Lugano, Svizzera
A good friend from Amsterdam, Roberto, moved back to Switzerland this summer, and really wanted me to come visit. And, having never been and wanting the chance to see a friend, I took the opportunity when it arose, which was en route to Sardinia. I’ve been spending a good portion of this summer in Berlin with my girlfriend Lena, and we decided to take a trip to Sardinia, and the easiest way to get there was to fly first to Milano, which is only an hour away from Lugano. So Roberto and another friend, Olli, that was just finishing his visit, picked us up from Malpensa airport at 8.15 and we drove to Switzerland. After having a coffee with Olli at the Lugano train station, he was off, and Lena, Roberto, and myself continued to Bellinzona, a town outside of Lugano, where Roberto’s sister lives, and where we were going to be staying. And since Roberto doesn’t have a license, I was driving his sister’s car. After a quick rest, we went to see one of the local castles, Castello di Montebello. It’s up on a hill with a great view over the city, and with a big grassy area to just chill out. There’s actually three castles in Bellinzona, and after Montebello, we headed up to the highest one, Sasso Corbaro. We didn’t go in either castle, but just enjoyed the views outside. We left and went back into Lugano and met up with one of Roberto’s friends, Giordano, who lives in an amazing house right on the lake, where we chilled on the dock, played some guitar, and fished before heading back to Bellinzona for the night.
The next day we headed up Monte San Salvatore. It’s incredibly steep, and there’s a high powered train/cable car that takes you up. The sitting compartments are stepped like stairs, so you remain sitting upright and comfortable despite being on such a steep incline. And halfway up you have to change to a different train, which is even steeper. More amazing views at the top, though. The lake, followed by the city with the Alps as a backdrop… amazing! And everything with a touch of green. Switzerland is amazingly beautiful. We picked up Giordi and went into town. Roberto had to drop off a fishing pole to be fixed, and we hung around the city to wait for it. Once ready, we headed to a nearby park with a little beach to chill out, swim, read, and fish. We met a friend of Giordano there, and Stefano, a friend of Roberto’s came later. Once dark, we left to get some dinner and beers.
Thursday we drove to the highest dam Europe in the Valle Verzasca, used in a scene of the James Bond film Golden Eye. They offered bungee jumping… but not for me. And again, amazing views. I think that might sum up most of Switzerland, though… We went again to Giordi’s house, and this time took the boat out onto the lake for a bit. The fishing was not any better there. And since we didn’t have a license, we had to keep hiding the pole every time a police boat came by. That night we went to some local bars and hangs Roberto goes to. In the morning we hung around in town for a bit before having to catch the hour long train back to Milano, and then the hour long bus to the airport. Luckily I had done this nearly exactly a year before, so getting everything straightened out went fine. Once at Bergamo airport, we checked in and got ready for the beaches of Sardinia!
Tags: Europe, Switzerland, Travel
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