Genoa

Finally vacation!!! But we still have to get our stuff packed... so we get up early, have a hearty breakfast and get started. We have plenty of time as we have to be at the station only at around 10pm but we are busy all day and finish just early enough to have a quick dinner at Kent‘s restaurant. We reach the station a few minutes past 10, park the Bulli on the carriage and settle in our de-luxe cabin. We are a bit disappointed as the cabin is not very spacious but at least everything works. From former experience we know there’s no guarantee for that... We have a night cab (a tin Ottakringer beer each) and go to sleep looking forward to what lays ahead of us.

As always on the train the night has been a bit bumpy and shaky but we managed to get some hours of sleep. We reach Feldkirch on time at 7:50am and half an hour later we are on the motorway heading south. It‘s a brilliant day with blue skies and sunshine. Hopefully it stays like this.

 When we pass the sign for the San Bernardino pass we spontaneously decide to leave the motorway and take the scenic route. It‘s quite cold, in the shade the grass is covered with frost. There’s hardly any traffic and we enjoy the ride up to the top. It’s breathtakingly beautiful up here today and in the sun it‘s now quite warm. We take a break to shoot some photos and have a coffee in the sun. Then we are descending to the Ticino. The rest of the trip passes uneventful, there‘s not a lot of traffic. We miss the right exit for the port of Genoa, so we take the next one and see a bit more of city.

It‘s 3pm now and as it is too early for the ferry we make it to the old port where we have a late lunch next to the pier where the luxury yachts are moored. After a stroll we drive over to the passenger terminal. It‘s rush hour and the scooters are overtaking us left and right. Welcome to Italy :-) It is rather quiet at the terminal, there are no queues. We reach the gate at 5:30pm and are informed that boarding starts at 6:30pm. The vessel is an old acquaintance of ours: The “Moby Otta”.

I take another stroll to take some pictures (probably they look very similar to the ones from last year) and Michael takes another beer ;-) Boarding is quick as there are not many cars and checking in is a matter of seconds. We drink a beer on deck and enjoy the mild evening. Last year it was a lot cooler. Then we settle in our cabin, have a shower and go to sleep early.