Sunday - 30 settembre, 2014

Sunday is the day of the week that Italians devote to spending time with family and friends.  Most people aren't home watching sports on television or doing yard work as we often did in the U.S.  Instead they are sitting in multi-generational groups eating and socializing all afternoon while their children and grandchildren play nearby. This past Sunday, we were invited to join friends at "Da Gusto", a seasonal family restaurant on Monti di Gottro high above Menaggio. It was an hour's drive from Como, first along the lake and then up a narrow, twisting road for several miles. Thankfully, we rode with Roberto and Kim. We left in plenty of time so we could get out and walk the last mile or so through an old village and up a scenic trail to the tiny village of Carlazzo.

We had reservations as did about 40 other people. Most of us sat inside because it was a cool day. Roberto told us he has been coming to Da Gusto for thirty years and they have served the same food for all thirty of those years. We didn't see a menu and no one ordered anything, the food just showed up to be served family style in the exact order that Roberto predicted. First the salume antipasto and bread, then polenta, then my absolute personal favorite ...pizzocheri, followed by another type of polenta (uncia), three types of meat (rabbit, chicken and beef), salad, cheese and dessert (crostata).  The meal also included sparkling water, house wine, and grappa with coffee at the end of the meal. The total bill was only 27 euro per person, paid in cash of course.

The meal began around 12:30 and moved at a leisurely pace for several hours. After lunch, people sat outside and visited while the children raucously played and ran around. Our group took a short walk  to a Alpine war memorial that overlooks Lake Lugano on the other side of the mountain. Kim had brought a quilt and pillows - the heavy meal and the warm sunshine definitely were calling us for a nap. I laid down on the hillside and fell sound asleep. Around 4, most of the families were rounding up their kids and heading back down the mountain. We drove back the long way, around Lake Lugano in Switzerland to end up a perfect Italian day.

The village of Naggio

Looking down on a foggy Lake Como

Piazza Maggiore in Naggio

Yummy pizzocheri (buckwheat pasta, potatos, greens, and cheese)

Our table (photo by Mauro Columbo)

Big fun for the kids

Post-parandial naps

Le Tre Amiche tour - settember 29, 2014

This fall I will celebrate my sixtieth birthday, a milestone that I must admit I am not looking forward to. Anne Morrow Lindbergh called sixty "the youth of old age" so I feel very lucky to have friends and opportunities that keep me feeling young and fully engaged in life. Some years back, two of my closest hometown friends and I made plans to travel to Europe for an adventure to mark our sixtieth year. At that time, I had no idea that I would be living in Italy and we would use my home as the starting point of our trip. So the "three friends tour" with Ellen, Anne and Jeanne became a reality this month and we began with several days of exploring the environs of Lago di Como.

From there, we let Ellen suggest places for us to visit because she had lived in Austria for a year during her university days. She wanted to re-visit the city of Graz where she had studied, as well as Vicenza (Italy) and Munich (Germany) where friends had settled. Since our planned route would pass right through Salzburg, I voted for a stop there so we could enjoy that beautiful city as well. We felt comfortable traveling in German-speaking countries since Ellen could serve as our translator.

Vicenza is located about 40 miles west of Venice and is a medium sized city filled with history and culture. It is best known as the home of Andrea Palladio whose "Pallidium" style of architecture influenced building design in the western world. The Villa la Rotunda which sits majestically on a hill is said to have been an inspiration for our White House. The balance and harmony of the 23 Palladio designed buildings in Vicenza made it an extremely attractive city to visit. We also saw a personal side of the city as we were hosted by Ellen's friends and enjoyed delicious family meals at their table.

Sanctuario della Madonna di Monte Berico (Vicenza)

Villa la Rotonda -1566 (Vicenza)

Palladian Basilica (Vicenza)

The next stop was Graz, the second largest city in Austria. It is known as a university city with six institutions and 44,000 students. The city center is very well preserved with original building facades and beautiful 16th century courtyards that are accessible from the streets. We walked up the steps of the Schlossberg hill to admire the view and the Clock tower that presides over Graz. It was interesting to see some everyday people walking around the city in traditional dress of dirndls and loren jackets.

Painted House - 1742 - Herzoghof Building (Graz)

Schlossberg - 1560 (Graz)

Hauptplatz and Town Hall

Our train ride to Salzburg was stunning as we traversed one of the most beautiful regions of the Alps. At one point, we had to get off the train and take a detour on a bus due to a landslide that had damaged a section of the track. Our hour on the bus turned out to be pure serendipity as we got an even closer view of mountain meadows, hilltop churches and Austrian farmhouses. Anne and I got off in Salzburg and Ellen went on to Munich to visit with a friend.

Salzburg is a gem; it has everything - natural beauty, a pristinely clean and historic Old Town, and a rich sense of culture. We took a tour of Mozart's birthplace, wandered through Mirabell Gardens, and visited the Cathedral and Residence Square. The next morning Anne and I went our separate ways; Anne toured the Fortress and a contemporary art museum and I signed up for the touristy "Fräulein Maria Sound of Music Bicycle Tour". Since I had been first inspired to visit Austria when I was in sixth grade and saw the Sound of Music on a class trip, I was in heaven seeing most of the film locations up close. We rode through the countryside on bike paths and unpaved roads as our guide pointed out the sights that were surprisingly unchanged in the almost 50 years since the movie was made.

Salzburg "Old Town"

Mirabell Palace and Gardens

Leopoldskron Palace

Sound of Music Gazebo at Hellbrunn

That afternoon, we took the train on to Munich where we rejoined Ellen. The days were still warm and the city residents seemed eager to enjoy the last days of summer as the outdoor cafes and biergartens were full. Oktoberfest is still a week away but we saw a preview as we sat with the crowds enjoying their liter sized mugs of beer.

Biergarten in Munich

The next day, Ellen's friend Fritz drove us on a day trip though Bavaria where we again saw the majestic Alps rising before us. Lakes and forestland create beautiful vistas. We toured two castles built by the infamous King Ludwig II who sadly died under mysterious circumstances at age 40 after being removed from his throne for reasons of "insanity". Somehow in the context of our current culture, King Ludwig seemed more like a tragic, isolated figure than a crazy man. Everyone can agree that the castles of which he oversaw the building are spectacular. Neuschweinstein Castle is said to have been the inspiration for Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle; in fact the preliminary drawings for it in 1867 were drawn by a theatrical scene designer. I had visited this area briefly back in 2008 when I had helped chaperone a school trip so I knew that I wanted to return someday. This time I had the time to hike up the trail to a bridge that provided a great vantage point for photography. We recruited a stranger to take a picture of the three of us there. As I look at the photo, I am so grateful for our friendship and this moment of time. Life is good.

Neuschwanstein Castle 

Linderhof Palace

The park at Linderhof

Le tre amiche 9/19/14 (photo by fellow tourist)

Riding the Rails - 28 settembre, 2014

Trains are my favorite way to travel. Someone else is driving, you can read, eat, get up and move around, all while enjoying the scenery that is passing by the window. In Europe, trains are generally on time and the arrangements well organized. In Italy, that's not always the case; strikes and late trains can disrupt travel schedules but I am learning to relax and be more flexible with my schedule.

During Ellen and Anne's recent visit to Europe, we used trains as our primary transportation. Like most of our visitors, they traveled by train from Milan's Malpensa airport to our neighborhood station in Como. Our plan to visit several places in Northern Italy, Austria and Germany while they were here created a route that was best served by the train system. We had seven days of travel: Como to Milan, Milan to Vicenza, Vicenza to Graz (Austria), Graz to Salzburg, Salzburg to Munich (Germany). We flew from Munich to Milan and then completed the last segment from Milan to Como by train. 

The most interesting part of the travel for me was taking a night train from Vicenza to Graz. We took a local train at 10 PM from Dueville into Vicenza and waited there for the train that was traveling between Milan and Vienna and scheduled to pass through Vicenza at midnight. The journey was to take about eight hours. When the train arrived, we found our sleeping car in which we had two rooms reserved. It was an Austrian train with compartments that each had two bunks that folded out of the wall. An attendant helped fold down the beds and oriented us to the rooms. We were asked to fill out a menu for breakfast and given a "gift bag" with snacks, a small bottle of wine, and water.

The sleeping car

Waiting for the night train

Ellen and Anne shared one compartment and I was the only one in mine. I was aware that there could be another passenger (of the same sex) assigned to my compartment but I was relieved when that didn't happen. The bed was comfortable and I enjoyed falling asleep as I looked out the window and felt the motion of the train. My friends didn't share my experience as they both struggled to sleep that night. In the morning, breakfast was delivered with the news that the train was running about an hour late. We arrived at our destination, a little bleary eyed but ready to hit the ground running.  

After the beds were made up

Watching life go by out the window.

Bischofshofen, Austria

Train travel, while more ecological than flying or driving, is no longer the more affordable option. Our airplane flight from Munich to Milan was actually cheaper than our night train from Vicenza to Graz. But when one takes into account the transportation to and from the airport and the fact that the night train also served as our hotel room for the night, it seemed to be a reasonable expense. Overall, because the experience of traveling together on the train gave us plenty of time to talk and laugh together, it was the ideal method to travel and enjoy the journey.

Scenic views from our window.

Joie de Vivre - 5 settembre, 2014

Geneva's Jet d'Eau

Joie de vivre...the joy of living. Yes, I changed languages just now because for a brief moment last week, we ventured into the French speaking part of Europe. Annie is finishing her three month internship at the World Health Organization in Genève, Switzerland so we took advantage of her proximity and met her there for the weekend.

Switzerland has four official languages, each of which is the primary language in different geographical regions. German is spoken by 65% of the people in the eastern and northern regions, French is the language of 22% in the western region, Italian by 8% in the southern region close to Como, and Romansh is spoken by less than 1% in a tiny southeast corner of the county. Luckily, since my high school French was never worth bragging about, we found that most people in Geneva were fluent in English as well.

Geneva is the second largest city in Switzerland and is located on the shores of Lake Geneva.  The Jet d'Eau which is a symbol of the city has been shooting a plume of water 140 meters into the air for over a century. It is truly a global city filled with many international organizations including many of the main agencies of the United Nations and the Red Cross.  The World Health Organization is a specialty agency of the U.N. with a focus on international public health. I felt privileged to meet some of my daughter's colleagues who represent many different cultures and areas of expertise.

Since the city is also known for being one of the top five most expensive cities in the world, we were happy to cross the border into nearby France with its more affordable prices. Annecy is in the Rhône-Alpes region of France and is known as the Alpine Venice with its scenic canals in the "Vieille Ville" (old town). Flowers abundantly spill out of window boxes and along railings and swans glide along the water in the reflections of medieval buildings. The outdoor cafes were filled from one end of town to the other with everyone enjoying the end of summer sunshine. The lake at the edge of town is surrounded by mountains and has the turquoise hue of a glacier lake. It is quite simply one of the most appealing places I have ever been.

World Health Organization headquarters

W.H.O. meeting room with simultaneous language translation

Annecy

Palais de l'isle

We returned to Geneva and spent the next day exploring the northern shore of Lake Geneva. We stopped in a village and shopped in the Sunday morning market filled with fresh vegetables, wine and bread products and then headed to Montreux which is on the part of the shore known as the Swiss Riviera. We walked 4 kilometers along the wide, flat trail lined with flower gardens that follows the lakeshore to Chateux de Chillon. This island castle is between 800 and 1000 years old and looks like a perfect sand castle guarding the end of the lake. Annie was able to hop on a train to take her back to her apartment in Versoix and we drove up into the mountains, through the San Bernardo tunnel back to Italy. Au revoir for now.

Château de Chillon