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