Lake Como
6th September
As we pass Lago de Poschiavo it is a milky turquoise blue, and reflects the mountains above it. We are completing the remains of our Ratische Railways trip from Poschiavo to Tirano, and I’m overwhelmed by the beauty of the landscape . At Brusio the train does a complete spiral, and I could see the front and back of train curving around the tight bends.
At Tirano the Ratische line ends and we changed to a Trenitalia towards Lecco on Lake Como.
Lecco is at the foot of the eastern branch of Lake Como. It is not as touristy as other towns on the lake, but it is very convenient for trains and boat trips up and down the lake.
The city is surrounded by massive mountains and is well connected by rail to Milan. Our Airbnb is half an hour walk from the centre and fourth floor of a block and no lift. Our attitude is that it’s all good exercise. It’s also over 30 degrees, Scorchio! It is getting a bit tiresome, hauling our bags up 60 steps. This flat is not one of the better ones, its too far from the lake and is in an uninspiring part of town. BUT its only 7 minutes walk from a LIdl, so I’m not gonner starve!
When it cooled in the evening we walked down to the lake front, which is full of promenaders eating ice cream or enjoying cold drinks. A small market has stalls selling cheap jewelry and (weirdly) magnesium supplements. I’m not a follower of social trends, but I do notice lots of pseudo science wellness bollocks coming in and out of fashion. It’s always been around, I remember my mum visiting Mr Fiddling (honestly) who was Horncastle’s local bone setter, a kind of community physiotherapist. He was probably as useful as our local GP.
7th September
On Monday we travelled north up Como to Varenna. The train was rammed, and we stood like sweaty sardines for half an hour. People poured off the train and walked down the road to the lake much to the annoyance of local motorists. Those guys should try driving through Twickenham on match day.
Varenna is a small extremely photogenic town strung along the lakeside. There are pink and yellow villas along the water front, and expensive looking speedboats racing over to Belagio across the lake. There was a high proportion of young women in the town trying to get the best Instagram shot. There was lots of posing and flicking of hair while patient boyfriends/girlfriends/fathers took lots of photos. We just watched in amusement and passed rude comments to each other. A couple of Korean newly weds were getting their photos taken at various locations across the town. They had a team of three photographers making sure they looked perfect.
We spent hours in the lovely botanic gardens of Villa Monastero. It is a long narrow garden on the banks of the lake, which was a convent 500 years ago but now belongs to the town.
The town was full, like St Ives on a Bank Holiday, but the views over the lake are unbeatable. The streets and alleys are narrow and steep, and there are many opportunities to get a Spritz.
8th September
Looking for local things to do in Lecco, I came across the Piani D’ Erna cable car up a mountain overlooking the town. It looked promising, and could be reach by bus. Finding the bus stop was slightly challenging, and I had to ask a gentleman taking his grandson out in pram. He couldn’t speak English but understood “autobus cinque” and much waving of arms. He walked us to the correct stop and I thanked him with a grazie mille. We took the number 5 bus up a very windy road to the cable car station. Everyone on the bus bought tickets and we squeezed into the same car. I steadied myself on the escape ladder on the ceiling.
The cable car stations at the bottom and top are quite scruffy, they look like they were built fifty years ago and haven’t had a lick of paint since. However the mechanical apparatus was sound.
At the top was a lacklustre cafe, like you would get in Morecambe in the winter. The whole place looked neglected, and municipal budgets did not extend to refurbishing it.
A stoney path lead up to a panoramic viewpoint, and the view over Lecco.and the lakes was literally awesome. The whole city was on view, and places well beyond it. I had to hold the railing tightly because I get Tingly Balls in high places. There’s probably a medical name for it, but I haven’t discussed it with a doctor. If anyone knows what it is please let me know in the Comment. The viewpoint was at 1362 metres, which is Very Fucking High in English.
The paths were all broken up rock, which is a bad reminder of the walk down Pulpit Rock on Nelson, British Columbia where Julie slipped and broke her leg in 2012. But this time she didn’t, which is nice.
A wide road lead downhill and eventually rewarded us with more amazing views of the mountains to the north. A wooden sign advertised Refugio Marchett, with a menu attached. We came to a cluster of houses and central to them was a wooden chalets with tables outside, it looked very promising. I ordered Tagliolini with Wild Boar ragu, and it was the best meal of my trip so far. We sat on the sunshine on the perfect silence of a mountain top. I expected Julie Andrews to come from behind a tree and sing to me, but sadly she is Los Angeles somewhere. The Refugio had two snowmobiles in a garage, so there must be lots of snow here in the winter. I expect that’s why it’s a refuge.
