La dolce vita
sul lago di como
Are you also fascinated by the diversity of European cultures? There is hardly any other continent where so many different ways of life come together on a comparatively small map.
If you live between "lederhosen, laptop, and roast pork" in Bavaria (like us), it is always a pleasure to visit our neighbors, the Italians. And so recently, we went to Northern Italy through Austria and the Swiss Alps. Our final destination: Lake Como. Its reputation that it is worth a trip now precedes it worldwide. Once there, we immediately knew why. The dreamlike blue of the lake nestled gracefully between the high mountains surrounding it. Around the lake reigned the famous and sometimes notorious bustle of the inhabitants. Fiat Unos raced through the countless parked Vespas at a frightening speed, hitting a few of the other parked vehicles, which would trigger at least one heart attack in a German car enthusiast. At that moment, I thought back to a moment a long time ago in Rome, where the Romans pushed their Fiat Unos noisily into a parking space that was far too narrow, which only worked because there was no gear engaged in any of the parked cars. Pragmatic, practical, good – how else should you make room? And apparently, nothing had changed in this peculiarity of parking in Italy. In Italy, vehicles are what they should be: a practical pile of metal because it gets you from one point to another. Whether the thing is dented on the outside has no effect on its original purpose and is, therefore, unnecessary. But when Francesco accidentally bumps into Luca in the parking lot in front of the supermarket, it gets loud – not because Francesco has hit Luca's Vespa a bit. No! Because they haven't seen each other for a long time and celebrate their reunion wildly gesticulating. Perhaps we, too, should reflect more on the difference between lifeless metal and our fellow human beings and rethink the weighting of our relationships.
Lake Como is "flooded" during the day by a vast mass of people who stop in Milan from all over the world and come to Lake Como for a day. They travel in heaps with one of the numerous ferries from one place to another and flood the small alleys, only to leave for Milan in the evening. The Italians? They don't see it critically at all. They do the only right thing. They charge a horrendous amount of money for a bit of food and their famous "gelato" - and thus collect the compensation they are entitled to for the fact that they have to share their beautiful piece of land with millions of tourists. Once again, a sage decision!
We also joined the many ferry passengers and let ourselves be sailed across the lake to look at the picturesque little towns romantically located around the lake. Only the fact that we had bicycles with us upset our Italian friends. After all, anything that doesn't have an engine and drives quietly automatically triggers an alarm in their heads. That must be dangerous! We were allowed to ride along, but our every move was eyed critically, and they were all equally happy when they got rid of us with our murderous vehicles.
That's why there are no pedal boats or similar environmentally friendly ship variants on the lake. If you want to rent a boat, you get a – motorboat! – Boat license? No need! We now know that everything that is loud and stinks is accepted. It would be different with a pedal boat. Far too dangerous! They don't even start here. And so, among the many luxury yachts and ferries floating on the lake, we found ourselves in a small motorized nutshell that went off like a Ferrari. Just the thing for our male companion. Maybe you know the story of "winter camping"? For everyone else – he loves speed, and so he immediately tried out how fast such a small floating Ferrari can be on the lake. It shook up the rest of the crew during the trip, making the whole thing even more attractive. I felt like I was on the Titanic about to come to an inevitable end. But I was lucky and survived this devil's ride unscathed except for a few bruises.
After a few days between countless people, speeding boats, broken Fiats, and Vespas, we were ready for a little more rest. And so we set off on our bikes towards the mountains. As almost everywhere in the tourist regions, we were on our own shortly after leaving the "epicenter" and enjoyed the meditative tranquility accompanying us as we cycled up the serpentines on our bikes. We finally came to a vast place, enthroned high above the lake with countless houses, but it was deserted. The creepy thought came to mind that the residents here, near Bergamo, had not survived the COVID pandemic, but then we passed a pizzeria with two people sitting in front of it just at the right moment, because cycling makes you hungry. And so we took the opportunity to join them. A shy young man asked us what we wanted to order in his local language. Finally, the time had come, and I could drag my long-dusty knowledge of Italian out of the farthest corners of my brain. Until now, I was always addressed in English when I tried to ask a question in Italian. He was the first person who waited patiently for me to find the right words. Because he couldn't speak English and was visibly happy that we could communicate in his mother tongue. To call this a conversation would be an exaggeration, but at least we got the dishes we ordered. It was the best pizza we had ever eaten, and at a fabulously low price.
Lake Como is definitely worth a visit. As in any place in this world inundated with too many tourists, people change and are not themselves when they have to cope with this daily madness. Tracking down the hidden beauties in such places, a little bit away from the crowd, allows you to get to know the country and the people as they are. However, it would also be a mistake to avoid the famous and beautiful prominent places. Instead, you should discover them with the necessary serenity, which should always be in your holiday luggage. Because if you are fortunate and meet people with sincere friendliness, one or the other will let you look behind the façade and give you an honest smile. "La dolce vita" has its price!