Saluti dall'Italia

The small town lies on the huge gravel banks of the rivers Tagliamento and Meduna, which have dragged stones from the Friulian Dolomites and ground them for thousands of years.

After a long hike through the gravel banks with their sparse vegetation, we like to be pampered and enjoy a glass of local wine with regional cuisine.

The village of Spilimbergo is nearby and is known for the production of ceramic mosaics. Courses are also offered for those who are interested. We admire some of these works of art, in the form of portraits, in the Vivaro cemetery.

We chose the Venezia Village campsite because it has good public transport connections.

With bus line 5 we are already in the middle of the action after 2 stops, swimming with the flow of tourists and squeezing through the narrow streets of the city, which are flanked by window displays from which the lavishly designed carnival masks smile at us.

We cross countless bridges and occasionally catch a glimpse of a typical Venetian gondola with a smart gondolier. Many of them, it seems, are still becoming fads because the large tourist masses - fortunately for us - have not yet arrived.

The glassblowing island of Murano is also on our program. It is easy to reach by vaporetto. The works of art made of glass in a wide variety of shapes and colors in the rows of displays invite you to marvel and buy.

As experienced bus drivers, we take line 7 today, which stops in front of our campsite, and save ourselves the steep climb to the center of the old town.

With full power we storm the monumental fortress of San Marino and conquer one defense tower after the other while strolling along. Delighted by the amount of sidewalk cafes and restaurants, it doesn't take long before we settle down for a little break. A small espresso gives us enough fuel for the further ascent.

Countless displays of exclusive leather goods, suits of armor and toys for the kids require total attention.

It's time for a moment's silence in the basilica. After this short relaxation, there are still enough photo motifs of the historical buildings and monuments or the landscape that lies at our feet.

Our pitch at Mimosacamping is, how could it be nicer, just a few steps from the coast.

A kilometer-long beach right outside the front door lures us to take a walk along a promenade that is still asleep.

Many takeaways are first prepared for the guests.

We're lucky enough to snag a table at an exclusive restaurant that's already open and treat ourselves to a deliciously prepared menu of fried fish, vegetables and chips, along with a glass of wine. "Salute!"

The beach of the former fishing village, which has developed into a tourist attraction, is now being pounded by powerful waves whipped up by the storm as we arrive.

We are therefore looking for a quieter area that is not so exposed to the wind in the winding, narrow streets of the medieval old town. Nearby prehistoric finds show that people have been active in this region since the Bronze Age.

Steep uphill stairs lead us to the Castello and from there we have a wonderful view of the Faraglione Pizzomunno , which was created by the eternally gnawing forces of the water, and now towers up like a church tower on the sandy beach and has to defy the surf lonely.

A stormy night is followed by rain. It does not matter. We don't intend to stay here any longer anyway. We were able to capture the ambience of the small town of Lesina , which we reached after a quick drive, on an evening walk.

Considering that we only found the next open campsite 80 kilometers further in Manfredonia , we decide to drive there today and do day trips from there.

The Gargano peninsula has so much more to offer than the endlessly long sandy beaches, which have always enchanted us with their charm. We have diligently collected lots of shells for our grandchildren at home and have already stowed away safely.

The weather means well, because the rain stopped again in the afternoon and nothing stands in the way of our urge to explore.

Today we start a sightseeing tour with our WOMO. After a short drive up a thoroughfare lined with olive tree crops, the route leads steeply uphill, bend by bend, to S.Giovanni , one of the many pilgrimage sites on the mountain. Today, after his canonization by Pope John II, Padre Pio watches over his flock as a statue in many places.

Then, like the pilgrims, we move on to Monte Sant'Angelo , but not on foot. Here too the houses cling to the slope, as before in S.Giovanni .

Plagued by hunger because there are hardly any open restaurants to be found, we accidentally stumble into a small restaurant. As the only guests, we have the comfort of individual service and enjoy excellent regional cuisine.

Now all we need is an afternoon coffee. We treat ourselves to it at a rest area in the middle of the Forest Umbro National Park after we have admired this primeval forest with its huge trees, which are currently in a soft green spring frenzy.

The Castel del Monte , a medieval castle built by the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick II , towers majestically on its rock in the Apulia region above the Andria plain . The octagonal, towering structure with its towers at every corner appears very stable and firmly attached to the ground. This architectural work of art is now a World Heritage Site after being renovated in the 1970's and is a magnet for a multitude of tourists.

To our surprise, not far away we find a nature park with countless flowering plants, which shine towards us in the backlight of the sun. During a short hike through this area we discover the first trulli , typical round buildings in Apulia made of layered stones. Again and again the Castel in the background crowds into the picture. I can well imagine that from the windows of his castle the emperor had his subjects in his sights.

Alberobello is known for its village of countless round trulli from bygone times that have been lovingly restored. The round houses are built of stacked flagstones, which taper towards the top and converge to a point. A stone with a symbolic character often forms the end of the roof, or the roof shingles are painted with it. According to an ambitious shop salesman, these magical symbols can still be found in many religions or signs of the zodiac today.

Today the village is busy with restaurants, souvenir shops and of course with tourists.

Leaving this commercial area, one arrives in a quiet neighborhood where the houses are still inhabited or used as holiday homes.

Again and again we come across the contrasts between the old and the modern way of life.

Today is not only laundry day in Trullihausen. Housework is also waiting for me in WOMO 66. After the work is done, the day ends with a coffee break.

We boldly and unscrupulously switch between the epochs of mankind.

Today, with full enthusiasm, we landed in the Neolithic at the Sassi di Matera, a cave settlement of our ancestors. If you look closely, you can still discover human lives in these dwellings - and imagine, they can even use cell phones.

Of course, we also follow the tourist trail and notice that the Way of the Cross seems to have been designed here with posters of Michelangelo's works, to match the Passion of Christ. For a long time, our photo tour has been accompanied by solemn, classical music that spreads across the gorge like fog in November.

In order to be able to follow this inviting Holy Week meditation even longer, we linger for a while in a small coffee house with an espresso with a view of the massive landscape.

When it rains, we turn our backs on Matera and move further south. But even rain has its own charm. The view through the windscreen of our WOMO is like a television screen, on which atmospheric snapshots of a landscape appear, then immediately disappear and are replaced by the next.

Monumental buildings can be seen in the distance if you look carefully. Building skeletons appear more and more frequently on the side of the road, probably waiting in vain for their completion.

Arrived in Cropani Marina , the rain has already cleared and we experience a wonderful, relaxing end to the day with an evening atmosphere on the beach.

We end up at a campsite near Soverato . The driveway over bumpy, winding roads, or rather dirt roads, is well signposted, but quite adventurous, because our WOMO had to bravely resist falling into its individual parts. Our pitch near the beach turned out to be all the nicer. Sand, sea, the sound of waves - we love this ambience and go for a long walk.

Tropea is one worth the trip. The next morning we pack our seven things to make sure they are unbreakable and shockproof and drive there on a winding, mountain and valley road. A view of the azure blue sea or the green slopes on the mountain side inspires us again and again.

The city of Tropea is built on tufa rock and requires extensive protection to protect the buildings from falling. The tourist magnet next to the old town is the church of Santa Maria dell Isola. Built on a rock by the sea, it has kept a watchful eye on the city from up there for centuries.

In the haze on the horizon, the volcano Stromboli is barely visible in the sky today. The natural spectacle of his fire-breathing behavior can be admired on well-known dates. We probably won't be able to witness that.

We start in high spirits early in the morning (9 a.m.) to hijack a ferry in Villa S. Giovanni for the crossing to Sicily. The arrival via the coastal road with many indescribable views of the sea and the unique landscape turns into a real adventure. We curve over a number of switchbacks, squeeze through the narrow streets of the through roads and are both busy watching out for pedestrians, cars parked in the 2nd lane and curbs so as not to touch them.

A sudden crash and my stressed pulse catapults upwards. Now what shouldn't have happened has happened. Our WOMO kissed the edge of a wall protruding into the street with the side mirror. Thank goodness nothing happened. The folded mirror was set up again, our heated tempers relaxed and we continued on the path even more attentively. The much touted Amalfi Coast probably offers a similar panorama and is probably no less of a challenge.

Finally arrived in Villa S. Giovanni we search in vain and after a few returns for the port. We can only do that using the navigation system and we check in without any problems.

After the short crossing and a muddle through Messina , we end up tired and in need of rest at the campsite in Santa Teresa di Riva .

Easter Sunday - we will relax today and go out for a nice meal in holiday clothes. And because heaven is kind to us, it presents us with a magnificent rainbow over the opposite mainland as a sign of resurrection.

Taormina is on our program today. We choose a public bus to save us driving through the narrow streets and looking for a parking space. The driver masters the inevitable obstacles in a routine manner - for me this journey is just as stressful as visiting a rollercoaster.

The path through the old town of Taormina is a pilgrimage of many people from all over the world who are interested in the history of antiquity and want to visit the teatro antico di Taormina .

We also appear on the stage. I have the vain impression that the visitors in the stands are already waiting for my performance. Unfortunately, I have to acknowledge that Mount Etna , the proud and majestic protagonist of this spectacle, delights the crowd in the background behind me.

I, too, look at this phenomenon with humility. I take a seat in the auditorium and try to beam my thoughts back to the times of the Greeks and Romans.

After that, it's time to seek rest. We find her in a small, secluded restaurant, where we dine to the sounds of "O sole mio" and the jasmine-like scent of orange blossoms. In addition to the stylish furnishings, we discover a mural depicting Mount Etna with its diabolical power, when it breathes fire and pours a stream of lava over its slope.

Gole dell'Alcantara, the Alcatara Gorge is on our way to the next campsite, which is very promising in the surroundings of a wine-growing region at the foot of Mount Etna.

For a hike into a gorge, we know that you need hiking boots and a minimum supply of food and drinks. With this outfit we leave, pay the entrance fee and are amazed that we can take a lift down and only land on a few stairs on a beach that gives us an insight into the narrowness and mightiness of the gorge with the basalt columns towering up on the sides . The architect Etna designed the structure of the rock walls over thousands of years with his eruptions. We definitely want to see more of that and briskly climb the stairs that lead us to a hiking trail on the "mountain crest". Some vantage points give us the chance to look down where a river, fed by small waterfalls, pushes towards its exit from the narrows.

Our presumed hiking tour turned out to be just a nice walk, but it was worth it.

Mount Etna in its elemental appearance is a dominant goal of our journey . The original plan to circumnavigate the volcano with the Circumetnabahn cannot be realized for organizational reasons. So our WOMO has to take over this task. We can see the mountain from all sides from the car and are impressed by the many faces. We are also following the outgrowths of past eruptions with great attention, in which huge lava flows have rolled into the settlement area and thus also up to the road. On the one hand devastating, on the other hand stimulating, as can be seen from the structure of the landscape.

When we checked in at our campsite, we found out that we could get even closer to our destination with a shuttle bus. There's no question - we'll go with you to the cable car station, which we can use to reach the summit without much effort. We are carted uphill in a four-wheel drive bus because the cable car is still in sleep mode. It doesn't matter - it goes up and we are awaited there by an indescribably attractive backdrop. Clear view of the old Smoker Etna, which is constantly puffing clouds of smoke into the sky. With 3 357m the highest, still active volcano in Europe placed amidst solidified lava and ice. Unforgettable!

The downhill can then be done with the cable car. The advantage here is the unrestricted view of already extinct craters and the timid growth of the nutrient-rich soil on the slopes below us.

After a stopover and a regeneration shopping day in rainy weather, we are now ready for an extensive tour of the archaeological excavations in Pompeii.

We know that almost 2000 years ago the volcano Vesuvius buried the then very prosperous city with its ejection of lava and rock in an oversized, frenzied outburst of anger and covered it with a meter-high, preserving layer of ash. Most people had no time to get to safety, were killed alive by falling walls, burned or suffocated. An entire culture was wiped out.

Today we walk through a part of the exposed ancient city and try to imagine the hustle and bustle in the streets or life in the villas. Others crowd along with us on these paths, countless paparazzi shoot insatiable photos to capture the unique, sometimes playful architecture. The preservation of this huge archaeological site is certainly an elaborate challenge to protect it from destructive environmental influences.

The display of three human figures behind a glass front makes me pause briefly - a minute's silence for the victims who were unable to escape their fate at the time.

Assisi, the place of pilgrimage for many Christians, is located in Umbria. In the city with a medieval character, we too make a pilgrimage through the historic streets from one basilica to the next, which outdo each other in size and dimensions. The glow of the saints gives these buildings a special glow. Some of the utensils for a glamorous service design shine just as brilliantly from the displays. What pomp!

The Basilica di S. Francesco marks the end of our city tour. Balanced on a massive foundation supported by semicircular arches, it lifts the church of Saint Francis of Assisi, the founder of the "Friars Minor", towards the sky.

After the intensive visit to the city of Assisi, which was richly peppered with cultural highlights, today we are looking for the peace and quiet in nature, in the spirit of Francis of Assisi. We follow in the footsteps of the saint, who is now revered as Italy's patron saint of animals and the environment, and hike, carrying a backpack, to his hermitage. Here he often retreated to pray and meditate. As the founder of the order of the Friars Minor, he lived in poverty and dressed in a simple, brown robe, which is still used today by the Franciscan monks.

His ideology of protecting living beings and nature, going through the world with open eyes and striving for peace have always had a strong influence on our way of life.

We experience today's hike all the more intensively, which after the hermitage leads us further uphill through a forest towards Mt. Subasio. The music of the chirping of birds, the scent of blooming cyclamen accompany us to a welcome spot for a snack on a grassy hill, where we can see a small herd of horses in the distance. Blossoming trees and bushes, little flowers stretching towards the sun and still the melodious song of the birds. A spectacle of nature, staged just for us.

Siena , the insider tip of a camper neighbor, is said to be one of the most beautiful cities in Tuscany next to Florence. "Absolutely worth seeing!" that's his comment. We move into a strategically well-located campsite, from which we can take a bus line to the center of the medieval stage.

Arriving there, already about to jump into adventure, we have to realize that our privilege of an exclusive, largely undisturbed tour of discovery through the narrow streets of the old town is now lost. Today, when the weather is nice, we share the ambience with a huge number of visitors, the number of which has multiplied compared to other hotspots. We can hardly capture the radiant beauty of the historic buildings through well-designed photos without an extra stepping in and fighting for the privilege of taking a selfie.

At the main square, the Piazza del Campo , we allow ourselves a coffee break and watch the hustle and bustle comfortably while sitting. A horse race is held here once in July and once in August - we would love to be there too, as we saw impressive photos of it on display.

We retreat away from the pulsing flow of people and enjoy small details that cannot be found in any tourist guide.

Our heads, now packed with countless pictures and unforgettable impressions, need a break before we go back to work as eager, longingly awaited grandparents.

A quiet lake surrounded by mountains, the Lago di Cavazzo offers us the right environment to reformat our mental storage space. On a few smaller hikes in the spring-green landscape around the lake and in the small town of Alesso , we find enough relaxation and drive back home freshly strengthened, with many souvenirs for young and old in our backpacks and a mountain of dirty laundry.

Jupiter, the Roman father of the gods and lord of thunder and lightning, meant well with us and gave us passable travel weather. We have found Italy's beaches, which are occupied by bathers in the summer, still deserted and have surrendered with great enthusiasm to the gusty winds on miles of walks and watched in amazement at the lashing waves as they rushed towards the land.

Italy has offered us a vast array of historic cities laden with man-made structures from all eras. We've consumed a lot of it and still feel like we've missed out.

The Italian food was presented in every restaurant, no matter how small, with exclusive table culture, and we were always enchanted with regional cuisine. It might have sometimes been appropriate to swap our travel clothes for an outfit from a designer boutique. To the chagrin of my husband, I could hardly get enough of the Italian fashion and the design of the leather goods on display.

He preferred to experience nature in the countryside and to relax while hiking - I also love this active side of vacation. And it wasn't hard to find a small lake surrounded by mountains, or alpine meadows in the spring rush.

Italy amazed us!

Grazie e arrivederci Italia!