Follow the Via Ferrata
Visiting Lago di Como came with such an amazing discovery: Via Ferratas! I visited Italy with my boyfriend’s family and their family friends hosted us at their place in Lago di Como, such a beautiful lake in northern Italy about 4 hours by train from St. Gallen. The family we were staying with loves the outdoors and are big hikers, so naturally, as it was springtime and all the hikes were starting to open up, they wanted to take us on a hike!
Something very unique about the hikes in some of the mountains in Europe are these setups called Via Ferratas. This translates from Italian to “iron path” and is a protected climbing route in the Alps and some other ranges with iron chains across the surfaces of the rocks going deep into the mountains. Hikers and climbers can bring helmets, a harness, and a carabiner, and hook into these trails. The origin 
of them is from the various wars, particularly World War 2,
when soldiers would use these routes to travel more efficiently from one place to another without having to take a longer route. These routes have since been reinforced and made more accessible to day-to-day adventurers, and now individuals and families take advantage of them every summer.
The Via Ferrata we embarked on was one of the more scenic routes right on the edge of Lake Como in the town Varenna. We climbed across a rock face that was about 50 feet above the water at some points along the route, and had a spectacular view of the lake, mountains, and little town.
T
his experience was so much fun and made me want to go back later in the summer to experience some of the longer routes further into the mountains. From lake Como, the Dolomites can be accessed and there are various trails that can lead you through the mountains for weeks on end. Even more exciting, during the summer there are these places called Refugios, which are little bed and breakfasts in the mountains for hikers to stop through as they embark on these hiking and climbing trips. Every week or so, there is a system of helicopters that flies around the mountains dropping off supplies to each refugio so they can prepare fresh food and have supplies for the hikers coming through. You can even request certain meals in advance!
I was stunned by the beautiful nature surrounding lake Como and definitely want to go back, harness in hand.
Bis zum nächsten mal!
Kara