Switzerland - Sept. 21-23 - Lukmanier Pass and Disentis

  Lukmanier Pass and Disentis

In Biasca, CH under threatening skies

Our last morning in Menaggio and we wake up to threatening skies. We knew they were forecast but we hoped we'd luck out like the rest of our trip and have great weather.

It was not to be. After our final breakfast at the Hotel Merloni we load the bike and head towards Lugano, Switzerland. 

This is a memorable highway for us that dates back to mid May 2006 when we rode from Colmar, France to Menaggio on a day that got colder and colder and began to snow on the Gotthard Pass. So much so, that we were turned back and had to take the Oberpal pass to Disentis and the Lukmanier Pass to Lugano. 

I always characterized that ride which turned to pouring rain once you got over the Alps, "as driving inside a firehose".

We've been in contact with Heiko as he wanted to ride the pass and meet us 1/2 way and take us to his friends place in Disentis, CH. His last report was everything was cloudy but not raining there, and with it still dry when we prepared, we hoped we'd make it unscathed.

It was not to be.

The drive along Lago di Lugano is spectacular and intimate as you drive through tunnels and galleries that constantly give you enticing glances at the beauty of the lake and surroundings. But just as we enter Lugano city limits it starts to pour. Fortunately we had inserted our rain liners in anticipation of the rain.

Things have changed dramatically from '06 as well as we head north toward Biasca, CH where we are to meet Heiko. It is basically town joined to town all the way to Bellinzona, CH. From there a stretch of 16 kms allows us to meet almost right on time with Heiko.

Looking to avoid the chance of rain we decide to keep on riding to Disentis with Heiko. We aren't aware of it at the time, but we are about to have to share the road with about 30 Bovine friends, large cows that have summered in the high Swiss Alps and with it being Sept 21st and with snow in the forecast the annual parade of them down to lower pastures and barns is happening. 

We start to see 'remnants' of the cows before we actually meet up with the herd. We are ahead of some vehicles travelling in the same direction which prevents us from stopping to take our own pictures but the experience is once in a lifetime. The stock photo I've attached is just a small sample of the herd that was coming back to Disentis. There is a lead cow, and on this mountain pass road they are 2-3 across and about 30 total. They are all decorated with headresses, and the herders, 3 female and the rest men are dressed in festive costumes as well. As we pass by one cow gets out of alignment and nearly bodychecks us as we slowly pass by at 5 kph. Whew!  The cacophony of the huge bells they wear especially for this parade down the mountain is what attracts the residents of the small villages as we descend the pass to Disentis.

Cows descending the pass back to the village of Disentis,
It's an annual celebration!

The remainder of the ride is extremely scenic with many villagers along the way waiting for their parade.

We arrive in Disentis at the friends 'cabin', which is actually a 2 level top floor apartment with this stunning view out our bedroom window.

View from our bedroom balcony looking NE in the swiss Alps

After a quick lunch we head out as Heiko's friend wants to show us her town and specifically an antique train that will come in at 4:00pm. As we had come down into Disentis, what stands out is this huge Benedictine Monastery. In one form or another it has been there since the 6th century and is still active today. There is a chapel of huge dimensions for the townspeople with a stunning pipe organ and adornments.

Benedictine Monastery in Disentis
 founded in 720 and restored in 1880

Spectacular interior very similar to another Swiss cathedral

The monastery also is part of the route of St James or the Camino de Santiago as it connects to it in France. Monks actively run a hostel as part of the monastery.

Our walk through the village leads us to the train station just as the antique train arrives. 

That evening we dine out at a fantastic venison based restaurant with great food. Unfortunately the next day, which was intended to be a loop tour of 4 high mountain passes was cancelled given the fogged in conditions, rain and then some light snow so we decide to have a quiet meal in the apartment.

On Saturday, conditions are quite cold at 0 Celsius when we are about to leave

3 Muskateers

for Andermatt and in the direction of Zurich. There is snow in the air as we head over the Oberalp pass and stays cold until we dropped to about 1400 meters where some warmth begins to make its way into the air.

The remainder of the drive across Switzerland is scenic and we are in much better spirits as we cross Lake Zurich on a bridge and arrive in Singen, Germany for a night there.

Our ride back to Frankfurt and Oberursel for the most part is uneventful in much better weather with only some slow traffic areas near congested on/off ramps on the A5 autobahn.

Menaggio - Lake Como Sept 18-20

 Menaggio - Lake Como Sept 18-20

Lake Como looking south to the town of L. Como

The ride between Levanto and Menaggio on Lake Como is challenging to do other than by autostrada. I remember my first thoughts in 2011 after getting off the ferry from Morocco that we'd take a leisurely drive off the autostrada and find a place to stay for the night.

After it taking 1/2 hr to exit the Genova terminal and drive a normal road to Rapalla, I realized the best bet in either direction is the A12 autostrada. With speeds of 130 kph and roughly 35 tunnels you could do this route in the rain and not get wet.

So we resigned ourselves to taking the A12 to Genova, the A7 to Milan, and the A9 to Lake Como and then the west side road to Menaggio. Even at that there were road construction delays on both the A7 and A9 which made the 300 km drive a 4 hour ordeal in heavy traffic.

But once you get to Menaggio and see the lake it makes it more worthwhile.

We have stayed at the Hotel Merloni a few times over the years, in '06 on a dark and stormy night, '16 while headed to the Matterhorn, last year for 3 days while celebrating our 50th and now this time. With the food always of such great quality we decided this time to book 1/2 board and the meals have been excellent.

Last year we hiked to Le Croce overlooking the village

Menaggio

and lake and enjoyed the pool. Yesterday we hiked all the way down into Menaggio and back and rewarded ourselves with a great afternoon at the pool again.

Merloni Pool

Enjoying the Lake and the Beauty of Menaggio

Tomorrow we'll be on to Switzerland for a new adventure there as we meet up with Heiko for our last few days in Europe.

Cinque Terre - Levanto Sept. 13- - 18

 Cinque Terre - Levanto 

The Levanto Promenade after dark!

Levanto and the Cinque Terre are surprisingly busy when we arrive this mid-September. We see the crowds during the day fill the streets and the ristorantes, pizzerias and cafes more than ever before.  

Our first night there we head to the Le Palme ristorante near the promenade and order up some very delicious Lasagne and a 1/2 L of red wine. After we wander the promenade and get a nice lights picture while eating our 1st Levanto gelato 'Cremino'. We're reminded that we are normally here in early summer when it doesn't get dark until close to 9:30 pm.

One of the things we love about staying in a small B&B is the opportunity to interact with other guests and with Sara as host she engages each guest every day with the simple question "What's your plan for the day?". 

With that she always is able to offer great advice about how to accomplish what they set out to do.

Our first morning is a couple from Cologne where she is working on her PhD with a Thetis focusing on the airline Lufthansa and what accounting path it needs to take to gain trust with it's clients when it comes to charging more money to buy carbon offsets for flying with them. Between that morning and the next we have quite a dialog about what companies as well as countries will have to work at doing better to gain the trust of clients and taxpayers as we enter the next phase of climate change. She is one bright cookie and it will be very interesting to read the outcome of her work. 

Our 4th morning a couple from Austin Texas that arrived after 1030pm the evening before join in the breakfast discussion after 830 am. He' a mechanical Engineer working on a PhD but together they are rushing through their breakfast so they can catch a train to Vernazza to see 1 village before heading further south to Pisa. It's unfortunate they didn't have time for Levanto or the great B&B they had booked into on their quest to see "Italy". 

We've taken an easy approach this time round with mornings at the beach and a nice hike through the rail tunnels to Bonnasola.

A view from above Bonnasola

There are even Dog beaches now!

Our time in Levanto is much appreciated with good food and such a nice village centre, and as always Gelato each evening. Sara and Corrado at the Amandola B&B are amazing hosts while raising two children. Between them and our previous hosts, Christian & Sebrina, at Fattore B&B we are so pleased we have found Levanto and them over the past 20 years of travel. Fernando and Leah, who served as our 1st ever hosts have since retired.

On the morning we are about to leave Sara asked if I can pack one more thing and gives me a ravioli cutter. We have talked so much over the years about the quality of Italian food and in particular ravioli that I had looked through the shops at the different gadgets/ forms etc. for creating ravioli. Sara's culinary skills are exceptional, which in itself makes the B&B stand out so I had asked what she used.

This final gesture was heartwarming and so typical of the people we have met over the years here in Levanto from Fernando and Leah, to Chris/Sebrina and their olive oil, and nutmeg , to Sara and Corrado and how they take you in as family when you're there.

Sara gifting her ravioli maker
wrapped in red ribbon

Here's another terrific story about the Cinque Terre. 

Castigliano del Lago -September 12th, 2023

 Castigliano del Lago

With the tourism pressure on Montepulciano we hadn't found a suitable B&B to stay in, but I had found a good one in Castigliano del Lago.

Unfortunately on arrival we found it was also in demand and was 'complete'. Fortunately the front desk recommended another place close by called Albergo Macerine and we were fortunate to get the last room there, which was perfect to the point we extended for a second night

Again Del Lago indicates a lake, and this is a very large lake in central Italy. Like the others it has a walled central town component and is situated right on the lake.

That afternoon when we first checked in it was very hot and we decided to enjoy the pool first. And while there noticed a very large number of purple Martins, a small bird that feeds on insects, particularly mosquitoes. They seemed to be doing a great job as well.

That evening we walked into the Old Town and found a nice ristorante to eat at where we ordered Montepulciano wine of course, to complement the Picce pasta Carbonara. Picce is a homemade slightly thicker pasta and it was very good. 

As the seating is fairly close together we heard a German couple speak English to the waitress to order their meal and we began to have a conversation with them. He was a rather grumpy fellow who didn't really like his EU neighboring countries that well.

Then at one point another voice could be heard and a lady from a 2nd table behind us began to ask where we were from. Once that was established we determined she was from Amersfoort NL and she had her husband and father with her.

For the next 1/2 hr. our tables engaged in a very funny conversation on a number of stories we each told. The rest of the restaurant looked on at the animated conversation where I had pulled back my chair so I could face the other two tables.

It was a very fun evening.

The next day since the weather was so great we decided to stay and did a walk around the whole town.

Italy has had a drought this summer like we have had at home, and we found out why there was a prevalence of mosquitoes. It seems larvae from mosquitoes has been buried in the lake bed, and as the lake has dried out the larvae have now hatched and are airborne again.

This is how dry it is! You can see where the grass was the waters edge before and now the waters edge is easily 150 feet away.

Valle D' Orcia and Pienza -September 11, 2023

 Valle D' Orcia and Pienza - Tuscany

Many people have heard of Tuscany from movies or books. It's a region (province) of Italy and located above Rome with Florence as it's major centre and just below Liguria and to the west of Umbria. We have passed through parts of Tuscany but decided with this central Italy tour we'd visit sights we wanted to see to include the better known wine centres such as Montepulciano.

Sandra's research found that the Valle D'Orcia named after the river that runs through there from Montalcino to Pienza was the heart of this 'golden' area of Tuscany. To this end as you drive through the region it appears that the place has been landscaped as a countryside.

The Cypress tree lined driveways are the first clue to this special region. 

It wasn't long before we got to the base of Pienza, a walled hilltown at the east end of the valley and found a great parking spot. This is the equivalent of parking at the front door to the bank. haha!

As we climbed up the steps to the walled city this is an example of the view that you can see anywhere in that valley. 

In the piazza we visited the amazing cathedral there, commissioned by Pope Pius II during the renaissance with large windows to encourage the 'enlightenment' of religious thinking and practice. It really stands apart from other churches.

Our walk through Pienza was beautiful and when we returned to the piazza when I was approached by a fellow (Peter) who asked if I could speak Italian and tell him what kind of stone the church was made of. I said I was from Canada and he said he was too, then quickly we learned that his parents lived in Parksville but now he and his wife and 3 kids were living in Switzerland for the past 20 yrs in Geneva. He was a bio-chemist working there and in Basel and his wife (Karen) was a Dulla and worked for a Swiss agency as well. Sandra visited with Karen for quite a while and I with Peter, until we were interrupted in our chats by the voice of a male opera singer who chose to entertain the crowds that were gathering near noon. In that environment the sound and his voice resonated so perfectly you could tell it is how opera should be heard.

I took a picture of him,

Opera Singer in the Piazza

and then decided to shoot a video, which is here. My recording didn't do it justice so I ended up finding a video shot a few weeks before with him singing.

After Pienza we drove past Montepulciano on the way to our hotel for the evening. We decided we'd come back for wine tasting the next day. But Castelgliani del Lago had other plans. See our next post.

stock photo

Pitigliano -September 10th 2023

Pitigliano

OK, when you turn a corner on your motorcycle and your pillion (passenger) exclaims " Whoa " you should stop.

Marta

Of course we were headed here for this very reason after leaving Spoleto earlier in the day. The drive took us back past Terni to Vitterbo and then up towards Lago di Bolsena fairly early on Sunday September 10th.

As we came to a fork in the road it was about time for a break and we turned off into Marta a beautiful lake community where we stopped for a stretch and to see the lake. Of course like any other lake it will have a castle on it. 

And sailboats. 

Since we were doing well in getting toward our end destination that day which was Montemerano I decided to instead of heading to our final destination and driving back to Pitigliano pronounced "Pit" "ee" "Glee" "anno" that we'd take a slightly different route to Pitigliano and see it first. 

The above photo is what we saw as we came around the corner, a walled city that just stands out like it was carved from the rock.

We quickly found a bike parking spot and began to tour this impressive walled city.

And the spectacular gardens below the city itself. 

And the requisite beautiful cathedral to visit.

Our day ended in the countryside near Montemerano with that hilltown about 1 km. from our agritourisimo for the evening. Not a bad travel day into the Tuscany region.

Montemerano

Assisi 2023

 Assisi, Umbria

Last time we were in Assisi was with our kids back in 1991, 32 years ago. 

We have the opportunity to stay here at our Agritourismo Valle Rosa through the Fri/Sat weekend period, so we decide to do another day trip up to see Assisi again.

View to Spoleto from Breakfast room
of our Agritourismo
Click Any picture to enlarge

The weather has been beautiful here with highs between 28-31C sunny with overnights pleasantly cool, likely 14-16C because of the mountain elevations we continue to enjoy the Italian breakfast buffet available here, the view out to Spoleto

Most afternoons we have the pool to ourselves

 and the pool in the afternoon when the heat builds. This view is looking back toward Terni. It is so serene.

The drive is beautiful and in 30 mins. we take the turn-off for Assisi and head up. 

Assisi is truly a hilltown, with a castle ruins at the top, the city walled from the early 10th century and it became particularly noteworthy with the canonization of St Francis. He had converted to Christianity/Roman Catholic church  along with St Claire and he became the patron saint for lost causes. The relics that are on display in the Basilica in her name are amazing and authenticated.

Sandra and I enjoyed sitting in the plaza outside of the cathedral to people watch. One activity that caught our eye was an Italian teacher with a group on 30 teen students having a lesson in the plaza.

One of the most ornate
churches on the path to the top.

We later found them further up on the walk to the top of the castle.

The Rocca - of Assisi

We decided to walk all the way to the top ourselves, partially because we had been able to drive within 100 Mt. of the basilica itself, and park, so we had already saved some steps.

A town with many churches

As we walked back down we decided to have lunch at a cafe. The surroundings were absolutely tranquil and the meal very good. 

A view from our table

And the narrow streets decorated with hanging baskets.

It's going to be tough leaving this area for our next visit to the Tuscan countryside.

Spoleto

 Spoleto 

Spoleto's Rocca was a Castle
 and then prison for the Red Brigade

Spoleto is nestled in a very beautiful region of Italy in the province of Umbria. We hear much more about the province of Tuscany which is only a few kms. away but Umbria has all it's own charms as well. In 1991 with our children we visited Assisi and the Cathedral dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi but never came these few kms. south to visit Spoleto.

Spoleto is only about 30 kms away from Marmore Falls (Terni) and the Agritourismo  we have booked into is well positioned between both Spoleto and Terni. Last evening as we walked back from an excellent supper out at Ristorante Zengoni I got this beautiful shot of our Agri hotel.

Valle Rosa Agritourismo

After our tour of Marmore Falls we wanted to walk the Old town of Spoleto. The Rocca, or old Castle is the high point in Spoleto and it's a beacon to draw your eye to at night.

The town itself is set high in a valley overlooking Terni to the Southwest and the fertile valleys towards Assis to the northeast.

As with most Italian towns the Cathedral takes a very important position in the old town. Spoleto is no exception with the Santa Maria Assunta cathedral being the centre for many festivals in the village. A unique feature are the eight rose shaped windows strategically placed to offer beautiful light into the cathedral in the afternoon.

Barrier between Rocca wall and
the countryside