A Road Trip to Bellinzona, Switzerland

Friday, 7 February, 2020

After a somewhat hectic week of teaching high school classes again and coaching the Skorpions, I decided that I needed a "Me Day."

Thus, I was off to Switzerland

for the day

I boarded a train in Varese

for the 80 minute ride to . . .

. . . see the famed castles of

Bellinzona, Switzerland

The cool Bellinzona city crest

Neighbor and Skorpion Coach Giorgio Nardi works in Bellinzona and highly recommended my making this journey.

It would be my first journey to this Swiss city.

With three major castles in the city, I found that Bellinzona had a definite medieval feel to it.

This statue greeted me as I

exited the Bellinzona train station

The walk to the quaint

Old Town

A nice archway that

caught my eye

There were lots of modern

art pieces on the streets . . .

. . . like these

But I was here for the castles which

are UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Still there was a lot

of interesting 19th-century

architecture to be found

But still the castles are

what drew my attention

Street art with a castle view

I need to head this way

Bellinzona's Castel Grande

Since I was a bit faint due to lack of proper nutrition, I opted to delay my castle visit until after lunch.

This spot looked good

and it was!

Of course, the prices were about twice as high as they would have been for similar fare in Varese but again, this is Switzerland after all.

Swiss Army knives were

for sale everywhere

Who would have guessed?

The Collegiata di

San Pietro e San Stefano

I was way overdue for a church visit this week.

The view from the Collegiata

back to the piazza full of sun

worshipping Swiss diners

I entered the Collegiata . . .

Nice side altar

Gorgeous old school pulpit

Sad eyes

Golden Tabernacle

Beautiful

A baptismal font perhaps

The Collegiata was quite the church as it turned out.

Pounding the streets again,

I saw this interesting building

Bellinzona's City Hall

A dry fountain

Another shot of the

City Hall on the left

City Hall courtyard

A mural of one of the castles

in the City Hall courtyard

More of the intriguing City Hall

Looks like the Hapsburg Empire

once held sway in Bellinzona

Tribute to those who died

defending Switzerland

Since the Swiss are neutral, this tribute honors Switzerland's warriors who are long dead.

Another piazza, another castle

in the background

It is the Castello di Montebello.

Part of the Castello di Montebello

up close

Same castle, different view

I've always enjoyed these

ancient business signs

Another good one

Stern looking fountain

It was finally time to enter the 

Castel Grande

I think that this was my

best photo of the day

A church spied through a bowman's perch.

Inside the Castel Grande's courtyard

The view of the Castello di Montebello

from the Castel Grande

What a fun field trip it must have

been for these students

to a medieval castle!

The view of Bellinzona

from the Castel Grande

This is the Black Tower that

houses an Escape Room at the top

What a fine view during a siege

Another view of Bellinzona

with the 2,727 meter, snow capped Alp,

the Pizzo di Claro o Visagno, in the distance

Another fine Bellinzona edifice

I must say that my day in Bellinzona was well worth it, GREAT city!

But my day was not over yet, I had a dinner date with friends to attend once I returned to the Villa Skorpion II.

I would be joining Santa Barbara and Giorgio Nardi, Enzo Petrillo and their friends Daniela and Stefano for a typical three hour Italian meal.

We drove to this out of the way

eatery about ten minutes north of

the Villa Skorpion II

It was my first visit to the Locanda del Brinsc.

It won't be my last.

Tonight's Special

Cassoeula

Cassoeula is a traditional Winter meal popular with the poor people of the Varese region decades ago.

I was told that a grappa before eating Cassoeula was a MUST.

How could I argue with tradition?

A shared antipasti

was also a MUST!

The Cassoeula was AMAZING!

Made up of cabbage and all sorts of exotic pork meat cuts, I was stuffed by evening's end.

The wine and grappa were flowing and, I believe, improved my command of the Italian language.

The three hours together dining went much too fast as this might have been the funniest group that I have had the pleasure to dine with over my three years in Varese.

Good Times INDEED!

Finally, another poster from the U19 Europe Warriors propaganda machine . . .

War in Turkey usually

has a steep price

What a GREAT day to be alive!