Lake Lecco

On our first trip out alone, my companion and I went to the train station and bought a ticket for the next train leaving. It was going to Lecco and we had no idea what was there - we just knew that it was a one hour trip. So, we figured it wouldn't be too much time wasted if we just turned around and came back.

We started to see cliffs rising steeply - almost vertically - on each side of the tracks as we got about halfway there. It was very impressive for someone from Rhode Island which is a very flat state. There were grape vines everywhere, too, and cows in the fields.

One of the joys of the Italian trains was the ability to slide down the window and get a great view of the terrain from your compartment.

Lecco was a small town - we arrived about dusk. There was a wooden train station if I remember right - a few small shops and a cafe. We went into the cafe for a coffee and to call our hosts in Bergamo. That was our first exposure to "pips" and the tones the phone made as you were running out of time to put the pips in. The hostess was extremely helpful, as were most people that we ran into in Italy.

It was dark by the time we found the shoreline of the lake. Boats were tied up at small docks, and lights shone across the lake from the houses on the other side. Nobody seemed to be out doing any fishing - it was almost pure silence and peace at the lake.

We took the last train to Bergamo after another coffee in the cafe and saying goodnight to our new friends there.