Up on the Roof - 21 maggio, 2014

"On the roof, it's peaceful as can be

And there the world below can't bother me..."

From a church roof on Mt San Salvatore overlooking Lake Lugano in Switzerland

I like to think of the part of Italy where I live as the roof of Italy; there are so many mountain trails that lead to viewpoints overlooking the lakes and hills below. It is a reward on a beautiful day to emerge from the woods and see a breathtaking view into Switzerland or of distant coastal mountains to the south of us.

A cable car, then a ski lift ride for a view of Lake Maggiore

There is a classic trekking route that leads from the town of Brunate, just above Como, to Bellagio 33 kilometers (20 miles) away. The trail follows the crest of the ridge between the two legs of Lake Como. Several people had mentioned it to me but no one we knew had actually hiked the route. I bought a detailed map and hiking book and asked my friend Kim to help me call the rifugio to reserve two beds for us. (Better Italian than mine is required for that phone call.) I checked the weather and then and only then, told Dave that I had planned a little hike for us that weekend. 

We left right after breakfast on Saturday and took a bus up to Brunate where the trail starts.  We were treated to beautiful views the entire day as we walked along the "Dorsale Triangolare Lariano" sentiero (trail). We generally had the trail to ourselves but did see mountain bikers and a few other hikers doing shorter sections. We got lost a few times when the trail signs were confusing which resulted in some backtracking and scrambling up a hillside, but the distinctive geography of the area allowed us to always have a general sense of where we were. With our detours and a lunch stop, we reached our Saturday night rifugio destination in about six hours.

The Rifugio Riella is an old, rustic no-frills lodge just below the peak of Monte Palanzone. We had a delicious dinner of what we now consider "mountain food", polenta and goulash. There wasn't much going on in the place that night so we went to bed early. Luckily we were the only ones in our room with six bunks so we were able to use all six blankets to keep warm in the unheated space. 

We were up early and on the trail Sunday morning at 8 AM and we enjoyed the morning sunshine and warmth. We met an elderly shepherd checking on his flock of sheep and donkeys.  We walked by fields filled with wildflowers and enjoyed hearing the sound of cowbells wafting over the hills like wind chimes. As we passed Monte San Primo, the highest peak on the route, we could see the point of Bellagio in the distance so it seemed like we were just about done. It was just an illusion however, because it was another two and a half hours of downhill hiking on tired knees and feet before we walked into the glitzy tourist area of Bellagio at 3:30. We bought our ticket for the hydrofoil boat back to Como and had time to sit down and enjoy pizza and pasta. The best part of the weekend was looking back up at the mountains as we cruised by in the boat and seeing them from a new perspective. 

Trail sign

From the trail, looking back toward Como

Rifugio Riella

Mountain food!

  

From our room

Morning light

Mountain meadow

You find a cross at the top of almost every peak

From Monte San Primo looking toward Bellagio

"On the roof's the only place I know

Where you just have to wish to make it so

Oh, let's go up on the roof

At  night the stars put on a show for free

And darling, you can share it all with me...."  

(Carole King and Gerry Geffen)

Monte San Primo  (photo by random stranger)

Tulips and sand dunes - 1 maggio, 2014

This month's weekend trip was to the land of tulips. I have always wanted to visit The Netherlands when the flower fields were in bloom so we booked a trip for the end of April which also allowed our friend Jamie to join us. We rented a little holiday house near Noordwijk in South Holland close to the shores of the North Sea. This is the low country where the sandy soil and criss crossing canals create the perfect environment for growing tulips. Little did we know how fleeting the season truly is, as we watched the tractors clipping off the colorful flower heads just as we pulled out our cameras. These farmers are in the business of producing bulbs, not flowers so once the flowers bloom and are inspected, they are cut back so the the tulip plants can use all of their energy to grow the bulb. The majority of tulips sold as cut flowers are grown in greenhouses.  So the season of the flower fields is short and precious,

We spent a day riding bicycles by the seashore, up over the sand dunes, along the canals and through the flower fields.  A few times, I actually wanted to beg the tractors to stop so I could continue to photograph the beautiful colors but luckily we still found plenty of blooms to enjoy. Then we visited Keukenhof Gardens which is a showcase for the Dutch floricultural industry. It is open for only 8 weeks a year and it is where 100 floral companies show a living catalogue of their products with 7 million planted bulbs. It was an explosion of color and variety stretching beautifully through a park setting with ponds and mature trees so we definitely found enough tulips to photograph.

The Netherlands is an orderly and efficient country which is an interesting contrast to the Italian culture in which we have been recently immersed. We loved the roads dedicated to bicycle traffic that go everywhere; it makes biking safe and so enjoyable. During our visit to the seashore, we saw people of all ages bicycling as well as others inline skating, horseback riding, birdwatching and even exercising in a group. It seemed like everyone was active and enjoying nature as spring had arrived. 

We also had the opportunity to visit the open air museum of Zaanse Schans which has working windmills and a historical village. Riding, walking  and outdoor dining in the towns of Lisse, Haarlem and The Hague helped us see contemporary life in the provinces of North and South Holland. The country was celebrating "King's Day" on April 26th, which is a great excuse to wear orange and party in honor of the king's birthday. Three days in this beautiful and interesting place gave us the time to enjoy tulip season but let us know we need to plan another trip to explore the rest of the country.

Uh oh....here comes the tractor.

The North Sea, east of Noordwijk

Bike roads - flat and smooth.

Before cutting

After cutting

Keukenhof 

My favorite

Bikes rule!

Open air museum at Zaanse Schans