Milan, Italy
45°27'51" N, 9°11'22" E
After a month in Germany it was time to head to Italy! Our dear friend Ben inspired us to take the train and we decided to make our way from Königsfeld, Germany via the rails! What an adventure. Our first leg took us through the Gotthard base tunnel - the longest rail tunnel in the world. We made it all the way to Milan via Zürich, Switzerland and every train was on time, cozy, and filled with magic. Milan is epic and reminded us a lot of New York. We were hoping to upgrade some of our clothes until we discovered that the discounts in Milan mean price tags of 500€+. Wozers!
We only had a few days in Milan and somehow managed to score tickets to see The Last Supper and took the stairs to the roof of the Duomo. Both were pretty incredible, but our taste buds were rocked to life by the incredible food. Oh, Italy, you folks know how to cook! We stayed near the Central train station because we were in and out in just a few days and the Il Mercato Centrale was totally our wildest food dream! Focaccia pizza with anchovies, raisins, broccoli, and mozzarella?! YES! 1.5€ for a cappuccino?! YES! Porcini arancini?! YES! Also, we are still searching for the design firm behind the graphics at the location - if you know them we would love to say hi!
The rain was formidable and we have to report that we were dreaming of Gore-Tex rain jackets. We were grateful that the sky tears kept the crowds away and we were able to really enjoy the city of opulence and excess surrounded by hundreds of colorful umbrellas.
Armed with wi-fi Krystal submitted a request to the National Archives for a naturalization search on the federal level for her great grandmother. If nothing turns up we are on our way to compiling paperwork for Italian citizenship. Last, but not least, our hosts in Germany mentioned the EU laws for delayed flight when we mentioned our 5 hour delay from JFK to Frankfurt. It is absolutely real and by some magic our $150 tickets have turned into $1,300 in compensation. We would never recommend Condor Airlines, but if you have flexibility in your schedule and flying doesn’t scare you maybe give it a shot!