Central Switzerland, Switzerland; 7 November 2009

Where: Central Switzerland, Switzerland

When: 7 November 2009

Who: Dodo

Type:  bicycle tour

How long: 6 hours

Fotos,

Tour,

I have been planning to do a bicycle tour in the center of Switzerland since a long time, and on Saturday morning, despite the fact that in Bern was raining, I woke up early, loaded the bicycle in my car and drove to Risch where I parked at the golf club.

The weather was ok, but the temperature was somewhere around 0 °C…I started from the west coast of the Zuger Lake, and I transferred to the Lake of Lucern, where I did a part of the mythical tour around Switzerland of seven months ago with Vomitino. I stopped in Brunnen where I got a half chicken that I ate on the porch of a small perfect church on the way to Schwyz. Lauerzer Lake, east side of the Zuger lake, and from there I took a steep road going up the mountain that overlooks the lake. Truly beautiful views from there, but once again it’s been hell coming up with the new road bike. Next time I need to take my mountain bike to see if I’m just getting old, or it’s really the new bicycle that has gears which are too long for me.

A stroll around Zug, which is a fairy tale little city where people and companies pay the lowest taxes in Switzerland, and back to the car. On the way I stopped to look at a publicity poster at a bus station which I thought was very funny: Fly Kebap Airlines, and the pilot with an arm outside the window holding a kebap. Have a look at the picture

Today my first triathlon day: 12 km running, 40 by bicycle, 1500 m swimming…

Garda Lake, Italy; 31 October – 1 November 2009

Where: Garda Lake, Italy

When: 31 October – 1 November 2009

Who: Michela, Dodo, Buby, enrico, Isabella, Lara

Type:  rides, road trip

How long: 2 days

Fotos,

Tour,

The 1st of November was Michela’s birthday and as I tend not to give material presents but emotions, I tried to organize a special surprise weekend.  On Saturday morning I set up the alarm at 7:30am and started jumping around like a kid. I proposed to take the car and drive around a bit, and I recommended to pack the suitcase in case we wanted to spend the night out. “We” decided to head south, and once arrived to Milan, east. Everything ok until we got close to Peschiera: there were cars queuing already a couple of kilometers before the exit of the motorway. And from there to our destination it was a long uninterrupted line of cars. But finally we got to (surprise surprise) Gardaland (a theme park, for those who don’t know it)!!! Once there we started queuing for the tickets, were we bougth…four, as Marco and Lara were also arriving, while Enrico and Isabella were waiting for us inside the park already.  Once inside it was clear that it was not really as expected, a quite day in the off-season: it was probably the busiest day of the year. So we ended up queueing one hour or more for each ride, and half an hour to get food. But it was really good fun to be together and just talk without any break from the first to the last moment. We had dinner in a nice Trattoria together and me and Michela went to Verona for the night while the others drove back home.

On Sunday we did the tour of the Garda Lake, which was truly magnificent. However it was clear that the season for weekend outdoor activities such as hikes and bicycle rides is (sadly) over until next year. But we’ll find something else to do …;)

Trümmelbachfälle and Beatenberg, canton Bern, and Jura; Switzerland; 24 – 25 October 2009

Where: Trümmelbachfälle and Beatenberg, canton Bern, and Jura; Switzerland

When: 24 – 25 October 2009

Who: Michela, Dodo

Type:  hiking, bicycle ride

How long: hiking 2 hours, bicycle 130 km

Fotos,

Bicycle tour,

After seeing Beat’s pics about a waterfall in the stones not far from Bern, we decided to go to the Trümmelbachfälle for an easy walk on a pleasant Saturday afternoon in Autumn. However nothing can be easy otherwise it wouldn’t be fun, and once we got there we found the entrance gate to the walk along the waterfall closed…but of course we didn’t give up. The idea was to cross the river from the other side and once we got there we found an English couple that was trying to do the same thing. First approach that I have tried to cross the river was to jump over. But I looked at my ID and there was no indication that I was Ivan Pedroso. So I decided to go for the engineering way: build a stone bridge. I went around looking for large stones and I made enough stone islands to get to the other side. And once I got there Michela was comfortably waiting for me: she had found a spot along the river where the water was shallow and slow enough that she could cross it simply taking off here shoes. And that’s also what the two Brits did.

Once on the other side we could enjoy these really cool 10 waterfalls right in the middle of the stones, with a path climbing up the mountain just beside them. Some tunnels were completely dark, and unfortunately, because lights were not on, the pictures seem a little bit dark.

On the way back we went up to Beatenberg for dinner, with great views over the Lake of Thun.

The next day I really wanted to have a ride on my new road bike, and I left early in the morning in direction Jura. The weather was terrible: fog, rain, cold. I could only imagine a great landscape in a hypotetical sunny day of autumn.  A long time without cycling, steep 15~16 % climbs, cold weather wearing summer cloths, and most of all way harder gears that the mountain bike I was used to, made it a very tough day and I thank Michela for picking me up after 130 km

Kirchbach, Austria; 26 September 2009

Where: Kirchbach, Austria

When: 26th September 2009

Who: Edoardo, Filippo, Mum, Dad

Type:  picking up mushrooms

How long: 8 hours

Fotos,

When we were kids it was tradition to go one or two times around September to pick up mushrooms with all the family. We used to leave early on Saturday morning and  drive up in the middle of Austria in a couple of secret places that we knew from our uncle where we always found tons of mushrooms.  We then spent the evening there eating huge wienerschnitzel and mixed grills. I can remember that one time we all came back with very high fever, and once when I went alone with daddy and we slept in a Gasthof . It was really the best time for me, even though I have never eaten mushrooms.

Well, this time when we went back home for a weekend and my dad had the great idea (clearly initially not supported by Stella out of principle…;) to do it once again, al least 15 years after the last time we did it. So we left early on Saturday morning and we went to a new secret spot in Austria not too far from the border, but which turned out to be a secret shared already by slightly too many people to still be able to call it as such. We found enough mushrooms for a few risottos, but staying together was, as always, awesome, with enough funny staff that happened to laugh for a whole week.

Oberengadin, Canton Graubunden, Switzerland; 4 October 2009

Where: Muottas Muragl – lago bianco -  Val Tellina, Oberengadine, Switzerland

When: 4rd October 2009

Who: Edoardo, Michela

Type: hike

How long: 4 hours

Fotos,

Hiking map,

weekend tour,

…we started the day with a nice walk in the already cold air of Celirina, with well kept buildings typical of the region. After breakfast we went with the mountain train to the Muottas Muragl, and from there we started our hike along the valley in the direction of Pontresina. From Muottas Muragl the view over the whole Engine Valley is absolutely beautiful. We went back down to the car and drove along the valley until the Lago Bianco (White Lake). And as you can see from the pictures the reason for the name is clear Excellent lunch based on deer and “pizzoccheri” and then back home along the Val Tellina. There are some picturesque churches along the north side of the valley, and an impressive one, the “Basilica della Madonna” at Tirano. It seems almost too big for the location.

Oberengadin, Canton Graubunden, Switzerland; 3 October 2009

Where: Corvatsch, Oberengadine, Switzerland

When: 3rd October 2009

Who: Edoardo, Michela

Type: hike

How long: 5 hours

Fotos (especially for those two who, even if invited, didn’t come;),

Hiking map,

As days seem to get one hour shorter every 24 hours, but a mild autumn is taking good care to let us miss a little bit less the summer, we decided for a two days weekend in Engadine, the region of Switzerland with Sankt Moritz. We arrived at Surlej, as recommended by Marco,  around 11am and took the cable car all the way to the top of Corvatsch, just slightly above 3000 meters. After a small round up there we went down to the middle station and began our tour as the hiking trails start from there. The day was wonderful and we walked from the Corvatsch middle station to the Furtschellas and then back to the car in Surlej. Very nice and easy hike with stunning views over the whole Engadin valley. In the evening we looked for a nice, warm, mountain-type hotel, but in Sankt Moritz we found only huge concrete luxury hotels. So we drove further to Celerina and there I got attracted from a hotel that was publicizing a Sauna. So we booked a room just to find out that the Sauna was closed ;( After a five-course self service meal we where ready for bed. The day after, on Sunday morning,… (to be continued) 

Firenze, Lucca, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Italia; 14 – 19 October 2005

Where:  Firenze, Lucca, Pisa, Cinque Terre

When: 14th and 19th October 2005

Who: Edoardo, Michela, Tamar, Simone

Type: Rail tour

How long: 5 days

Fotos,

Tour map,

I came back from Japan on the 1st of September 2005 and I started to work on the 1st of December. During those fun three months I have done tons of job interviews and travelled in between. One of the coolest trips was a five days train tour in Toscana and Liguria. First we went to visit The Tamar in Firenze during his glorious days there, when he was sharing his room with three more girls…;) I still have a picture of him staring at a pair of yellow female underwear just after doing the laundry. From there we went to Pisa hosted by The Frustone during his hard days as a PhD students. One thing that I remember is finally tasting, after hearing many times about it, the famous beer that a friend of his brews himself. From there we went to Lucca and then to La Spezia. Before going to Rio Maggiore and visiting the Cinque Terre we decided to pick the closest hotel to the station, which happened to be an absolutely horrible hotel with the restaurant nearby serving the best pasta al pestoof the city.

Haslital and Canton de Fribourg, Switzerland; 19-20 September 2009

Where:  Hasliberg and around Canton de Fribourg

When: 19th and 20th September 2009

Who: Edoardo, Michela

Type: hike

How long: 8 hours

Fotos,

Hiking map,

At 10 am on Saturday we were at the Meiringen station of the cable car and by 11 am we were at the Alpen Tower. The view was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. There were incredibly fast moving clouds that were continuously changing the light and colors of the landscape, and the walking trail took us all along a valley with a bottomless canyon below us and silent mountains with the top covered by glaciers on the other side of the valley. About 2 hours after starting from the Alpen Tower, we headed toward Melchsee-Frutt via an Alpine Trail that took us about 15 minutes to realize that was not something to do without climbing gear.  Instead of going back to the main trail we just went straight in direction Melchsee-Frutt without following any trail…honestly pretty scary but nothing like what was ahead of us. We had a goulash soup at the lake and it was about 3pm. At that point we headed to Hochstollen doing a pretty steep climb that took us to a point were there was a trail without indications of the direction to follow.  It was 4:20pm. Looking at the map we thought we were already past Hochstollen and walking in direction Flochsträss. It was extremely cloudy so there was nothing that could confirm it to us. After about 40 minutes of a very steep trail we thought we took the wrong trail because the path, against our expectations, kept climbing. So we decided to go back until we found a sign that told us that we were actually walking in the right direction, and that Käserstatt was 1 hour and 40 minutes away. It was already 5:20pm, it was completely clouded and we were expecting darkness by 8 pm. I really started to get scared because Käserstatt is still very far from the valley. So, with already more than 6 hours of hiking and climbing behind us, we started to run as quickly as the sore muscles allowed us thru the pics and we were by 7pm at Käserstatt. From there we took (luckily) the wrong way toward Mägisalp, and coming back we found a lady who recommended us not to try to go back to Meiringen because it would get dark very soon and there was no way we could find our way thru the woods in the night. She recommended to walk to Balisalp as there were some farmers there that may give us a ride toward the valley. And arriving there we saw some cars leaving those huts and I just rushed down the trail and stopped the Jeep of a farmer who drove us to Hochfluh. He was the last farmer going down for the day… Arrived to the village restaurant (it was about 8:20pm and already dark) we asked to the owner if he knew someone who was driving to Meiringen. Luckily two guys were going to the valley for a party and they gave us a ride back to the car at the Meringen cable car station. A very intense day…

Sunday, after 10+ hours of good sleep, we drove to La Gruyere and nearby villages, and we went to the Gorges de Jaun, a idyllic river canyon near Broc. Then to the Jogne pass and back to Bern.

Torino and Valle d’Aosta, Italy; 12 – 13 September 2009

Where:  Torino and Sarre – Cogne  region in Valle d’Aosta

When: 12th and 13th September 2009

Who: Edoardo, Marco, Beat, Emin, Mäthu, David

Type: Bicycle, Rafting, Party, City

How long: 2 days

Fotos,

I was for the first time in January ‘08 in Torino and the first impression had been the one of a nice city. For some reason I believe more than half of Italy grew up with idea that Torino is a grey and absolutely unpleasent city. I can’t say it’s like New York, but it has some really nice buildings and squares, with the mountains all around and it is a very lively city. Also, without official statistics on hand, I bet it’s the Italian city with the largest ration of cars per inhabitant.

This time I got back to Torino for Marco’s stag night and with that chance I did on my own a small bicycle tour from Sarre to Cogne and back (nothing impressive).  Then we did with Marco and all his buddies a very cool rafting ride and in the evening party in Torino, which was excellent. On Sunday I still had the chance to visit the Mole Antonelliana with the Museo del Cinema inside, which was extremely cool.

Yakushima, Japan; 14 – 18 July 2005

Where:  Yakushima

When: 5th September 2009

Who: Edoardo, Kawanami san

Type: Hike, bicycle

How long: 3 days Hike, 1 day Bicycle

Yakushima’s map,

Fotos,

My year in Japan was going toward the end, and me and the(for the ones who followed my Japanese blog) legendary Kawanami decided to do one last trip together. He told me that THE unmissable place for me before going back to Europe was the magic island of Yakushima, some hundred kilometers south of Kyushu. All the community of Manga and Anime freaks knew about it because of the famous anime “Mononoke-hime” was set on that Island.

We left on Thursday morning from Kitakyushu with our bicycle and by train we arrived to Kagoshima. From there with the boat we arrived to the island and started the hike. In three days we crossed the Yakushima from east to west, if I remember correctly, and the fourth day we did a bicycle tour all around the Island. Among all the incredible images that I have in my mind of that unreal place, the two which I can’t forget are the bright green that was pervading everything in the woods, including stones, trunks of trees and water. And the view of the clouds from one of the peaks of the island.

And just a huge hug to Kawanami san that maybe will read this some day