Beautiful, yet nasty Milan

August 2014 - I was in a crazy mood and participated in a coach ticket contest where you had a chance to win coach tickets for a "virgin" line (a line that would start for the very first time) to Milan, Italy. I had already forgot about it when an email popped up on my mobile phone stating I had won two tickets. A friend - I will call her C. here - was upbeat and ecstatic when I told her the good news. We packed our bags, booked our hostel (the Piero Rotta Youth Hostel), made plans what to see.

The coach drove over the eminent Gotthard Pass, we had beautiful views over valleys, mountains, hills and mountains again. Here and there, you would discover a lake or an old Swiss farmhouse. We took a break at a petrol station in Lugano - where we actually finally felt we were hungry and sleepy.

We arrived in precious Milano in the late evening, but that didn't bother us at all. While we gathered up our luggage, had a quick look on a city map, we decided it's not too far to walk to the hostel. We passed by messy streets, crowdy roads, filthy bus stops, odious prostitutes and nauseating men urinating on trees - leaving us a bit shocked and surprised - but we were too tired to be too appalled. Finally, we arrived in the lobby, checked in and polished our nails before we went to sleep.

The day after, subsequently of a typical Italian breakfast, we started our touristy day:

A ride with the underground to Il Duomo lead us to the shopping mall Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II with its rich and pompous architecture inside and its fancy stylish boutiques of Prada, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Massimo Dutti.

Overwhelmed in both positive and negative ways, we walked out being shat on by pigeons, passing by wannabe photographers who want you to pay 60€ for a simple smartphone shoot and beggars.

The impressive monument of Vittorio Emanuele II behind us we confidently posed for our own self-made selfies. When we decided to visit the Great Duomo itself, we got reminded that not everywhere in Europe you have the freedom to wear short clothes in a every location.

We had lunch at an Italian restaurant where an Indian waiter was delighted to present us some Hindi vocabulary as well as the menu. The food was absolutely delicious - the waiter not so much.

We explored Castello Sforzesco and the Teatro alla Scala before we took some photos at the Piccolo Teatro. 

Since 1980, Santa Maria delle Grazie is listed as one of the UNESCO world heritage sites. This church holds the mural of The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci and is in the refectory of the convent. The Gothic Nave makes a visit also worth a while.

On our last evening, we strolled through the neighbourhood of our hostel because we were looking for a supermarket to get us some food for the journey back to Germany. We found a small one and said our goodbyes to beautiful Milan knowing we'd remember this journey having travelled in our twenties.

The day we went back to Germany, it rained and our coach was 1 hour delayed. During our journey, we talked personal, reflective stuff as well as the crazy stuff all good friends talk about.