Our original plan was to take a train from Berlin to Prague, Czech Republic and then make our way to Austria then back to Germany. However, we changed our plan and decided to visit Italy instead. We decided to use European LCC easyJet to take us from Berlin to Milan due to its most competitive pricing for that route. I would have to say ultimately easyJet did not turn out to be as easy from our dealing with them which I intend to elaborate on a later blog.
Our departure time from Berlin to Milan was 8:05 am so we wanted to be at the airport by around 6:00 am for domestic EU flight. Accounting for the time to commute to the airport from Berlin and time to enjoy some coffee and breakfast at the airport, we headed out early at 4:00 am.
 |
| 3:59 am, bundled up and ready to get on the Bahn to the airport |
 |
| Walking to the Alexanderplatz station in freezing rain |
 |
| We were greeted by the East Berlin traffic sign man |
 |
| Made it back to the Alexanderplatz station |
 |
| Waiting for the Regional Bahn 14 (RB14) train to the airport |
 |
| Trying to stay warm |
 |
| The RB14-Bahn pulled in right on time |
 |
| Back at the Berlin Brandenburg Airport in just over 30 minutes |
Since we already checked in online, we simply used the barcode on the boarding pass on our phone to get through the turnstile to security. The security line was not too crowded but we had to ensure all of our liquids can fit into a 1 liter ziplock bag with each liquid container no greater than 100 ml. We only had small bottles of items so this was not an issue for us.
After getting through security, we sat our bags down and looked for coffee and breakfast. We picked out a few items and I finally got to try the famous Berlin street food - curry wurst.
Shortly after 7:00 am, we headed to our gate and without much waiting, we were on the shuttle to the satellite boarding area to board our easyJet plane to Milan.
 |
| Waiting to get on the shuttle to board our easyJet flight to Linate (LIN) |
 |
| Unloaded from the shuttle to board our ride to Milan |
 |
| Due to Low temperature, ice had covered part of the plane |
 |
| Boarding the ice covered plane, the plane would have to be de-iced before take off |
 |
| Getting situated |
 |
| The A319 will take us to Milan |
 |
| The flight takes us right over the Swiss Alps |
 |
| Over Lake Maggiore after flying over the Swiss Alps, we are in Italy |
 |
| Pulled into our gate at Linate 1.5 hours after take off. Armani sign greets us |
After arrival, we walked right out of the airport and got on the express bus to the city center. The fair for the express bus was $7 EU per person. The ride was about 30 minutes in traffic. The bus dropped us off at Milan Centrale, the Milan main station around 11:30 am.
We had two major tasks to accomplish at Milan Centrale. First was to buy the train ticket to Lake Como, or specifically Varenna Station for our day trip the following day. Second was to buy the train ticket to Venice, or specifically to the Venezia Santa Lucia station. The ticket to Varenna allowed us to use any departing and returning train on the day of the ticket. However the ticket to Venice was only for a specific train with a specific seat since that the route was served by high speed rail.
After scoring the two sets of train tickets, we maneuvered our way to the metro level of Centrale. We bought the single ride metro ticket at the machine and somehow found the metro line to our stop and made it to our Air B&B around 12:30 pm.
 |
| Milan Centrale, we would pass through here countless times in the next three days |
 |
| Stepping onto the surface street after getting off the metro at the Missori Station |
We met our host at our Air B&B which is located in the historic city center about 10 minute walk from the Milan Duomo. At this point, we were quite hungry. So after a quick freshening up, we went out to search for our lunch spot -
All'antico Vinaio.
All'antico Vinaio is located just behind our apartment building. We got there in no time but this joint was super popular. The line was about 45-55 minutes long. All'antico is a chain and we actually saw another store at Centrale with no line but the traveling party insisted on having the sandwich at this store with the long line. The store is located right across from the Piazza Sant'Alessandro, an ornately decorated cathedral piazza how anyone imaged Italy would be. We took turn waiting in line while soaking in the warm sun and breathed in second hand smoke - we were in Italy.
 |
| Painting of St. Mary with Jesus can be seen in many street corners - we are now in Italy |
 |
| All'antico Vinaio |
 |
| MM at the Piazza |
 |
| Finally got our sandwich - is it worth the 50 minute wait? |
We sat in front of the steps of the Cathedral and wolfed down the sandwiches from All'antico. With our stomach temporarily satisfied, we were ready to explore the town.
After lunch, we went back to our Air B&B to take a quick rest and set out to explore the historical city center on foot at around 3:30 pm. At this point, the sun had disappeared and a bit of rain has started to fall. We were not deterred by a little bit of weather and our first mission was to locate our first gelato place in Italy.
Our apartment is located at one of the busiest shopping streets of Milan - Via Torino. This street is where all the mid-tier stores are located such as Dr. Martens, department stores, and of course Starbucks. The street was vibrant and full of young people walking about. We have not experienced this level of human density since we were in Asia in 2019. GG got her first cup of Starbucks on Via Torino and we continued window shopping until we got to the big Duomo of Milan. We took some pictures at the Duomo and we continued walking pass the Duomo to reach our gelato spot -
Vanilla Gelato Italiani.
 |
| Map provided by our host |
 |
A few steps away from our apartment was a circular-shaped Cathedral - the San Sebastiano
|
 |
| Made it to the Duomo |
 |
| GG and her first first cup of Starbucks in Italy |
 |
| The south entrance of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II which we would explore later |
 |
| The Milan Duomo, one of the the largest Cathedrals in the world |
 |
| 4:15 pm, perfect time for gelato |
Vanilla Gelato is located at the edge of the neighborhood of Quadrilatero east of the Duomo. This is a dangerous neighborhood full of - the most high end stores such as GUCCI, PRADA, and countless others. One should not venture into this neighborhood without being fully armed with credit card(s) with adequate limits and diplomatic skills to politely decline the most skillful sales associates probably in the entire world.
But we did venture into this neighborhood, and I have to say, it was great to watch the sales associates at work. They are the most knowledgeable and professional sales associates. Their knowledge about the products are second to none. Their ability to interact with the customers are also second to none. Milan is after all - a co-fashion capital of Europe along with Paris.
 |
| Are we in the right neighborhood? |
 |
| We have to watch for our pockets here |
 |
| Nothing like interacting with a sales associate at PRADA Milan |
After spending about two hours in Quadrilatero, we made it to our next stop -
Marchesi 1824 located in
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II with minimum damage.
We had to stop by this tourist but high end dessert store located on the second floor of the PRADA store in the Galleria to check it our for ourselves. "Buonasera", we were greeted by the well dressed store manager as soon as we entered. We were led to our seats overlooking the grand galleria. The well dressed waiter asked us what we like to drink. We asked for Cappuccino and juice. The well dressed waitress showed us the beautifully decorated desserts displayed like precious items behind the window and we got to pick out what we liked.
It was all quite an experience. Unlike the subdued culture of Germany, everything in Italy was ornate and almost theatrical.
Comments
Post a Comment