Back to Wildhaus for a Beautiful Week in the Mountains
The Tandem Spirits had two weeks of vacation in August. We spent one of those weeks with our friends Ute and Winnie in Wildhaus Switzerland. We look forward to seeing them every year.
The Halfway Stop in Brescia - Roman Ruins and a Very Modern Vibe!
We prefer to make the drive over two days, stopping someplace roughly halfway between Foligno and Wildhaus. This year we selected Brescia, a large city that is not far from Lake Garda. It is known for being an industrial city, but we found it to be an interesting, seemingly livable place that is both modern and ancient. It is also one of the most diverse cities in Italy with a lot of immigrants from eastern Europe countries, and a fair number from the Middle East and Africa.
We arrived in the mid-afternoon and checked into The Leoncino Hotel-Relais, a small hotel we selected because it is a ten minute walk to the historic center. We had a nice room, small but clean with a decent bathroom. After dropping off our bags we walked into town.
Our first stop was the Chiesa Sant’Agata is one of Brescia’s oldest churches reconstructed in the 14th & 15th century. Next we wandered around the Piazza della Loggia, the first public square built in Brescia in the 15th century by the Venetians, who ruled Brescia at that time. The Palazzo della Loggia is the town hall, and there is an astronomical clock and porticos.
The Palazzo della Loggia
There is an interesting sculpture at the Torre della Rivolutione by the artist Stefano Bombardieri. it is of a life-size rhino suspeneded in the air. The title is Il Peso del tempo sospeso (The Weight of Time suspended), a metaphor for the human condition and the burdens we bear.
From the Torre, we made our way to Piazza Paolo VI, also called Piazza Duomo. We stopped briefly in the Duomo Vecchio / Rotondo, built in the 11th century with restorations in the 16th and 18th centuries, and then spent some time in the Duomo Nuovo, Our Lady of the Assumption, built between 1604 and 1825
Our last stop was the archeological park, which like most museums in Italy, is closed on Mondays. Even closed, what you can see is pretty impressive. More on this later.
After our explorations it was time for aperitivo. We had a very nice Aperol Spritz with chips and green olives at Torre d’Ercole
Finding an open restaurant in August can be a challenge. Fortunately James found a place that seemed promising and made a reservation. The Osteria I Dù della Contrada was a great choice. The restaurant itself is full of retro items such as typewriters, radios, sewing machines and a bicycle built for three. We split an appetizer of roasted leeks with pear and hummus. We both had a pasta. Virginia had tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms, James had Spaghetti alla chitarra with sardines, lemon and fresh dill. (Chitarra is a square shaped spaghetti from the Abruzzo region).
For desert, we split a vanilla semifreddo with raspberry.
Onward to Wildhaus!
On Tuesday we made good time on the drive to Wildhaus. Every year we have noticed the Swiss Lachs as we passed through Lostallo. This year we decided to stop and check out their products. Coming from the Pacific Northwest, where you can get the best wild salmon on earth (next to Alaska), we weren’t sure what to expect. We have been disappointed with Atlantic salmon and Scottish smoked salmon. The shop was quite nice, and they had samples of the smoked salmon. It was delicious. They didn’t have any fresh salmon at the moment, so we bought a package of smoked salmon and a package of smoked salmon with lemon and pepper.
It was so great to see our friends Ute and Winnie. Their three daughters, Marina, Elena and Lorena were also there, along with two friends from Germany, Luther and Karen. We spent the afternoon catching up. Winnie had already found a lot of mushrooms, so Ute made a delicious tagliatelle with chanterelles.
Winnie and Virginia Hunt the Wild Mushrooms
On Wednesday, Winnie and Virginia set off early in the morning in search of more mushrooms and wild blueberries. Winnie has a number of specific places he likes to investigate. Of course none of them are on the main trails, so the Pilzweg can be a challenge. Although it was warm, staying in long pants and a long-sleeved shirt helped protect against insects, thistles and all the other things we went through. It was worth schlepping through the uneven fields and forests as we returned with a lot of mushrooms and blueberries. While Virginia was hiking with Winnie, James went for a bike ride. bike ride details from James, see below.
When we got home, it was time to head to the lake for a refreshing swim.
James was able to take a 20km e-bike ride into the mountains. It was a beautiful day and the road and off-road trails were easy. A confession- my left knee has been troublesome this year and I had to take it easy, but getting out for a ride was refreshing. Here’s a shot from the ride!
The Klanghaus in Unterwasser
Over the last few years, they have been working on a new music hall next to the lake, the Klanghaus, which they finished this Spring. It is a beautiful building, and when we visited last year it piqued our curiosity. As luck would have it, they had a number of concerts scheduled, and on Thursday we were able to attend a practice session for free. The musicians were all very good, but it was obvious that the ones who came later were more advanced. Their teachers were there to guide them through the various scores, and it was interesting to see the pedagogy in action. The interior rooms are intricately designed. When we returned from the “concert” Ute had made a delicious mushroom soup with the chanterelles and some other mushrooms Winnie had found.
The weather was a bit dodgy on Friday with thunderstorms on and off. We went into town and did some grocery shopping and caught up on some reading. James made an excellent dinner of Asian noodles with miso sauce and roasted vegetables.
On Saturday we decided to take the lift up the mountain. The restaurant at the top is cafeteria style. We both had bratwurst and French fries with a beer. After taking the lift back down, we took a nice walk over to and around the lake before returning home. For dinner, Winnie grilled meat in the fireplace outside, Lorena made potato salad, and James and Ute did roasted eggplant and tomatoes. We also had some chili.
Lunch at Gamsalp
Last Night Together with Friends!
A Walk Around the Lake
There’s a small lake about a 10-minute walk from the house where we stay. We will go for a swim several times during the week. It’s quite cold, but therapeutic!! James was inspired to take a lot of pictures this year because the new Klanghaus overlooks the lake and the weather was perfect for some shots!
Back to Brescia
There was no traffic on the drive from Wildhaus to Brescia. We left at 10:00 as we wanted to arrive in Brescia early enough to go to the archeological park. We stayed at the same hotel, and we were given the Junior suite. This was a much larger room that also had a small kitchen. On the way into town we first stopped at Santa Maria della Pace, which was built between 1720- 1746. The large dome fills the church with a soft light that accentuates the beauty of the pink marble.
The Brixia Roman Archeological Site
We were a bit concerned that the Brixia Roman archeological site might be closed since it was just a couple of days after Ferragosto, the big national holiday in the middle of the August vacations, but we were happy to discover that it was open. The ticket includes access to the site with a guide for a limited number of visitors. The site was built up over time and the site includes the republican sanctuary from the 1st century BC, the Capitolium from 73 AD, and some monumental remains from the imperial age. The highlight of the tour is the Winged Victory, a bronze stature from the first century AD. The statue was found in this area in 1826. The visit ended with a visit to the remains of the Roman theater which was built between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD.
After leaving the archeological site, we stopped into San Zeno al Foro, a charming little church right next to the Capitolium. We also walked around town and along the pedestrian zone, Corso Cavour. We had hoped to find a restaurant that would be open for dinner, but no luck, everyplace we checked was closed for vacation. James decided to check with I Dù della Contrada and was able to get a table for 7:30 pm.
It was time to relax a bit. We were hoping to stop in at Torre d’Ercole again for aperitivo, but they were closed for vacation. (Chiuso per ferie). We did find a nice place near the Piazza della Vittoria, Bar Tinello. We ordered Aperol spritzes and we were also given green olives, potato chips, taralli, and a croissant with ham and cheese.
We had another excellent dinner at I Dù. For an appetizer, we shared an escarole timbale, which was escarole with hummus and. For the main dish, Virginia had Eggplant, non Parmigiana, which was basically delicious grilled eggplant with a tasty sauce, James had a beef Spiedoni (kebab) of beef that came with a salsa of strawberry and peppers on the side and roasted potatoes. We were too full to have dessert.
It was a great vacation. Brescia was an interesting town we will certainly return to as the location is convenient and there is still a lot to see. We’re looking forward to seeing our friends again next year and hoping to do a bit more hiking.
