Verona Calda
The road from Parona down to Verona, view from our balcony.
It was not much Italian I learnt during this trip, but some words just stick. And in this case definitely “calda” – hot. It was hot and everyone was complaining about the “caldo” (heat).
Verona as a city would have even matched the expression “serra calda” – a hot conservatory – since it was about 34 degrees Celsius plus and, not at last thanks to the river Adige going right through it, also very humid. We could practically stand still outside the hotel in the shadow and one felt the water coming out of ones pores. First we thought, ah, us Northern people, we cannot bear anything. But since the Italians also complained and obviously suffered, we got a bit of comfort that way.
Now that I complained enough about the weather, let’s get to the nice stuff!
Parking in front of the hotel, view from the balcony.
We understood immediately that latest here in Verona, Italian riding is required. For one thing it was good to get out the old filtering skills and be ready to whizz past a queue of cars if necessary – but cautiously, since quite some cars attempted to do the same. So there were indeed a couple of close situations for us. Secondly, Italian riding in this weather meant stuffing the leather suit, and riding in jeans and shirt instead, just keeping gloves and helmet. Quite a new feeling. Helmet is a must, gloves you wear because you want to. In case you come closer to the ground than you wish for.
The river Adige, view from our balcony.
One day we went by bus into town and were patiently waiting for the big taxi as I like to call it – sweating away of course. Then you saw all the ladies and gents passing on their little scooters, wearing nothing but bathing suits and a towel around the body, heading for Lake Garda which is quite close. That was the only time where I wished for having my scooter back….
We also went one night to the Opera by motorcycle – all the way along the river into downtown Verona, from Parona, which is North of Verona. There we stayed in Hotel Brennero, which had decent prices of around 75 Euro a night for both of us. They offer comfortable rooms and facilities, we could even get our washing done. Parona was about a 10 minutes’ ride away from Verona.
We avoided this one, though...
Downtown Verona was filled with tourists, but not too badly, although early July is quite a holiday season. We enjoyed the sights as much as possible, but did not move around a lot. It was simply too hot. In the evening after about 7pm it was kind of bearable, then everyone went out for food and entertainment, and so did we.
Food was as expected great – even a simple “salata mista” (mixed salad) just tasted great. It is a difference if ingredients travelled a long distance till they reach the plate of someone, or if one gets served naturally ripened and good veggies not far from where they grew.
We of course also had to taste the Pizza one night – and even that one was a different quality. We did not feel totally stuffed like Christmas turkeys afterwards. Good ingredients again. The red wine served was also more than alright ;). But there were other guests at one restaurant who sadly did not enjoy their trip as much as we did. And I don’t think it was down to the fact that they were not motorcycle travelling 😉 .
So one night I was once again glad that I did not have to out myself as German, since some country fellow of mine at the neighbour desk were just embarrassing. They had the most gorgeous food in front of them, and yet the faces were mildly phrased somewhat sceptical while having their meal. And then, when it came to paying the bill, every detail was looked at – just to avoid that one would “betrayed” over a Euro or more. “One is after all in Italy, and one knows a bit about it, ya’ know, all that mafia-methods and so on… .” They did not say that, but that’s how they came across. The waitress patiently explained the items on the bill and looked into the open, with that certain “mamma mia”-expression in her eyes. All was fine in the end. But stereotype fulfilled. Unfortunately.
The Opera nights deserve a little extra post, therefore now some more Verona pictures to enjoy.
The Mighty Mountains
It has been almost 10 years again since I spent holidays in the Alps, skiing in Mayrhofen back then. And the last time I was in the Alps in summertime was 1986 at the sweet age of 11 years. I liked it back then, but I must admit that I forgot how very beautiful this area is!!
At the foot of the Alps, close to Kufstein and the Austrian border.
We went via Rosenheim, Kufstein and Innsbruck to the Brenner-Autobahn. In Kufstein we could already buy a 10-days-ticket for the Austrian Autobahn, around 15 Euros each it was if I remember correctly. We put this thing onto our windscreens and off we went. Brenner, here we come! Thank goodness it was a fast and painless road to ride, despite of lots of trucks climbing the bends. In this heat you just want to kill as many miles as possible, only stopping for filling up with litres and litres of mineral water and some light food. That day we went to Klausen on the Italian side of the Alps. “Gasthof zum Lamm” was our home for one night. It seems that they don’t have a website unfortunately, so I cannot link to them here. Stay and food was good, though!
We were wondering how life is here in this part of Italy, which is practically still Austrian-/German-speaking and you do not see much of Italian culture either. The landlady told us that it is indeed all more Austrian traditions in that area. When she was a child, she learnt both, German and Italian at school. Nowadays, lessons there are still held in German, however you do not only learn Italian, but also English. And that mainly because of all the tourists passing. The Italians further South do only learn English as a second language – other languages are apparently a bonus at school.
Taking a break at the roadside of Brenner-Autobahn
The rest of the evening we spent resting. The next days were supposed to be even hotter, but our next station on the day to come would be Verona, where we would stay for two full days.
Riding In History’s Footsteps
From Leipzig we followed some gorgeous new and smooth country roads to Gera, and from there to Hof, crossing not only the old German-German border but also traveling a stretch on a racetrack! The Schleizer Dreieck as it is called is Germany’s oldest natural racetrack, the first races took place in 1923. We travelled on the westbound part of that triangle, the one that is part of the B2-road.
As usual it was much more interesting to go country roads than Autobahn. However, we did have a stretch of nice Autobahn on the A93 which we entered when we came past Hof. Not too many cars, not too many idiots on the road either. And we passed through one of the most traditional German China-areas – China in terms of porcelain. Names like Selb, Weiden and Arzberg popped up on the road signs.
In general this was a really nice riding day, not too warm and not too cold. Having left the A93, the B15 took us down to a small village South of Landshut, called Hohenpolding, where we stayed in a luxurious room at Gasthaus Linde. “Gasthaus” means as much as guest house with a pub or restaurant. 60 Euro a night including breakfast for both of us. Gorgeous dinner we had, too – and I reckon we needed that, because this was the night where Germany was defeated by the Spaniards in the semi-final of the football world championship. We witnessed that, sitting tucked into blankets in the back garden together with a few other guests and the landlords, comforting ourselves with great German wine and beer. Yes, there is even great German wine, just it rarely leaves the country and won’t be found on shelves in English supermarkets, Swedish Systembolaget and the likes. The name of the landlord couple who runs this Gasthaus is “Rauschhuber” – another indication that we entered Bavarian turf, since there are traditionally lots of names that end on “Huber”.
Filling up some oil before setting off southbound. This is in front of our hotel.
The next day should take us further into Bavaria, into Austria, and then over the Alps. That was the plan.
The Town of Bach, Nikolai Church & Stasi Museum
A town with a rich history in music, culture, trade and publishing. To write about Leipzig would take its own blog, really. I lived and studied there from 1999 to 2003 – Economy with Booktrade and Publishing to be precise. During these years I had the pleasure to enjoy the unique atmosphere of this town, and even though one could think I should have seen everything there is to see – far from it.
A good opportunity this year to finally take the loved one to the town that still has a very special place in my heart and always will have. There is the Café Kandler right around the corner of the Thomas Church for instance where I held numerous “work meetings” with my best friends – or we just went there for pleasure. Great tea and coffee selection and CAKES…. The same applies to their savoury dishes. All that at very affordable prices, and one even is allowed to buy tea and coffee, at least as long as their stock is big enough to cater for it. I was unlucky this time. My favourite Harmutty tea was out – we actually got served the last cups. Which then again was lucky.
The "Teelegraph" is the menue of Café Kandler and contains also a bit of information about Leipzig.
We took a stroll around town and took a look at the famous Nikolai-Church where the Monday-demonstrations in 1989 started. We also visited the Thomaskirche, where Johann Sebastian Bach was musical director of Leipzig for a very long time. Nowadays the Thomaner-Choir, a boys choir, is famous worldwide. The traditional Christmas concert with them in Leipzig is usually booked out up to two years in advance.
Then there was the “Museum Runde Ecke” (Museum on the ’round corner’) which used to be the Stasi headquarter in Leipzig and now illustrates the history of that time in an impressive and lively way. Frightening, when you walk through there and really take it in. Well, this was one chapter at that time, and one better does not think about the fact that there are quite some more of these ‘institutions’ all around the world, our modern western countries not excluded.
The "Riquet House" is another famous café in town.
Leipzig is also the town of the famous concert hall “Gewandhaus” where Kurt Masur was musical director for quite some years (1970 to 1996), re-known worldwide as a famous conductor. Friends of Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s literary masterpiece “Faust” find pleasure in visiting the famous “Auerbachs Keller” in the “Mädler-Passage”. And that is another architectural specialty – lots of arcades with shops, cafés and restaurants.
We stayed in Northern Leipzig, in a little pension close to where I used to live – Pension Mockau. I stayed there before and like it because it is cheap, clean, friendly people and great breakfast. The tram is right in front of the door, and it takes you into town in less than 10 minutes. Motorcycle parking was no problem on a side road right around the corner. No garage luxury this time, but totally ok.
Oh yes, and I have to mention that the hot weather continued during our stay in town.
Very bearable it was, though, in motorcycle paradise Louis. Good AC and in general it was a slightly colder day. Take a look at the picture below and you instantly know what I mean.
A morning spent at motorcyclists' paradise...
Louis is a big motorcycle accessory chain in Germany – after our visit we now seriously contemplate about opening a subsidiary in Sweden 😉 . International mail order is no problem either, we did that before actually. The choice that you have here in comparison to shops in Sweden, but also the ones I know from the UK is just overwhelming. You get literally everything from clothing to bike accessories, and there even silly stuff should you be looking for a crazy present.
Right – two days of memory lane for myself and taking it all in for the man at my side is sufficient, some serious and nice riding lies ahead. Direction: South.
Travel Route Summer Tour 2010
This is our travel route:
We hope it makes it easier for you to follow the stories already posted and the ones to come.
Elisa Travels 