May 11 - Bar-b-que in the mountains

A beautiful, clear day in Lugano on Saturday. We were invited, along with all the other coaches and wives of the Lugano Lakers, to attend a bar-b-que at the mountain home of the head coach. Another coach picked us up and we headed to Cadro and then up the mountain from there. I know there are many hidden roads in the forested mountains - I always find it amazing that there actually ARE roads there! I was impressed that it was a paved road, although very narrow. We then came to a small group of houses and I thought we had arrived. Nope! We then continued the climb on a narrow dirt road, no guard rails (just the forest) and no room to pass if another car came down hill. Scary!!

We actually had a small caravan of cars as all the coaches headed to the mountain house, which is in a clearing under the mountains that are called the "Denti della Vecchia". (Old lady's teeth). Nobody was bothered by this ride - it was not frightening to those who are used to the mountains! I was really glad we were riding in a Mercedes 4 wheel drive. On the way down, I tried to take a picture with my iPhone - I was in the backseat. It's not a good picture, but you can get an idea what we were driving on. The coach's wife told me a story about coming up with her husband and their car did not have enough power to make the steep climb on the dirt road. She said her husband managed to turn the car around and drive the rest of the way backwards, utilizing the lower gear and making the car a "front wheel drive". Amazing!!!

We really had perfect weather and enjoyed ribs (costini) cooked over his outdoor wood fireplace. The house had all the conveniences of a normal house, although very small, thanks to a solar panel they installed for electricity. The clearing had a couple other houses, and also a path went through there which leads to Alpe Bolla - up at the top there is a Capanna - a place to spend the night and a restaurant, for those hiking in the mountains. We had a great time with great food and drink!

When we got back home, there was still plenty of sun left, since the sun is setting here around 8:45pm. Rick and I took a hike up in the mountains here in Pregassona, exploring a new path. We really had no idea where we were going, but we figured we would find our way back. This higher path led us to near Aldesago, which is a higher town on Monte Bre, and from there is was downhill all the way. Rick and I are both trying to exercise by hiking as much as possible, but we are really feeling it in our legs and knees. My trekking poles help immensely, but it is still TOUGH! We were totally wiped out when we got back. Phew!

Our chefs out in the outside fireplace shelter. And sorry, I couldn't put this picture down below. This blogspot is really aggravating! This is the 3RD day I've worked on getting 3 pictures on this page, and it won't even put them where I want them. So please excuse the disorganization of my site!

Another side story:  in the beginning I showed a picture of the garbage truck here. Garbage is put in a container which goes quite deep into the ground. The garbage truck pulls out the long cylinder and empties it into the truck. Every time Rick throws something away, he thinks "what if you throw something out by accident? It must be impossible to retrieve it!" So the other day we were sitting on our balcony and noticed a car stopped in the middle of the bus turn-around. Then we see the baker from the Pasticceria below us helping a woman by the garbage chut. He had a very long pole and they were trying to retrieve something from the garbage. Well, it was her car keys! She apparently hopped out of the car to throw away her garbage, with her keys in her hand, and they fell down in there too. The baker got her keys out! Now we know what happens if you thrown something out by accident. :-)

Rick enjoying his ribs!



We are driving down this dirt road with a drop off, no guard rail. Yikes!






May 9 - The Sentiero delle Olivi

Today was a holiday in Switzerland, so as usual, everything is closed (except for a few places like restaurants). It was a nice day, so Rick and I decided to take the bus to the town of Ruvigliana, which is on Monte Bré – just a short distance from us. From Ruvigliana we made our way down the mountainside, until we came to Castagnola. There we began a hike down the “Sentiero delle Olivi” which ends in the town of Gandria down the coast.

In the pictures below, take note of the garage we saw along the way. It was an open garage, like a carport (you can see the front end of a car on the right). It was open on the other side to get the view of the lake and mountains, with also a cut-out in the ceiling. The floor was perfectly clean. And this was just the garage! I can’t imagine what the house must have looked like – we can only see the rooftop of the house, since it’s on the mountainside – the road and garage are above and the house is below. I’d like to ring the door bell and ask if I can camp in their garage…. J

Since we began in Castagnola, our hike was downhill or flat. At one point the path hugs the cliffs along the lake. There are a number of homes and a couple of hotels along this path, with no access to a road. You either have to hike there or take a boat. We also stumbled upon the Lido San Domenico, a small park with a café, locker rooms, and a swim area. We never knew this existed! It was a perfect place to stop and enjoy the view and have a cappuccino.

A little further down the path there was a hotel which had a terrace over the water where people were having lunch. Another hidden gem that had escaped us during our year stay here (and I thought I had discovered everything!) Our entire hike from Castagnola to Gandria took 1 ½ hours, which included our cappuccino stop. We arrived in Gandria just in time to take the boat back to Lugano.

View from the path between Ruvigliana and Castagnola

The amazing GARAGE with a view and sun roof. The flat area just out from the garage is the roof of the house.

At the Lido San Domenico along the Sentiero delle Olivi

My favorite view in Gandria, from the dock as we waiting for our boat.

Rick waiting for our boat

Gandria from the boat

Lugano from the boat. Monte Bre is on the right. All the houses up and down the right side of the picture on the mountain are Ruvigliana and Castagnola.

May 7 - From Neuchatel to Luzern to Lugano

The evening of May 6, Rick and I went to bed very early. We were exhausted from a day of sightseeing. So of course we were up by 5:30! We took advantage of a full day to make a few stops on our way home from Neuchatel to Lugano, so we began with a 7:24am train. When you buy a longer distance ticket in Switzerland, you can get on and off the train, along the route, as much as you want on the date stamped on the ticket.

From Neuchatel we got off in Olten. We had briefly seen this town from the train 8 years ago. The old city center is a short walk from the train station (which is the case in most Swiss towns). Since we were there so early in the morning, everything was closed – not even a café to get a cappuccino (at least in the old center). We hopped on the next train 30 minutes later after our quick look. 10 minutes down the track is the town of Aarburg, and well, that old city center was a little further from the train, but we got off because we knew there was a castle. As it was too far to walk to, we got a quick picture and continued on the next train.

We had seen this castle on TV. Early in the morning, there is a TV show which shows “Switzerland from up High”. They do different regions and show everything from either a small plane or helicopter. Watching this show makes you want to get out and see every corner of the country!

From Aarburg we went to Luzern. We have been there several times before, but nothing beats Luzern. The old town center is charming, then there is the river, lake and surrounding mountains – very romantic! We enjoyed a few hours of shopping, lunch, and gelato in Luzern before taking our train to Lugano. Even though we have traveled this route so many times, for some reason, the scenery seemed so different. I think it was the fact that everything turned green and the trees were full. Even just a few weeks prior when we were on the same train, the countryside looked different because it was all still brown. I think it was just the “spring glow” that made it look especially nice!

Castle in Aarburg

Luzern!

Luzern. the water is quite high this spring.

Found a little corner in Luzern with this funny building with slanted windows

Beautiful Luzern

Train ride home. This is between Luzern and Arth Goldau.

On the train, south of Arth Goldau



The church in the town of Wassen, just north of the San Gottardo Tunnel. The train has to loop around in the mountains to go up in altitude before going through the tunnel. We are rewarded with about 7 different views of this church as we come in and out of looping tunnels.



May 5-6 Neuchatel, Switzerland

Rick and I stayed in Neuchatel after the football game. We had not been up in this area of French speaking Switzerland. There is a big castle on a high point in the town, but it's strange - you can't see it from anywhere in the town. I got the best picture from the train.

Neuchatel was a nice city with quite a large old city center. Very medieval. I still think the city of Chur has one of the nicest medieval centers. We were very lucky not to have rain - just a couple of drops. It was supposed to rain. During the day on Monday, in the afternoon we decided to hop on the train to see the town of La Chaux de Fonds, north of Neuchatel and very near France. It is famous for watchmaking. I took no pictures of La Chaux de Fonds because surprisingly, it was depressing and so different from everything else we've seen in Switzerland. It had a very depressed old center, and the main part of the city, from the 1800's, is actually noted for how they made straight streets - having the watchmakers workshops on the street level and their homes above. This type of organization helped the industry with each step of the watchmaking process. We found the town had a dirty feeling, just really not like the usual Switzerland. And if anyone is looking to buy a watch, you won't find many watch stores in La Chaux de Fonds! Strange. We took the next train back to Neuchatel!

Now, here is a little note. It is pretty much impossible to find a public toilet in Neuchatel, and when you do, you have to pay. This has disappeared in Ticino and in the German part of Switzerland. One thing I have always liked was that in just about every town center there were always nice public toilets. I know this is true in the Italian Ticino part. Now, I didn't visit much of the French part of Switzerland, but from what I saw, no toilets. Needless to say, this was very difficult. I recommend visiting other parts of Switzerland.....



Up at the castle in Neuchatel




Rick in front of the castle door



Beautiful ironwork on door



Walking around the castle



Castle in Neuchatel



The best picture of the castle - from the train!

May 4-5 - downtown Lugano and Lugano Lakers football in Neuchatel

Notice:   I am having trouble with this blogger working from Firefox. Now I am using Internet Explorer, but then with IE, I have to search and upload ONE picture at a time, which is aggravating and time consuming. If I am not able to work quickly on this blog, well, then I just won't have time for it. So when you see a lot of blank days.... sorry! (this took a long time just to get this page up!)

May 4. Rick and I took a walk to downtown Lugano. When we got to Piazza Dante, in front of the Manor department store, we noticed tables set up and waiters dressed in tuxedos serving Nespresso coffee. It was their "La Dolce Vita" promotion, in which not only did we get served free Nespresso with a little dessert, but got yellow sunglasses!

May 5. Rick left with the team on a double decker bus at 5am for Neuchatel. It's about a 4 1/2 hour drive. The junior team was playing at 11am and the senior team at 2pm. I decided to take the train and left our town at 7:48 by bus to the station. I took the train with a connection in Zurich to Neuchatel. In Neuchatel the bus I needed to take was waiting at the station (I figured this out ahead of time with the Swiss train website and the help of Google earth!) I got off the bus at the bottom of an area called Le Chanet. I knew from google earth that there would be a stairway up the mountain, and yes, there it was. Sunny, warm and after 5 hours of travel I had to hike up those stairs! I made it to the field to see the junior team win 37-7!

The senior game proved to be much tougher. We had beat this team a few weeks ago in Lugano without a problem, but they had improved! It was a tight game and we couldn't move the ball much on offense. At first I was watching the game from the slope on the side of the field, but it took muscle to hold myself steady there, whether standing or sitting - the slope was so steep! I ended up finding a soccer field that was on a terrace higher than our game field, giving me a great view of the game. How exciting! There was about 1 minute left in the game and the score was 14-6, in favor of the Neuchatel Knights. Oh boy! we came back to score 2 touchdowns to win the game, 20-14!!! I was the only one up there on the top field jumping all over the place! The boys were so happy!

Oh, I need to mention that the mother of 3 of the players, who had previously made pasta for the team and fed them on the road at a rest stop, well, Rick said she made enough pasta for BOTH teams! I can't imaging how anyone can cook a pasta meal for one, let alone TWO football teams, and then pack it up to serve it on the road! Not only that, but after the game she had bread, prosciutto and sliced tomatoes to serve as a snack, along with a crate of apples. She deserves a gold medal! OH! OH! OH! AND she washes the uniforms after every game! Must take her all week knowing how these Swiss washing machines work. Phew!

Rick and I on the balcony with our "Dolce Vita" free sunglasses from Manor department store.



The Piazza Dante in front of Manor - serving free Nespresso coffee - La Dolce Vita! Who cares if it was raining a bit!



Football field in the mountains above Neuchatel




You can see how high we are. In the background is Lake Neuchatel




The victorious Lugano Lakers after the game!



May 1 - River walk and quaint town of Morcote

May 1st is a national holiday here in Switzerland (and also Italy). Last night Rick and I were trying to figure out what to do, since everything is closed. Weather predictions were 100% rain, but when we woke up early this morning, the clouds were breaking and we were seeing blue sky. We quickly ate breakfast and went out for a hike, since we didn't know how long it would last. Well, we were lucky today!!!!

We first walked down to the main river flowing through Lugano - the Cassarate, which of course was gushing and would make a good river rafting trip! We went all the way down to the mouth of the river into Lake Lugano. Then we headed through the main botanical park in Lugano - Parco Ciani, heading for downtown Lugano to have some cappuccino. It was such a beautiful morning, and since no one was working, it was so quiet! Fortunately by 9:30am we found a cafe just opening (only restaurants open on the holidays) along the lakefront and enjoyed our cappuccino.

The weather was surprisingly still beautiful, so after our coffee we hopped on a bus - the stop was right there, headed to Morcote. Morcote is an old, quaint town on a steep slope into Lake Lugano - further south, just across from Italy. There is a large section along the lake of medieval arcades which cover the sidewalk, where we knew there are several restaurants. It's a great place to have lunch - if it rains we are protected, yet still enjoying the outside.

After arriving, we first went hiking through the town, which is a maze of steps that wind up and down the slope, between many medieval stone homes. There are several churches along the way and we climbed to the church at the top. Again, the wisteria growing everywhere really added to the charm - and also the perfum of the town!

We had a relaxing lunch under the arcades - there were only a couple of brief showers. All in all the rain held out! After lunch we took a walk along the waterfront. This can be tricky at times because there is not a sidewalk in all areas because it is so narrow, and only 1 car can fit on the road. Cars passing each other is tricky. Because this is a flat road along the lakefront, on a holiday there were many cyclists enjoying the day.

A great day after all!!! I didn't think we would have such a nice day, and again I only had my iPhone, but it did come to the rescue in order for me to take this pictures. :-)

A canopy of trees along the walk next to the Cassarate River through Lugano. These walls hold the river in its place!

Our walk through Parco Ciani

A tranquil Lake Lugano from Parco Ciani

Tucked between two homes - The Captain's Tower, from 1239!

Beginning of the arcades in Morcote

Climbing the steps in Morcote. Beautiful wisteria!

View of the lake through the wisteria. On the far side of the lake is Porto Ceresio, Italy

More wisteria on this path! Rooftops of old Morcote below.

The church at the top!

We also found this old church. On the right is it closed off  - there are many old frescos inside. But interestingly, the stone on the left was probably like bleachers for the church!

Narrow streets of Morcote

Narrow passageways and little bridges. A perfect spot for a table and chairs outside.

Looking back up at the churches

Houses and boat houses along the lake in Morcote

While waiting for the bus to go back to Lugano, we stopped and watched the kids playing soccer. Not a bad field!

April 29-30 A wash-out but still beautiful

We have had SO much rain! Yes, that is disappointing. I don't mind the clouds, moisture, and humidity, but it's impossible to walk in the mountains when it's wet and slippery. Waterfalls are plentiful and gushing. In these last couple days, when I saw a small break in the clouds or just no rainfall, I grabbed my jacket to go out and walk and get some exercise. 

One thing that is SPECTACULAR about springtime in Lugano is that there are so many flowers - not just planted on the ground, but blooming on trees and vines. I'm beginning to recognize when I'm near certain trees - the smell is so sweet - should make perfume out of that tree of which I don't know the name! Back in Illinois we never experience such a variety of smells - also just the smell of the "green", as the plant life is so tropical - really, you'd think you were on a tropical island.My favorite plant at this time of year are incredibly large wisteria vines that wind their way around all types of things. The smell is heavenly! Plus, they are just plain beautiful!

I just had my iPhone along with me, but here are a few pictures of the surprises I always find on a walk!  I find that the movement of the clouds is always so mysterious. Weather fronts don't move quickly from west to east like in Chicago. They move slowly because there is almost always no wind. The clouds and fog come in and out of the mountains or up and down the valleys, often with clouds sticking here and there in the mountains as if they were cotton candy getting stuck on the trees. I always say, a vacation in Switzerland is ALWAYS worth it, no matter what the weather is!

On my hike in Pregassona, April 29 - a glimpse of Mt San Salvatore from between 2 houses - oh! a bit of blue sky!

On April 30 - same view in same spot. So mysterious!

This tree we found in a park is just SO huge! What is awesome is that since there is not much wind here, these old trees are just perfectly formed.

Another one of the magical moments when a hole opens up in the clouds - at just the right place - to show a snow capped mountain. It's God giving us another peak at heaven! This is from downtown Lugano. You can also see how high the water is from all the rain.

 

Along Lugano's lakefront, the road goes around this huge tree. We learned that it is a sequoia, given to Lugano from California - probably about 150 years ago. The trees surrounding it are average size trees. There are more sequoias in Lugano's Parco Ciani, but not this big.