Southern Italy into Slovenia

September 29 we went once more to Termini station to pick up a car.  We headed back out of Rome, feeling like old hands at Roman traffic.  This time we headed south toward Naples, about 150 miles away.  The owner of our cottage in Sorrento gave us incredible directions including photographs of each intersection and the exterior of the gate into the property.  Our house was a little cottage among olive trees on a very steep, terraced hill overlooking the Bay of Naples and Sorrento.

Vesuvius across the Bay of Naples

From our perch among the olive trees we watched cruise ships coming and going into Sorrento and gazed out over the bay to Naples and Vesuvius brooding over it.  The only problem with our spot was that its driveway let out onto a blind corner on a very busy road.  Since getting the car in or out of the gate was far too dangerous, we jammed the car into a pull-off across the road and made mad dashes across to the safety of a tiny space in front of the gate.  The traffic was relentless, peppered with suicide scooters zooming along between the cars, but we always found a gap large enough to allow us to shout “RUN!!!” and we’d dash across, laughing at the absurdity of it all while the traffic beeped at us.

Sorrento is named after the Sirens that tempted Odysseus with their song.  The town sits high on cliffs and the harbor is accessed by steep, narrow streets.   When we drove into town we were frustrated by the crush of cars and scooters that made stopping and parking almost impossible.  And this was the off season!  We managed to find some nice restaurants and supermarkets as time went on, but we never felt that we got to know the town. 

Restored balcony, Herculaneum

Former quay at Herculaneum - note the depth of ash

We loved our day trips to Herculaneum, Pompeii, the island of Capri, and along the Amalfi Coast.  We got to Herculaneum by taking a narrow-gauge train from near our cottage.  As we rattled through tunnels and small towns along the coast toward Naples, we very quickly saw the reason why the vicinity is looked down upon by people in northern Italy.  Every conceivable space that could be reached by a Neopolitan teenage boy was covered in graffiti.  It was disgusting.  Trash was everywhere.  Two men who looked like they were retired from the British military were on the train with us.  They made their displeasure very apparent as we rolled through increasingly filthy stations.  “These people simply have no civic pride!” one of them huffed.  It was remarkable that the residents tolerated such a situation.  Even street signs, advertising and windows were obliterated with the mess.  Later we joked to each other that the ruined Roman towns looked far better after being blasted by the volcano than did the modern city around them.

Arches where remains of 300 people were found

Roman interior showing charred joists

Looking up the street, Herculaneum

Mosaics in entryway

 

Entryway - note wooden doors behind

 

Oh no you don't!  Original sliding doors

In the eighties, New York City demonstrated the connection between graffiti and crime.  If petty crime like graffiti, littering, panhandling and illegal vendors is allowed, the scene is set for more violent crime.  In New York, a zero tolerance policy toward these (relatively) minor infractions has had an almost miraculous effect on bringing down the crime rate and establishing a more civil society.  

Graffiti in Rome was bad, too, but the city didn’t have the same feeling of instability on the street.  Naples should get the 40% of its youth who are unemployed to work cleaning up.  

Plaque at chapel of the Imperial Cult
(more like a Chamber of Commerce)

In the Imperial Cult chapel, Herculaneum

Local restaurant

Remains of a man who died in Pompeii's market

Herculaneum and Pompeii differ from the monumental ruins elsewhere because they contain homes of regular Roman citizens.  We could see groceries, restaurants on every street (Romans almost never cooked in their homes) and the interiors of many nearly intact houses.  Though both towns were hit by incinerating blasts of superheated volcanic gas, some furniture and wooden structures survived.   Archaeologists found an almost-intact couch in one house, wooden sliding doors in another, and wooden shutters on still another.  Many mosaics are intact as well as magnificent frescoes in many houses.  In Pompeii we were amazed to see street signs signifying “pedestrians only”, one-way streets and stone towers erected to increase the pressure in the water system that served every house and street. 

Wine shop with amphoras in place

Pompeii - Tower for maintaining water pressure

Herculaneum is being actively excavated.  The process of digging through 90’ of rock-like volcanic ash is slow.  We ducked into several test tunnels, one of which had discovered the indoor pool at the gymnasium.  The diggers had found a remarkable bronze fountain in the center of the pool in the shape of the Hydra.  Within the last 10 years they found casts of the bodies of over 300 people who had taken shelter under archways on what was then the waterfront of the town.  Many were frozen in the positions they died in, protecting loved ones, fending off the blast, and reaching for one another.   In Pompeii, some of the victims were displayed where they were found  - slaves cowering in a house, a child on the floor of a room in a villa, and one poor guy in the market area. 

Pre-Christian chapel

More mosaics and frescoes

Shrine for household gods

On the south side of Capri

On another day we went out to Capri on a small boat that took us and six others around the island to admire the cliffs and swim in a couple spots including one where we swam through a short sea cave.  The captain’s mom made us delicious Caprese sandwiches.  Later we spent about 3 hours traipsing around the main town.  Even though Capri is a tourist destination, there is plenty there to appreciate away from the crowds.  Augustus Caesar was right to grab it when it became “available."

At Sorrento harbor

There once was a fellow who saw Capri

      Its cliffs, its forests, its sea
He turned to his broker and said, "I'll take it!
A private lair I'll make it,
      'Cause Caesar Augustus, that's me!"

On Capri

Swimming off Capri.  The water was GREAT!

View along the south side o

We took a long, absolutely amazing drive down the Amalfi Coast.  Once again, the traffic congestion made it difficult to stop in some of the fine little towns we saw on the way.  We kept exclaiming over the very existence of some of the towns we saw.  They clung to the side of cliffs which we wouldn’t have wanted to climb, let alone farm.  It was a testament to the determination and hard work of the people who had settled the area – and perhaps to their desperation to find safety.  In one town, donkeys were still being used to carry building materials where motor vehicles couldn’t reach. 

On October 6 we’d been in Italy almost a month.  It was time to leave and move East.  We packed up and headed onto the autostrada for the Rome airport.  We dropped the rental and picked up our brand-spanking new Peugeot 308 wagon which we dubbed “The Black Death – Scourge of Europe!”

Since we were going to need a car for the next three months, it made sense to lease a car under the Peugeot Open Europe plan which is way cheaper than renting.  We filled out remarkably little paper work and took delivery of a new car for about $3,000 for the entire period.  That included insurance and all taxes.  Other car companies have similar plans.  We’re still scratching our heads trying to figure out how they make money on the deal, considering depreciation off the lot and the inevitable wear and tear of up to six months of use.

Espaliered apples outside Ferrara

We zipped around Rome and went northeast across the country to Ferrara, which sits on the broad plain of the Po river valley.  It’s known as the bicycle capital of Italy.  We had several nice days walking in the country and along the massive walls of the city.  The feel and smell of autumn in the air was delicious, especially around the espaliered orchards and vineyards.  Oddly, our little hotel was home to a group of Danish NATO pilots who flew out of a small airport nearby as part of the air support for the Libyan rebels.  They had a hearty breakfast, walked out with their briefcases and returned late in the afternoon for dinner.  They were cordial and business-like.  Surreal.

Ferrara has beautiful medieval buildings and a tremendous wall surrounding the city.  The wall is thick enough for a wide road along the top and is about 6km in circumference.  We walked about half of it one afternoon after getting Kate a haircut at a likely-looking salon near the main gate.

By the time we moved north to Venice we were done with Italy for the time being.  We craved our coming rest in Slovenia.  Doug got a bad cold that kept him in bed while Jenny and Kate went into Venice for the day.  They had a glorious walk around the city on a beautiful autumn day.

October 12 we drove east toward Trieste and the forbidding former border crossing between East and West at the Slovenian border.  Someone needs to tear that hulking monstrosity down, or use it for a movie set.  It did give us a chance to point out some characteristics of Communist architecture.  Even a fountain managed to look forbidding. 

Just a few hours from Venice - Slovenia!

Kate celebrates snow on the pass into Triglav NP

Local guest house/restaurant, Ukanc

Immediately across the border we knew we’d like Slovenia.  It was cleaner than Italy and the towns showed more “civic pride." Our route wound on back roads through the foothills of the Julian Alps.  The  beautiful autumn weather continued and we had great views of the mountains as we drew ever nearer.  As we crossed a high pass we saw the Alps stretched out before us.  Houses and farms appeared more Alpine.
 

Mo and Beck

Pools along our hike with Mo and Beck

Ukanc (“oo-kanse”), our goal, was a little gathering of houses at the head of Lake Bohinj (“boheen”) beneath the cliffs at the head of the valley.  Jenny had found a little rental apartment that suited us perfectly.

As soon as we got our bags unpacked we headed out for a few days of hiking and hanging out with Beck and Mo, an Australian couple who were staying at our little enclave.  Mo is Indian and has lived in Australia since he was 17.  Beck is from Wisconsin and met Mo when they were at University in Australia.  We hope to see them again when we’re Downunder.  We hiked with them up a valley leading north from the lake, through woods and across meadows to a restaurant in the middle of nowhere.  We had a hearty lunch of stew, bread and some beers in the warm autumn light.  One of the many things we like about Slovenia is that the altitude is low.  They have long spring, summer and fall seasons in the valleys while the mountains get a lot of snow in the winter.

From the top of the cable car at Vogel ski area, Ukanc

Gotta love the little restaurants at the end of every trail!

We filled our days with Doug’s continued recovery from his cold, hikes around the lake (about 7 miles), Jenny and Kate doing a ropes course at a nearby climbing center, an epic hike up a road built during WWI to carry troops and materiel over the Alps to the Italian front, and trips into nearby Bled, the impossibly scenic town just east of Ukanc.

Maddy digs Slavica waterfall

Castle Bled on cliffs above the lake

    

On the 19^th we actually had RAIN!  We took the day off to rest and relax.  On the 20^th we were surprised to see it snowing when we woke up.  It was great to see the change in the countryside.  October 21 we left Bohinj to begin our adventure through the Balkans.

Sudden change in the weather!

We love Kate!