Ready and yet not ready to leave Croatia, we set our car in motion towards the Slovenian border and to Trieste in Italy. Nenad left with a heavy heart. Seeing Nui adapting and liking Croatia so much, made him so happy. With no plans to stop anywhere in Italy, we drove along E70 autostrada passing Venice, Verona, the Lake of Garda, Bergamo and Milano turning North towards Como and the Swiss border. We were a bit concerned for various reasons. One, the Swiss have not yet removed Croatia from the risk country list, meaning that we strictly speaking would need to go to a 14 day self isolation in Switzerland, which Nenad absolutely did NOT XXX fancy. Especially as our tests were negative, this did not make sense. Then, we had our car full with all sorts of food and beverage items from Croatia, the Swiss customs could tax, because Switzerland is not in the EU zone. Especially the 35 bottles of wine, Travarica (a type of grappa) and lots of ham, bacon, salami, cheese and olive oil. And lastly, all over Europe, but especially in Switzerland, the Corona infections were steeply on the rise, putting a question mark
on what and how we will be able to continue with our sabbatical activities. Nenad did not like the idea to be stuck in the dark, cold, damp November / December weather in Switzerland !!!
However once on the road, we got into the excitement of moving. We chose a side road through the mountains into Slovenia and joined the freeway south of Trieste. Nui has been doing quite a bit of driving in Croatia, so now it was time to expose her to the E70 autostratda dynamics. With 6 to 8 lanes and an enormous amount of big trucks overtaking each other, as well as the many fiery Italian drivers speeding with their cars well above the 120 km/h speed limit, she had quite a bit of new challenges and tensions to But did well. It is a different world driving in Europe, Nui commented.
We crossed the Swiss border with no issues and arrived at our destination Locarno, a lovely town in the part, called Ticino. Crossing three country borders with no checks at all does not match the buuuhaaa the media and politicians make regarding Covid. Crazy times !!! Locarno is
an Italian speaking resort city in southern Switzerland in the northern part of the Canton of Ticino, on Lake (Lago) Maggiore, at the base of the Alps. Its known for its sunny climate. Palm trees and banana trees can be found in the numerous parks, giving it a curious Mediterranean and Alpine appeal at the same time. Founded in the 12th century, the old towns Castello Visconteo houses the Museo Civico, which showcases Roman antiquities. The 15th century Santuario della Madonna del Sasso, an pilgrimage site overlooking the city, can be reached by funicular railway, or by hike of course. With 2,300 hours of sunshine per year, the town has the warmest climate in Switzerland. The city of 15000 inhabitants hosts during the first half of August every year the Locarno Film Festival, popular for featuring non mainstream movies.
Lush green vegetation, pristine nature, steep mountains on both sides, surrounded by majestic peaks and the Maggia river down below, winding and forcing its path down the valley, with many rapids along the way. This was our next hiking stop. With its enchanting atmosphere, typical Ticino villages, history and culture, the Vallemaggia (Maggia Valley, app 15km North of Locarno)
is a magical region and an all season destination for excursions. We came in late fall with the foliage season still on. Typical for this time of the year are the huge temperature differences between the sunny or shady spots. When outdoors this can be a challenge managing layers of clothes. There are numerous hiking trails in the Maggia Valley. We chose the town of Lodano as our starting point and the Valle di Lodanos unique beech forests trails as our fun park of the day. By the way the forest is a candidate UNESCO World Heritage Site, because of its rare plants and animals.
