An Atlas in My Purse: Europe Report #6 - We're Supposed To Be at What Airport?!?!?!

The Steiner Pass

We left Switzerland with regret and under a heavily overcast sky. Dad and I had decided we would stick to the main roads so that Mom and the Kid weren't too traumatized. I had found one wonderful route over the Steiner Pass, but we felt this would be just too narrow and frightening for our back seat drivers. Instead, we gave Hazel, our GPS unit, her head and let her choose. She took us out of the Lauterbrunnen Valley and further east along the second of the Interlaken lakes. After a few tunnels and with the road getting progressively smaller, I began to realize that Hazel had chosen the Steiner Pass road! Panic set in, but we were too far to head back.

The Steiner Pass road heads up a narrow, forrested valley past a few villages and then just keeps going higher and higher. The road winds and bends back upon itself in crazy hairpin turns, but is always two lanes (narrow, but two). It was always paved and we passed a number of workmen repairing parts of the road. We also passed a spot where part of the lane we were in had fallen away into the crevasse beside us; I didn't draw Mom's attention to this!

Eventually we surpassed the treeline and had the most spectacular views. I would have pictures to show you, if I hadn't been too busy digging my fingernails into the dashboard at the time. The summit of the pass was more than 2,200 meters above sea level. The Shilthorn where the others had breakfast on the mountain top above Lauterbrunnen is less than 2,800 meters as I recall -- not that much higher. This was a high pass with unbelievable vistas. Finally, we were on the downward side and, when we had regained civilization, stopped at a restaurant to restore our sanity with a cup of coffee and a croissant. Whew, that was a traumatic way to start the day.

Menaggio, Lake Como

The rest of our route that morning took us through the Gotthard Pass (about 17 km of tunnel) and down into Italy. We wound around the hillside roads that line the Italian lakes and over the mountain (more of a large hill) to Lake Como. We stopped in Menaggio on the lakeside and sat on the promenade with a picnic lunch. I had really hoped we could spend time here, but lunch on the lakeside was the best I could squeeze into this trip. The Italian Lakes are beyond beautiful. Long, narrow strips of water hemmed in by mountains, with the snow covered Alps in the distance. It is definitely a place to return to.

After lunch, the Kid and I walked along the promenade to the main square. I had read that this area was known for their silk production and I was hoping to find a shop selling silk scarves. Well, we did find such a shop, but in true European fashion, it was closed for lunch! So, no silk scarves for you! To console ourselves, the Kid and I backtracked to the nearest gelateria where we purchased cups of tiramisu gelato (Italian ice cream) for ourselves and Mom and Dad back at the car. Can you picture me hustling back along the promenade with three cups of gelato in my hands, hoping to get them to the car without falling on my face and before they all melted and dribbled through my fingers? Mission accomplished!

Milan Airports and Malta Air

Less than two hours from Menaggio, we found our hotel next to the Linate Airport on the southeast side of Milan. I had booked our Air Malta flight from Linate to Malta about six months earlier. This hotel was perfect for a one-night stay. Very comfy beds, a nice restaurant. It was great. We made our plans to rise at about 6:00 am the next morning and be out by 7:00 to be unloaded and at the airport next door by 8:00. No problem!

The Kid didn't sleep well all night. She kept waking up and looking at me. Finally, at about 3:00 am, the Kid woke me up. She said later I was making strange noises and she thought I was sick. I wasn't, but then I couldn't get back to sleep. She believes the Lord was urging her to wake me up.

Finally, at about 3:30 I sat up and pulled out my tablet. I thought I would check to see if our flight was expected to leave on time. I looked at the Linate Airport website and nearly died of shock. There were no Air Malta flights scheduled.

I looked at the Air Malta website. It didn't offer any information on the day's flights at all. I looked at the hard copy I'd printed from my email confirmation before leaving home. It said we were to fly from Linate. I looked at other emails I'd received from Air Malta. The last was sent to me after we'd left Toronto; I don't think I'd noticed it. Looking at it now, I saw that our flight had been changed from Linate to Malpensa, another airport on the opposite side of Milan. I looked at the Malpensa website and there was our flight! I couldn't believe this had happened. I never received any notification from Air Malta about the airport change. This was awful! Malpensa was about 45 minutes away -- assuming there was no traffic.

I realized we would need to leave earlier than we'd planned. At about 5:00 am, I went out to knock at Mom and Dad's door. After a few knocks, Dad blearily opened the door and listened as I expained the problem. We were all ready and loading the car by 6:00 am - record time! Forty-five minutes later we were looking for a parking spot at Malpensa Airport. However, I didn't start to relax until we actually checked in. Until then, I had visions of the Air Malta staff telling us, no, we had to go to yet another airport!

Birgu, Malta

Malta is an extraordinary group of islands. Located in the Mediterranean about 60 miles south of Sicily, it is very, very small -- something like 30 miles long and 8 miles wide with a population of only 400,000. I studied the island roads in advance as much as possible and hunted down the best road map I could find (we wouldn't have access to GPS), but we ended up ill-equipped to drive our rental car there. More on that later.

The view from our terrace.

The place I had reserved for us was a modern three-bedroom condo facing part of the Grand Harbour of the main city of Valletta in the ancient village of Birgu (also known as Vittoriosa). Located on the ground floor, it was about 10 feet from the water. Although we didn't try swimming in the harbour, we saw others who did. From our small deck, we watched all kinds of boats come and go -- from fishing boats to cruise ships. The apartment itself was very spacious, narrow and long. The master bedroom was at the end of the hallway and was so far away, Mom said she needed to pack a suitcase every time she left for the livingroom.

Our first morning, Dad and I took the rental car and braved the urban area surrounding Valletta and Birgu. Driving on the left side of the road for the first time, Dad did very well. However, we were completely unable to navigate successfully. The streets have little or no signage. We were looking for a large supermarket I'd found online. We drove around for more than an hour, completely unable to locate it, even though I knew exactly where it was on the map. How frustrating this was! Dad and I are both competent drivers and navigators, but we could not find it at all. We drove on big roads and little roads, on one-way streets and on two-way streets with only one lane. Finally, I said, "I give up! Let's go back to Birgu, walk into the village and see if we can find any food to buy." As I said this, we pulled up to an intersection, planning to turn left. I glanced right and was astounded to see the supermarket we'd been looking for. Success -- even though we found it by accident!

After parking on the floor of the store parking garage, Dad and I spent another hour slowly shopping our way up and down the aisles. I always enjoy browsing through foreign grocery stores. There are so many interesting food items to be found. In this case, we found some Maltese items -- all new to us -- and many British items -- sometimes familiar to us.

Afterward, we fairly easily found our way home, although I was pretty sure we wouldn't be able to find our way back to the supermarket. Mom and the Kid were really pleased to see us; they'd come to the conclusion that we'd driven off the island into the sea.

Malta Air Museum

The Malta Air Museum is on the left.

During the afternoon, we headed away from the city toward the Malta Air Museum. We made it to the general area of the museum near Rabat; as we drove through the countryside, I could see the light stands at the stadium located next to the museum. But how did we get there from here?

We left the main road and started driving through fields across the countryside. Not much seemed to growing in the fields, but each little patch of dirt was fenced in with the most amazing stonework. Malta has very little arable land. It's basically a rock in the Mediterranean. Almost everything has to be imported to this little country. We saw a few olive trees and a couple of distant greenhouses, but not much else. I'm sure there's more to see earlier in the year.

As we drove on unnamed side roads -- paved, but spotted with many potholes -- we grew more and more frustrated. In fact, Dad was struggling so much, trying to see where the Air Museum might be, that he forgot twice to drive on the left side of the road. Oops! We almost caused an accident!

Once again, we found the Malta Air Museum at the last minute. We parked and Dad went in the office, hoping to find someone in charge. Before long, he came out with Mr. Ray Polidano, Director General of the Museum Foundation, who had been advised by Malta's consular staff in Toronto that we would be visiting. Ray proved to be a gracious and charming host. He took us into the new hangar that houses the spitfire he has personally worked on restoring. For a long time, Ray and his coworkers did the restoration work in his garage. The hangar features World War II items and was erected in the last few years.

Dad and Ray stand with their backs to the camera.
The young volunteers are gathered around
listening to stories about Uncle George.

Ray showed us around the hangar and then stood talking with Dad for a long time. They were joined by the young volunteers who also work on the planes at the museum. I so enjoyed watching Dad tell stories about Uncle George with such a rapt audience.

These young men are well aware of the extraordinary history of their small island. Malta was the most bombed place on the earth during World War 2. The people of Malta showed such bravery against the onslaught of the Nazis -- never giving up, even in the face of certain starvation and destruction -- that they were awarded the George Cross. The brave RAF fighter pilots, of whom Uncle George was one, countered the Nazi attack during what has come to be known as the Siege of Malta. When the first supply ships broke through the Nazi cordon, the Maltese people had something like two weeks of starvation rations left. Uncle George was there at the height of the siege and was the best of the fighter pilots. When he returned home afterward, he was extremely thin and sick. Dad remembers him saying the only time he felt well in Malta was when he was breathing bottled oxygen during his flights.

Ray mentioned to us that many Israelis come to the Air Museum when they holiday on Malta and inquire about Uncle George. We were very touched to hear this.

Mom, the Kid and I watched a video about the war, sitting in a corner of the hangar while Dad and the others swapped stories. It was late afternoon and for the longest time we were inundated with an immense storm. Thunder. Lightening. High winds. Heavy rain. The rain blew about 20 feet through the open hangar door. When the storm finally lightened up a bit, Dad backed the car into the hangar so we could get in without getting wet. Then, Ray drove his car through the confusing roads and led us out to a main road. We successfully made it home.

Compared to many of the yachts we saw
in the Malta marinas, these sailboats are on par
with simple row boats!

Because we'd had such a hard time finding groceries, we decided we'd eat our main meals out while in Malta. Our condo was located in a newly renovated, upscale area alongside a marina with multi-million dollar yachts. We had a fine time walking along the harbour wall admiring each ship. We found one restaurant along the marina walk that was very happy to let us order from the menu and then send it home with us as take out. It would have been nice to eat there by the marina, but Mom was still feeling rather under the weather and we opted to eat more informally in our apartment. But we did have the most delicious take out. We found the staff at the restaurant -- and, in fact, the Maltese people everywhere we went -- to be the most charming and friendly people we've ever met. Bar none. It was simply extraordinary. We can't say enough nice things about them.

The next day in Malta was sunny and warm. We had a variety of things we had planned and decided we just didn't want to face getting miserably lost and wasting time looking for places, so we booked a cab to take us everywhere. Francis was a charming man and helped get us to each place we needed to go that day. It was much less stressful!

Malta Museums and the Malta Military Tattoo

We started off heading to the point of the Valletta peninsula to visit the National War Museum located in Fort Saint Elmo. We knew that Uncle George's RAF jacket had been given to one of the museums on Malta and we were hoping to find it. And it did turn out to be in this museum. Very interestingly laid out, the War Museum takes you through the two world wars, year by year. We finally came to a display with a portrait of Uncle George and a manikin dressed in his jacket. After a long chat with the curator in charge (it was a Sunday), we headed a few blocks away to the Malta Experience, an audiovisual overview of the history of Malta. As someone else had told us, you learn there in an hour what it would take 20 hours to read about.

In the afternoon, Francis picked us up again and took us the very short distance to another museum called Malta at War. This small museum is designed to help you understand what the people experienced during the siege and the extended war period. We met with a Mario Farrugia, Chairman of the Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna, a group that oversees several museums, including this one, and then had a private, guided tour of the museum. It is so hard to comprehend the devastation the people of Malta experienced. We were amazed at their resilience, especially after descending into one of the actual subterranean bunkers that protected of them during the bombing.

One of the troops participating
in the Malta Military Tattoo
was this group from a town in Italy
where they throw flags.

Afterward, Francis picked us up again and drove us back to the stadium next to the Air Museum. We had tickets for that evening's presentation of the Malta Military Tattoo. I've never been to a tattoo before and, let me tell you, it was LOUD! We really enjoyed it, but left during intermission. It was late and we'd had a full day. We were rather casually dressed due to the heat and tramping around we'd been doing in un-air conditioned museums all day, but the Maltese people treated this as a special dress-up affair. They were wearing their best clothes -- sometimes outfits you'd expect to see at a cocktail party. It was clearly a very social event. Very interesting!

Francis very promptly picked us up once last time and we headed home for a late supper and bed.

Birgu at Sunrise

Early the next morning the Kid and I rose at sunrise and went out to explore the village of Birgu. We walked up and down narrow streets and staircases, coming across the remains of the ancient buildings where the Knights of Malta stayed in the early days. We were charmed by the way the residents have potted plants standing outside their doors and on the steps of the street. Most of the streets are just walkways, and this greenery softens the harshness of the stonework. I was amazed that the plants obtained enough sunlight in the narrow, dark spaces.

One thing we hoped to find was a bakery. There weren't any in sight, but we did go into one cafe, the Kid bravely passing the phalanx of elderly Maltese men sipping their cups of espresso at the tables around the door. Inside, the woman at the counter offered us pasticis, a favourite Maltese treat. It is a light, flaky pastry wrapped around either riccotta cheese or mushy peas. We opted for cheese and took four home for breakfast. They were delicious. And cheap! Those four, hot from the oven, cost only E1.20. (We bought four more at the airport the next day for four times that price.)

A Day with Ray

Later that morning, Ray picked up Dad, the Kid and me in his car and took us back to the Air Museum. He had arranged for us to meet one of the authors of a fairly new book about Uncle George (Screwball Beurling, Malta's Top Scoring Fighter Ace). We had a lovely time talking with Frederick Galea and his wife. While Dad and Frederick swapped stories, Ray made some of his famous cups of tea for us all. We sat in the old Quonset hut that has been remodeled into the museum cafe and savoured every drop!

The Kid and I were anxious to visit the museum gift shop today (we hadn't had a chance on our first day), so we headed there while Dad and the others chatted. The gift shop is very small, but has a good selection of books. We wanted to purchase additional copies of Frederick's book. We found one on display and showed it to the man at the counter, asking if he had more copies. He said he was just filling in and we should wait until his coworker returned. A few minutes later, a woman returned to the counter. We showed her the book we wanted. I smiled and said, "It's about our uncle."

She laughed and said, "It's okay. We know who you are."

This response caught us completely off guard. Then we realized that we were speaking with Ray's wife, Mary Rose!

With purchases in hand, we returned to the main hangar area. Ray showed me other parts of the museum, including the small chapel they've built out of another quonset hut. It is a lovely, quiet spot and a good place to remember all those who lost their lives over Malta. Later, the Kid had an interesting experience in the chapel. Ray had brought her there to see the building. As they stood in the quiet room, a man entered and spoke to Ray from behind the Kid.

"Can you tell me anything about George Beurling," he asked. The Kid said she didn't turn around, but just looked at Ray with great surprise.

"As a matter of fact," said Ray, "This is one of his nieces and his brother is visiting today as well."

As it turned out, this gentleman had recently watched a documentary in England about Uncle George and was interested in learning more. He certainly didn't expect to meet George's family in Malta! We had a good laugh over this coincidental timing.

Mdina, Malta

Soon after, we made our goodbyes and Ray drove us to the nearby town of Medina where the RAF pilots were billetted during the war. The 15-minute drive would have been the same one they took twisting through stone-lined fields and up the steep hill to the town gate.

Medina is a walled medieval town and an amazing place. The streets are not quite the warren of pathways we found in Birgu, but very beautiful, Traditionally, the aristocracy of Malta lived in this location, so the streets are lined with fine buildings.

One location Ray took us was the door to the house where Uncle George himself lived during his stay in Malta. In a bit of a cul de sac, the blue door was framed with beautiful plants. Spots like this have really helped us imagine Uncle George during his days on Malta.

We next stopped on the town wall, overlooking the valley to the north where the RAF field was located during the war and where the Air Museum is today. What a fine view! We could see across Malta and out over the ocean. We walked a little further until Ray stopped at a hotel door. During the war the officers' club was located here. The hotel staff permitted us to go up to the upper floor where the pilots sat on the wall and watched bombing raids. It is so hard to really get a handle on those days where such violence was on every hand.

Finally, Ray drove us home and we said good-bye with regret. Ray and the other Maltese we met during this short visit have given us an truly memorable time. We are very grateful for their kindnesses! There is so much we didn't have time to see in Malta: the sea cliffs and grottos, the beaches, the famed archaeological sites, the cart ruts, many other museums, Valletta and other villages ... I think we must come back!

We had a last take-out dinner from our favourite restaurant. We planned to actually sit and eat on the restaurant patio, but a huge thunder storm was starting so we just took our meal as take-out again. We really enjoyed the meals here. They were Mediterranean-style without being too exotic for us. Mom said she'd had so much food prepared with olive oil in recent days that her fork was just slipping off her lips! As Krista and I waited on the patio for our order to be readied, we watched the lightening flash across the sky, illuminating the harbour. The restaurant manager came by and asked if we had everything we needed. We said we were fine and just waiting for our last order to be filled.

"We've really enjoyed the food at this restaurant, but we're leaving tomorrow," I explained.

"Your last order," the manager exclaimed. "Did you order our special of the day? It's pasta with squid ink."

Krista very politely said, "No, but I'm sure it's delicious."

When we finally collected our bags of food, all the staff stood at the door and waved good-bye to us. Where else would that happen?

Actually, I've been thinking about the cheerful, helpful, kind attitudes we found everywhere in Malta. I think this hasn't changed for at least 2,000 years. Did you know that Malta is mentioned in Scripture? It was this tiny island where the Apostle Paul and his fellow travellers were shipwrecked en route to Rome. Luke, who penned this portion of the Bible (the Book of Acts), described their time in Malta and said at one point, "The natives showed us extraordinary kindness" [Acts 28:1-10].

The Maltese are still showing great kindness to their guests!

Later on our last night in Malta, we packed and prepared for our early morning flight back to Milan. This time we knew which airport we needed to find! Although we left Malta under rainy skies, our landing in Milan an hour and a half later was under sparkling, clear skies framed by snow-covered Alps to the north.

Thanks for reading!

More Photos

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Menaggio is a beautiful little town
on the shores of Lake Como, Italy.

Picnicking on Menaggio's promenade.

A very typical view in Malta -- in this case,
one we could see from our apartment terrace.

This wall is part of Fort Saint Angelo, where the Knights of Malta
were based during the Great Siege in 1565.
This little harbour is part of the original moat.
Our apartment building is immediately to the left, just off camera.

Fort Saint Angelo is the light coloured building in the distance.

At the Malta Air Museum, the section devoted to
the WW II Siege of Malta is housed in this new hangar.

This small Quonset hut houses the Museum's café.

A Spitfire restored by the staff of the Museum.

Dad chats with Ray Polidano (r) and volunteer ("Bob") Ezekiel.

A street in Valletta, the capital of Malta.

As we walked along in Valletta, a bike race came whizzing by.

The National War Museum is housed in Fort Saint Elmo,
a fort virtually destroyed by the Ottoman attackers
(later rebuilt) during the Great Siege of 1565.
This is a photo of the moat that still surrounds the fort.

The exhibit of Uncle George's flight jacket
at the National War Museum.

Nearby sights.

Our apartment building across the harbour from Valletta.

Walking up to the location of
the Malta at War Museum in Birgu.

On our last morning, the Kid and I explored Birgu as the sun rose.
Our apartment is in the background.

The Kid chatted with a local fisherman about his catch.

Most of Birgu is pedestrianized.
Many alleys are lined with planted pots of shrubs and small trees.
Some of the oldest buildings have signs indicating
how the buildings were originally used by the early Knights of Malta.

These colourful enclosed balconies are
typical Maltese architecture, seldom found elsewhere.

Back at the Malta Air Museum, Dad posed with
Mr. & Mrs. Frederick Galea. Frederick recently wrote a book
about Uncle George.

We saw many interesting vehicles at the Air Museum.

Dad and Frederick Galea had a great time talking about
Uncle George and the the Siege of Malta.

A workshop at the Air Museum.

The memorial garden at the Air Museum.

Inside the new Air Museum chapel.

Frederick Galea posed beside his car.
His license plate -- SQN 249 -- stands for Squadron 249,
Uncle George's squadron.

We entered Mdina through this huge wall and gate.

Ray Polidano's research indicates that this door
is to the residence where Uncle George was billeted
during part of his time in Malta.

Dad and the Kid with Ray Polidano.

Mdina is traditionally the place where the aristocracy
of Malta lived. Consequently, the buildings are very elegant
with many beautiful doors and windows.