Italy – August 2021

The journey to northern Italy in summer 2021 marks my personal end of COVID-19 travel restrictions. Obviously I know, that the restrictions are still very real. But having been lucky enough to already have gotten the two Moderna vaccines in Switzerland, international travel (at least within Europe) is finally possible again without much of a hassle. And so I embark on a couple of trains headed south towards Milan. I look forward to visiting my friends who live there, eating lots of delicious food, some shopping aaand finishing my thesis…

Crossing the border on a commuter train from Chiasso to Como is surprisingly easy. I enjoy a beer by the lakeside, while watching the people in the park making the most of their summer afternoon. After the two-hour break from train travel I jump on yet another one to make it to Varedo in time for Cinzia to pick me up from the station. She’s already waiting in her red Seat, which she jokingly refers to as «The Ferrari». On the short way to her apartment I get a first refresher-course in Italian driving. To sum it up: it includes lots of honking and abrupt turns on high speed.

During the brief stop at Cinzia’s parents’ house her mom promptly invites me to breakfast on the day after tomorrow. Despite the language barrier, we always have fun together and so I gladly accept. Later we cook some pasta and Barilla sauce, as Ale, Cinzia’s boyfriend and designated cook of the house isn’t home. Cracking open the bottle of red wine we got from Cinzia’s dad, we catch up on what we were up to the past 2 years since we last met. A few hours later on this Monday evening, we’re sitting on the sofa, watching an Italian Netflix-show with English subtitles and slowly fall asleep.

The next day, after refusing Cinzia’s offer to drive me to the train station several times, I walk there when she’s already at work. The 30-minute ride is over before I know it and another short walk later, I arrive at the world famous «Duomo». On the hunt for an Italian book, I walk through the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II and am rather surprised by the number of international tourists strolling through the luxury department store’s gallery. I continue my walk north towards “Brera” where I do find a tiny secondhand book shop. After an interesting conversation with the shop clerk in a mix of Italian and English, I find a nice, thin book with a pretty picture on its front.

After a short rest at a cute café, I continue my walk through Milan and end up at “Porta Venezia”. The very international neighborhood seems to be up-and-coming and hosts a bunch of hip cafés and restaurants. However, my main point of interest is the huge park called “Giardini Indro Montanelli”. On this rather hot summer day one of the green lungs of the city is a refreshingly cold place for a break. Wanting to do some shopping before heading back to Varedo for dinner, I return to the city center. A little Uniqlo-shopping spree later I get on the train at Milano Cadorna station and make it back to Cinzias’ just before it starts to rain.

That night friends of Cinzia and Ale come over. The conversations mostly take place in Italian, however 1 of the guys speaks good English and we continue a conversation Ale & I had over dinner. The topic: Pizza toppings… Needless to say, we don’t come to an agreement on that one. The next day I meet up with Angela for breakfast as planned and she takes me to Monza. The two of us and Cinzia’s little nephew take a stroll trough the beautiful historic city centre and enjoy some coffee and brioche.

I spend the rainy afternoon inside finishing my thesis. In the evening Eleonora – whom I also met while working in London – comes over and we facetime with another former colleague of ours who lives in Munich. After hanging up the three of us + Ale and a friend of his go for dinner at a local brewery. The Fabbrica de Pedavena in Cesate is a great place to enjoy some beers, burgers and steak. Then follows a little more Italian driving, which takes us to a local bar. The night cap of Amaro brings an end to an eventful stay in Milan.