Lugano, Switzerland

After a week in Germany for my neck, Phil and I decided to meet in Switzerland for the weekend.  This was good because it made my Friday drive from Germany 5 hours instead of 8.  Phil took the train after work on Friday and I picked him up in the border town. Our destination was Lugano a small town on Lake Lugano. 

Lugano

This trip was much more relaxing than most of our trips where we try to see and do as much as possible.  First, I should tell you a little about Lugano -- it is a lake town in Switzerland, but it is very Italian.  I was a little nervous when I realized just how Italian it was - they speak Italian -- because August in Italy is miserable.  This is true for one of two reasons, (1) if you are in a tourist area it is usually packed with crowds on top of the heat or (2)  if you are in a non-tourist town most if not all things are closed because literally the whole country goes on vacation at the same time.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that Lugano was not overly packed with tourists and though a few things were closed it was still easy to find a restaurant etc.

So we started  Saturday with a later breakfast before making our way down to the water where we caught a boat to Gandria.  Gandria is smaller fishing village a bit north on the lake.  The town reminded me a little of Cinque Terra and a little of Santorini Greece.  Phil & I spent a few hours wandering the narrow winding staircases that make up the roads.  We increased our knowledge of olive oil by taking a guided (by sign) walk to olive groves.  Ready for more relaxing we  settled in for a bite to eat on a terrace overlooking the water covered in grape vines.

Not a bad place to have lunch.

The way they used to make olive oil.

Then we took the boat back to Lugano.  Across the lake from Gandria we saw (from the outside) the old customs house and the Italy/Swiss border from the water.  

Border outside the customs house

Back in Lugano we walked through the city park to the mouth of the river.  This area has a small beach and we both got our feet wet to cool off before taking the funicular up to Mont Bre. 

Beautiful flowers in the city park

Mont Bre offered us a different view of Lugano and the surroundings towns and regions. 

Lugano from above

On the very top of Mont Bre is a small church and then a stroll down the stairs brought us to another small town where there was another beautiful church and more streets to wander.  We took the long way back to the funicular enjoying more views of the area before taking the funicular back to town.

Narrow streets in the town on top of Mont Bre

Church on Mont Bre

After getting cleaned up for dinner, we made our way to Lugano center and had a nice meal in the main square while we talked and people watched.  In the evening Lugano came alive - the main street closes to traffic and children on scooters take over.  We had a pleasant evening enjoying the peaceful place on the lake.

Town Hall across from dinner

Sunday we again slept in a little, before we made our way to Lugano's biggest sight - the church of St. Mary of the Angels.  This church has a few gorgeous frescos.  After wandering the streets a little more, we had to bid farewell to Lugano and head on home.

The Last Supper in Lugano
(not the famous one)

Admiring an amazing fresco

It was a short but lovely trip to Lugano, hoping we will make it to another Swiss town soon. 

Bratislava & Prague in August

So I have failed again to stay on top of blogging about our trips, we simply travel too much... This is where you are supposed to feel bad for us. Seriously we are truly blessed but the time between the trips goes so quickly that it is so easy to get behind and so hard to catch up.  That is why this time I am going to start from our most recent trip and when/if I get motivated I will go back and fill in some gaps.

So for August we took a trip to Prague.  Prague is about 8 hours drive away.  This was a little far to drive on Thursday night, so instead we drove to Bratislava in the Slovak Republic.  We got in very late so we didn't really see anything until the next day.  Despite driving 6.5 hours to Bratislava we had another 3 hours to drive on Friday (Bratislava isn't exactly on the way). With this drive looming over us, and wanting to get to Prague before midnight, we didn't have a ton of time in Bratislava, so we started the day  early and made the best of the morning before moving on.

View from the Castle Tower

Bratislava is a cute little town, while it was easy to see in a day I also think I could spend a few days taking in the atmosphere.  First we wandered the city streets a little, found a nice bagel spot in the center of town to have breakfast before we walked to the top of the hill to Bratislava Castle.  Inside the Castle there was a somewhat strange museum it had the traditional wings full of paintings of both kings and queens as well as of battle scenes, but then there were wings that seemed disconnected such as wartime medals, calendars and time, and the remains of a burnt Moravian castle.

A nice view on the way down from the castle

After the castle we spent a bit of time exploring the city which had come alive in the time that we were up on top of the hill.  Outside eateries filled the streets with shady spots to enjoy lunch or just a beverage or two.  It had a very German feel to it.  In addition, there were interesting buildings and squares at nearly every turn making it difficult to move on.

On a bridge over one of the many open areas in Bratislava Old Town 

Random "statue" in Bratislava

On the way to Prague we had decided on more short detour, to see Devin Castle.  This castle is set at the intersection of the Danube and Morava Rivers.  As one of the oldest castles in Slovakia, it offered fabulous views and was a bit more historic than the Bratislava Castle which was rebuilt in the 1900s.

Devin Castle

We arrived in Prague with enough time to enjoy the scenery on the way in and enjoy a delicious dinner near our hotel.  We then spent Saturday and Sunday exploring and probably could have stayed another week or month without getting bored.

We started our tour with one of the most known sites -- Charles Bridge -- and it was lovely.  Since, we were up and about quite early, we made it the bridge before it was packed.  This was nice because we were able to slowly meander across it.  Neither of us could decide whether to look at the bridge which is beautiful on its own or the views of the amazing buildings lining the sides of the river.  We switched sides continuously to make sure we didn't miss a single vantage point.  The bridge is probably about 400 meters long, but it took us almost an hour to cross it.

Charles Bridge and the view from the bridge.

Wonderful view of Lesser Quarter & the Castle/Cathedral

Now recall this is Saturday of our trip, after Charles Bridge we made the naive decision to start our day with a tip to the Jewish quarter which sis supposed to be full of life and also boast numerous Jewish museums.  However, since Saturday is the Jewish Holy Day, it was very quite, everything was closed.  So we continued our walk to Staro Mestskenam Square, this is the center of old town and FULL of people and lovely sites.

A little crowded but still beautiful to look around.

Every building was beautiful to look at and unique.

Around the outside we explored the Church of Saint Nicolas, watched the Astronomical Clock on Old Town Hall (similar to the Glockenspiel in Munich), and Tyn Church which has black spires which poke out from behind the Baroque and Renaissance buildings that line the square and the town.  

Tyn Church & Jan Hus Memorial

Astronomical Clock right before Noon.

After taking in the scene we made our way to the beer museum.  This is really just a bar with a lot of different beers.  Phil and I sampled 10 of them while planning our venture across town.

Our ten samples - the couple in the background had 3 of these.

We went on to see the Powder Tower.  The Powder Tower was part of the ancient city walls, now it just stands at the edge of old town almost out of place, but still beautiful to look at.  Just a bit down the road was Rytirska Market.  Here we also found a strip of cafes among which we chose one to have a bite for lunch which of course included a few more beers.  Then we wandered a bit through new town, including a walk down Vaclaavske  Nam where we found desert -  a small Trdelnik, something we initially discovered in Budapest, which is just sweet dough coated with cinnamon and sugar.  Wandering a bit more through the streets we discovered another tower and Betlemske Nam, another lovely square including Beth Chapel.  As we wandered, every street just seemed to have more than the last and whether we knew where we were or not, we enjoyed the buildings and atmosphere all around.

Powder Tower

Vaclaavske  Nam

Finally, we made our way back across the river this time taking a bridge north of Charles Bridge so that we could get a view of the Bridge from afar.  On the other side of the bridge we found a small beach area packed with swans making a gorgeous city even more breathtaking. 

View that the swans enjoy everyday!

Then we hiked up the hill past our hotel to Strahov Monastery.  This offered sweeping views over all of Prague and since the monastery also has a brewery it gave us another chance for a snack and some more beer.  The Czechs love their beer!

The street in Little Town we called home.

View on the walk to the monastery

Strahov Monastery

Then we made our way across the top of the hill toward the castle.  On our way we saw Loretta Church.  This surrounded by the dark clouds was almost magical.  Prague castle is actually somewhat difficult to discern from the buildings which it encompasses.  The evening was the perfect time to explore the grounds because they were nearly empty.  This allowed us take in the views, the buildings, and the overall feel of the city that can't be mistaken even from the top of the hill. Of course the best part was St. Vitus Cathedral which dominates the grounds from afar and up close.

Loretta Church

St. Vitus Cathedral

As we made our way around the Cathedral, it started to rain, and rain it did.  Our day that had been revived after the Jewish Quarter misstep was derailed for good.  We waited out a bit of the storm under a little cover, then made a run for the guard shack with a overlook where we had planned to take in the city after dark.   After waiting under the guard area for a while with no sign that the rain was going to stop we made a LONG run for it, back to the hotel.  Of course probably about 20 minutes after getting in, dry, and warm with a nice cup of tea the rain stopped and fireworks started lighting up the sky - if only we were a bit more patient at those overhangs!

Just as it started to rain. 

Sunday morning we were up and about ready for another day! This time we started on top of the hill and we took the funicular instead of walking. Petrin Park is on the hill next to the Castle and includes a large green space park and Petrin Tower, a miniature  Eiffel Tower. The hunger wall borders much of the park from the top of the hill to the bottom.  The bottom of the hill has a monument to the victims of communism that was rather thought provoking.

To the victims of communism
The man disappears a little more with each statue

Then we made our way back across the river to Old Town again where we met some friends for lunch in Unglet, a small square by Tyn Church, before going back to Prague Castle to explore the inside of the buildings we had seen the night before.  The Cathedral again was the highlight, the stained glass windows were also very unique.

One of the windows - Hard to tell, but it had very fluid lines.

We also went into the Old Royal Palace where we saw the great hall and the library. Then the Basilica of St. George and finally Golden Lane.  Golden lane is a street that is the inside of the castle wall, it offered a glimpse into what the castle was like in its heyday.  Golden Lane also has a large museum of Armour and weaponry.  After Golden Lane we made our way back to the guard tower and without the rain were able to enjoy the city from afar in all its glory.  Then we strolled through the gardens in front of the castle before making our way back to town.

Part of the Library

Golden Lane

A house on Golden Lane.

We had plans Sunday night to see a concert, so we went back and made ourselves more presentable before strolling to the Rudolfinium.  On our way, we found yet another hidden gem in the city, the Senate Buildings surround the lovely Vojanovy Gardens.

Vojanovy Gardens

We explored the gardens and then had a pre-dinner drink of Sekt (Czech Prosecco) and snack on the river before the concert.  Seeing concerts is something we fell in love with after going to a Mozart Tribute in Salzburg last year and we are never disappointed.  This concert was five musicians with different violins and was wonderful.

After the show, we found another great Czech restaurant for dinner and then took an evening stroll.  Making our way across the Charles Bridge back to the Lesser Quarter where our hotel was we enjoyed all the sights lit up.

Water wheel on Kampa Island

Tower at the Old Town End of Charles Bridge.

Towers at the Lesser Quarter end of the Charles Bridge

The Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral 

Lesser Quarter

Monday we had only a few short hours to explore, but we made the most of it by enjoying the Jewish Quarter in all its glory.  In the Jewish Quarter we went to a few museums and the historic cemetery where over 100,000 people are buried.

Synagogue

Jewish Cemetery

We sadly made our final trip across the river and were on our way before Phil had to catch a flight and I had to drive to Germany.

No promises but I have high hopes of staying on track this time!