Milan to Varenna (Lake Como)

After a reasonably long (12-hour) onward flight from Singapore—which included a lot of bumps thanks to thunderstorms—we landed safely at Milano Airport this morning at about 6:30 am local time (GMT +2).

A grey and drizzly day welcomed us in Milan, but at least it wasn’t cold (and lugging 15 kg backpacks certainly helps to keep you warm).

We cleared baggage collection and immigration impossibly quickly—it really was fast. Having two kids in tow appears to have helped, as we were directed through the special “tired parents with tired kids express line.” They clearly took pity on the handful of parents traveling with their kids.

This got us out of the airport well ahead of schedule, but it also meant we were now well ahead of our pre-booked trains.

After getting off a 12-hour flight, hanging around at the airport train station for another two hours while we waited for our train didn’t feel like success.

Luckily, we were able to simply take the next train with the tickets we had. This got us into Milan Centrale station an hour earlier than expected. We were able to do the same with our tickets for Varenna.

So, for a moment at least, it felt like we were back to winning.

The train up to Varenna from Milan is lovely once you hit the Lake Como region. The train line hugs the eastern shore, with massive mountains (cloud-covered today) on the western shore.

Everything was going well, but now we were well ahead of our planned arrival time in Varenna and would have to wait to check into our apartment. Fortunately, our host agreed to let us in early so we could drop our bags and head out while the apartment was being prepared.

At this stage, all we wanted was a good shower and a change of clothes—but that would have to wait. After about 30 hours of traveling in the same clothes, we had developed a fair hum.

We got back to the apartment in the early afternoon and WOW—it’s amazing. Right on the waterfront with small balconies looking over Lake Como and the mountains on the western side.

We sat soaking in the views and chilling out while each of us took our turn at having a good soak in the shower to freshen up before heading out for an early dinner—which is now turning into an early night (8 pm) as we’re all super tired.

It’s been a massive day-and-a-bit of traveling, but now we’re here and the real exploring begins tomorrow.

Varenna Train Station