Family gathering in Como

One of the advantages of living apart from our families is, that sometimes family gatherings offer nice opportunities for a weekend getaway to a destination chosen by spotting on the map. Well, there is of course some rationale - mainly related to travel options and costs - behind, but you also have the flexibility of choosing the perfect travel destination: last year we planned a Christmas-market visit to Vienna with our brothers and friends, this year a summer weekend at the Lake Como, one of the most amazing sites at the Swiss-Italian border:

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Fortunately we had a beautiful weather and enjoyed exploring together the area around the lake:
- Bellagio (the real one, not the one in the meadows of Nevada), the pearl of lake Como:

From EUROPE - ITALY - Lake Como

- Menaggio, on the western shore of the lake:

From EUROPE - ITALY - Lake Como

- Panorama views of the lake from the observation tower in Brunate, high above Como:

From EUROPE - ITALY - Lake Como

- and the town of Como itself, with its waterfront, impressive Cathedral, pleasant terraces and best Italian icecream :-))

From EUROPE - ITALY - Lake Como

When we all got tired enough from wandering around and unsuccessfully search (as the Italians sold everything) for a public beach to go swimming in the lake, we found a perfect shady terrace for our siesta-time, before all of us heading back to our homes: Zoli's brother to Budapest, us (with my parents) to Switzerland...

From EUROPE - ITALY - Lake Como

Our photo album of Como, Italy.

Long weekend in Italy - Part 2: Pompeii & Vesuvius

On our third day in Napoli we took the Circumvesuviana train to Pompeii Scavi train station,

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

from where it was just a 5-minute walk to reach the ancient town of Pompeii, preserved beneath the volcanic ash and lava after the eruption of the Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The town was unexpectedly huge! As we walked ... and walked... and walked (btw, it was also a very hot day),

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

we saw block after block of ancient houses, shops, bars and bakeries, as well as public areas, like for example The Forum:

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

or The Theatre (yes, Gulliver was walking with us, too!):

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

We also saw the plaster castings of people who were buried in positions of prayer or while trying to escape at the moment of the Vesuvius eruption:

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

You can literally spend hours and hours walking around in Pompeii, looking into homes and staring at the mosaics and paintings well preserved for over 2000 years:

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

As there were at least 30 degrees outside, it was time for us to take a rest before continuing our way to Ercolano and Mount Vesuvius... and we found just the perfect terrace for our lunch stop with excellent Italian specialities and freshly squeezed orange juice. Yaammeee!

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

After lunch we headed back to Ercolano (by train), where we took a bus to the Vesuvius. From the bus stop it was another 30-minute-hike to reach the summit and crater of Mount Vesuvius.

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

At the top of Mt. Vesuvius, a trail circles the crater wall, offering amazing views of the crater (on our side) and the Bay of Naples (on the other side):

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

It was sad to imagine how much destruction could be caused by the volcano, if one day the Vesuvius erupted again... Let's not miss to mention some facts: Mt. Vesuvius is the only active volcano in continental Europe. The most famous eruption of Vesuvius is of course the outbreak in 79 that covered Pompeii and Herculaneum. Since then there have been many smaller eruptions that were a lot less destructive (last one in 1944).

The 650 meter wide crater is difficult to fit into a picture, but here's a few pictures of the interior of the cone:

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

At this time we were pretty exhausted, but arriving back to Ercolano we did not miss to climb another 15 min for a good photo spot and a final look at the Mt Vesuvius...

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

See all pictures from our trip to Napoli-Capri-Pompeii & Vesuvius here.

Long weekend in Italy - Part 1: Napoli & Capri

End of July we spent a long weekend in south of Italy - Naples & area: Capri, Pompeii and the Vesuvius -, a place which fascinated us for a long time.

We were prepared to face "one of the most dangerous cities in Europe" with huge piles of trash everywhere. As we arrived, Naples presented itself as a very typical southern Italian city with run down buildings covered by clothes hanging in the windows, sidewalks full of street vendors, noisy motorcycles, and ... yes, trash was all over the streets. But overall, we did not have a bad impression or any sort of fear from walking down the streets in the evening. As we learned already while traveling around the world: getting prepared for the worst makes it easier to accept - and enjoy - the local flavor.

As soon as very arrived to our hotel, we dropped off our stuff and went out to explore the city. We headed off to the funiculare de Montesanto taking us to the Castel S. Elmo, from where we enjoyed the amazing views over the Bay of Naples with Mount Vesuvius in the background:

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

Later, walking down the streets of Naples, we discovered the beauties of the city: galleries, churches, statues at every second street corner, castles and last but not least: Porto Santa Lucia, in the neighborhood of Castel dell'Ovo:

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

one of the coziest areas with plenty of local restaurants inviting for a typical Italian dinner, like for example our "Aperitivo di Napoli":

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

Next day, we woke up very excited about our trip to Capri island. No wonder. If you were to ask us what was the favorite place we have been visited during our travels so far, Capri will surely rank among the top 5 for both of us... it's truly like a little piece of heaven. Most of the streets in Capri are only walking streets with cobblestone and both sides covered by beautiful gardens, trees and flowers everywhere - amazing and very different from what we are used to.

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

As we arrived, we were debating for a while about renting a scooter or using public transport (e.g. funiculars and local buses) to get around the island - in the end, we (Emese) decided on the latter... so we ventured off. Hop on, hop off the funicular and headed towards the ruins of the Tiberius' villa on top of the mountain... and we hiked through very narrow streets ... and hiked... Our first stop was at a breathtaking scenic lookout point, where we saw dramatic coast lines and fancy yachts lining in the bay.

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

Later we took a bus to Anacapri and a chair lift up to the top of the highest mountain on the island. No comment to the view, the pictures should speak for themselves:

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

Pretty exhausted, it was time for all of us for a little rest...

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

... to get us prepared for the 800 Phoenician steps leading us from the Villa San Michel

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

back to the Marina Grande:

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

It's been a very long and exhausting "walk", and we were ready for our well deserved Italian pizza, after which we took a boat ride around the island; unfortunately that day the water level was too high and tourists were not allowed to visit the famous Blue Grotto, so we opted for a boat tour instead (it proved to be a very good choice as we had the opportunity to see the dream island from a completely different angle)

From EUROPE - ITALY - Naples, Capri, Pompeii & Vesuvius

After the tour, it was time for us to take the ferry back to Napoli with another exciting day in Pompeii and Vesuvius waiting for us next (2nd part of the story coming soon...)

See all pictures from our trip to Napoli-Capri-Pompeii & Vesuvius here.

Cinque Terre

Just as the cold and foggy autumn time started to break in to Switzerland, we headed off for a short holiday (or a long weekend ?) to a Cinque Terre, Italy... although not too far from Zurich (about 5 hrs driving), here was still wonderful summer weather, 30+ C and lots of sunshine.

It’s easy to fall in love with Cinque Terre. It’s a line of 5 small towns that are along the eastern coast of Italy. In this area, traveling by car is the most impractical way to get around. The best way to transport yourself is by Train, or Boat, or Foot. We tried all three of them.

First day we started to explore the area by taking a boat trip along the cost, leaving from La Spezia, where our hotel was located. Truly wonderful scenery, and gorgeous villages! Will let the photos speak for themselves, as it is difficult to describe with words.

From EUROPE - ITALY - Cinque Terre & Genoa

For the second day we had big plans. We headed out reasonably early (well, 9:30 is early enough on a holiday, isn't it?) and took the train to Monterosso al Mare, the first city if traveling from the north:

From EUROPE - ITALY - Cinque Terre & Genoa

... and started the Cinque Terre hiking tour:

From EUROPE - ITALY - Cinque Terre & Genoa

............ to Vernazza:

From EUROPE - ITALY - Cinque Terre & Genoa

........ to Corniglia:

From EUROPE - ITALY - Cinque Terre & Genoa

...... to Manarola:

From EUROPE - ITALY - Cinque Terre & Genoa

... and finally, through the Via Dell'Amore, to Riomaggiore....

From EUROPE - ITALY - Cinque Terre & Genoa

We found Cinque Terre one of the most delightful areas we've ever been to and we can fully appreciate why this region has been listed as a World Heritage Site. Almost unbelievable what did native people build in this area. Lots of stones have been used to build the vineyards and the thousands of km-long stone structures to prevent erosion.

The third day we took a less tourist-packed hiking route from Portovenere to Riomaggiore.
In Portovenere we visited the town and castle:

From EUROPE - ITALY - Cinque Terre & Genoa

Then we began our long hike. After being lost once and climbing a few thousand steps, we had magnificent views of the Ligurian coast:

From EUROPE - ITALY - Cinque Terre & Genoa

before descending down to Riomaggiore.

All along our hiking trips we were accompanied by our friend Gulliver who got his own backpack to carry his own stuff.

From EUROPE - ITALY - Cinque Terre & Genoa

Cinque Terre is magical! Make it a destination sometime in your life. We can highly recommend it.
See our entire photo album on Cinque Terre here .

On our last day of our mini-vacation, we visited Genoa as well, where the city is dominated by magnificent historical buildings and the omnipresent scooters:

From EUROPE - ITALY - Cinque Terre & Genoa

Couple of days in Milan...

As usually, we were planning to spend our Easter Holidays together with our families ...
searching for the best low-cost flight connections between Zurich and Cluj, we found a good deal for a Wizzair flight from Milan directly to Cluj. As we have never been in Milan before, we decided to use this opportunity to visit the 'city of fashion'.

First we took a nice walk to the Milan Dome. On the way to the Cathedral, we passed by the statue of Leonardo da Vinci on the Piazza della Scala. La Scala is perhaps the most well-known opera house in the world, and ... we could hardly figure out where it was. It was one of the buildings on the Piazza, but we wouldn't have known it if there hadn't been people taking photos of the building.
Then we walked though the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, which is a covered walking area with shops and art deco cafés everywhere:


On the opposite side of the gallery, we found the famous Milan Dome, a massive structure, incredibly huge and impressive. Unfortunately we didn't spot the stairs leading up to the top of the roof, so on the first day we only admired the Cathedral from the Piazza della Duomo and inside.

From EUROPE - ITALY - Milan

... next we walked by the Sforzesca Castle, but we didn't go inside the castle because it houses museums and we didn't have enough time for museum visits.




















In the evening we were heading towards the so called "I navigli' or "The Canals", which was told to be the best place for live music, pubs and restaurants. Well, we did really enjoy our dinner in a nice restaurant we have found, although the area seemed to be a little less characteristic and "special" as described on many travellers' blogs.
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Upon return from Cluj, while Zoli was already sitting on the train back to Zurich (I was flying a few hours later to Brussels), I had an attempt of visiting Leonardo's famous "Last Supper" in the Santa Maria Della Grazie, but without a reservation at least one week ahead there was no chance getting inside the Dome (although the place did not seem to be busy it all... ) so I had to content myself with a fine Italian ice cream instead (which, by the way, was far away from the best ice cream I ever had - - - at my favorite ice cream stand in Lugano ;-))

You can find our full Milan Photo Album here.

Autumn in Rome

Guidebooks say the best time to visit Rome is October: I could not agree more. We have had the best weather for sightseeing possible, constant sunshine throughout the day, but not hot to blow our heads up, and not too cold at night.

The first day was dedicated to the sights of the ancient Rome, ex. the Colosseum and the Forum.


On our second day we visited the Vatican city with its unique museum, the Sistine Chapel, the St Peter;s square and St Peter;s basilica of course.


We also spent great moments during our evening strolls through Rome by night, one such moment is well captured by the pic below.


Sunday's main attractions were San' Angelo's castle, a cruise on the Tiber and the fountains of Rome and the Spanish stairs.


The next day we went up to the Garibaldi square which had a great view on the city, then visited the Trestavere neighborhood, and various other sights around the city (see the captions in the album).



Our last day in Rome :-( we spend visiting a few missed sights in the downtown and then a nice golf cart ride around the huge park of the Villa Borghese.


And finally one panorama shot I could not resist not to put it up here:


All pics from Rome here