After arriving at Milan’s Malpensa Airport on the 9th June, we took a taxi to the nearby Indie Camper van depot to collect a VW California Camper. This van would be our home on wheels for the next nine days to travel around the lakes on the southern side of the Alps in northern Italy. Milan, we had visited before, so instead, we headed north to Lake Maggiore, only 25km away.
Map Northern Italy.
The van had an electric pop-up roof with a comfy double beds upstairs and downstairs, a kitchen with gas stove, sink and excellent fridge. It also had an outside shower, porta potty loo, chairs, table and came kitted out with linen, cutlery and crockery, pots and pans. Our first night was spent at the Smeralda campsite on the southern shore of Lake Maggiore.
Waking up at Lake Maggiore.
Annie having breakfast.
This automatic transmission van drives like a car and was the right choice for the narrow winding roads on the mountain sides surrounding the lake. Italian drivers are known for their racing skills, following in the footsteps of Emerson Fittipaldi, which made some of the hairpin bends exciting, with these fellows sharing the road.
Western shore of Lake Maggiore.
One of the villas next to the road.
Park4night is a handy app to locate campsites and free camping areas in Europe, so we used the app extensively to alternate between paying campsites and free parking sites, thereby halving our camping costs.
Our first Park4night free parking spot.
Driving up the western side of the lake to the top at Locarno, which is actually in Switzerland, we went through stunning villages against the mountainsides next to the lake. The Swiss villages were disappointing as the conservation of older buildings seemed non-existent, with bland modern buildings thrown in.
Lake Maggiore looking North.
Coming down the eastern side of Lake Maggiore we branched off at Laveno, to travel through Varese to Lake Como. The town of Como, still pretty, was a shock trafficwise, since my brothers and I travelled through here 50 years ago. To be expected though, as the place has become very popular and the roads and infrastructure became inadequate.
Looking back to the western shore.
From Como we drove north to Bellagio along a hair raising road shared with busses and trucks. Bellagio has also become a popular holiday destination, packed with tourists. We didn’t stay long before heading south to Lecco. From here our route took us through Bergamo, skirting Lake d’Iseo to Brescia and on to Lake Garda, the jewel of all the lakes.
Bellagio on Lake Como.
Our campsite at La Fornace on the east side of lake Como.
I’m enjoying a coffee, but Annie’s trading on the NYSE and ASX!
At this point, Annie was planning to join our Michelle for a hike through the Dolomites, northeast of Lake Garda, with her hiking group, while I rented a dinghy to sail on Lake Garda. Annie was still coughing after our Camino colds and decided to pull out of the hike, which was a good thing judging by the conditions Michelle and her group went through to reach the summit of Peitlerkofel at 2,800m.
For these young women, a walk in the park.
The summit of Peitlerkofel.
Relaxing after the climb. For context, the group summited the peak below the moon.
On the southern shore of Lake Garda is a little peninsula with a beautiful old town Simioni, reached by crossing a bridge. This place is worth a visit – we spent a day exploring the town before driving north to camp at Bardolino.
The entrance to Simioni.
Simioni surrounded by crystal clear water.
Simioni – beautiful courtyards with spring flowers.
From here we drove to Verona to camp at Oro Verde, a wine and olive farm outside town. Italy has many beautiful cities and towns, but in our book, Verona and Venice are at the top. Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet was set in Verona. People queue up to see Romeo and Juliet’s houses.
“Agri-camping” at Oro Verde – Porta Potty used as a coffee table inside.
Verona – Piazzetta Mura Gallieno.
First, there are just a few minor details to sort out here. Yes, there is a house called the Casa di Giulietta in Verona, which we passed because of the crowds. But no, Juliet didn’t ever live there. Romeo and Juliet are fictional characters and our sweet Juliet never actually set foot on that balcony looking for her Romeo.
Verona – looking towards Basilica di Santa Anastasia.
Interior Basilica di Santa Anastasia.
The Palazzo Maffei.
The Arena di Verona, built in the first century AD, this is one of the best conserved Roman amphitheatres, whose seating area is made up of 44 levels and can hold up to 22,000 spectators. In summer it hosts Operas and concerts – Aida was playing when we visited.
The Arena di Verona.
What! A Roman Gladiator?
The Piazza delle Erbe.
Verona street scene – so many photos, so little space!
Heading back to Milan, we decided to use the Autostrada and although subject to tolls, was much quicker to travel – albeit nerve wracking with fast moving cars and trucks travelling bumper to bumper. Returning the camper, we had done 800km in the nine days and had a wonderful experience.
So much so, that Annie is now looking out for a second hand VW California camper for the family to use for Aussie outback trips! Our next report will be from the Netherlands.
We arrived in Berlin, via Zurich at 2pm on Monday the 3rd June 2024, after nearly missing our flight in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The taxi we booked online the night before for a 5am pickup, failed to show up! So, with no Uber in this city, we both frantically phoned every taxi company on the net to get a pickup, before finding a car to pick us up at 06:45 for a mad dash to the airport. We got onto our 07:35 flight as the boarding gate was closing!
Hotel Sachsenhof.
At our stopover in Zurich we had a recovery Heineken beer before boarding the flight to Berlin. The new Brandenburg airport south of Berlin is quite far out of town, but we managed to navigate the S and U Bahn train services successfully to arrive at our charming Hotel Sachsenhof at 4pm – a full day!
Brandenburg gate.
Webooked in for seven days and guess what? We spent the first two days in our hotel room loaded up with medications to try and shake of the persistent colds and coughing that were still with us. After this we swung into action and tested the public transportation system, which includes the S-Bahn, U-Bahn and busses, and runs like clockwork. We never waited more than 5 minutes.
The Reichstag.
Over the next four days we visited the Brandenburg gate and the Reichstag (Parliament building) with its striking new dome designed by Lord Norman Foster, after Foster and Partners won the International design competition. The large glass dome at the very top of the Reichstag has a 360° view of the surrounding Berlin cityscape.
Glass dome.
The main hall of the parliament below can also be seen from inside the dome, and natural light from above radiates down to the parliament floor. A large sun shield tracks the movement of the sun electronically and blocks direct sunlight which would not only cause large solar gain, but dazzle those below. Construction work was finished in 1999 and the seat of parliament was transferred to the Bundestag in April of that year.
Inside the dome.
We visited the East Side Gallery, where a kilometre long remnant of the cold war Berlin Wall still remains. It is covered with graffiti on both sides. The architecture of the buildings on the East and West sides of the wall differ dramatically, although the reunited Germany is systematically renovating the drab Communist era buildings on the East side.
The wall from the West side.
Annie on the Eastern side.
Unter den Linden is a boulevard in the central Mitte district of Berlin. Running from the Spree River to the Brandenburg Gate, it is named after the linden trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall on the median and the two broad carriageways. We also visited some museums.
Unter den Linden.
Monument to the Holocaust victims.
Public Art.
Jewish museum.
The day before we flew to Milan, Jorg Domann a sailing friend we met in the Caribbean, took us to lunch at the Zenner beer garden on the banks of the Spree River in south eastern Berlin. We enjoyed a long lunch catching up on news, the food and the beer. Jorg did a solo circumnavigation about the same time as us, on a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 409, a sister ship of Esprit. His boat Aurelia, is currently moored in Las Palmas and he appears to be planning another trip around!
Spree Park.
Jorg and Annie at Zenner beer garden.
Long lunch.
Our next post will be from Italy, after we have flown to Milan to collect a VW California camper van for a nine day trip through Northern Italy’s beautiful lakes. Annie is planning to join our Michelle for a hike through the Dolomites.
On the 14th May we flew to Dubai, a city and an Emirate in the United Arab Emirates known for luxury shopping, ultramodern architecture and serious traffic jams. Dubai has two seasons: hot and very hot. We were lucky to have 38 – 42 deg C temperatures. But, made the mistake to walk around the city to see all the amazing architecture, covering 15 km in the process – knackered!
Restored Dubai houses of 50 years ago.
Burj Khalifa, an 828 m-tall tower, dominates the skyscraper-filled skyline. At its foot lies the massive Dubai Fountain, with water jets choreographed to music, every hour. Fifty years ago, this was a desert, but oil riches has changed all this. On artificial islands just offshore, “The Palm” and “Atlantis”, are resorts with beaches, water and marine parks.
Burj Khalifa – at 828m, the world’s tallest building.
View down to Dubai fountains from the 125th floor.
Dubai and surrounds has a population of 10 million people. Two million of these are Emirati citizens, descended from the first Emir and his 800 people who settled here to fish and eke out a living. The other eight million people are indentured labourers from India, Pakistan and the rest of the world, who have come here for a better life. They have no hope of becoming citizens of Dubai. We spent three days exploring Dubai before flying to Lisbon.
Twisted building at the marina
Apartments on the coast.
Museum of the future close up.
Lisbon, the second oldest city in Europe after Athens, was the home of the first navigators like Vasco da Gama, Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus) and Bartholomew Diaz, who ventured out in their small caravel sailing ships, to explore the world. They discovered the Americas, rounded thesouthern tip of Africa and reached as far as present day Australia. They colonised countries like Brazil, Angola, Mozambique and many others.
View over Lisbon from San Jorge.
In the process, by getting there first, Portugal became a powerful and wealthy county, exploiting the minerals and wealth of their colonies. Many years later, these colonies demanded independence, (often after prolonged wars against their masters in Portugal). Today, Portugal, like many former colonising nations, are reaping the fruits of the past.
The street of our AIr B&B lodgings.
Lisbon tram route to our lodgings.
Vast areas around Lisbon have now become borderline ghettos. The people are mostly from the former Portuguese colonies, Mozambique and Angola in Africa; São Tomé and Principe around the coast of Africa; Goa, and Colombo on the Indian subcontinent; Macao in East Asia; and a few from Brazil. The older parts of Lisbon on the Tagus River are colourful and charming with 100 year old trams running down impossibly steep and narrow streets.
Praca Camoes – historic square.
Lisbon street.
Basilica Baroque period interior.
With our Lisbon travel cards, we used all the public transport options to cover the city. With the steep hills and cobbled streets this is a necessity and it’s worth navigating the trams, buses, trains and metro rail services. Our first and fourth days covered the city, whilst on the second day, we took a train to Cascais on the coast. A picturesque town with constant winds and a large sailing community. The dinghy sailing worlds will take place here later this year.
Cascais waterfront.
Cascais art precinct.
On our third day, we took a train to Sintra in the West, where the erstwhile royalty built their castles. These are in beautiful and verdant forest settings in the mountains, which requires bus transport, stopping of at these spots and in small villages. Already, long entry queues were forming at these attractions, which made buying tickets online before arriving, the sensible thing to do. On our last day, it was time to do our washing.
Sintra town square.
Annie hanging out our washing.
Enjoying wine and snails with Anna our landlady.
After four days in Lisbon, we boarded a train for a three and a half hour trip to Porto in the North. An ancient city with well preserved historic architecture, surrounded by a region which produces arguably, some of the best port wine. We spent two days exploring the sights of Porto. The city is more compact and is situated on the banks of the Douro river. The historic centre of the city rises steeply from the river with churches and cathedrals around every corner.
The church next to our hotel.
Inside, Rococo period church interior.
Lavishly decorated buildings.
The historic centre can be explored on foot in a day, albeit with lots of up and down streets and stairs. We also bought our “passports” for the Portuguese Camino at the cathedral, which is one of the many starting points for this walk. The beautiful steel Luiz bridge connects the city to the Gaia area to the south of the river, where all the Port wine cellars like Ferreira, Cockburn’s, Taylor, and others are located.
The Luiz bridge over the Douro river and the castle beyond.
Apartments on the riverside.
Salad for Annie, tripe on rice for me.
So sensible – electric police cars.
On Friday the 24th May we caught a bus in Porto to Vigo, just north of the border in Spain. Arriving in Vigo, the local bus to Baiona was ready to depart, which was 30 minutes away. Baiona is a pretty little seaside town, which we explored in the afternoon, before dinner at 8:30pm. The Spanish dine late!
Baiona beachfront and fortifications.
View from our hotel window.
After breakfast on Saturday morning we hit the Camino trail north along the coast, for a pleasant walk to Nigran. The weather was cool, with clear skies – ideal for walking. We arrived at our hotel by lunchtime after a short 10 km walk, leaving the afternoon free for a nana nap and exploring.
The start of our walk.
Day 1 Praia America.
This was to be our settling in day and our last easy day, as from here on the walks would average between 17 and 20 km a day for the next seven days. To add to the fun, we both started sneezing and coughing, having contracted colds in Lisbon.
Day 2 stone house in Nigran.
Day 2 Panxon.
This slowed us down a bit, to the extent that we were constantly passed by other hikers. It is however not a race, but a spiritual experience, we were told. By day five, we started a course of amoxicillin to try and sort out the colds.
Day 3 Patos.
Sculpture in Vigo.
The demographics of the “Pilgrims” (me, I’m just a hiker) was interesting. Most people were between the ages of 50 to 70, while women, either hiking alone or in pairs, outnumbered men by at least two to one, during our time on the trail.
View over Vigo city as we walk North.
95 km to go.
The bigger cities that we passed through, like Vigo, Redondella and Pontevedra, had quaint historical centres, but their outskirts and resultant traffic was boring. In the countryside however, the scenery was outstanding with numerous streams and rivers running through forests and vineyards.
Day 4 on track to Pontevedra.
Day 4 Pontevedra.
Day 5 on track to Caldas de Reis.
Day 6 Caldas de Reis.
Only 9.87km to go!
We arrived in Santiago de Compostela on day eight, sore of feet and weak of limb, having walked 142 km. Not much, compared to some of the serious “Pilgrims”. We can now tick this one off Annie’s bucket list – although I still think she was trying to kill me!
The two old farts have finally made it – in front of the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
Exhausted walkers and cyclists in front of the cathedral.
It seems more cyclists than walkers finished today.
Beers and lunch to celebrate!
Berlin is our next stop and we will keep you posted on our progress.
