Mission Accomplished!

The forecast called for rain all day today. When I woke up, I was pleasantly surprised to find three inches of snow on the ground instead. Strangely, snowy palm trees are becoming a normal sight here in Lugano. Conditions were perfect for castle hunting. Since arriving in Lugano last week, I have spoken with a lot of locals to try to find the castle. The language barrier made it slightly more difficult, but the overwhelming majority of suggestions pointed towards Bellinzona, Switzerland.

Bellinzona is located twenty minutes outside of Lugano by train, and is home to three castles: Castelgrande, Sasso Corbaro, and Montebello. In the early 16th century, the cantons of Bellinzona were united politically, but weren't particularly friendly otherwise. Each eyed control of the St. Gotthard, Lukemanier, and St. Bernard passes, and thus built the castles.

I got on a train from Lugano to Bellinzona at 1:15 this afternoon. Within twenty minutes, I was in Bellinzona, carrying the card David made me from the Card Isle, in search of the castle. I walked through the town, and saw glimpses of the castles up in the mountains. In an attempt to get more information, I went into a local cafe, Botega Caffe Cacao, to ask a local for help. After exchanging basic greetings in Italian, it became clear to them that Italian is not my strong suit. Luckily, one of the women in the cafe spoke English and was able to help me.

I went to Castelgrande first, as it was closest and largest. Castelgrande has two gigantic watch towers. I climbed to the top of the tallest tower to get a view of the town. It was there, that I spotted my castle.

The castle on the card is the Montebello. It took me about twenty-five minutes to walk up to it. Bellinzona had about six inches of snow covering the streets. I took my time touring the snow-covered castle and finally found the exact spot that David took his picture last summer when biking through Europe. I am so glad I got the opportunity to explore Bellinzona. While it is very close in proximity, I doubt I would have made the trip had I not been lead there by the mission. Thanks for encouraging me to adventure, David!

After a great day in Bellinzona, I headed back to Lugano to prepare for my next adventure. Sixteen of us are headed to Zermatt, Switzerland for a ski trip tomorrow morning. Next stop, the Matterhorn!

Ciao!