Switzerland-Thursday- South and Italy

Today we had a 12 hour day.  It was great.  Hans Spring gave us an itinerary to go south into Italy and southern Switzerland.

We went from Bern to Brig, Domodossola, to Locarno and Bellenzona and then up past Lake Lucerne to Arth-Goldeau.  We continued to Zurich and then took a train back to Bern and to Uetendorf.  Each of these towns was a place to change trains.

However the whole trip was delightful.  The weather was perfect. We wound up into the alps and then took long tunnels through the alps.  On the Italian side it was dryer and more Mediterranean. The houses took on more color-- Lemon yellow, peach sherbet, burnt orange.  There were lots of old rock houses with slate roofs.   Really lovely and they just blended into the landscape.

 The train was supposed to get into Locarno by 12:22.  But it wasn't there on time.  Sally said, "We're in Italy."  As if that explained it all.  I realized how valuable it is for trains to run on time.   We typically had from 2-12 minutes between trains.  It was enough to get off, move briskly (or sometimes leisurely) to the next train and get on.  Sometimes it was just across the boarding platform.  Sometimes we had to go down under the tracks and up a different track-- or even a slightly different station.

We had  a half hour break in Brig and walked down the main street.  We lunched in Locarno on the shore of a lovely lake.  We had salad  and a pizza and I had gelatto in honor of Joshua.  It was tasty!  The weather was in the 80's and Mom took her sweater off for the first time since she's been in Switzerland.  Um.  That's not quite true.  But she's been bundled up most of the time.  There was an open air fair we walked through on our way back to the train station.

We went through lovely scenery!  Up into the Alps.  Down through narrow valleys with raging rivers. Past scenic farms set against a mountain backdrop. Along placid lakes with small towns hugging the edges. We saw different architecture-- all charming.

We were with the Holiday travelers.  Holidays began for school children July  6th. So everyone goes on holiday between then and August.  Trains were crowded with suitcases and backpacks.  Bikers and families and tour groups traveled with us.  Even in first class we had to search for seats.

Mom held up well.  She walked part of the time and rode in the wheelchair part of the time.  She climbed steps and rode the escalator and the lift. She hopped on and off of trains and got balanced enough to stand before the train stopped fully. (Against our recommendations I might add.)

We had supper of bread, laundiager, and cheese and apples on the train on the last leg home.

Wish I could show you pictures.