Blogs from Trento, Trentino Alto Adige, Italy, Europe

Heute habe ich zuhause schön gefrühstückt und bin dann los gefahren. Der Verkehr war auf der ganzen Strecke problemlos. An der Raststation Inntal habe ich dann noch für 2 mal 10 Tage eine Vignette in Österreich gekauft. Später in Trient habe ich eine weitere Pause eingelegt und habe am Piazza del Duomo einen Cafe Latte getrunken. Anschließend war ich noch im Dom selber und in Tridentum La Citta Sotterranea, welches eine römische Ausgrabungsstätte in der Stadt ist. Danach bin ich weiter zum Gardasee, wobei ich das Westufer hinunter gefahren bin, was zwar stellenweise sehr schön, aber zeitaufwendiger als die weitere Fahrt auf der Autobahn über Verona war. Jetzt bin ich im Hotel angekommen. Man braucht in der Tat in Italien Adapterstecker. Ich habe so einen, aber unglücklicherweise passt der Stecker meines Laptops nicht dort hinein. Aber ... read more

We woke up; well Kirsten woke up and then woke me up. Let’s go the day is wasting, yea, yea I know you have the GO GO. I’ll see you at breakfast; Bea is already down there. I got up and did a 1-minute shower, in a shower that is 18 inches by 18 inches. I’m not kidding. I then joined Kirsten and Bea down stairs for breakfast. Ok, they watched me eat my breakfast as they planned their day. We loaded up the car and started going toward Verona As we were going south Kirsten saw the winery were we stayed 3 years earlier. She pulls in and says let’s see if their open. They were and we tasted some of their grappa, it was very good so we purchased a couple bottles for Kirsten ... read more

We woke up with the sun rising over Dolomites. Our hostess had our breakfast ready and her two beautiful kids were running in and out just talking and playing. We took off toward Trento knowing we wanted to find wineries to taste the area wines and cheeses. The first one we came to was the Family Winery of the B&B we stayed at, Mazarado. It was huge and as we expected, very nice. From there we continued on SS12 heading up into the mountains. We quickly found a second winery and wellness hotel. We stopped and had a glass wine and olives. Very tasty, after finishing, we then continued to go up, up, up into the mountains. Kirsten was hoping to find a farm that would have a cheese tasting or some samples. Well that didn’t ... read more

Levico Terme: 4th - 10th May 2009 We have arrived: the Italian Alps. The setting for XCamp2009 - my first paragliding competition...but have no fear - I'm not that good. I chose this week long “comp” because the format is designed for pilots who want to learn more about competing, and specifically about long distance flying, a.k.a. “cross-country flying” or just “XC”. To fly a long distance, it helps to have long valleys that allow a pilot to fly along the mountains and with open, grassy fields below to land safely. The Alps make an ideal setting. For me, this was much less about competing than learning. There were too many good pilots (and a few great pilots) there for me to expect to win outright given my current skill level. Serious pilots...guys who roll their ... read more

Yay, photos! A whole bunch of them! Anyways. Monday made my head whirl. First there was a train ride to the Italy/Slovenia border, which was mostly interesting because of the weather. When I left the hostel it was cloudy and foggy and cold; 6 minutes of tunnel later it was blazing hot and sunny on the other side of the mountain without a cloud in sight. Then I changed trains in the border town of Nova Gorica / Gorizia. I felt bad at this point, since I didn't have time to find a Slovenian cookie. Most of 6 days in that country without a cookie! It's a sin. I soon arrived in Venice, and tried to make up for it. Venice is amazing, and Venice is a maze. Really. I spent only a few hours exploring ... read more