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Published: November 1st 2020
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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 Covid-19 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 tax-fee 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 will come 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 overcome. 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 Italian-Swiss 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. It's 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 town's Castello Visconteo houses the Museo Civico, which showcases Roman antiquities. The 15th century Santuario della Madonna del Sasso, an art-filled 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 15'000 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 Lodano's 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. The forests are full of chestnut trees as well, so Nui was all out collecting many chestnuts we took home. Roasting them and enjoying these fruits with a glass of red and cheese next to our fire place, is the plan !!!. As one hikes the forests, "grottos" hidden in them can be discovered. Nothing is more typical for life in Ticino than the grotto, a simple tavern in quiet hideaway places, well in the shade of trees. You can say the Swiss version of a Russian Dacha. They usually consist of a kitchen and
a generous garden with solid granite tables and benches, where everybody sits in the coolness of the trees, drinking and eating products of the local cuisine, like homemade sausages, salami and mortadella, a choice of hard and creamy cheese, or the vegetable soup minestrone. The most famous dishes of the Ticino however are risotto, polenta and roast beef. And all this with the famous Merlot di Ticino. So late in the season all the grottos we encountered were closed !!!! may be better, otherwise our hike would have been considerably shorter, Nenad says.
Valle Verzasca was on our list for the day after. The Verzasca valley is popular for its beauty, its unspoilt nature and its many opportunities for exploration. Arguably, nowhere else in the world is there a more spectacular valley entrance than that of Verzasca. It consists of the 220 meters high dam wall of a hydroelectric plant, made famous by the jump in the James Bond film GoldenEye. We chose to follow the river upstream enjoying the rock formations, waterfalls and rapids. The emerald green Verzasca river with its polished gorges and deep pools are made for a swim in summer. But hallo, (?!) water temperatures
even in summer do not exceed 15C !!! Its all water from the glaciers. Nenad knows Verzasca well. He was scuba diving in the late 80's in these pools which can be more than 10m deep and took his son Goran when he was 12 years old to an extended mountain bike ride. A ride Goran even today mentions. It was indeed a perfect dad-son bonding outing.
And after the Verzasca hike and our farewell meal, consisting of risotto ai fungi of course, we said .... "that was it" !!! Time to go back to our base camp Wil. We chose to drive the San Bernardino route to Wil, which is a spectacular mountain road with a 7km long tunnel cutting through the Alps.
June 27, 2020 we left Bangkok. It feels like an eternity away, because we did and experienced so many things. 28 Blogs and nearly a thousand pictures later, we are back in Wil, with phase one and two (Switzerland & Croatia) of our Sabbatical completed. Nui was thoroughly introduced to the two countries Nenad grew up in. Covid, whilst always following us, has not greatly interrupted our plans. We climbed mountains and glaciers, biked
alongside lakes and ocean shores, drove through forests on 'fire' and alongside the bays of the Adriatic, hiked National Parks, enjoyed the sweltering summer heat of the Mediterranean and the stormy autumn winds of the Jugo and Bura. We met many extraordinary people and received a hospitality, warmth and friendship from so many, which is hard to describe. We shared so many different fantastic food and drank many, (too many ???, who cares) outstanding drops, mainly grape based. And above all, Nui and Nenad had time together, intense, active, curious, indulging, romantic, free !!!
We hope that you have enjoyed our Blog so far. What's next ??? Well, our original plans of Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina, and to Nenad's big despair, especially the motorbike ride in Patagonia has been suffocated by Covid. In our base camp we are planning now an alternative. However planning has become difficult, having a plan impossible. So bare with us, we will be in touch again soon, hopefully with an interesting surprise.
Thank you for following & take care all of you !!!
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