Sept. 26, 2008 - Back to Italy

Friday, September 26, 2008

We were up early, about 6:15am to shower, pack, and have breakfast. We wanted to get to Bern at around 10:00am, so we needed to catch the train at 8:06am. We caught the train but missed our connection into Interlaken by about 1 minute. Well, that gave us time to get our Southbound Cisalpino ticket.

Turns out you do not need a seat reservation when boarding the train in Switzerland, not so in Italy. This turned out to be odd, since some people had a seat reservation and forced others, who did not have a reservation, to vacate their seat. Luckily, nobody kicked us out of our seats. It seemed like an awkward hybrid system. Anyway, we caught a northbound Cisalpino with about 1 minute to spare. I guess that made up for the train we missed. On the train I ordered a coffee from the cart that comes down the aisle. Then some man came up from behind, scolding me in German and dropped my tray down so it was fully extended. Not sure what that was all about, half a tray is not good enough for a small coffee? I just assumed it was another uptight Swiss.

We arrived in Bern and stored our luggage in the train station lockers. We started out on the Rick Steves’ tour of the town. It is a nice city, we just wished it was warmer. It was about 50 degrees with a stiff breeze. We had lunch at a nice pizza place. Great service for a change, with a lively atmosphere.

After touring Bern we boarded the southbound Cisalpino to Italy. We were headed for Stresa, the last stop on our trip. As soon as we got to our transfer stop in Italy we started to remove clothing. The warm air was a relief. And although Switzerland had great scenery, we were glad to be back in Italy. We arrived in Stresa and walked to our 5 star hotel. What a nice place. And a nice setting on a large lake in the Italian Alps, Lake Maggiore. We had a nice dinner, Becky and I shared a roasted Pork leg. Yes, Italy has better food than Switzerland.

Impressions:

We stayed at the Chalet Fontana while in Murren for 3 nights. It so happened that the apartment was empty, so Denise the owner had us stay in it. Although it was clean and the beds were great, I never felt completely comfortable. Mainly because the most comfortable chairs were sorn with a small burn mark or two on them. Becky sat in them and seemed happy, I just sat on the floor. However the price was right and Denise was a great host. It was the end of the season and she was still full of energy and sightseeing ideas. Next time I think we should go to Wengen, it is supposed to be a little more upscale and it is also closer to the Jungfrau train line. St. Moritz could also be explored but is in a different area.

Bern, Switzerland Bern Statue: The Ogre that eats children