Arriving at the train station with no particular destination in mind is something that everyone should try at least once. You may just find yourself pleasantly surprised. The next train out of Milan’s Stazione Centrale was to a idyllic little town nestled at the bottom of the Southern Alps, a place otherwise known as Bergamo. So on we got, unfazed by the the torrential rain!

Arriving in Bergamo with no real agenda, we spotted a sign post for “Città alta” (upper city), the medieval part of the town, which sat on a hill above the rest of the city. Thankfully we’d dressed for the weather so our comfortable gears meant the climb up the hill went unnoticed – until we got to the top and realised how far we had actually come. Our views of the Alps were somewhat (entirely) limited by the weather, however we could still see the entire lower city “Città bassa” sprawled out below.

 

After exploring the narrow cobblestone streets we eventually surrendered to our stomachs and followed our noses into a quaint little pasticceria called Nessi, which I would recommend to anyone who pays Bergamo a visit! Not only did it sell every kind of sweet treat available (from pastries and tarts to strudels and cakes) but there was also enough pizza for everyone in town, probably twice over!

Once our bodies had defrosted enough to bear the thought of leaving the warmth, we ventured back out into the downpour back to the train station, our shallow pockets once again seeing us opting to walk rather than taking the cable car down the hill. No complaints from our end though, walking creates the best memories as you have longer to soak up the sights, the people and of course, the culture.