The weather gods had remained good again as the mist in the valley was topped by bright blue skies so we were crossing our fingers we would get some spectacular views again today.
We left Livigno and started to climb the mountains again, past ski lifts heading to the peaks above. We passed various little towns/ villages all probably eagerly awaiting the coming ski season and there appeared to be plenty of maintenance going on in preparation.
We were heading into the Stelvio Pass and for anyone who has watched the British motoring tv programme “Top Gear” it has been voted one of the best drives in Europe. It attracts enthusiasts from all over the world and we saw a few Porsches, a BMW M3 and a Lamborghini taking on the challenge as well as numerous motorcycles and even lunatics doing it on pushbikes !
From the Livigno side there are about 30 hairpin bends on the way up as well as a few tunnels on the side of cliffs which are built to allow the snow to go over the top of the road on sections where it is very steep.
On the way up ….
On the way up we kept passing a guy on a motorcycle who would pass us, and then we would find him stopped further up doing “selfie” photos at strategic points along the way – a tunnel here, a hairpin bend there. There was not really a lot of traffic on the way up – we did manage to pass an adventurous campervan toward the top.
High in the Mountains
The northern side, or the “way down”for us, is the most spectacular. It has 48 hairpin bends from top to bottom and the view down from the top is just unbelievable ! We found a car park at the top so we could walk down and take some photos. At this stage I thought Adrienne was going to stay here and wait for the next bus back down the other side. My car camera has been a disaster this trip so luckily Adrienne did some video on her camera of the drive down.
For a look at some of our drive, click on the arrow in the picture below –
I have a few more clips and will try to put them up as well. It was a truly spectacular drive and experience and was certainly beyond my expectations. It is a true marvel of engineering and given that the road has changed little since it was originally built in the 1820s it has truly stood the test of time. Although Adrienne says she would never do it again I think she really loved it – can’t you tell from the video ?
Entering Glurns – A “Tiny Town”
Finally down the other side, our twists and turns became a lot more sedate and our next stop was the town of Glurns. It is said to be the tiniest fully walled town in Europe and given you can stand at the gate at one end and see the gate at the other I wouldn’t argue. We had lunch here and to show how “Germanised” this part of Italy is, we had what were basically curry wurst rolls and pomfrittes (fries) and Apfel Spritz.
Our next destination was Bolzano, probably one of the larger towns/cities in this region. Along the way we passed through miles and miles and miles of apple orchards. Where we had seen grapes in the lower areas of our trip planted in every nook and cranny possible, now it was apples – lots of different varieties – and they were everywhere. It is harvest season so we saw pickers with their bags busy at taking down the apples and the traffic was very slow in some parts as little tractors took the crates from field to field. We can say the fresh apples are delicious as we had bought some from the lady who sold us lunch – she had a little stand of fresh apples as well.
We reached Bolzano where our destination was the archaeological museum to see “Itzy” the frozen man who had been found in the mountains some years ago frozen in time. Bolzano is a criss-cross of autostrada, roads, train lines & roundabouts and the GPS couldn’t quite handle the maze. Adrienne said “quick, we need to turn right now” but that was into a one way street – the wrong way though ! Scanning the predicament quickly, I spotted a bike track linking to the street we should have been in so there we ventured – much to the surprise of the cyclists but thankfully the love of cycling in these parts meant the bike track was almost as wide as the M5. A few classic Italian hand gestures later from the cyclists and we had averted disaster and we were heading down the right road. I think I even heard a few of the choice words Mrs Camuglia used to shout all those years ago !
We found our parking garage and then wandered through the old part of town to find the museum. When we got to it, we found what looked like the entire primary school population of the region queued at the front door waiting to go in. The idea of queuing behind this lot AND being in there at the same time meant Itzy was going to stay frozen in time for us and we decided to beat a retreat and head back to the car.
Overlooking Castelrotto
So on we went to Castelrotto, a pretty tiny little swiss-looking village. These little towns are big on keeping cars out of them and we had to stop in a supermarket car park and walk to the hotel to find out how to get the car closer to unpack and then be directed to the parking garage. Finally settled in, we went for a walk around the town centre then found a track which took us up onto the hill around the town. This walk is a favourite with locals as the views are stunning – back across town and up to the mountains – and has a number of spots where you can sit and ponder. There are also a number of tiny chapels which have been there for centuries.
The square near our hotel in Castelrotto
Dinner was part of our package here so we had a very nice meal in the restaurant – porcini mushroom soup, pasta in a brocolli sauce, pork chops and finished off with apple strudel. Yes, we are in Italy, not Germany but you would never know – all the locals speak German and the houses are all very Teutonic – but wherever we are its all very beautiful.
So on to our last stop – Venice.