Day 361: Merano, Italy to Müstair, Switzerland

Time: 6:00
Distance: 75.9 km
Avg Speed: 12.6 kph
Terrain: uphill slightly
Location: N 46˚ 37’ 44.2”, E 10˚ 27’ 14.2”

We got up with the rest of the early birds this morning. Our campsite in Merano was filled mostly with German pensioners. We were on the same schedule as them for the past couple of days: get up early, eat dinner early, go to bed early. It was nice not to feel left out. The only drawback was the battle for the bathroom in the morning. We rolled out of town around 9:00 am and enjoyed more of that lovely bike path for the next 72 km. The bike path actually came and went today, but the powers that be always routed it on little paved, seldom used farm roads. The only traffic we really saw were farmers taking bins of apples to the packing shed. I am sure they could have done without the cyclists clogging up their operation. We stopped for lunch at a little parking lot area outside of a town for some peanut butter and kiwi sandwiches. I had bought some bread last night that I thought would travel well since it was short, dense and wrapped tight. When I opened it I realized that I had bought a pretty strong rye bread. We were hungry so we ate it anyway and it turned out to be really good. We saved a couple of buns for later and headed off into the green. The path was quite busy as it changed from bike lane, to farm lane, to dirt path and back to farm lane. We finally got to our turnoff and missed it. We ended up riding the path a couple of extra kilometers, but realized our mistake and had a nice tour through a little town to get back on track. When we joined back up to where we were supposed to be we saw that there was another path leading to the border of Italy and Switzerland. The path was a great dirt double-track that paralleled a river as it climbed towards the Swiss border. We had a couple of tough hills, a couple of tough cows and some really nice border guards. We got our passports stamped and rolled on the road on into town to our campground. We got situated right away and luckily the campground took Euro since the currency here is the Swiss Franc. We have now been fed and are about to dive into a bag of Toblerone chocolates. That is one nice thing about crossing borders is the duty free shopping.
Fat, full and happy
CK

The Soup Nazi is Back

Day 360
Merano Rest Day

This morning we awoke to church bells at 6 am. Snooze bells ran at 6:30, 6:45, and 7:00. So much for sleeping in.

Our Merano rest day was spent getting caught up. Chris was practically giddy to be on laundry duty – we found the laundromat yesterday afternoon. Eastern Europe doesn’t have them so we have relied on the hand-wash method. I hope we don’t have to go back.
While Chris was on Project Clean Clothes, I caught up on blogs, email, and research for our passage through the Swiss Alps. No matter where you look, there are passes, descents, and more passes. However, you can bet that all of those passes will be full of breathtaking views. It should be spectacular.
Most of the afternoon was spent watching various people on their bicycles. It’s my new favorite photo subject. I’m trying to perfect my blurred background technique. As I snapped an endless amount of frames, something occurred to me. It’s very fashionable to ride a bicycle in Europe. I watched, a nun pedal into the city center, a woman in high heels smoke a cigarette, and a man in a very stylish suit, all riding their two-wheeled machines. Think about it.
Dinner was soup tonight. It’s something we have quite often. Chris decided to mix it up a little last night. It was actually the worse dinner he’s cooked during our travels. He intended to make a nice dish of gnocci and pancetta with a marinara sauce. What it turned out to be is what I have now dubbed “hot dog pasta”. Let’s just say that we shouldn’t have been shopping at the discount grocery store. Just because we’re in Italy doesn’t mean you can’t get cheap ingredients. Thank goodness the soup nazi is back.

Bon appetite,
LK

Hello Mountains!!

Day 359
Laives to Merano
Time: 2:40:00
Distance: 43.1
Avg Speed: 16.1
Terrain: Bicycle Path
Location: N 46 39' 48.0", E 11 09' 30.3"

Somewhere between Trento and Laives we left Italy and entered Austria. The only language we have really heard from vendors and hosts has been Italian, but once we arrived in Laives it has been German the whole time. Those of you who don’t have a map in front of you, I will let you know that Laives is well in Italy. It is in the South Tyrol area where both Italian and German are spoken. The Tyrol area is the homeland of the famous climber Rheinhold Messner. The first person to summit Everest without the use of supplemental oxygen (a little dose of climbing trivia for you).
We jumped started our morning by supplementing our muesli with a couple of slices of apple strudel. The mini market in the campground had fresh baked goods and I couldn’t resist the temptation. We got back on the bike path and headed off towards Merano. We needed to head west at some point during the ride today and weren’t sure if the bike path would go with us. At our turning point we were pleasantly surprised with a new bike path going our way. We headed through more orchards and vineyards and as the valley closed in the mountains got higher. Most of the orchards are apple orchards and they are in full fruit picking mode right now. The trees are grown on a trellis, like a grape, and the branches are sagging with the weight of big, ripe apples. We both fought the temptation to pick any and ended up buying a couple at the fruit stand today. Good stuff.
We are back in the land of Laundromats so Leslie is off the hook for her forearm building exercises. Tomorrow we will take a little break off the bikes and do laundry, catch up on internet and stare at the amazing, beautiful and regal mountains that surround our home for the next day.
Still in Italy…I think.
CK

Getting Lost Is Not a Waste of Time

Day 355
Verona to Venice and Back
Time: All Day
Terrain: Rail

The line from one of Jack Johnson’s new songs is a perfect way to describe a day in Venice. We read in the Lonely Planet guide that it is practically impossible to not get lost in this Italian city. Not only was the book right, it was great to not know where we were at times.
It seemed like there was a picture perfect view around every corner; a gondola floating down a canal, laundry hanging from the line, or a church in the middle of a square. Venice seems to be a city of everything.
The city is actually made up of over 100 islands and became a refuge for the Veneto people in the 5th or 6th century. Over time, the Venetian Republic became very powerful and ruled a fair amount of the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas. Tides and tourists rule the city today as nearly 20 million visitors flock to Venice a year. They shop for Murano glass and Carnavale masks and gaze at the multitude of canals from 400 different bridges.
We joined in the consumer craze and took a vaporetto (water ferry) to the island of Murano, the home of Venetian glass. After window shopping a bit we ventured into a unique looking shop. We entered the door and said a friendly "buongiorno" to the owner. She greeted us back and let us browse the different pieces available. As we focused our attention on the light shades, the owner engaged us in conversation. Apparently, the fixtures are the shop specialty. The business is a family affair – she designs and her father creates. As she explained the different techniques and styles, she showed each different shade. We settled on something with a modern technique and classic shape. Our time there was a great learning experience and I’m really happy we found a modest, family run business. Tomorrow we’ll be looking some serious packing material and the Fed Ex office.
After returning to Cannagerio area of Venice, we followed the signs to Piazza San Marco, St Mark’s Square. The beautiful Basilica di San Marco anchors one end of the plaza while arcades encapsulate the rest. An amoeba of pigeons and tourist occupy the middle of the whole scene. We kept moving so that we stayed out of others pictures and didn’t become perches for the annoying birds.
Finally, we strolled our way back to the train station. At times we expected to find ourselves going in a circle, but seemed to keep making progress in the right direction. Narrow alleys would occasionally open into church squares or end at a canal. Large groups of tourists would dissipate into random pairs of locals. Whatever the moment was, we stopped to soak in the atmosphere. Venice is definitely one of those places that you want to commit to memory.
Seizing the moments,
LK

Can’t you hear what my mind is thinking?

Day: 354
Poreč, Croatia to Verona, Italy
Time: 9 hours

True to our host’s word we were met at 6:00 am by a light breakfast and hot coffee. Quite the nice guy. The typical breakfast in Croatia is fresh bread with butter and spreads. It also has a lot of cold cuts and cheese. After loading up on mostly bread, spreads and some coffee we got rolling on down to the ferry dock. The dock was hopping this morning and I found myself using my big bike as a deterrent to queue cutters. As I was keeping the hordes from swallowing up Leslie and me, Leslie was giving cuts to a couple of old birds from England. One of the ladies remarked that since I was bigger than she was, she had better do as she was told. We finally boarded the high speed ferry and got underway. The weather was stormy so the sea was quite rough and I found myself eyes closed and Ipod on most of the ride.
We got to the dock in Venice just as the skies decided that a thunderstorm was necessary. We got our bikes together in the rain and since we were dead last leaving the dock area we didn’t have to wait in line at all going through passport control. I suggested that we head west, but Leslie said that passport control was to the east. I replied ‘I know that, we should head west after passport control, can’t you hear what my mind is thinking?’ A truce was reached at that point and we agreed to lighten up. We rolled our wet bikes into the control area and one of the guys hopped up flagged us through and stamped our passports without us breaking stride. SERVICE!! When we got back out the other side the rain had intensified and we worked our way west. Even though it was raining the travel gods were smiling on us and we worked our way really close to the train station. We sought shelter under a gas station garage and got our bearings. At that point the rain really picked up (I am talking inches per hour type of rain, with lightening and thunder) and we decided to wait a little. The rain lightened up a little (so we thought) and we made a break for it. We got about 200 meters from the gas station and rain started coming down harder than before. We only had one bridge to cross, but it was one the gorgeous arched stair stepped ones that grace the canals in Venice. They aren’t the easiest to cross lugging a 40 kg bike in a torrential downpour. We found a little respite under a hotel overhang along with several dozen other people. Right when we were getting ready to make another break for it there was a lightening crack right over head and the resulting thunder shot a rush of air through the overhang. We both thought that we could wait a little more. We finally got to the train station, got our tickets, got lunch and got to Verona. The rain continued here and since we didn’t want to walk all over the city looking for dinner, we ended up at McDonald’s at the train station. Lame? Yes, I think so, but we were hungry, it was dark and it was pouring. Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.
Tomorrow we are back on the train to Venice for a little tourist action. I can guarantee that McDonald’s won’t be in that game plan.
Ciao
CK