Alice in Switzerland: Mount San Giorgio

On Sunday of our first weekend (08/19/2012), a group of about 40 business and architect students went on a hike up Mount San Giorgio. Daniela, the manager of the Villa, was kind enough to take us all. We left the Villa around 10 o’clock in the morning and it took around three hours to reach the top. I did not expect the hike to be so rigorous and steep. We all drank our two water bottles going up, so we were desperate to find somewhere to fill them up. Talking to Daniela on the way up was extremely interesting, because she grew up hiking and camping on the mountain. She has even gone up while wearing snow shoes!

Once we finally reached the top, I was surprised to see that dogs and older people had made it up as well. There was a little building at the top, which had a table inside and there were sodas that you could buy. If you wanted to buy a soda, then you had to put 3 Francs in a little slot in the wall. I am always amazed when I see these types of systems, because they are all based on honor. I feel as though in America there are many people that would take advantage of situations like this. It is clear that the residents of Ticino respect and care for the landmarks in their region. We stayed at the top for a couple of hours and ate lunch. The view was surreal. Lake Lugano looked extremely blue and you could see towns that were miles away. It was a beautiful day, so it made the view that much better.

We took a different route down the mountain which went through a few smaller towns, including Daniela’s. At first we stopped by a lot of rocks as Daniela explained the region’s fossils to us. A short walk later, we ended up in Meride. This is the town that Daniela lives in and luckily it had a water fountain. While walking through her town, we got to see where she lives and her vineyard. From there it took about an hour to get back.

Going on the hike made me realize, even more so than I did before, how beautiful Riva San Vitale and the Ticino region is. I still cannot believe that I have the opportunity to live here for four months and I am so grateful that I do.