This series is a collection of my immediate thoughts on what I saw and lived through in Italy, where I moved for work in September 2025. Sometimes it's diary entries, sometimes it's poetry, sometimes just runts about everything and nothing. Enjoy.
Missed Logs 51-60? Read them here. ;)
LOG 61
Today it’s been a month since I arrived in Italy.
In that month I managed to only visit our town, Bergamo and Milan.
I almost entirely gave up on learning Italian, because my schedule is so packed that I can’t even focus on a damn Duolingo.
As hopeless as it sounds, I actually like it here. The little I’ve seen from Lombardy so far, makes me want to see much more. I just wish I had less teaching hours and lesson preparation.
I’m thinking back to my first teaching job in Malta and how I barely did anything else than lesson planning for the first six months. In comparison, I’m already doing much better now.
I just need to hold on a bit longer.
16-10-25 – Undisclosed town near Bergamo
LOG 62
The trains from Brescia to Lake Garda are suspended for the upcoming weekends, which prolongs our journey to Desenzano del Garda from planned 43 minutes to about 1 hour 30 minutes. I wish I hadn’t been so dead last week, when the trains were running and it was a beautiful and sunny day.
Today, the landscape is hidden in white mist and we don’t see much apart from the town and a huge body of water.
I can’t help but compare Lake Garda with my beloved Lake Geneva in Switzerland. My mind will always go back to it, every time a new lake appears in front of me. I don’t seem to be able to find a place that rivals its beauty.
19-10-25 – Desenzano del Garda
LOG 63
We are visiting the remains of the 1st century Roman villa in Desenzano and I am fascinated by the intricate patterns and motifs that form the floor mosaics.
For the first time I’m also hearing about the Roman heating system of the buildings and I am surprised that I have never heard about it before despite having studied History of Art.
Or maybe my memory is just that bad.
19-10-25 – Desenzano del Garda
LOG 64
Apart from the mosaics, there’s very little remaining of the villa and it’s hard to imagine what it looked like. Even more so, when it once bordered the lake which was ten metres higher than now. Now the excavation complex is locked between buildings, keeping the ancient villa far away from the lake.
19-10-25 – Desenzano del Garda
LOG 65
I can’t seem to stop talking about the book I’m currently writing. Both my friend from Milan and my flatmate must be sick of hearing about it.
How do you turn off hyperfocus and oversharing?
Oh, wait… it’s impossible.
Sorry to all the people who currently have to deal with me.
Or in general.
19-10-25 – Desenzano del Garda
LOG 66
Me vs. work – weekly score:
Me🏃♀️👧🖋️:
40 mins run 2x a week
About 3 hours of creative writing a week
One trip for about 5 hours once a week
Work👩🏫📚:
26 h of contact teaching
About 18 h of lesson preparation
Work won.
How do I cut down on lesson prep?
21-10-25 – Undisclosed town near Bergamo
LOG 67
Frankenstein and his monster seem to be following me.
Last week the book, this week my other student randomly mentioned the movie Frankenstein Jr.
Out of the blue.
Totally unrelated topic.
Is it my connection to Switzerland that keeps drawing the monster to me?
22-10-25 – Undisclosed town near Bergamo
LOG 68
This town smells less and less as the weather is getting colder.
Some day you can still smell the fertilizer around, but it’s not as bad as it was a month ago.
23-10-25 – Undisclosed town near Bergamo
LOG 69
My flatmate and I decided to spend some time in Milan on Sunday.
We walked all the way from the Central station to the city centre, admired numerous balconies full of flowers and actual trees and ended up taking a tourist bus.
After a two hour long drive around the monuments of the city we are frozen to the bone, as the day is quite windy. But we are also full of ideas on where to go next time and what to explore in Milan.
I recommend it.
26-10-25 – Milan
LOG 70
I am still followed by Frankenstein and his monster.
This time in the form of multiple editions of the same book by Mary Shelley in the book shop.
Not to mention the new Frankenstein movie that is about to premiere soon.
26-10-25 – Milan
Photos from 19th October in Desenzano:
More photos in HQ in Italy through my lens: Lombardy and Veneto.
