We spent the first half of this week in Lake Como, staying in ‘The Pink House’ with Jacks grandparents.
‘The Pink House’ is in Careno, a town halfway between Como and Bellagio. The roads were as you would expect for Italy – tight, winding and totally unsuitable for a transit van. Peggy also didn’t fit in the allocated parking spot either, so she spent the next few days in a small parking lot about 500m down the road. This left us with either the bus or ferry for transport.
From the house, we had a steep trek downhill to the lake and ferry dock. On the first morning, we slowly made our way down and got the ferry to Bellagio. The trip took just under two hours, zigzagging across the lake and stopping at every little town. The views were spectacular and we would recommend this mode of transport over the dreaded bus.
Once we got to Bellagio, we stopped in at an outdoor restaurant to soak up the sun for lunch before going for a wander. The cobblestoned (near vertical) alleys were as picturesque as you can imagine and definitely got the blood pumping. One gelato stop later, and we were heading back to Careno via bus (to avoid the climb back up the hill from the ferry to the house – it was THAT steep).
The bus was the cheaper and more frequent mode of transport however, it was less than enjoyable for those of us who get motion sickness from anything other than walking or driving shotgun. Safe to say I was more than happy to get off.
On Day 2 we crossed the border into Switzerland to visit Lugano (recommended by Poppy’s friend). To get there, we caught the dreaded bus into Como before hoping on two trains to get to Lugano – all in all it took less time than the ferry to Bellagio.
Lugano seemed like a very high end town but I think thats what most Swiss towns feel like to us mere mortals. We wandered around the alleys and shops (Jack finally purchasing a Swiss army knife IN Switzerland) before stopping for some lunch. On the way back to the train station, we made the most important stop of the day to of course buy some chocolate to enjoy later (after all the trains and buses were over with). A nice day out.
On our last full day, we made the trek back down to the lake and caught the ferry again but this time in the opposite direction, to Como. There was an unusual mist hanging around so the views weren’t as good but it is a much nicer ride than the bus.
Once in Como, we did the usual wander around (and gelato stop) before finding a restaurant to have our last supper at. We enjoyed good wine and food and it was a really nice way to end our time with the family.
On Thursday morning, we said goodbye to Nan & Poppy and hello to our girl again. Ten nights in total spent in a proper bed, with a bathroom and food that we didn’t have to cook ourselves was really great but we were excited to be back on the road again.
From Como, we headed north through Switzerland to Germany. We decided we wouldn’t spend any more time in Switzerland because its super expensive and our funds are slowly dwindling as we are nearing the end of our trip.
We finally stopped at Tuttlingen for our first night back on the road and it was a surprise. A simple car park with one corner dedicated to campers (free no less), and lucky for us a public toilet. It was late when we arrived, so we had a simple dinner before calling it. The next morning, we took a walk through the little bustling town that sat either side of Danube. There were fresh food markets in full swing and cafes full of people.
Being just east of the Black Forest region, we decided to do a hike in the afternoon so drove west to Lenzkirch. The Hochschwarzwälder Hirtenpfad (Black Forest Highlands Shepherd’s Trail) is an 8km trail loop that dips into the forest outskirts and through open meadows with fantastic views the whole way round. The trail was covered in fallen leaves and the forest was all shades of colour – just magic.
After the hike, we drove about 20 minutes to Rötenbach and stayed in a small carpark on the edge of the forest for the night (again, for free).
In the morning, we did a small hike from the carpark (about 4km loop / all our legs could handle). Similar to Hirtenpfad, we walked through pine forest and meadows but there was no climbing (thank goodness).
We left around lunch time and headed north, finally stopping at Gaggenau. Another carpark with a section just for campers, on the edge of a huge park (again, for free). Unfortunately for us, the weather turned bad so we took a quick walk through the park before getting cosy in Peggy.
We left Gaggenau mid morning on Sunday and continued our journey north. We ended up stopping at Annweiler am Trifels but the rain decided to hang around all afternoon. The spot was again next to a park and reserved just for campers plus it was free and had a toilet block – winning combo.
Until Week Twenty One. Tchuss x
Recent Comments