By Boat to the Grotto

Over the moun­tains to Lake Lugano into the cool Grot­to. When the sum­mer heat broods over Switzer­land, you either go up to the moun­tains or into a cool “grot­to” — a typ­i­cal restau­rant of Tici­no, built entire­ly of stone or even hewn into the rock. Or you can do both in one day. The con­trast of gran­ite and snow-capped moun­tains to palm-lined shores in just one and a half hours can only be expe­ri­enced in the south of Switzer­land. When the motor­boat roars over the mir­ror-smooth lake and the ancient lit­tle towns pass by like in a film, total relax­ation is the order of the day. The whole thing is crowned with a typ­i­cal Tici­no lunch in a remote grot­to and round­ed off with a leg­endary hand­made ice cream on the Ital­ian side of the lake. And then it’s back over the Alpine pass­es into a seem­ing­ly total­ly dif­fer­ent world. But we are still in (small) Switzer­land! A unique­ly intense day full of moments of happiness!