Lugano

Next stop Lugano,

I warmly greet you from Switzerland, Lugano my second stop. I read somewhere that Lugano is also called the City of Sunshine. Unfortunately, that was definitely not the case for me, as it rained almost the entire time. I even extended my stay from two nights to three. No matter, I still tried to make the best of it.

As can be seen in the background, the first afternoon was very gray and cloudy, but upon my arrival, I spotted a patch of blue sky, which prompted me to go on a little exploration right away. The views were breathtaking, and I believe Lugano is a place I must visit again in good weather.

On my first real day, I walked from Lugano Center to Lugano-Paradiso. A distance of at least 30 minutes, but it took me longer since I made several stops along the way.

For example, here. The following pictures show the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli.

This church was completed in 1515 and was part of the Franciscan monastery, which was finished in 1525. The last image shows a very famous Renaissance fresco by Bernardino Luini. It is the oldest of its kind in all of Switzerland and dates back to 1529.

Then I went to a train museum. I had hoped it would be a kind of miniature museum, like the ones many would know from Hamburg. Unfortunately, it was much smaller, and instead of spending 3-4 hours there, I only spent one hour. Still, it was quite interesting.

Then I really made the most of my Interrail ticket and spontaneously decided to head to Italy. So I visited Varese that afternoon.

Unfortunately, it rained here too, and I just tried to find a viewpoint over the city and stumbled upon a beautiful park. It gave me the feeling of spring, even in the bad weather, and offered a nice view of the city. It smelled so fresh from the rain, the trees and bushes were in bloom, and I really felt that spring was finally on the way.

My first hostel experience on this trip was also nice. The hostel had just reopened for my first night there. Thus, it was still very quiet. I was offered a room in a women's dorm, which I happily accepted, and I had a relaxed first night sharing the four-person room with a very easygoing older lady who gave me some tips. On the second night, I enjoyed having the room all to myself.

Lugano turned out to be a lovely experience, even though this place will definitely make it to my list of 'I need to go back here in good weather.' Then I hope I can also do some hiking and get up into the mountains. That would have probably given me the view of Lugano, like in the map above.

Now, I’m off to Italy, see you soon, your Almut!