Blog

Previous Post: From Swiss Snow to Genoese Charm: A Journey Begins – Matthias Meyer

Hiking, Postcards, and International Connections in a Coastal Paradise

The next morning, after sleeping in due to a late-night conversation, I headed to the jewel of the Italian Riviera: Cinque Terre. The train to Monterosso cost 9 euros for the hour-and-a-half coastal ride. I also bought a 15-euro day ticket for the Cinque Terre trains, which proved valuable for village-hopping.

On the train, I met two Swiss students from Zurich heading to Vernazza. I chose to start in Monterosso, where we parted ways. While Monterosso itself isn’t particularly striking, Vernazza was a burst of color and charm – though quite touristy. I met travelers from China exploring Italy during their winter trip, impressed by their off-season adventure.

In Vernazza, I recommend hiking toward Monterosso to find a hidden viewpoint. While most tourists skip this challenging spot, it offers the quintessential postcard view: Vernazza’s colorful houses, the harbor, and the rugged coastline stretching beyond.

From Vernazza, I took the train to Manarola, another beautiful village in Cinque Terre. Each village seemed to be prettier than the last. My last stop was Riomaggiore, where I wanted to watch the sunset. And it was an amazing sunset! The sky was full of orange, pink, and purple, lighting up the colorful houses on the cliffs. I was really surprised by how many tourists were there in winter. I can’t imagine how many there are in summer. The streets are very narrow, and I think you could barely walk then because it’s so crowded.

When it got dark, I took a train to Pisa, where I had booked a cheap bed at the Safestay Hostel. It was only 15 euros a night, which was incredibly cheap, but I soon found out why. The hostel was nothing like the nice place in Genoa. There was a long line at the reception, it was far from the train station, and it just wasn’t very nice overall. The good thing was that I only shared the 4-bed room with one other person, a guy from Kosovo who really liked Switzerland.

Even though the hostel wasn’t great, the evening turned out to be nice. I felt unusually social and spent hours in the common area, talking with many different travelers. I met people from Kenya, Italy, Poland, Nepal, and other places. I just told them, “I only want to talk with you for a moment, and then I’ll move on.” It worked well, and I had many short but interesting conversations. But I still didn’t know what to do the next day. My roommate from Kosovo told me he went to Siena that day and was going to Perugia the next day. I looked up hostels in Siena but didn’t find anything, only in Perugia. The problem was that the reviews for the Perugia hostel weren’t very good, and there was only one 12-bed dorm left. It was also 25 euros a night, which is expensive. So, I still couldn’t decide.

Next post: Pisa’s Leaning Wonder and Siena’s Medieval Magic – Matthias Meyer