A Sandspit in Lake Lugano

One of Tootsie's favorite places was the park at the mouth of the Magliasina river. Sometimes, depending on the currents and other factors, a sandspit forms in the shallow waters where the river meets Lake Lugano. It's so much fun to stand on the sandspit!

The mountains in the far distance are in Italy, while everything else you see is in Switzerland. That's why every duck in Lake Lugano carries a passport.

 

A nap by the lake

Dearest Tootsie,

Do you remember your spring naps by the lake?

Or your naps on the trail? 

You elevated napping to an art form! 

Love, 

Mom and Dad

The Floating Piers Unplugged: Enjoy Christo's Art without waiting in line

We just visited The Floating Piers, a collection of interlinked floating docks wrapped in yellow-orange fabric connecting the east shore of Northern Italy's Lake Iseo to the island of Montisola and surroundings. AMAZING!

Created by Bulgarian-born American artist Christo, The Floating Piers is as close to waddling on water as you'll ever get.

Suntanning on The Floating Piers. Thank you, Christo, for thinking this one up!

You may have heard of the epic lines to get to The Floating Piers, and it's true. Most people face daunting waiting times under the scorching sun after facing a hellish journey to wade through the insane congestion in the Lake Iseo area. You can avoid all that by following our special tips based on our visit of the past couple of days.

Basic orientation. The Floating Piers includes about 2 miles of floating docks and 1.5 miles of land segments. There's one floating dock connecting Sulzano on the mainland (east entrance) to Peschiera Maraglio on Montisola. Then there's a system of floating docks connecting the small island of San Paolo to Montisola (Sensole and Peschiera Maraglio). Finally, the land segments: Christo's magic fabric also covers a number of pedestrian streets both on the mainland and on the island and the road link from Sensole to Peschiera Maraglio.

The west entrance in Sensole is much quieter than the busy Peschiera entrance and the hellish Sulzano entrance. It's only a 20' walk from Menzino, which you can reach by bus from Carzano.

Let's begin with five tips on the most arduous task: how to get to The Floating Piers without getting stuck.

The west entrance in Sensole (on Montisola) is by far the quietest entrance to The Floating Piers.

Tip #1: avoid Sulzano. Sulzano is home to the only mainland entrance to The Floaring Piers and you should avoid it like the plague. Trains to Sulzano are packed beyond imagination (extremely unsafe for dogs), while cars and even bikes are not allowed into Sulzano. The lines to get onto the docks in Sulzano can be unreal.

Most folks don't seem to realize there are two other entrances in Peschiera Maraglio and Sensole, both on the island of Montisola.


Tip #2: use the west entrance in Sensole.  The Sensole entrance is by far the quietest and has virtually no congestion. You can reach Sensole by bus from Carzano in the northeast corner of Montisola; get off in Menzino and walk 20'. You can also walk all the way from Carzano, like we did: just follow the road on the west side of the island. Cars are banned (other than public utility vehicles) but watch for locals zipping by on their mopeds.

The quietest area of The Floating Piers (at 6:00 a.m.) is the dock jutting out from Sensole toward San Paolo Island.

Now you're probably wondering how to get to Carzano (on Montisola itself). Read on!

Tip #3: access the island from Sale Marasino. Sale Marasino is the town just north of Sulzano. From there, you can board a ferry to Carzano, on the north shore of the island. Most people don't realize how easy it is to get to The Floating Piers from Sale Marasino, which means you'll be mostly sharing the ferry with locals. Ferries from Sale Marasino operate on a first-come, first-serve basis (reservations are not possible) but travel frequently (every 20' at peak times). We had a bit of a wait (40'), but it was fun because we got to make new fur friends.

Waiting for the ferry in Sale Marasino with a fluffy friend.

The catch: Sale Marasino is off limits to cars, unless you spend the night in the area and can show a reservation when you drive up to the police checkpoint.

Tip #4: spend the night on the island. It's a lot easier and cheaper than people realize, and you can find enough workable options with some basic googling. If you spend the night, you get to see The Floating Piers both in the evening and early in the morning. You also get to drive straight into Sale Marasino, where you'll find plenty of cheap parking. (You need to buy a scratch-off card called Gratta e Sosta, literally Scratch and Park, sold by several of the town businesses. The friendly folks at the Visitor Center can help you figure it out.)

This friend of mine lives near the Sensole entrance... and welcomes everyone to The Floating Piers, day and night.

Tip #5: if all else fails, find a private boat. We've met people who day-trip to The Floating Piers by paying a random boat owner to dump them on Montisola and pick them up at a predetermined time. It may cost a lot (more or less depending on how non-Italian you look or sound), but it seems to work. The best route is from Sarnico at the southwest end of Lake Iseo to Sensole on Montisola. Sarnico is accessible by bus from Bergamo.

There are also public ferries from Sarnico to Sensole and from the north shore (Lovere and Pisogne) to Carzano, but they travel relatively infrequently and most tickets can only be bought online up until three days before the travel date. It may be difficult to get on if you haven't reserved.

Taking a break while taking in the view due west. Mom is wearing boots, but you'll be fine with tennis shoes.

Now stay tuned for our briefing on crowd avoidance.

Roughly 90% of the visitors arrive from the east entrance on the mainland (Sulzano), so foot traffic is much thinner at the west end of The Floating Piers (Sensole). The floating docks are over 50 feet wide and there's generally plenty of room for everyone. The land segments vary in width and can get much more congested. The land segment in Peschiera Maraglio between the dock to San Paolo Island and the dock to the mainland can be extremely congested, but alternate routes exist through Peschiera Maraglio and you can easily figure them out.

And now let's wrap up with five tips on how to enjoy your time on The Floating Piers once you're there.

Tip #1: beware of the sun. Wear sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat, and lots of sunscreen. Avoid walking on the docks in the middle of the day; the best times are early morning (as soon as they open at 6:00 a.m.) and evening. Carry a lot of water and keep yourself hydrated. There is an excellent public fountain in Sensole.

Tip #2: spend your time on the floating docks. The streets covered in Chisto's fabric are neat, but you came here to waddle on water, so spend most of your time on the docks. The docks from Montisola to San Paolo island are the most amazing, and the dock from Sensole is the least crowded.

Tip #3: avoid Sulzano. We already told you to steer clear of Sulzano en route to The Floating Piers, but you should also avoid it once you're there. If you walk the dock from Peschiera to Sulzano, do not get off the dock in Sulzano or you may have to face a long wait on the mainland to get back on.

Tip #4: keep your socks on.  Christo recommends walking barefoot, which works well if you're a dog but not as well if you're a human who worries about warts and athlete's foot. Keep your socks on!

Tip #5: bring a muzzle. Leashes and muzzles are required. Keeping dogs leashed is common sense and all dogs we met were on leash, while the muzzle requirement is not strictly enforced. None of the little dogs we saw had a muzzle on, a few of the midsize dogs carried one around their neck, and most big dogs wore one. On the ferry, your dog must wear a muzzle or be inside a pet carrier, like I was.

Bring a muzzle like we all did.

I sure hope these tips will be helpful to anyone who wishes to see The Floating Piers in the next four days before it closes.

Buon viaggio!

Tootsie & Renée at the top of Montisola with a view of The Floating Piers.

Lake Orta

Lake Orta, Italy

Tube of Fur with a View

Dachshund Pippo

Today we're taking you to Lake Serraia in the Trentino region of Northern Italy, which in Dachshund Daddy's opinion is the Switzerland of Italy.

This area is home to Dachshund Pippo, who was recently featured on Furbes -- the Forbes magazine for canine readers.

Here's Pippo's trademark blue-eyed sassy look.

Pippo is a very good dog. He has a blue eye and a hazel eye.

 

Dachshund Pippo recommends hiking to the top of Dosso di Costalta so you can enjoy a wotten waven view of Lake Serraia and the rest of the Altopiano di Pinè, the Pinè plateau where the lake is ensconced. Pippo, thank you for the tip!

Fur note: Pippo is the Italian name for the Disney character Goofy and is commonly used as a term of endearment for dogs and people alike.

Napping Paws

Lake Orta and How To Extend Your Earthly Existence

I recently traveled on the Lake Orta ferry to the island of San Giulio with a local resident, who was puzzled by Mom's barking bag.

Nestled in the foothills of the Piedmontese Alps of northwestern Italy, Lake Orta is a great destination for the savvy (sausage) traveler.

Back in 1882, Friedrich Nietzsche visited Lake Orta with Lou Andreas-Salomé, with whom he was in love. (Her mom came with them.) 12 years later, she wrote a book about him.

One of Mom's favorite contemporary American authors, Lance Olsen, wrote a book called Nietzsche's Kisses, which focuses on Nietzsche's "last mad night on earth" and touches on their brief love affair.

We spent several hours on the tiny island of San Giulio, home to seventy cloistered nuns.

There are signs for meditative walkies.

San Giulio Island is the setting of Gianni Rodari's delightful novella Lamberto, Lamberto, Lamberto, the story of a billionaire whose lifespan is extended by hiring people to repeat his name over and over and over.

I wonder whether that same trick would work for me. I'm still a puppy at heart, but lately people tend to notice the silver strands on my forehead. Well… why not give it a try?

Please repeat after me: Tootsie, Tootsie, Tootsie, Tootsie, Tootsie, Tootsie, Tootsie, Tootsie, Tootsie...

Good Memories

I look like I'm laughing in this photograph, but I'm actually eating some grass. There is lots of yummy alpine grass in Switzerland. Can you see the green in my teeth?

In this photograph, I'm trying to make friends with Swiss goats. Mom says if you don't pay and join a club, it is pretty hard to make friends in Switzerland. It's also pretty hard if your mom won't let you get close to the goats. (Notice I'm not even in this photo.)

I told Mom I'm willing to pay to join the local Swiss Goat Club of San Giorgio. She says it is too expensive and that I'm not a goat.

The next photograph is for our dear friends Madeline and Kirk and Jasmine. Mom and Dachshund Daddy and I climbed San Giorgio to remember their special visit over one year ago. (Jasmine didn't visit; she's a cat and stayed home in America.) I think our friends will recognize this view of Lake Lugano.

And this tree!

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Swiss Dachshund Club Week: Part II

The meeting place for the 2013 spring walk of the Swiss Dachshund Club was the Betulle Restaurant in the town of Origlio. Origlio is not exactly a sprawling metropolis, but we managed to spend 15 minutes walking around town without finding the place until we finally decided to seek local knowledge.


Sir Galahad didn't know the location, but eventually, we heard the great rising choral barks of my fellow dachshunds and followed the sound.


We caught up with my relatives just as the spring walk was getting started.


The first part of the walk followed the western shore of Lake Origlio...


where a crew of Emergency Medical Technicians were practicing a lake rescue.

It didn't seem like the EMTs needed our help, so we kept on walking in spite of the constant rain and ensuing WBS (Wet Belly Syndrome) for everyone.


Thank you for the great comments and questions after yesterday's post! The Swiss Dachshund Club is inclusive, and I met several fellow rescue doxies.

The most common breed of doxie we see in Switzerland (and so far in Germany, Austria, France, and Italy) is the wirehair. The second most popular is the long hair. Black-and-tans, which you see all the time in the U.S.A., are much less common here. I'm a rescue star!

Stay tuned: Swiss Dachshund Club Week continues tomorrow.

Smallest No-Dog Beach on Earth Near George Clooney's Villa

Nestled on the south-western shore of Lake Como, the town of Laglio is famous for being home to the planet's smallest no-dog beach. It is also known in the popular press as the location of George Clooney's lakeside mansion, Villa Oleandra.



"It is forbidden to access [the beach] with dogs," dictates the sign.

Why did the good folks of Laglio bother to spend the money for the sign, given that there's no room for us on the beach anyway?

Rumor has it that George Clooney is planning to sell his Lake Como villa. It's not because he's sick of the paparazzi, as the popular press claims; it's because he can't walk his dog on the beach.

A Spring Day!

Did William Tell rescue dogs?

On the shores of Lake Lucerne, just south of the village of Sisikon, lies a chapel dedicated to William Tell, Switzerland's quintessential folk hero.


The Chapel marks the spot where William Tell jumped off the boat of his captors as it was getting ravaged by a storm, as shown in one of the four frescos by the Swiss painter Ernst Stückelberg that are inside the Chapel.


I hope William also rescued the dog on the boat.


William's captors worked for Gessler, the Austrian overlord who had forced William Tell to hit an apple placed on the head of his own son with a single shot. After William's success, Gessler noticed a second arrow in William's hand. "You were supposed to hit the apple with a single arrow. Why did you need two arrows?", Gessler asked. "If I had killed my son, you would have been next", was William's honest reply.


Gessler got very upset, visibly riling up his dog.


Enraged by William's words, Gessler had him arrested and ordered his men to take him to his castle across the lake. As a massive storm broke out, the crew freaked out and unchained William so he could steer the boat to safety. That's how William managed to jump off the boat and, I hope, save the dog.


Note that the dog on the boat is different from the dog in the apple-shot scene.

Dachshund Daddy's travel note: the Tellskapelle, or Tell's Chapel, can be reached with a quick scamper from the Axenstrasse between Sisikon and Flüelen. You'll most likely use the Axenstrasse if you ever drive across Switzerland north to south. A much better way to visit the Chapel is to use the lakeside trail from the village of Sisikon. You can also take a ferry from Flüelen or Lucerne to the landing dock right by the Chapel...but check the weather forecast first and be sure no storms are expected.