Varenna, Italy

 

Tuesday, August 3 – 5

Adam and I woke up on Tuesday morning, packed our backpacks and headed for the ferry to catch an 8:45 am boat to Bellagio, another villa on Lake Como. Bellagio, also called “the Pearl of the Lake” is beautiful with old-world charm and located across the lake from Varenna, our final destination. Once arriving at the Town Center, we toured through the small town enjoying hidden cobblestone staircases, windows filled with colorful flower boxes, the sun shining on our faces and wine shops featuring tastings of some of Italy’s most famous wine varietals.

Stopping at a small wine shop, Enoteca Principessa, Adam’s eyes grew big as he saw tastings for many of his favorite wines and in particular, the Gaja, an exclusive Italian wine producer located in Piemonte and considered the “undisputed king of Barbaresco”. As we experienced a few 1 oz pours of wines, we savored the delicate and smooth taste of our final taste, a 2006 Gaja Sperss.

After lunch, we hopped on the ferry destined for Varenna. Once we arrived, we searched for our bed and breakfast, 'Casa Cristina' located in an area of Varenna called Vezio. Stopping to ask a local for directions, he explained, “Go by Farmacia, take shortcut down the road, head up to brief town intersection and it will be located right there” while gesturing with his hand that it would be a bit of climb to our final destination.

We climbed the relentless rocky cobblestone path to the bed and breakfast passing a few groups of people on their way down. They smiled at our effort and reminded us that a cold beer was waiting up ahead; good motivation while you are drenched in sweat and wondering “how much freakin’ farther is this place!” To further explain this climb, picture getting on a Stairmaster, setting the level at 11 with a max of 15 and climbing the stairs without any points of recovery for the next 15 minutes with a 20+ pound backpack on your back.

Once arriving, we collapsed into chairs at the small, charming restaurant located at the top of the hill called 'Il Portichetto', located next door to her bed and breakfast (both the bed and breakfast and restaurant were owned by Rita, a wonderfully warm, friendly and helpful Italian woman).  For our efforts we enjoyed a few beers, a small plate of “salumi”, a couple cappuccinos and then booked our 2-floor spacious and homey apartment for 2 nights. We decided the hike to and from town would be much easier without our 20+ pound packs and we reminded ourselves that this hike would also help keep us in shape.

Next, we headed out to explore the beautiful and quiet town of Varenna. We walked along the lakeside promenade, explored the “beach” (more like a sandy basketball court with a few umbrellas and lounge chairs), local shops and then headed to the local grocery store to buy our Italian feast for the evening. We picked up pasta with mushrooms, fresh pesto, fruits, cheese, crackers, prosciutto and a bottle of Valpolicella Repasso before heading back up to our “home”.

Once we arrived, we showed Rita what we were making for dinner. In broken English and shaking her head she explained “No, no pesto with pasta with funghi (mushroom). It’s no good”. She paused and said, “Un momento” and returned with a stick of butter, a few dried sage leaves and explained how to create our feast. Grind up the sage, heat the butter, add the sage, add the cooked pasta and “Viola”—a simple and delicious Italian dinner!

This morning, we woke up to a blue sky and our neighbors greeting us with “Bueongiorno” (good morning), as they hung their clothes out to dry and soft Italian music played in the background; the local church bell ringing on the hour and every half hour; Italians greeting each other with “giorno” and “ciao” while enjoying their breakfast of a cappuccino and cigarette. We are in the heart of a true Italian villa experience and enjoying every minute.

Enjoy your day – Ciao!

Germany: Berlin & Munich; Arrival at Lake Como

July 29-31 -- Berlin, Germany

We made it to our fifth country, Germany, arriving in Berlin last Thursday night. Thus far, we’ve had to learn how to say “thank you”, “please” and “where are the toilettes” in 5 different languages as the locals giggle at our fluency attempts. Yet, I think they appreciate the fact that we are “attempting” and help us along.

Our first evening in Berlin, we arrived at our hotel, dropped our stuff and headed out for some good ole German food. We walked for 4 blocks passing a restaurant offering Indian, then Moroccan, American (or as some say, Americain) – yet no German food was to be found so we settled on Greek. Our waiter, which we think was the owner, sold us (basically somewhat took advantage of two non-German speaking Americans) on lamb kabobs with two servings of tziki, grilled trout and side of vegetables, a tasty dinner we truly enjoyed yet we were still craving German.

The next day we headed out to explore Berlin. Berlin is the capital and the largest city in Germany. We explored this large and cultured city by both walking and by train. As it relates to the train, it was explained to us by the man who booked us into the gay district in the local tourist office that the “U Bahn” refers an underground train while the “S Bahn” refers to an above ground train. With map in hand, Adam and I slowly figured out the train system, or so we thought. What was not explained were the exceptions to the rule. Some “S Bahn” trains you would catch underground which seemed confusing and contradictive to the explanation we received.

As we explored Berlin, we both felt that it didn’t feel like Germany; it felt like a new city, rebuilt from the devastation of its past. As we toured the many historic sites, we were challenged trying to understand the relevance of sites. Many of them were not well marked either on the map or in the local tour guide until we reached Checkpoint Charlie. In my opinion, this historic site told the story about the infamous Berlin Wall, the physical division of East Germany versus West Germany post WWII and it’s reunification in 1990. As we stood in front the last 150 meters of what’s left of the Berlin Wall, we were both in awe of not only what took place at this site yet it was only 20 years ago that this wall came down.

July 31-August 2 -- Munich, Germany

Saturday we arrived in Munich hoping for a real German experience – big bratwursts and big beers; to that, we did find. After touring the city for 1.5 hours looking for a place to stay, we ended up at a place right across the street from where we arrived, the main train station; it was a stretch to call it a 2-star hotel (as it was labeled). Regardless, it was a moderately priced and served a decent breakfast, even if our feet stuck to the floor in random locations around the hotel.

We dropped our bags and headed to the ‘Biergarten’ recommended by the German working at the front desk “It just up za street 5 minute, can’t miss”. After the true 5 minute walk we found it; an open-air beer garden with rows of wooden tables and chairs, under green trees with men and women in traditional lederhosen and all the other German garb. It seemed like they didn’t really want to wear it, but were obligated because of the job. Most had the typical stoic expression pasted onto their faces, but we didn’t really care we just wanted big beers, or in German “Mas beir”- the 1 liter brah! We enjoyed our beer(s) (Cathy had one and I had four) with bratwurst, kraut and a giant pretzel. The next morning I experienced a ‘Mas bier’ hangover and wasn’t feeling so well.

Despite the hangover we headed to Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp in Germany. This was eye opening for both of us as well as very heartbreaking. The camp was built to house up to 6,000 prisoners , when in actuality, over 50,000 were sentenced to Dachau. The size of the camp was enormous and took us over 4 hours to experience (which I am sure we could have spent all day), but it was emotionally draining and sad. I will never be able to fathom how something this horrific and appalling could happen; it makes me sick to my stomach to think about.

After the emotional tour of Dachau we tried to lift our spirits by going to the famous Hofbrahaus for a beer; we only had one each this time. I don’t think we were too into it after our day. We returned to our hotel to get our things ready for an early train and our next adventure-Lake Como, Italy.

August 2 – Como Villa, Lake Como, Italy

On Monday, Adam and I arrived early afternoon by a 9-hour train ride to Como, Italy, a small lakeside villa located on Lake Como. Lake Como, or Lago di Como, is a glacial lake located less than an hour from Milan and surrounded by beautiful villas. Located at the base of the Italian Alps, it is regarded as one of the most beautiful lakes in Italy and a popular resort destination for famous celebrities such as George Clooney.

Once off the train, I headed for the first Italian I could find to ask for directions to our hotel. I showed him the address and he quickly responded, “oh, its-a 2 hour train ride or a 1.5 hour ride by ferry”. What?! I convinced this wasn’t true; I was told that it was close to the ferry and train station – how could this be? He explained that a different train takes you to Varenna: “take-a the train an hour south to Milano, ah then head north to Varenna”. Well that’s not going to work – onto plan B- the ferry.

With backpacks on and feeling a bit deflated, we headed towards the Town Center to see about taking a ferry to Varenna. Passing all the anxious taxi drivers lined up outside the bus station, I felt their stares as they were hoping we would be their next victim for Euro drag racing with their taxi.

After a 10-15 minute walk, we found the office to buy tickets for the ferry. “Sorry, all the boats are gone for today.” Arrh! All I wanted was to be in the middle of a quiet little Italian villa, pop open my book (by the way, thanks Agatha, I love J Maarten Troost) and feel a cool breeze from the Italian lake.

Next, we needed to find a hotel for the night. We visited two hotels before finally finding the one that fit into our budget, Hotel Fontana. This mere 2-star hotel smelled of a dead fish as you walked up the stairwell to our room located on the second floor. Once arriving gasping for fresh air, we were greeted with an intricate door-locking system that required turning the key an unassuming 5-times before the door would open and then once open, spending another ten minutes figuring out how to delicately remove the key from the keyhole.

Exhausted, hungry and content with a bed and clean sheets, we headed out for some fresh Italian food. After walking around a bit, we realized not many restaurants were open. In Italy, like other European countries, businesses will shut down for 2-3 hours in the early afternoon. Unfortunately, we hit this time period yet headed to the nearest open restaurant which conveniently displayed a sign “we speak English” which truly means, “we do not serve good food”.

After a glass of wine and some very mediocre bar food, we headed to a pizzeria recommended to us by the hotel receptionist. Excited for a real Italian pizza, we ordered one pizza, two glasses of wine and the only available water option, bottled water. The waiter with his Italian accent asks, “ziss is it???” Adam and I looked at each other somewhat stunned and uncomfortable and said, “ah, yeh”.

After dinner, we ended the evening with some delicious gelato and then set off for a good night’s sleep. Or, so we thought. We headed up the stinky fish-smelling stairwell to our room and realized that we were conveniently located right above a bar and somewhat of a busy and noisy road. For this, Adam and I didn’t enjoy much of a restful night’s sleep.

Off to enjoy a much needed restful evening….Ciao!