Ticino Part 3

The last day in Ticino we visited two of the Fortresses of Bellinzona, the town where we had been staying at hotel Croco Federale during the weekend.  There are 3 fortresses in the town and they used to be connected by walls going all the way over the valley closing it off, together with a fortified bridge. Much of the walls and the bridge where destroyed during an earthquake in the 1800s. Before we headed for the train back to Zurich we had a last ice-cream at an outdoor cafe, even though it had started to rain by then.

The train back was really crowded and here we realized that Swiss people are not caring too much for others when it comes to getting a seat at the train. Andreas did not take part of the pushing and elbowing so he had to spend the first part of the trip sitting on the floor together before the conductor could point him to a part of the train with some free seats. Jennifer got a seat, but only because see was willing to sit with a big dog under her feet (not because anyone offer the pregnant woman a seat).

The impression from the Ticino trip is that it is a beautiful landscape with the mountains and the lakes.  It is very green and lush. It is also fun to see the mix of alpine plants and more subtropical ones! The mountains are very easy to access with cable cars and cog trains. There are many well marked hiking trails (as everywhere in Switzerland).