance; a long steep walk to reach it. A couple of pit (breathe) stops along the way and we finally made it, and what a spectacular we found. Looking back to the First Tower, across the lower lands to the Adriatic Sea and inland to the view in the panoramic photo above.
Making our way down to the lower levels, we zigged and zagged our way down streets, stairs and finally fumbled our way back to the near the bus stop where we had a nice lunch (with very few options available) and hopped back onto the bus for our journey home.
Mandy is currently recharging on the bed while I'm typing away. We've both knackered from today's excursion with aching legs from the 3 hours of climbing & descending cobblestone streets. We have a whole day of nothing tomorrow and as Mandy keeps reminding me "only 7 years until river cruises"; what an incentive!
16 April 2024
While returning from San Marino in the coach yesterday, Mandy & I watched the digital thermometer rise the further we got back to sea level, ending up at 32 degrees. But it just didn't feel like it when we alighted. European temperature is different to Australian temperature, maybe they don't have a big hole in the ozone above them, but it is nowhere near as hot as what we get at home.
As previously mentioned, our last day in Rimini was always going to be pretty lazy, we only had a couple of things to achieve. We potted around after breakfast then made our way to a design store we'd spotted previously, though it was closed. I sent an email to the shop and they replied that they'd be open in the morning, so off we went to buy a small souvenir for Mandys new kitchen, some beautiful chopping boards, if chopping boards can be beautiful, and these are. I spotted them and didn't think Mandy would appreciate them but I was pleasantly surprised, she's evolved a little bit more. We met Giuseppe, the designer (he was most happy with the purchase) then headed to the Post Office where we, very fortunately, found one lady who spoke a little bit of English; well enough to package and send our latest acquisition home for us, at a cost.
I wanted to take Mandy to the Grand Hotel, on the beach, so we grabbed a taxi at the station (yes, slack I know but my legs and feet were protesting about the cobble-stone abuse they suffered the previous day in San Marino) and was dropped off at the back entry to the hotel.
The Hotel was absolutely beautiful in an old world sense, (hit the link on the name to check-out the website). Large spaces filled with vintage photos of Federico Fellini (forgot to mention, there's the Fellini Museum in Rimini as well, but we didn't go there), who used to reside there in a corner room , furniture to suit, (probably original), curved-door telephone booths in the hallways, and incredible gardens; all this and a private beach club across the road, unfortunately not set up yet for summer. We found a nice area off one of the bars and partook in some afternoon refreshments, Mandy some wine and a soft drink for myself. A Viennese lady's Shih Tzu took offence at us looking at his swimming pool though was licking us both after a couple of seconds. I think the lady was the only guest at the hotel, the only one we saw. She was delightful, her last day being spent catching some sun in a wind-free corner or the lido area, the pool roped off for pristine appearance once the 'season' opened.
A quiet stroll along the beach promenade, a taxi home then a stroll to the main plaza to find some dinner. Though in the morning, the weather App had been predicting doom and gloom for Rimini however nothing appeared to eventuate, until later in the day when we were having dinner, well a sort of dinner; more like leftovers , at the Bar Dovesi. Skies to the west started getting darker though appeared like they would miss us. We started back to the hotel, bumped into Giuseppe leaving his shop, then the wind hit us, dust, leaves, flotsam & jetsam slapping our faces. Once back at our room, still clearing our eyes of gunck, the view from our deck showed us the full extent of the storm; it had gone around Rimini but engulfed San Marino and the mountains to the east and hit further up the coast to the west.
Verona: Not only Romeo & Juliet
Panorama from our Stayz apartment with an awesome storm over the mountains (click on to enlarge to full screen)
17 April 2024
We awoke to a far cooler day and another market down the street out the front of the hotel; nothing worth buying, so we headed to the station, bags in tow. The train back to Bologna was running late about 15 minutes, but once on board it raced across the beautiful verdant countryside we'd passed on the way to the coast. Something to eat in Bologna and we boarded the train to Verona, home of Rome & Juliet.
We made it to Verona late afternoon yesterday and grabbed a taxi to our Stayz apartment,to meet the lovely owner, Rosella, who lives downstairs. The apartment is in the attic of the building & is fantastic; the best so far, with large lounge/kitchen with tea towels/diner, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a balcony with table and the above view; gobsmacking.
Rosella had it all ready for us, maps which were scribbled all over for all sorts of things we have to see, supermarkets, wine bars, churches & castles. I think we need another map now.
Headed to the supermarket, on the map in the next street, yep, it's there, and got the essentials, as we have a full kitchen, not that Mandy is going to make full use of it.
Unpacked and headed down to the small bar/restaurant, Bottega & Tavola, on the corner only to find it's bigger that it looks. Some wines later and we order some dinner which was delicious, to say the least. I think we might make it our dinner experience for our stay.
Mandy was particularly excited about the fresh salad!!
Back to the apartment to watch the clouds threaten then off to bed.
18 April 2024
After a great nights sleep & breakfast, we watched the clouds get darker and encroach on the mountains, then vanish & reappear continually throughout the morning. The rain stayed at bay though we did get some drizzle. The morning was extremely relaxing with the rain & amazing clouds structures; I could nearly just sit there and watch it all day; but there were places to see.
We headed our and started walking into the main area of the city until we came to the commencement of the old architecture, time to get absorbed. Through the arch entry we manoeuvred around to see the a section of the remaining city wall and the coliseum. The coliseum has recently been attributed to the Julio-Claudian era, 14-54 AD, a precursor study used to form the basis of the coliseum in Rome some years later. Like that arena, gladiators fought in staged 'hunts' with exotic imported animals.
We meandered through back streets trying to avoid the school excursions and tourists trying to search out Juliets (Giuliettes) balcony. We found our way to the River Adige, the second longest river in Italy after the Po, starting it's journey in Switzerland and Austria and making it's way to the Adriatic Sea on the east of Italy. A small cafe beside the river enticed us for a snack for lunch then we braved the drizzle again, wending our way back through streets and lanes while imbibing the beauty of the Veronese buildings & ancient architecture, even an old cinema that I totally enjoyed the façade of.
Back to the apartment and some repair work on the washing machine, then downstairs for another drink & dinner session at Bottega & Tavola and now off to bed; a big few days ahead as we've decided to stay 2 nights now at Bressanone and make the most of our Dolomites proximity, after all, we'll probably never be back here again. Next post in a few days, maybe Monday.
Bressanone & The Dolomites
19 April 2024
A couple of days ago, I decided that since we are so close to the Italian Alps, therefore the Dolomites, that we need to go and check them out. We had the base in Verona that we'd increased our stay at so our bags could be left safely behind and we could scarper off on a side-adventure.
What was initially one night turned into two; if we were going to do it and we didn't know what was ahead of us, one night mightn't have been enough. A correct decision that turned out to be.
We walked over to the station, some 15 minute walk from the apartment and boarded our 2 hour & 12 minute train ride to Bressanone / Brixen, not knowing what to expect, scenery-wise, of the trip.
Vineyards soon took over the vistas on both sides of the train as adjacent rapid rivers delivered the purest of waters from the Alps to the crops. Through a long tunnel, they seem longer but this one is around 2 minutes, and we enter the realm of the Italian Alps.
The valleys winds the rivers, the tollways & the train tracks, vineyards (in various stages of growth) & villages scattered every so often, every skerrick of land occupied by vines.
We catch a quick glimpse of Santuario Madonna della Corona (Sanctuary of the Lady of the Crown) built over 2,000 feet above sea level into a sheer vertical cliff face on Italy's Mount Baldo. Access is via climbing tracks but apparently the one from above is the easier of the two, if easier is a concept. It truly is stunning, even as we speed along the valley. We make few stops but Rovereto, a popular stop for alighting but more so boarding, where hordes of teens flooded our carriage just when we thought we’d got rid of the guys talking incessantly on his phone for the last 50 minutes. The end of any semblance of silence.
We continue on, smattering’s of seasonal leftover snow proving stubborn to thaw & join the flow to ground level, defying temperatures & gravity as they cling to the sides of the mountains.
Communications tower claim every peak for their respective providers, there’s a convoy of semi’s transporting goods either way on the freeways, virtually tailgating each other, giving little room for cars.
Mezzocorona being the last 'single name' station as we’re getting closer to the border and duel-language, Italian / German(Austrian), station names begin to appear; Ora-Auer, Bolzano / Bozen (where we were going to stay for the night but decided to go further into the Alps). I imbibe the amazing vistas of the mountains, every arable square metre is vineyards, no terraces, just planted straight onto the hills.
It is explained to me the next day that a lot of what I thought was vines for wine are actually apple tree orchards. These are grown along a wired vine, skinny trees, 3 feet apart in massive rows after rows, just starting to flower. I'm also informed that they are a variety of apples from New Zealand, particularly hardy for frosts and freezes; and THEY are EVERYWHERE mixed in with the wine vines.
Seriously rugged country continues either side of the train as valleys tamper to not much more than 100 metres wide, a waterfall every now and then & tunnels become more frequent, we stop at other peoples destinations, Ponte Gardena - Laion / Waidbruck-Lajen & finally at ours, Bressanone/ Brixen.
A taxi delivers us to our home for the next two night, the Hotel Lowenhof, and Mandy needs watering, well wine anyway.
We were given a business card, by the reception girl, for a taxi driver who might take us on a drive through the Dolomites tomorrow to see the sights. We rang the driver, James, and he turned up an hour later at our hotel, quickly discussing what we’d like to see. Unfortunately, we were interrupted by other people wanting his services, to drive them here and there; a good sign I thought, he's in demand. He returned later and took us to the Brix 0.1 restaurant.
Beautiful location, 1st course of lemon risotto with scallop & zucchini was outstanding, second course, 350gram ribeye, delicious. Really needed a protein hit after the pasta frenzy we’ve been on. Dessert an absolute treat with chocolate molten cake with raspberries, crumbed biscuits & lemon sorbet, so refreshing after the chocolate cake. This restaurant is in an idyllic setting, river flowing past with snow capped peaks behind, eider ducks paddling by, vast treed front lawn with white stoned paths & driveway, a fabulous structure dressed in a Coreten & glass sandwich, absolutely gorgeous!
James collected us after dinner, we confirmed everything up for Saturdays outing, collection times, duration & price and once back at the hotel, headed to bed; a big day of the unexpected tomorrow.
20 April 2024
Note: apologies up front as there are a lot of photos, I could hardly stop taking them, and to limit them to a few is a hard thing to do, so please bear with me. A panoramic teaser below.
James was early so we headed out along the road beside the freeway and left the main road, turning towards Selva di Val Gardena, with the Dolomites poking their heads out intermittently from behind other mountains. We arrived at the small town where we really started to see them, and OH MY GOD!!!!
I’m not a snow person so seeing these beasts was like seeing the Andes, when I flew over them 3 years ago, on my way to Cusco & Machu Picchu.
There were few words I could use that accurately describe them; strong, tough, sheer, imposing, belittling, monumental, overwhelming.....
We wound our way higher and higher, twisting with the terrain, hardly another car in sight. We reached a ski station, Strada Dolomites where I noticed the weather heading towards us, black and brutal, snow blowing up the edge of the road and across our path. But it was the perfect place to take some digital memories, so out I scampered, beanie pulled down over the ears, I literally ran around the Mercedes van taking as many photos as I could before jumping back in the back seat, the -2 degrees finding every exposed crack in my guise. And my guise for the day was 5 layers thick plus the beanie.
We wound our way down into the next valley, hairpin bends playing havoc with our stomachs, well mine worse than Mandys. I couldn’t stop taking photos or turning my head with the vistas simply incredible. We soon came across some ski resort villages, abandoned post-season, leaving those looking for a cuppa wanting. We drove on, town after town of nothing open, business owners having made off to warmer climes after making the annual takings in however-many months, leaving April visitors to bemoan their absence, and wait until dinner, some 6 hours later.
Speaking of April, it appears that is the month that ALL skiing business owners shut up and head off with none of the chairlifts, or any other associated ski businesses, open for the non-May-to-March visitors. The local mountain to Bressanone/Blixen, Plose, is tucked up tight for April with no-one disturbing it until May, we just get to view from a distance in the town.
Through valley after valley we made our way back onto a main road, passed the recent (late January) World Cup site of San Vigilio, then a turn-off to the beautiful Lago Di Braies, on whose bank stood the 125 year old Hotel of the same name.
This view was the icing on the cake, incredible blue water that you could feel the cold coming off while looking up to the snow-covered cliffs of the vertical mountain faces
Lake Braies is a breathtakingly beautiful mountain lake in the heart of the Dolomites and one of the most famous sights in South Tyrol.
We boarded the trusty Mercedes van and started making our way back to the hotel, totally satisfied that we made the correct decision to leave Verona and make our way north for the weekend.
Our route for the day, roughly and anticlockwise.
We decided to have dinner at the hotel that night, the dining room had to be one of the gaudiest rooms I’ve come across, thankfully we happened to get a lovely young man who was the penultimate waiter, damn fine at his job!
A large garlic prawn & Zucchini pizza was shared (sorry no photos as the food was that good we totally forgot about it), probably the best, if not, one of the best pizzas we’ve ever eaten. Mandy is not especially a pizza person however she even admitted that if all pizza had the pizza base that this pizza did, she’d eat room pizza than she currently does; it was so light.
The dining room was full, holding around 64 people without the overflow room next door and the Hoecker outdoors, the enclosed addition, I’d imagine that would be close to capacity. Around 120-130 I’d imagine; what a great business. And not just overnight guests like us; there were a lot of townsfolk who obviously make it a dining destination, regularly. In fact pizzas are coming out of the kitchen with incredible speed, nearly every table filled with empty pizza plates, except for skinny blonde & brunette sitting next to us who are delicately dining on sea bass, something Mandy would consider a canapé. Takeaway pizza's as well flowing out the front door.
(Sorry, just had to squeeze in some more photos, hope I didn't repeat any)
Dogs are barking/groaning under tables, though not intrusive enough for any head turning; it’s hilarious and wonderful to see, no misbehaving from any 4-legged-friend. The Jack Russell at the adjacent table, or under the table I should say, is scouting for any dropped morsel that he can pounce on.
And if I haven’t mentioned this before, dogs are allowed everywhere, and I mean everywhere. At dinner, breakfast & lunch, on trains, trams, funicular trains/trams, buses, cable cars, ferries, every form of public transport. Our country needs to learn something from this, actually, and a lot of other things that define our Nanny Nation. Time to grow up and evolve!!
21 April 2024
Once breakfast was consumed, we decided to have a walk and check-out an Abbey that James told us about, just up the road a couple of hundred metres; well, make that nearly a kilometre. We strolled via the adjacent river; you could feel the cold of it as you walked beside it. The Augustinian Abbey of Neustift, or Novacella Abbey, is an abbey that was elevated to the status of a basilica in May 1956 and received the honorific of a basilica minor by Pope Pius XII. The structure is made up of interconnected buildings, courtyards and also a graveyard. The graves dating from 1863 through to only a few years ago.
The vineyards overlook the grounds and also provide a tipple for the residence as well as stock for the wine store located outside the perimeter stone fence.
A production company was preparing for the annual Water Light Festival, which we just missed by days; apparently a fantastic display, akin to Sydney's Vivid Festival. We noticed a lot more installations as we made out way into town prior to catching the train back to Verona.
After some time exploring the Abbey, we made our way back to the hotel to check-out and wait for James to collect us. Once on board, we made our way to a church in the town, Bressanone Cathedral, again, a basilica minor. The Cathedral has a history dating from 980 AD with a 200sqm ceiling fresco made famous by Tyrolean Baroque painter, Paul Troger, his sole painting in the Tyrol region. The organ is another highlight with it's 3,335 pipes and 84 stops (the on and off pull/push buttons that admits pressurised air to the set of organ pipes).
Photo of our hotel with our room top floor left. Following photos include the Bressanone Cathedral & ceiling.
James dropped us at the station, we said our farewells; he really was a terrific bloke and a great contact for this region of Tyrol.
We sat n the opposite side to the trip on Friday & saw some additional sights; castles clinging to the sides of mountains, more vineyards and apple orchards until we met the divider tunnel and exited into the sunshine on the Verona side of the mountains.
A walk around our block provide little in the way of dinner, so after a few wines at our local bar, we strolled into the main plaza and the tourist catering centre of town, increased prices and all, a very nice pasta meal then a walk home to bed; chilled by the breeze, soon to be gale, and the falling temperatures.
22 April 2024
We awoke through the night to howling winds, rain and a general weather apocalypse. The wind is rattling the super-sealed, triple-thickness windows, planter boxes on the balcony are being blown around and we've given up on doing anything for the day, except maybe trying to get some dinner tonight. It truly is a horrific day; currently 10 but feels like 8 degrees.
Verona to Zurich to Samui: a slight temperature change
We left Verona in the same conditions as the day before, miserable, seriously overcast (to the point where my phone had no reception to get an Uber or make a call) and bloody freezing!
Because of this, we decided to walk to the Verona Porta Nuova Station to catch our train to Milan, then a, somewhat, connecting train to Zurich. The trip was just over an hour and thankfully the train wasn't an InterCity.
Backstory: InterCity trains are probably the bottom of the barrel in the train hierarchy. Very basic and have no room for suitcase storage; from Milan to Genoa we basically had to have our cases on our laps or sit on them, thankfully there was a spare seat that I could share with my 25kg case. Make sure you check what type of train you're on, or pay some more money and get a better ticket, which still didn't help us between Milan & Genoa. There are 3 or 4 different train providers, Italo are excellent (especially 1st Class), Trenitalia is Government owned, some are fantastic, except the InterCity.
I digress! We sped through the Italian countryside and finally got a glimpse of Lake Garda, where we were meant to go yesterday but were thwarted by the weather; next time.
We made it to Milan and headed outside the front entry as I had read last week that there was an art installation there. I'd noticed some scaffold being installed when we stayed the night there 3 weeks ago, but now it was complete.
"Milan’s Stazione Centrale appears to have a brand new tunnel punching through its public plaza – a dazzling optical illusion created by French artist JR.
The trompe l’oeil artwork is called La Nascita (The Birth) and takes over the Piazza Duca D’Aosta, a huge public square abutting the train station’s 50-m-tall facade.
The artwork pays homage to Italy’s golden age of railway travel and the completion of the Alpine Simplon Tunnel in 1906, connecting Switzerland and Italy, which turned Milan into a major transport hub.
JR’s previous installations in Rome also evoked the idea of a chasm or hole. This time, he’s drawn on the idea of tunnelling through the mountains – and the station building – to create the artwork, using many layers of paper images to create a sense of depth.
He told the Art Newspaper: ‘It is the first time I do something like this with many layers. The building is pretty intimidating, I rarely work on buildings that are this big. It took me a while to really work out how to get through that station.’" Source: Art Newspaper/Apple News.
Well that was obviously a PR agents 5 minutes of thought for the day. Having done a lot of music publicity back in the 90's, I find it, the Press Release, proof that their 'imagination bypass operation' was a complete success.
The installation is impressive but the expectation was higher given the article in Apple News. The other artwork, a massive Apple with the bite repaired, was excellent and made the walk outside worthwhile. That and helping the Asian lady find the Hop On, Hop Off Bus Stop.
We headed back inside the station and found a position to play "what platform is my train leaving from", a popular game played in railways stations across Europe. Everyone gathers by large LED screens and stares at them waiting for their train number to appear, in between ads for various products, and when it does, there's a stampede to the relevant platform. The second half of the game is just as much fun; though I think I've previously mentioned it. It's "Which end of the train will my carriage be", but seems to be more fun in Italy where I'm sure the railway staff LED screen operators like to have a little bit of sport and put the opposite on the screens to what is actually happening and then wait for people, like your humble scribe, to have to run the length of the platform to get to the right carriage; hours of hilarity to be had by all.
Just to help paint the picture, there is no numerical arrangement with the carriage numbers; they might (but very rarely) be in order, or, in the case of our Milan to Zurich train, start at 20 and go to 32 then the next is 1 through to 11. I think the Italians are having a ball watching on CCTV from a dark bunker somewhere, might even be in Rome, and high-fiving each other every time a train arrives and the ensuing 5-10 minutes of carnage before it departs again.
On we get, with a few harsh words every 10 metres to other travellers, get taken to the wrong carriage by my directionally challenged wife, then backtrack to the appropriate one to settle in for the next four and a half hours of tunnels and scenery, in comfort I must say.
The train headed out, looking for the Swiss border and the tunnel that is mentioned above, again, an incredible feat of human endurance and engineering.
Again, the scenery is breathtaking, only in reverse from 3 & 1/2 weeks ago, until we come out of a long tunnel on the Swiss end and everything goes up a level. Snow everywhere, village roofs covered, we check the temperature, it's -3 and snowing. Absolutely beautiful, just like Saturday in the Dolomites snowing (I'm sure I've mentioned I've only been in snow twice & once was Mount Baw Baw, the other time in Verbier with James Turner).
We pull into Zurich station around 6pm, walk across the river (via a bridge) to our hotel, the Central Plaza, where Mandy decides that the last night Schnitzel is just too good to pass up. Eat, sleep and get up again, this time to go to the airport, checked in and off we go, all afternoon and night to Bangkok. A quick shuffle off to Bangkok Airways and we're off to Koh Samui & our second home, Chaba Cabana, where we are met, very surprisingly, by the owner Kuhn Thanet, big hugs all round as we haven't seen him since my 60th birthday at Chaba when he decided to hand deliver mangoes from Bangkok & an amazing gold edged tea set as gifts. At least he had less security with him this time, it was lovely to see him. He may be nudging 80 but he's looking good, except for an eye & an ear not working.
Later in the day we met his wife and 2 sons, Cho-goon & Ong-sa, 9 & 6 years old respectively, lovely young rascals & they've been endearing themselves to Mandy since.
Jenny arrived last night around 9pm & it's glorious today, around 34 degrees at the moment & will get to around 40 today, tomorrow and every day until we leave, but, thankfully, a sea breeze today to take the edge off. This time of year it's usually starting to taper off with visitors to the island as it becomes stupidly hot in May & June. Unfortunately, it hasn't rained since we left in January and now the military are trying to seed the clouds as the drought effects are becoming quite severe.
So this is the last post for this trip & I'll finish with some thoughts & impressions from the last month.
Switzerland is expensive, Zurich is beautiful, Mandy loves it and we'll be back in 18 months or 2 years. We have to go to Jungfraujoch anyway having missed out this trip.
Italy is dirty; we have noticed this before when we've been there. Rome & Milan particularly, Genoa, Bologna, Rimini & Verona were a lot cleaner, I suppose it has to do with managing the size of a city/town.
It is also a lot cheaper, and gets cheaper as you go away from the bigger cities.
The air-conditioning laws are ridiculous & need to be sorted out for AirBNB or Stayz residences, or similar, or people will go to hotels, with air-conditioning.
Genoa & Chique Terra were great, and beautiful. The thousands of daily visitors can't be wrong.
Bologna, beautiful, stay in centre and you only need a couple of days.
Rimini, the surprise package, different, would be amazingly unbearable in summer but perfect for our stay, a cross between very old and new & everything in between, and close to San Marino, which is incredible, and steep.
Verona was beautiful but unfortunately the weather impeded our stay, will have to go back the year after next.
Bressanone & The Dolomites, OUTSTANDING, worth every cent we paid & will return.
The Italian train system if fantastic, just don't get an InterCity train with luggage. Pay the extra and get First Class or Business Class.
We (well I'm) planning our next sojourn to Europe, potentially merging the trip we were meant to have to Munich, Prague & Austria last year but couldn't because of my holiday stay in hospital, then taking a detour through the Dolomites to see Verona properly & back to Zurich.
Thank you all for following our trip, reading my rantings, and making comments, whether appropriate or inappropriate, throughout the last month. There will be more posts from Callala, Bali, New Zealand, the Baltic Sea and Alaska.
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