Shortly after that, I left South Tyrol and entered Veneto - upon which the cycle path finished immediately. The rest of the route was meant to be along quiet country roads, but I was forced onto a main road due to construction work and had quiet of lot of traffic to contend with, including lorry drivers who thought they were Mario Andretti.
However, the detour meant I got a good look at a narrow gorge called "Berner Klause", where Napoleon defeated the Austrians in 1797, allowing him to progress to Trento. The gorge is a kind of gateway to (or in my case, out of) the Alps. As I came through it, there were suddenly no mountains either side of me for the first time since Rosenheim... seems like an age ago.
Looking back at the "Berner Klause"
From then on, I never found my way back to the original cycle path, taking lots of main roads through industrial areas (mainly marble) and unnecessarily going up one big hill. But it gave me a brief glimpse of the southern end of Lake Garda in the distance, so it wasn't all in vain.
I entered Verona from the scummy end and was hot and stressed when I checked in near the station. But a nocturnal stroll through the magnificent old town made up for everything. They were performing the Barber of Seville in the Arena as part of the Verona Festival (so my room was bloody expensive) and there was plenty going on.
After an excellent pizza thanks to some advice from Ali, I tried a Sprizz Aperol (the in-drink in these parts) at a bar on Piazza Erbe, watching the flame throwing acrobats on the square. Lovely!
Today's distance: 83 km
Total so far: 1650 km
Only two more stages to reach Bologna. I only have to work out whether it is better to continue along the Via Claudia to Ostiglia, or to take the Ciclopista del Sole to Mantova. Time for a visit to the tourist office. Should be nice and full...
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3 comments:
So, Ben, they nearly got you then after all???? That was a narrow escape! Keep your nose clean from now on, especially since your Italian is somewhat limited.
Sorry, but Peter and I shall miss you when you'll be in London, but Avignon is calling us (31. to 6.8) Have to come and see you soon in Berlin! (Schon wieder Gaeste!!)
Our mood is swinging from relief to anger, to sadness about loss of Oxford flat, back to happy realisation that we had a lucky escape with the man without manners, without style and without the proper funds.
Enjoy Italy as much as possible: it is such a terrific place. Eat an ice cream for me (or two, or three.
All the very best. Love Rene/Mum
Bongiorno!
Our Hero Ben! (and Tina as well :-)
Excuse me that I havn´t been actively supported you with "Heja, heja, heja!", but you seemed to have reached the goal without those shouts :-) We are so impressed up here in rainy Småland..
In Kråksmåla in completly silence I in (girls are sleeping), have done my homework with the "Horatier", written 3 movements, just one more movement to be born on sun-mo. 8 singers, percussion and Günter - thats the concept.
I have read the blog, what a fantastic trip. I do undertsnad what's not written out - all the details/sounds you see/experience; and I see, that is all those segments that comes together and later on will be what we call lifestory. It seems to be a very rich trip for you (also for us who keep our eyes on you), and we are so impressed up here (spent like an half an hour at the lunch table, talking efforts, refering to Mr Liebelt. We (except Gunilla I guess) are quite pale and got so much inspiration from your trip so the spirit-team from Sweden are really getting physical this autumn! :-)
Now Ben: Celebrate with the best Pro Secco you can get and pour some drops in the cellphone and text it to me. I'll be there for the biggest SKÅL in our history (and by the way: It´s getting closer to the 10th anniversary in october, how do we celebrate?!!!)
All the best to our superman on the bike! Stefan, Gunilla, Signe&Ragna
Stefan, so charming as always. Thanks for your encouragement! Well done with the "Horatier" - I look forward to it! I will also start collecting more images for Stina when I return.
Let's see if I can send you some virtual prosecco tonight - before I take the night train to Munich.
Hej da!
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