So Italy can also...by Vorarlberger and Vorarlberg weather at Lago Maggiore

I wouldn't say that I slept better, harder or longer...but it feels good to go to bed properly washed, creamed, and combed, without an audience.

Waking up at a moderate temperature, without juice on my face, I still don't know what the day will bring...I started off to Lago Maggiore without a plan...I can't see the weather from my room, which is facing the next building wall. "It can be cooler" is what I secretly hope for...so I start off clueless.

On my way to the opposite boat pier, I grab the hotel breakfast (Italian-style with lots of sweets and sad rubber cheese, but with the best coffee) as well. The weather is moderate today. Pleasant, I would almost say. My plan is slowly forming. Ideal for shopping. So instead of the boat tour across the whole lake (with a pleasant breeze in my face), I spontaneously decide on shopping. Intra is not far away and according to the reception, there should be a market today and also beautiful shopping streets. Sweat will surely start flowing again soon...that's when I'll catch the breeze.

HOMELAND WHISPERS

Waiting at the boat pier, you hear different languages as often as usual. But wait - one sounds particularly familiar to me...a Lustenauer in the hood...Help...somehow this slightly shrill dialect destroys my Italia feeling and immediately ignites a subtle homesickness...or let's not necessarily call it homesickness...more the need to chat in my language again...I could do that well with Julian and Inge...in German of course...but dialect was not an option.

As expected, we start talking...I would have avoided it if Papa hadn't suddenly called on the boat. Since I was sitting nearby, the Lustenau company outing heard it, of course, and approached me directly. Actually quite nice, I thought...

When we arrived in Intra, our paths diverged...although all tourists were flocking to the market, in the hustle and bustle of the market scene, all eyes were focused on cheap one-size clothes, leather bags, vegetables, toys, and various other things. Fine by me...after all, I was also shopping and happily doing it alone.

I always feel sorry for the wonderful food that hotel residents cannot take with them. I love the culinary arts. But I will make up for it on Tuesday before the journey home...

Done and successfully shopped - mostly for my niece (okay, there was also a handbag for me) - I headed towards the city. These Italian cities are beautiful...but I'm too big for the fashion there...even the shoes are rather small... (For my 183 I have a reasonable 41...still hard to get in Italy...next year I will go to the north...I'll start saving until then ;)

...never mind...I like the flair...the self-determined strolling. "Oh, a smoothie: a few vitamins won't hurt...uh, the ice cream parlor looks organic: a scoop of yogurt is certainly good for the intestinal flora...hm, a quick pasta is always a good idea," that's what I think, and I usually put it into action...impulsive actions that do not require prior discussion with a companion. 12 points for "traveling alone"...I think to myself...Arriving at the restaurant where the "Nudel" cooks, I take a seat...

"Do doba in Cannobio, it's beautiful there...do you think we can also go on a boat ride?...my table neighbors...obviously from Dornbirn...I briefly consider recommending a "subirer" as an aperitif across the tables...then everything would be clear...but I decide on a simple "yes, you can also take a boat there"...enjoying the broken ice, we chat a little about the lake, the attractions here, and my previous journey...and there it is again...that slight homesickness...don't get me wrong...but it's just nice to feel familiar...I think everyone feels that way abroad...whether you're on an adventure trip in Uganda or on a road trip in peaceful Italy (of course, the chances of meeting a person from Vorarlberg in Uganda are lower...unless Herburger-reisen also goes on a day trip there? ;)....whatever the case may be...we usually grow up in a certain country and associate it with familiar faces, languages, and rituals, and we are happy to encounter them again wherever we are...I suppose that's quite normal.

As soon as I say goodbye to the Vorarlberg people, 4 friendly Swiss people sit down next to me at the table. Obviously, no exotic guests here due to the proximity to the border...I start a conversation with them as well...adorable children by their side...I can't help but keep smiling at them. The hip Zurich people are also helpful and give me tips on where to go in the next few days. Pasta finished, espresso consumed, and I'm off to the water..."it's already drizzling slightly...I've done enough shopping...it's already mid-afternoon...I think I'll head towards the hotel to write the blog post"

On the boat, the first thunderclouds are already piling up above us..."hui....this will be exciting...wonder if I'll make it to the hotel dry?"...

...THUNDER...FEEL THE THUNDER...

At first, the boat ride is still beautiful...the dark thunderclouds against which the sun is still trying to fight enchant the lake into a breathtaking backdrop. The water turns a bright petrol color...I know it from Lake Constance...it's about to start. About 2 km before my destination harbor, the waves start foaming...the wind gets stronger...the boat rocks more and more and starts to tilt slightly. I'm sitting outside, taking off my glasses because they would almost fly away...people get nervous and gradually retreat into the cabin. I keep a broad grin on my face and look forward to the spectacle...another lightning and thunder and then it starts raining. Even hailing...what a multifaceted adventure, I think to myself (in the meantime, of course, I have also fled into the cabin)...the ship just manages to dock...from now on, it's a state of emergency...I can hardly imagine that Verbania/Lake Maggiore has experienced such a severe thunderstorm this year...even I, as a Lake Constance native, have rarely experienced such a storm - at least on water...fortunately, it's my harbor...so I get off the boat and run barefoot to the docking station. Countless tourists have sought shelter there and are astonishedly watching the storm at sea and on land...I'm lucky. My hotel is right across from the docking station, so I make a final rain sprint and find myself safe, albeit wet, in my accommodation.

It's just like at home...in the summer, I always enjoy these thunderstorm moments. You can hang out at home without feeling guilty, watch TV, stream Netflix...and so it is here too...I enjoyed these 2 hours of thunderstorm finally being able to lounge in the hotel room without any urge to do anything...and when Horst Lichter's "bares für rares" started on ZDF, I thought...enough is enough...storm is over and time to go out and write the blog post...

It's now almost 7 pm...3 hours later...the storm has passed and the concrete is already dry again...if I didn't sit in the shade, the sun would blind me...after countless Aperol spritz and wine days, today I treated myself to a few beers. I don't know if I still need dinner...the pasta for lunch, the beer, and the omnipresent Aperitivo fill me up quite well...let's see what the evening brings...in case of doubt, just watch TV...because the least fun thing about traveling alone is "going out in the evening"...no, even in Italy, you won't be easily approached in a bar...even if a charming signora is sitting at the next table ;)...and beer still tastes best in good company...or while writing the blog post :)...CHEERS!

PS...today, the pigeons were unbelievably cheeky again...see photo!!! ;DD