04.30 It is Good Friday today. Today is a good Friday. It's time for a new Easter trip. With us are the passports which we left in Stockholm on the 8th of March. Now they both have a visa to Mozambique inside. We have, despite the early hour eaten a small breakfast.

05.57 The worst part is done. We have walked down to the railway station in Sundsvall. On the way down here bloodshed occurred. Christer has received a cut in his right thumb. It's actually almost no snow here in Sundsvall.

08.12 We left Sundsvall according to plan and time table and our train has slowed down in Gävle. A train carrying pine and spruce has stopped next to us.

09.43 Our train rolled in and stopped at the Central Station in Stockholm. Now we are back at the café Dagny´s (http://www.dagnyskaffe.se). Here we will have a second breakfast. Then it's off to Klarabergsviadukten and bus stops U or V for further transport.

We had a late breakfast at Dagny´s.

10.47 We have sat down on the bus which will take us to the railway station in Södertälje. There is a rebuilding of the tracks this weekend so there are no trains between Stockholm and Södertälje.

11.40 Now we're on a platform in Södertälje. We overheard a conversation on our way here. It was between a mother and her son. - Icarus, would you like to have your comic? - Mom, it´s not there. - Oops, it's actually a ball! Now both Christer and I wonder if we are on the right platform.

13.13 We were on the right platform and our train arrived as planned. We have now reached a snowy Nyköping. The snow is in the air but so far nothing remains on the ground. Here we have, as usual, walked to Pizzeria 12. Today we will go directly to Skavsta airport and will not sleep at Railway Hostel though.

14.33 We are now in the waiting room of the railway station. We are waiting for the airport bus that departs within half an hour.

Snow in the air outside Nyköping train station.

16.30 We have made it to the gate here at Skavsta airport. Things are pretty quiet here today. However, we see some young ladies from Floby Volleyball.

17.19 The lady in the row behind us said that it is cold here. We agree about that. We are on board the Ryanair flight to Bergamo, Italy. More people have joined the volleyball team. It is both players and coaches. It is a good that we booked this trip early and got a seat.

19.10 It's fully booked on today's flight. About an hour remains of the flight. We are beginning to feel sleepy.

ITALY

21.03 We landed at Orio al Serio International Airport (also known as "il Caravaggio") in Bergamo. The backpacks joined us on this trip, unlike on the flight to Athens in December. We have now walked one floor up, had lasagna and kebabs at the restaurant Servair Airchef. It is a buffet restaurant where you choose among the dishes you wish to eat. Now we'll just finish our drinks before the trip continues.

We are landing in Bergamo.

Christer is eating a late and expensive airport dinner.

21.14 The guy from the bus company Terravision referred us directly to bus stop 4. There we bought a ticket from the company Autostradale. Now we are going to Milan. It should take us about an hour.

23.05 We have arrived in Milan. After a brisk walk from the train station where the bus stopped, we have reached the Hotel Ambrosiana(http://www.hotelambrosianamilan.com) and room 207. Here in this room there is a sink, a shower, a bidet and a double bed. We had booked separate beds, but something had gone wrong. Our room had gone to a group of three who has booked to 4th of June (4/6) and had arrived on the 6th of April (6/4). Upon arrival here, we rang a bell, crossed a courtyard and went upstairs. We checked in and were told that it cost 88 Euros. We paid 90 Euros. The lady at the front desk said she had no change so we got 50 cents and a bottle of mineral water instead.

Saturday 7th of April

08.02 Outside our window a cloudy sky looks down at Milan. Today we will walk around the city. We'll see as much of it as we can and have the stamina to. We will take a little help from the metro.

09.58 It is a small hotel with small spaces which we inhabit. Our room has a shower but it is so close to the bed that we did not dare to use it. We have used the common shower in the hallway instead. Outside the window is an artificial turf field for the team GS Virtus Milan 1908 and a dedication to Alessandro Longoni.

10.47 We left the hotel and walked out into a summerlike Milan. It's green, warm and simply wonderful. It's one of those days you want to face each day. We have, after having wandered a bit in the surrounding area, found the square Piazzale Loreto where the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini's dead body was hung up in a lamp-post in 1945. Now we are at the metro. A guitarist and fiddle player offers music from Die Csárdásfürstin or The Riviera Girl and other tunes. This is a new metro country for us. We bought a 24-hour card each before we left. I hope we´ll have time to use it!

Hotel Ambrosiana

Piazzale Loreto, the place where Benito Mussolini's corpse was shown on the 29th of April 1945.

Entertainment in the metro.

11.01 With the help of the Metro, we have traveled to the center of Milan and stepped off at the Duomo. We are near all the major attractions that are close together around here.

11.13 We are gathering strength, thinking about where we shall head on and are drawing up plans. We have searched for a place to sit down at and are now sitting on an old brick structure by Via Alberico Albricci and Piazza Missori. The structure is the remains of an old church, Cripta di San Giovanni in Conca. It's getting really warm.

11.51 We have been on Piazza Duomo (Cathedral Square). The cathedral is truly impressive. On the square there are plenty of people, vendors, tourists and pigeons. I've had a friendship ribbon tied around my left wrist. The giver said that he was from Senegal. This thing with a knotted string is a reminiscent of our trip through Thailand in 2008. Then a string made the trip happy and the carrier would be protected by good spirits. Furthermore, a gentleman poured something into my hand and raised it. Suddenly there were several pigeons on my forearm which ate from my hand. Now we are about to enter the mall Vittorio Emanuele II. It is also beautiful.

Duomo, the city's Gothic cathedral can hold 40 000 visitors.

The entrance to the mall Vittorio Emanuele II.

Female police officers are patrolling among the upmarket shops.

The elegant Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

The famous La Scala theater is easy to miss among central Milan´s all beautiful buildings.

12.01 We have slowly walked through the mall and noticed that many goods in the shops have no price tag. This usually indicates high prices. The floor of the mall is just amazing, so beautiful that you hardly want to walk on it.

12.13 On the outside of the other side of the mall we found a bench and a statue of Leonardo da Vinci. Close to us was a group of Swedish pensioners. A lady asked if there was a place in Milan where she could get a glass of wine. The tour leader looked strangely at her but then smiled and explained that there probably are quite a few such places in this city.

12.34 We are managing to see a lot today. We have just seen the opera/theater La Scala. Since we also saw a man that looked like a free spirit I guess that we can say that we have seen "La Boheme at La Scala." Now we are in Piazza Cardusio where a native American in plumage plays languorous, dream-like music from the Andes. A good question is why a man dressed as a Native American from North America plays South American music. One should not wonder that much. We also went past a shop and who was sitting outside of it, no other but, Pinocchio!

Flags from all over the world along Via Dante.

The fountain at Piazza Castello.

Castello Sforzesco.

Parco Sempione, a lovely oasis in the city. In the pond there are turtles swimming.

13.00 Christer has found a nice spot for lunch. We are sitting on their outdoor area, waiting for food. There wasn’t any menu. Instead we had to go in and look at various examples of precooked dishes and tell the staff what we wanted.

13.50 It was a great with food. I had a cold pasta dish and Christer had a pizza with prosciutto. Now we are outside the castle Castello Sforzesco. From here the family Sforza rules Milan for many years. Italy did not exist as a country until the 1860´s, and the Duchy of Milan was one of many small Italian states. It's a sunny warm day today and Milan is a nice city to walk around in.

14.17 Now we have indulged us with a bench break in the Holy Saturday sunshine. We are in a large park called Parco Sempione. The park is a large and beautiful green area, in other words, a typical park. We have seen small lizards running around in a sunlit slope and turtles swim in the park's pond. People are sitting in the green grass and just take it easy. Some Asian men are playing some kind of board game.

14.56 We found another bench and enjoyed a moment in the sun. We feel frighteningly dull and tired, is it our age or something else?

15.04 Our laziness was disturbed by an African guy who wanted to sell some wood carvings. He also wondered where we came from and if we like Milan and Italy.

15.15 Enough of park rest. We have walked to the metro station Moscova and are about to travel on.

15.33 We have traveled westwards with the Metro and got off at the station Lotto. It has nothing to do with lottery, it is named after a gentleman with the surname Lotto.

Here you can buy various supporter things from the local teams Inter and Milan.

Here you can buy football shirts before visiting a game.

Giuseppe Meazza Stadium is still called the San Siro by most people.

16.03 Flags are waving and music is playing. We are at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, formerly known as San Siro. Inside, is the match between Milan - Fiorentina. Outside the stadium is just us, the police and lots of trash. We will not go inside, we will walk on. It was not the game that we wanted to see, it was the arena. In addition, the first half has already been played. Along the way here we heard the speaker sounds and the calls from the stand, though it is no match guarantee. We found this out in 2000 in Prague. We navigated us through the sound we seemed to hear and came strangely enough to an empty arena.

16.38 It is time for a bench break and plans for the rest of the day. We are planning to go to the train station and later visit the cathedral and maybe something more.

17.31 Now we are at the railway station Milano Centrale and here we have a purchased train tickets from a machine for tomorrow's trip to Genoa. Out there are the dark clouds. Is the rain near?

18.13 We took the metro down to the Duomo (cathedral). We have entered the impressive building. In here are several wonderful paintings. The Cathedral's windows are very beautiful. Somewhere in here there is a nail which was used to nail Jesus or so they say. The nail was recovered by the Roman Emperor Constantine's mother. Inside and on the cathedral's exterior and roof are 3500 statues. In here are 52 pillars. The cathedral was built between 1386 and 1418. The facade was finished at the behest of Napoleon who wanted to be crowned King of Italy in here.

20.16 We left "Il Duomo" was and started to look for a cafe. What we found was a group of Hare Krishna people that came walking, drumming and chanting. In addition, we saw a few luxury cars, a Ferrari and a Lamborghini. We actually found a whole Ferrari store. The only places which offered coffee were some flashy cafes. Christer tried to get coffee in a cheaper way from a vending machine down in the metro but the machine just took the money and kept the coffee. The same thing happened to an angry man two machines away. We went out in the rain and found the grocery store Pam. Now we are back in our room for a short stop. We have seen on our TV that AC Milan lost today's game 1-2.

Christer feels rich for a while.

21.45 Because of the rain and lack of alternatives tonight’s dinner is a simple and classic one at Burger King.

22.08 We're back at the hotel. Here, I bought myself an espresso and Christer have checked the internet. Now we know that it´s Skellefteĺ AIK which faces Brynäs in the finals of the Swedish ice hockey season back home.

23.08 We have had an evening beer each and watch the rowing races between Oxford and Cambridge on TV. The time has come to look at, or do something else, like sleeping maybe?

Sunday 8th of April

08.10 It's Easter Sunday and we have, just like Jesus, once again stood up. It's almost time to go to the next city and stop. Outside the window a starling or a blackbird sings. It's a bird, anyway, I think.

08.56 There are a lot of words which describes our breakfast room; spacious is not one of those words. We have, for the second consecutive morning been sitting at a small table along a wall.

09.49 It is time to leave the room, the hotel and soon Milan. On the TV there is a program from RAI Sport 1, a nostalgic black and white program from the late 60's or early 70's. They talk sports and smoke both cigarettes and pipes.

10.35 We are in yet another railway station, Milano Centrale. The building is amazing and a sight in itself. Unfortunately, it was difficult to take photos of it because of the construction work going on outside. We are waiting for the train´s departure. I've been and got rid of something from the past and Christer is now off and arranges with something for later.

10.50 Christer bought some candy and a soft drink. We are ready to go. We are on our way towards the trip´s second Italian city. In addition we will make contact with the sea.

11.43 Our journey is just running smoothly. The landscape around us is flat, cultivated and cut through by streams. We have seen the water-covered fields. Where they rice fields? We have just passed Pavia.

We are waiting for our train at the magnificent railway station Milano Centrale.

The first thing we saw of Genoa was this statue of the city's great son, Christopher Columbus.

12.58 We have reached the railway station in Genoa, Piazza Principe. Here is a statue of Christopher Columbus. It is time locate ourselves and find the right direction from here.

13.12 We wandered around a bit outside the station area, but had to look at a map to figure out how we should walk. Christer has also taken the opportunity to buy a light lunch. We're sitting by one of the tracks at the station.

13.42 We had no problems finding the pre-booked accommodation, B&B Delfino Blu. The only thing that could be read at the locked door facing the street was the word "Hostel". We pushed a button, the door buzzed and we were able to open the door and get into the house. After some walking up and down the stairwell, we rang on a door. A middle aged woman opened and now she has shown us to our room with harbour views. Right now, Christer is getting information about the different keys function and how to get in and out of this house. The accommodation feels more like an apartment. We actually have access to a small kitchen and two nice bathrooms.

Our room at B&B Delfino Blu.

Stazione Marittima, Genoa.

A big cruise ship is visiting Genoa this day.

Christer is ready to explore Genoa.

In the hilly city Genoa certain streets go through tunnels.

14.06 I just got to write more about our "apartment". It seems to be an amazing place to stay at. We have rubber ducks in the bathroom and great views from the window. We can see a large cruise ship, the port area and further afield s glimpse of Genoa's oldest neighborhood. That's where we are heading now.

14.36 We have been walking around in the harbour area, admired the huge cruise ship visiting the city and went back to the railway station to arrange with the train tickets for tomorrow. Now we are ready to enter the old town.

15.21 Genoa's old quarters are beautiful. We just walked along the Via Garibaldi, which is Genoa's contribution to UNESCO's World Heritage list. It is a whole street filled with stately homes and beautiful facades. Genoa is a very hilly city and many have to ride elevators to get to their houses along the steep slopes. The elevators are a part of public transport in the city. This also includes a short metro line.

15.57 Behind us is the fountain on the Piazza Raffaele de Ferrari. I earlier went to buy a cone with two scoops of ice cream. I got to choose the flavours, in a "gelateria". A dog just got out of the fountain. Here in the square there is a bus from a, for us familiar, company, City Sightseeing.

Giuseppe Garibaldi, the founder of Italy.

Peter eventually managed to buy an ice cream.

Piazza de Ferrari, Genoa.

Christer is having a coffee break at Bar de Ferrari.

A Sunday market on Piazza Matteotti.

16.28 Bar the Ferrari name of the place for our afternoon snack. We are having a Café Americano, espresso with hot water and also a little cake each. The cake looks almost like a small green tennis ball.

17.00 The refreshments were perfect. It was just what we needed. We have walked on, looked at a market with different products and has now reached the Piazza San Lorenzo. In front of me is Cattedrale de San Lorenzo. Christer is heading into it. I have shorts so I can not go inside. Inside the cathedral is an undetonated bomb from World War II.

17.46 Christer didn’t see any bomb, but an ongoing Easter mass. He saw a procession with a man in red clothes joining it. Could it have been a cardinal on a visit? Very possible! We continued to look around the medieval streets of Genoa's "Old Town" and saw both an Indonesian and a Peruvian restaurant. Now we are down at the old piers. Here we have seen the restaurant with the snappy name "EATALY" and an ice skating rink. It is becoming a habit of seeing skating rinks. First, we saw one around the New Year in Thessaloniki, then we saw one in Helsinki a few weeks ago and now this. It´s 19 degrees today and the skating season should surely be over. There was plenty of water on the ice.

San Lorenzo cathedral.

A sculpture of a saint adorns this medieval alley.

18.03 The port area here in Genoa provides a lot of things. There are restaurants, museums, shopping, tour boats, a market, an aquarium, etc. We went along one of the piers and are now in front of the biosphere La Bolla. It is a glass bead with a diameter of 20 meters. Inside of it are animals, plants and trees from the tropics.

18.27 The slow walk towards our new home has begun. We are at the palace and the metro station San Giorgio. Once again we meet the Saint George on our travels. The palace was once a prison and the most famous resident was a travel colleague, Marco Polo.

19.15 The internet has been checked at a small internet café in the old town. Now it's time for dinner at Soprana 25 (http://www.soprana25.com), a Chinese restaurant. I initially ordered a Chinese beer to drink.

19.58 We got plenty of food and the prices were really great. Once again the Chinese have saved us. There have been some Chinese dinners over the years in various countries on different continents.

21.00 We're back in our room without number. Before returning home we bought a beer each in a small shop in Old Town as well as a package cannoli, a Sicilian specialty, in a little stand in a market in the harbour. The market offered stands with various pastries and candies and also some which sold meat products. We saw a man cut pieces from the largest sausage we've ever seen. In addition, we saw a submarine which was parked by the Galata Museum.

People are skating despite the early summer heat.

The biosphere "La bolla" in the port of Genoa.

In Genoa, they do sell sausages.

22.23 We have until the 14th of October to consume our cannoli. Out in the kitchen sits an elderly man with gray hair and a young lady with something white smeared in her face. They were eating bread with blue cheese and something else.

22.53 We are zapping around between the channels on the TV. Soon we will sleep. Tomorrow awaits two countries. One of them is completely new to Christer and a return, almost 22 years later, for me.

23.35 It is time to sleep. We can hear the noise from cars from outside.