Traveling
October 19, 2025
From 🇮🇹Milan to 🇳🇱Amsterdam, and all the in between 🇨🇭, 🇦🇹, 🇩🇪
The trip started when I landed in Milan, not far from our European office. We had to drive to Amsterdam for a tradeshow, and within 20 minutes I was already in our rental car. I was surprised to see a new BMW X3, a car that would become my home for the next few days. With everything loaded into the back, we hit the road. My boss asked if there was anywhere I wanted to stop along the way, and I mentioned Guggisberg, my ancestral hometown (which I wrote about in another post).
The drive is supposed to take around 11 hours under ideal conditions, but that doesn’t include food breaks, bathroom stops, or detours into the countryside. With all those added in (plus Guggisberg), we ended up closer to 14 or 15 hours total. The goal was simple: get as close to Amsterdam as we could before crashing at a hotel somewhere between Stuttgart and Frankfurt, hopefully the latter.
Northern Italy went by quickly. After a couple light naps, I passed a very foggy Lake Lugano. It was about 10am, and a thick layer of fog hovered over the water, partially hiding the mountains behind it. Eventually the fog lifted somewhere around Wassen and the Swiss Alps took over the entire landscape. The amount of natural beauty that can be seen just by car is staggering. I can only imagine how awesome it must be to bike or hike the area.
A few hours later we stopped at a rest stop, or Raststätte in German, called Gotthard Raststätte Fahrtrichtung. This place was nothing like the rest stops I’m used to in the US or even the ones I’ve seen on past European trips. Not only is it surrounded by impressive Alpine scenery, but it also had a clean and inviting feel, with a food court offering a large variety of fresh food. It had a mix of freshly baked goods, traditional meals, and even ramen. I kept it simple and got Jägerschnitzel with Spätzle, potatoes, and green beans. It was surprisingly good, way better than anything I expected from a roadside stop. Less than two hours later we were in Guggisberg, and after that the plan was to get back on the Autobahn and make it to Frankfurt for the night.
The next morning we were back on the road at 8am and rolled into Amsterdam around 1pm. Driving through Germany always reminds me of the US, but with better roads, clearer rules, and people who actually follow them. Passing only on the left isn’t just a suggestion there, its strictly followed. Even the cars had familiar bumper stickers and decals, just like home.
Crossing into the Netherlands, the landscape flattened almost instantly. I knew around a quarter of the country is below sea level, but seeing is believing. I spotted a few of the classic windmills too. What surprised me most, though, was how artistic Amsterdam feels. Even the office buildings lean into design with experimental shapes, lopsided silhouettes, structures broken into different sections resembling something more like a post-modern sculpture. One building looked like it had split into three with the middle segment was jutting forward with jagged edges, almost like it had broken free from the rest.
Once in the city, the artsy vibes didn’t disappear. Amsterdam felt multicultural in the same way big US cities do. I saw every kind of restaurant—South American, Asian, Middle Eastern—as well as people of all different ethnicities. Amsterdam Central Station really impressed me. Its Gothic/Renaissance Revival style instantly reminded me of Tokyo Station, and then it clicked: Tokyo Station was clearly modeled after it! Indeed it was. Across the plaza, the Basilica of Saint Nicholas rises up with its twin towers and detailed façade. We wandered deeper into the city, explored the canals, and ended the night with Korean BBQ.
The show lasted three days, and just like that it was time to head back to Milan. Leaving the Netherlands, we immediately hit a massive traffic jam. What should’ve been a two-hour stretch turned into almost four, backed up almost the entire way to the German border. Once we finally reached the Autobahn, we safely opened it up to 200 kph (about 125 mph) and made it to Frankfurt late in the evening.
From there, the drive back to Milan was easy and full of Alpine scenery through southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. I ALWAYS love driving through Switzerland. The roads twist through mountain valleys, and every turn reveals a new surprise. Sometimes it’s an old church tower peeking through mountainside forest. Other times it’s wide open green pastures with cows and sheep scattered across the hillsides. We made a detour through Lugano, which is… a little too high-class for someone like me. Luxury brands everywhere. Its not my speed. I don’t care about most of them, except maybe the watches that cost more than my car.
After Lugano, we drove straight back to the office to unload show materials. Then I had to take the car back to MXP on my own—my first time driving solo in Europe, navigating those narrow, winding Italian roads back to the airport.
Even with the long drives and tight schedules, I’m grateful my company gives me the chance to travel and see more of the world.
