On Friday morning, Bill and I had breakfast a half hour earlier. We had requested it, because it’s quite a long haul to Vipiteno from Pescara. Carlo very kindly obliged us. After we ate, we paid him the tourist taxes for our four nights at his B&B and said goodbye. His wife was taking care of the Italian couple who had booked a room on our last night. I noticed she was much chattier with them, but that’s only natural. Maybe if we move to Italy, we’ll get fluent in the language… especially since there seem to be fewer English speakers in Italy than in Germany.

I have actually picked up some German after living here for so many years. However, it’s not that easy to learn German when so many people automatically seem to switch to English when they don’t hear a German accent. I can’t deny that just being in this country and hearing the language from locals, on YouTube ads, and the radio has led to picking up some words by osmosis. But practicing speaking it is more difficult. Maybe the widespread use of English is a detriment to us Americans– lots of books, movies, music, and video games are in English, after all. I was dumbfounded by how widespread English was when I went to Armenia. When I lived there, I definitely needed to know Armenian! That’s not as true today.

Anyway, we set off for Vipiteno before 9:00 AM. At first, we had really beautiful, sunny weather. I took lots of photos of the coast as we drove north. The Adriatic Sea is truly very beautiful and blue. I want to book a vacation in a beach town and enjoy it when the weather is warmer. I wish the guardrails in Italy weren’t so tall. There is so much beautiful scenery there, but it’s hard to capture it from a car.

The further north we drove, the cloudier the sky became. My German friend had warned me that there would be snow in the Alps. But for the first hours of our drive, the weather was clear, sunny, and fairly warm. Carlo had told us that it was unseasonably warm during our visit, as he prepared his garden and had construction of a new shed done on his property.

We stopped for gas at a station that overlooked the sea. I was amused when I entered a stall and saw a little sink in there. I guess it was a makeshift bidet (I almost wrote “makeshit”). Italians are big on bidets in their bathrooms, but it’s not so often that you find them in public restrooms!

I took a few more photos of interesting structures as we drove further north. It was getting close to lunchtime. I wished we were on the other side of the Autostrada, so we could have another lunch at Eataly. Instead, we stopped at a chain place called Sarni. I was immediately turned off by it because of the trash near the building. Then, when we walked inside, it smelled vaguely of urine, which turned me off. So, after a quick pit stop, we decided to keep driving.

We stopped at an AutoGrill, which was very crowded and had signs advertising how each parking spot had a webcam that would allow patrons to check on their cars while they ate in one of the food court restaurants. I wondered what prompted them to put in the cameras. And then, when we went into the place, I was turned off by how crowded, dirty, and hectic it was. I also didn’t see anything offered in the restaurants that was particularly appetizing, although I would have settled for something. But this time, Bill decided we’d keep driving.

I was starting to get fatigued and grouchy as we reached the exit for Parma. Not long after that, the road changed, and we were on a different Autostrada heading for Brenner Pass. Bill spotted another AutoGrill. This one was the charm. Not only did it have a sit down restaurant that didn’t smell like pee, it also wasn’t super crowded. So we went in and enjoyed lunch, right at the point at which I was about to have a hangry meltdown. I had a burger and Bill had a chicken sandwich. I was impressed by the burger, which was tasty and juicy, even if it was pretty messy.

We were maybe two hours or so from our destination after we ate our late lunch. I was feeling less irritable, even though the weather got pretty yucky. You can see by the photos, we went from sunny and warm to cloudy and grim!

Finally, in the late afternoon, we arrived in Gossensass-Colle Isarco, which is a little village just outside of Vipiteno, which we drove past on our way to our Gasthaus, Hotel Erna. I’m not sure why I decided to book this particular property. It might have been because reviews mentioned that the scenery was pretty, parking is free, and the service was good. It’s a pleasant, three star establishment that had all we needed, but was not particularly fancy. Their restaurant wasn’t open because it’s the off season. Fortunately, there are a couple of little shops and restaurants within walking distance of the hotel. There’s also a train stop, and when you check in, they give you a card that allows free rides on public transportation.

I was actually invited in by the proprietor, as I had charged ahead of Bill without picking up any luggage. He had decided to bring it in instead of getting it after checking in. We were assigned a corner room with two balconies. Since it was getting dark and was cold and rainy, we decided to settle in for the night. Hotel Erna also has a tennis court. Bill said the court looked like it was Wimbledon style, with grass. I wonder what the story is behind a tennis court at this little unassuming hotel!

It would have been nice to have had dinner, but our late lunch filled us up… and the weather just didn’t invite us to venture out. Maybe if we go back to that area again, we’ll do it when Hotel Erna’s restaurant is open. It really does have a different feel… as everyone was speaking German, even though we were technically in Italy.

In the next post, I’ll write about our visit to Vipiteno/Sterzing. Stay tuned!