Germany to Italy: Sora to Naples

I took the train from Sora to Montecassino because there are three attractions: the famous monastery high on top of the mountain (I took a bus to get up there ...), several WW II cemeteries and an old Roman amphitheater. I visited all three. But my highlight in town was an AYCE sushi place were I was feasting among hoards of school kids on the cheap lunch special.

I left town much later than planned because it was much more difficult to send my summer gear home. DHL was outrageously expensive and I had to queue at the post office to get a cheaper rate. Although Italy is in the EU I still had to fill out a long customs form for whatever reason. And then the train back to trail was full of screaming teenagers ... I was already exhausted when I was back on trail!

Lago di Matese

A last experiment on the E1 ended in scratches on legs and arms. I decided to follow the Sentiero Italia from now on - unfortunately in the rain. I sought refuge in an abandoned house which looked like the film set of a horror movie, even a bat came flying by. When I reached Lago di Matese I felt more like in Scotland than Italy. I was just having lunch in a playground when it started to bucket down again and I ended up waiting out the shower under a slide watching videos on my smartphone ... The weather forecast was a nightmare and I decided to wait out three days in nearby Naples where there are enough sites to keep my busy for several days.

Naples

I ended up staying four days in Naples. It had been an excellent decision to get off trail because it was bucketing down so much that even the metro had to be closed due to flooding ...

And what a coincidence: A German friend of mine was just visiting Naples so that we could have a reunion in Italy! But as much as I liked sightseeing in town I was itching to get back on trail. It was getting colder and colder and Corono numbers were rising in Italy. I started to worry if I was able to finish this hike as planned ...