Haggart’s Ticino Untour, 1994

by Peter and Margaret Haggart, Moscow ID

In 1994, Untours were three weeks long. The following are some notes from our one-week stay in Locarno following two weeks in central Switzerland:

July 6 - (Wednesday) Lungern to Locarno:

We said our good-bye’s and left Lungern on the 8:40 train for Lucerne. We both wished we could spend another week in this area - but we will come back again. Changed at Lucerne to the bigger and faster train to Locarno. As the train sped south through long tunnels through the mountains we could see the architecture change from what we believe most people think of as Swiss to Italian - no more chalets - lots of tile roofs and grape vines on the hills. We met with Sylvia, our UnTour representative in Locarno at 2:00 at the train station and she arranged for a van and trailer (taxi) to transport the couples and their luggage to apartments around the city. Our condo apartment is on the sixth floor and has a view of the city and lake through the evergreen trees. It is nicely furnished and comfortable - and its best feature is a large shaded terrace - but it’s location is up some of the steepest hills we have ever climbed. The bus schedule is erratic and they do not always run on time (is that Italian?) and the bus does not even come to our street after 7:30 in the evening. So we get to do some serious leg work during our week in Locarno. Our landlady speaks only a few words of English and our most memorable encounter is when she shows us the laundry facilities, which are in the basement through three different doors and several dark passageways to machines that look very “foreign” - - as if they were used on a different planet. She gives up trying to explain how to use them and offers to do our laundry herself. We decline and do it ourselves in the bathtub and sink in the apartment. We have the laundry down to a fine science by this time anyway! It is hot in Locarno and humid!! A bus to the old part of the city (The Monk’s Cell) and our orientation, which turns out to be joke on us as she is not well prepared and the maps are not good and all of us are hot and tired. We do find out where the tourist office is and get good maps. We also find a large grocery store and stock up on goodies before starting the trek back to the condo. But before the climb we stop to eat heartily at the Inova restaurant which allows you to graze at a large salad bar and other food counters. At rest and peace again in our apartment we watch a large storm brew up over the city and then fall asleep dreaming of new adventures in the Italian part of Switzerland.

July 7 - (Thursday) Locarno to Ascona to Locarno:

We walk to the waterfront and explore some of the area before having lunch outdoors at one of the many restaurants that line the Locarno waterfront area - along with a lot of very expensive stores and hotels. The people watching is extraordinary in Locarno, especially if you sit in the park on the waterfront. In the afternoon we take the bus to Ascone and walk the narrow streets of this very old city and look into its church. The shops have a lot of very expensive goods for people who have a lot of money who do come here from all over the world. There is even a Casino in Locarno and other gaming places on the Italian side of the lake. Then we take a long leisurely boat trip (have to pay because the boats are run by the Italians on this lake) on lake Maggorie back to Locarno with several stops at the little towns that dot the lake shore. We have yummy for the tummy sundaes at Mowenpick and buy a melon for breakfast. Decided to walk to condo instead of waiting for the bus. We rested and then came back down the hill for pasta and Peter topped it off with a bowl of strawberries and ice cream. Then a chance to sit in the park and watch the people - a very pleasant evening. We carried our map with us at all times and had fun trying to figure out where the condo building was and which street to take up the hill. Most streets curved around and then changed to a new name - after a few days we could use landmarks and signs to guide our progress. Going down was fine - but after a day of walking - coming back was murder!!

July 8 - (Friday) Locarno to Madonna del Sasso (church) to Cardada to Cimetta:

Off to downtown and then the funicular that goes part way up the mountain behind Locarno. The destination is the church Madonna del Sasso (which we discovered that you have to walk down to and so should really be visited after you have been to the top of the mountain and are on your way back to town). This is a beautiful Catholic church and associated monastery. It has lots of interesting niches - some with three dimensional figures, like a depiction of the Last Supper, Pieta and the Disciples receiving the Holy Spirit. The main focus in the church (centered in back of the altar) was the Madonna holding baby Jesus. We then took a large aerial tram to Cardada (further up the mountain) that was crowded with people who had not bathed recently. The next stop gave us a wonderful view of the city and lake - it also had many homes scattered across the ridge as well as public lands for walking and picnics and a chapel with its attending Monk. We took a short walk to a ski lift that had double seating facing sideways and open to the elements- to the top of the mountain, Cimetto.

The view at the top was spectacular and we thought we could pick out the Matterhorn to the far west. We ate our lunch in the grass and rocks at the top and took a short hike on what could only be described as a goat path - steep and lots of loose rock. Margaret chickened out early in the hike, but Peter only went on another 10 minutes before returning. We decided to sit at the restaurant patio and enjoy the view, plus the place was the coolest location we had been in a couple of weeks. The only distraction was the Rap music being played on the radio in the kitchen - it just did not fit in with the Alpine setting. That evening we went to the Mowenpick for some pasta and then to an ice cream shop for some really yummy glace. Enjoyed the promenade along the water front for the next few hours.

July 9 - (Saturday) Locarno to Belinzona to Locarno:

Took the bus down to the train station and then caught the fast train back east to Belinzona (18 minutes). Had great difficulty locating the Tourist Office in this town. We ended up just walking down the main street for many blocks and consulting our Swiss guide book until we saw a building that looked like the one described in the book. It was also market day and food was everywhere on the blocked off main street and there were hordes of people. After getting a map of the city we headed for the Castle Grande (one of three Castles in the city). It was a difficult climb up. The castle museum had artifacts dug from the site that dated to before Christ, panels taken from a Villa in town showing scenes of chivalry, etc. and another section with bronze figures. It looked like a castle should look - high walls with ports for shooting arrows at your enemies, two high towers for keeping princesses entrapped, and a moat. While walking the grounds we discovered that another entrance had an elevator that would have saved us a lot of uphill puffing. We then went to the church of Saint Peter and Stephen which was being renovated and then a much longer walk to the edge of town to see the church of Saint Maria della Grezie - which was truly magnificent!! Immediately inside was a wall covered with a mural painting of Jesus’ life, in fact every wall had paintings and there was a large Crucifix behind the alter. A very large cemetery was across the street with an interesting mix of the old headstones and statues with the newer walls where cremated remains were stored. The rest of the afternoon we looked at Villas and of course all of the shops. We napped at the apartment and then went to the Antica Osteria restaurant where we ate on the patio that was covered overhead with grape and kiwi vines. You could see the lake from the terrace and the place was small and intimate. Our stroll on the water front was punctuated by cars racing up and down the street - horns honking and people cheering - Italy had beaten Spain in the World Cup and there was a lot of flag waving that night.

July 10 - (Sunday) Locarno to Belinzona to Rivera-Bironico to Locarno:

This was a truly wonderful day - our last Alpine High in Switzerland. We took the train to Belinzona and then another one headed for Lugano, but stopping at Rivera-Bironico - a very small town, but a five minute walk from the cable car that went to Alpe Foppa - a 25 minute ride up. Then we decided to hike to the top of the mountain - Monte Tamero - 2,000 feet up the switch-back trail. We had our hiking boots on and the path was rocky and steep - Margaret was willing and in the end quite able to make the trek. Even taking our very slow pace we made it up in 70 minutes when the sign said it would take 100 minutes. We sat in the grass at the very top and ate our lunch with a panoramic view of the Swiss Alps. The Matterhorn was visible, but in and out of clouds. You are never alone on mountain tops in Switzerland, people of all ages were climbing that day and a lot had their dogs with them (they seem to take their dogs everywhere, up the ski lifts, into restaurants, on the trains and buses, etc.), plus there were some brave souls trying to ride mountain bikes (they walked part of the way). I suppose we were feeling very good about our efforts that day when on the way down the mountain we saw coming up the trail someone with a large heavy pack (the kind that carries the para-gliders gear) and as the person got closer we could see clearly that it was a man well into his 60’s carrying that heavy load to the top so that he could soar from the mountain. We also observed several gliders working the rising hot air to reach even loftier heights above us. The place where the trail started was like a giant beach - except it was grass - with sun bathers everywhere (one being a topless young woman). Had dinner that night at a Pizzeria by the lake, but the pizza is flat - not very spicy - we understand that the best pizza is made in southern Italy.

July 11 - (Monday) Locarno to Lugano to Locarno:

Left at 11:00 a.m. to catch the train to Belinzona and then on to Lugano. We immediately took the funicular down to the water front (after finally finding the funicular station inside the train station after looking outside for 15 minutes) and ate our sack lunches. We then got on a boat and cruised Lake Lugano to the village of Morcote. It had a large water front market place and a large beautiful church that dominated the town. It was another hot steep climb to the church but we were rewarded with spectacular views both inside and outside the church. The church grounds and cemetery were unusual and very ornate and also offered a good view of the town and lake. Our reward was to stop for ice cream half way down at a little shop operated by the church staff. After an hour or so we caught the next boat which took a leisurely cruise back to Lugano (90 minutes) and then the train back to Locarno and dinner at the Inova. On our walk back up the hill to our apartment we saw our usual friendly lizards peeking out of the walls at us - they come in brown, green, and gray.

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