Low-cost midlife crisis

We made reservations for the train across the Alps. It was possible to do the journey bit by bit, but in the end the idea of having guaranteed seats all the way to Milan (or as rendered in German, Mailand – I’m not sure if German speakers have some kind of wordplay to help them remember the difference between Mailand and Thailand like with stalactites and stalagmites) was too tempting

Another reason for taking the Germany/Switzerland route as opposed to the French one was because we’d met people in Calais the first time through (father-and-daughter-from-York for those memorising this blog and its cast of characters) who’d raved about how beautiful the line from Zurich to Milan was. So, we took the early train from Stuttgart to Karlsruhe (which staggeringly for a train at 7.30 on a Sunday morning, was full. Who were all these people?), had breakfast there and then boarded our reserved train all the way to Milan. It too was mostly full much of the time, but not overly so, and… well, we had seats. At one stage it was flooded with a large group of football fans who got on at Luzern. I didn’t recognise their team colours and badge – a failing I forgave myself for when I asked one of them and he said they were for SC Kriens, a third division team I’d never heard of, off to play a Swiss Cup game against fifth division Gamborogno-Contone (also unknown to me)

Things for the traveller to note.

1. Italy is the second country that we’ve been in in which mask wearing is mandatory on public transport (though while this was adhered to on the train, it is much less adhered to on public transport in Milan). This led to the odd situation where many people wore masks while they were in Germany, took them off in Basel for the Swiss section and then put them back on again in Como.
2. I knew Switzerland was in Schengen, but wasn’t sure what this would mean for phone roaming charges. Luckily I checked and then when the “Bun venit in Elvetia” message came through (my phone talks to me in Romanian) I checked the prices and mobile data was charged at an incredible rate one hundred times that of the within the EU rate. I made sure the kids knew this as there was no WiFi on the train either.

In other news, this evening I have found parts of Milan that I like. In the past I’d only really been here fleetingly and I realise that I don’t really like the Piazza del Duomo and the roads around it. I mean the buildings are impressive, obviously, but simply not my cup of tea. However we wandered down some quiet back streets and ended up in the Navigli area and suddenly I had encountered a Milan I’d like to return to.