Isola Superiore and Isola Bella

 Then we went on to see two more island Isola Superiore and Isola Bella

On Isola Bella we visisted the palace

Part of the palace was a park with a bizaare looking theatre

Rain clouds moved it

 Time for a short lunch und soe trees to stay out of the rain

After a short rain shower a rainbow appeared

After the rain the air was clear and we could see the 4000 m high mountain peaks across the border in Switzerland

Isola Madre

We started the day with a great breakfast at the hotel

Our friends had waited for us to join them for a tour of three islands in the Lago Maggiore. The first one was Isola Madre with a mansion and a botanical garden created for a rich family.
The boat ride from Verbania was short

Inside the mansion an old theater to entertain guest

 

 

The view from the rooms was breathtaking

Driving to the Lago Maggiore

After spending two days with Christoph and is family in Heidelberg we headed south across the Alps to the Lago Maggiore. Andreas, Janine and Caroline were already staying there for a week in a holiday apartment in Verbania and we had booked a hotel nearby to join them for a few days.

First we had to cross Switzerland and go through the Gotthard tunnel which is 16 km long and has only one lane. It took one hour just to enter because there is always a lot of traffic

Halfway in the tunnel it was really hot - luckily the car has AC

To get to Verania we had to drive along some country roads

It was worth the drive - a beautiful place and our hotel was nice as well

When we arrived in the late afternoon it was pretty hot and sticky but later some clouds came in

Enjoying the view

The Rhein's in town

After six years Christoph and his family were finally back in Heidelberg. They took a Condor flight from BWI and then hopped on a Flix bus ti Heidelberg were we waited for them at the stop down the street
Then we walked them to Bahnstadt for lunch and Mia and Larrisah checked out the DM market there

We also walked to the river and Christoph was teasing Mia
 

The Olympic Games in Paris begin

After the trip to Paris three weeks ago we we watches of course the opening show for the Olympic games in Paris live on TV - in the proper outfits

Mia cheered for the US team