Germany to Italy: Norcia to L'Aquila

 Back in the Monti Sibilini I was overwhelmed by the vastness of the landscape. It all looked very serene - but when I reached a road and the rifugio there, it had been destroyed by the earthquake. The hut warden was now serving food in a container nearby. 

Camping that evening I hid in a forest well out of sight of the nearby farm. Nevertheless at dusk I heard people's voices nearby and two dogs sniffing out my tent - luckily not barking. When the voices came closer I finally summoned up my courage and looked out of my tent: A couple was standing just five meters away discussing something in English - not having discovered me yet.

All of a sudden the conversation stopped and the lady said: "I think there is a tent!" I immediately introduced myself and offered to leave - but no problem. The couple turned out to be from the Netherlands. They were about to buy the property and were now exploring all the nooks and crannies before signing the contract. "You can stay here as long as you want - and we won't tell the owner", they told me when leaving. Later that night I was only disturbed by a wild pig.

The next village, Accumoli, had been completely destroyed by the earthquake, people were still living in containers, even the village church was a container now. Next to the altar was a crucifix with a sign "our Golgatha" where rock pieces were exhibited: They were pieces from the destroyed village churches in the region, a very touching memorabilia.

When I tried to shortcut some kilometers I ended up on a road that had been destroyed as well - but unfortunately now there were two big constructions sites with several "No entry"-signs and lots of workers. Although I felt pretty bad walking right through it nobody said a word. On the contrary some workers chatted with me about my hike!

I tried to follow the E1 but ended up in an unpenetrable jungle of blackberries - the last hiker must have come through here years ago! I had no choice but to road walk around it. What really worried me was the fact that I would have to go through a very long tunnel, a potentially dangerous situation for me as a hiker. But to my great surprise the old road existed still next to the tunnel and was actually the new E1 route! But my luck did not last long: The E1 led me to another bushwhack were I cut my leg so badly that blood was running down my calf! The other choice was roadwalking again on a busy narrow road that sent me jumping into the ditch whenever a truck approached.

I realized that the E1 is definitely a work in progress and its route not reliable! I still made it to Antrodoco in one piece where I took the train to L'Aquila where I had booked a room in a monastery. Although the earthquake there had taken place more than ten (!) years ago the city centre has still not been rebuilt. What a shame for the Italian government. I had to take the bus to some suburban shopping centre to do all my shopping. 

Germany to Italy: Faenza to Norcia

Dry water trough

The bus ride back to the trail was like a roller coaster. The driver even had to back up several hundred meters because the road was so narrow and oncoming traffic could not pass. Although it was a lot cooler and breezier up in the mountains than in town water became an issue. The next I hiked a 2 kilometer detour to reach a water trough only to find it bone dry. With my tongue hanging out I barely made it to the next pass where a ristorante provided a water tap in the garden. It was meant for dogs but worked for hikers as well. I downed one liter in 30 seconds ...

But it got a lot cooler and very foggy the next night. I was now hiking in Foresti Cansentinesi, high up on the ridge and all of a sudden I felt more like German Black Forest in fall than Italy in summer. I had been in this area just months before on the Way of St. Francis so this time I hiked a slightly different route. Badia Prataglia, which had been deserted in February, was now bustling with tourists. 

Foresti Casentinesi

When I checked my maps during lunch break in the main plaza I discovered a spa town close to my route: Bagno Romana! When I could even score I cheap hotel room in town I decided that spending the evening in hot thermal water is a great idea! 

Other than in Germany Italian spas usually belong to a hotel or resort and are relatively small. Not all admit non-hotel guests, but in Bagno Romagna there were even three! It was wonderful to soak in the warm water and stroll through town in the evening. 

Next evening I camped above a forest road well hidden in the trees, but was woken up by loud snorting. Was a cow or a horse visiting me? When I peeked out of my tent I nearly bursted out laughing: A rather overweight jogger was passing my campsite on the forest road. 

I was now on the E1 that is paralleling a variant of the Way of St. Francis. I did not see many other hikers, but half a dozen of lost socks - no kidding. People strap them onto their backpack for drying and then loose them. 

Two days later the forecast was so bad that I decided on a huge detour to Pietralunga, which I had already visited on the Way of St. Francis. All other accommodation was fully booked and even the place in Pietralunga was more expensive than I wanted. It turned out to be worth it! Because the town is on the Way of St. Francis I met a German pilgrim in the hotel and we had dinner together. Check out time was 11 am next morning but when having breakfast and watching the rain outside the hotel owner told me that due to a cancellation I could stay in my room until the afternoon. He even brought me pasta for lunch from his own family meal! It was still drizzling when I left in the early evening. 

When I hiked back to the E1/Sentiero Italia on back roads and forest roads I got water from an outside tap near a house. Unfortunately a kitten took a liking in me and followed me playfully chasing flies and mosquitoes. I was worried if this tiny creature would find his way back home alone - and walked all the way back with it. I knocked on the door where it had started following me. I don't know what the owners thought of me but they took the kitten in again. 

It rained so hard the next day that my fingers were pruned just from holding my trekking poles! I found a great shelter next to a lonely church during lunch where I could even charge my phone but after that all luck left me. Because the weather was so miserable I wanted to book a hotel in Scheggia - but all my email inquiries were answered negative: everything was fully booked! To make things worse the sun was already going down and the route traversed a steep slope where finding a campsite was impossible. The more I climbed the scenery looked rather like Scotland than Italy in the fog. The full moon made it even eerier! When I discovered a shelter on the map a couple of kilometers away I deceided to give it a try. Very close to the shelter I checked my GPS - when I felt something cold and wet touching my legs from behind. I turned around and screamed like hell when I saw a huge white dog!

All of sudden a light went on nearby and I realized what had happened: This was not the Hound of Baskerville, but a sheepdog and the shelter was not a public rifugio but the shepherd's hut.

He came out of his hut wondering what the heck a hysterical German got to do here in the middle of the night. Of course he only spoke Italian but I understood as much that he offered me a place on the floor of his hut - between lots of empty wine bottles. When I politely declined and wanted to hike on, he insisted: "Lupi, lupi - wolves, wolves".

But other than chain smoking shepherds wolves don't snore, so I continued and pitched my tent a couple of hundred meters away. As soon as I had retired into my sleeping bag a car passed by at midnight! I don't know whether the driver even saw me or just couldn't be bothered to stops. After that no more visitors or wolves ...

It took me a while to dry everything out next morning and unfortunately my couscous bag had leaked. I ate a bit that day but had to throw away most of it later because it started moulding ...

After more water problems next highlight was the Eremo Serra Santa which offers an panoramic view over the valley. The little church is closed but the entrance area is now officially a trail shelter complete with a wood stove and benches. I just cooked my dinner inside here on my camp stove out of the wind.

I was now hiking in the Monti Sibilini which are bald mountains with lots of free range cows and horses - and surprisingly many working water troughs. But this time I was lacking something else: My powerbank was almost empty! I had just finished lunch when two mountain bikers approached and asked me in broken Italian about the E1. They turned out to be from Germany and offered me their own powerbank to recharge my phone while they were taking a break. I hiked on and returned their powerbank to them when they passed me an hour later. 

Visso was the first town on my route that had been destroyed by earthquakes four years ago. It still looked like one big construction site. The entire old town was fenced off as a danger zone. 

When I continued the next day to Norcia I used old gpx tracks which led me right through villages that were completely abandoned. In some places I had to crawl over rubble and could still see the broken furniture. The most touching scene was a house were the front had collapsed and I could look directly into the former bedroom: The bed was still intact and looked like the inhabitants had just left for the day ....

I think the CAI has changed the route of the trail by now but it was very touching to hike through these ghost towns ... Sometimes I was a bit worried that a ruin could collapse on me, some houses were just held upright by makeshift wooden planks!

In Norcia I was the only passenger on the bus to Spoleto where I had booked myself into an old monastery. I had been here in February but had not done much sightseeing. 

Spoleto is a very tourist-friendly town: Because it is built on a steep hillside there are escalators taking you up and down - for free!!! Only two nearos here ...

Germany to Italy: Pistoia to Faenza

Luckily I had arrived very early at the bus station because due to Corona only 50% of the seats were supposed to be occupied - but there were a lot more passengers waiting. But after long discussions Italian style everyone got on board. It took 1,5 hours to cover 30 km as the crow flies and I felt horribly seasick after plenty of taking over manouvers on the narrow and winding road. It started to rain as soon as I got of the bus and with thunderstorms lurking I took a lower alternate route. Good choice because the next day all summits were covered in thick fog.

I learnt a new Italian word: "frana" which means landslide. I had to do an iffy detour to get around one but could rejoin my route via old abandonded roads that let me progress quickly. I am now on the Grande Escursione Appenninica which felt a bit like the AT: a long green tunnel! (with little water!)

I was lucky to reach a refuge where I could get water out of a cistern and a lovely chat with the hut warden who told me about this crazy Corona year: first no tourists and then too many!

On Passo de la Futa the popular Via degli Dei joined the GEA for a couple of kilometers and I was amazed how many hikers were out there! 

There even was a hiker box! Beside lots of band-aids and Ibuprofen I could score some snacks. There were so many noisy hikers piling up at the only spring that I fled from all the noise. But as soon as the Via degli Dei took another turn, I was all alone on the GEA again.

War cemetery 

Passo de la Futa is the location of Italy's biggest war cemetery. More than 30,000 German soldiers are buried here. Often they could be identified. When I wandered through the endless rows of graves reading the simple name plates of wondered what fates were behind it. 

I took the train to Faenza, ceramics capital of Italy where new shoes were waiting for me. I had ordered them from Amazon, and in Italy you can have them delivered to one of their partner stores, in my case a newspaper agent. 

Although I had a lovely AirBnB where I could even use the washing machine there was no AC or even a fan in my room. It was so unbearably hot that sleeping was difficult. But around the corner was a great pizza place next to an ice cream parlor - perfect combination! And of course I visited the huge ceramic museum in town. 

Germany to Italy: Genoa to Pistoia

I took the narrow gauge train back to the mountains with eight days of food in my backpack. I quickly realized that I would not be able to make 30+ km in terrain like this: constant ups and downs plus my heavy backpack were a big problem. Also water was far scarce - good campsites as well. 

When I turned around a corner in a area full of meadows, out of the blue I was attacked by six huge white dogs, so-called Maremmanos. They were protecting a herd of goats. As long as I kept a distance they left me alone. I had no choice but to wait until their herd had moved -which took a long time. Apparantly the grass here was especially juicy. Two kilometers later a sign said that the trail is closed due to free roaming sheep dogs ... There had been no sign on the other side where I was coming from.

At the next mountain pass I bought an ice cream at the bar to calm my nerves after this exciting encounter. Rather unexpectedly for me these bars sold snacks and ice cream and usually have a water tap as well making life a lot easier for me. At Passo Due Santi there was a mountain hotel and this being a Sunday plenty of people were checking out. As my powerbank was running low I went the other way and sat down in the hotel lobby to charge my phone. Nobody bothered me. At Passo de la Cissa my route crossed the pilgrimage trail Via Francigena and for a couple of kilometers there were plenty of hikers. 

But when the pilgrimage trail left, so did the water! All water sources on my map were dry or non existant! When the last spring before a long ridgewalk was dry because farmers had diverted the water into plastic tubes to feed the troughs on their meadows I had no choice but to descend several hundred meters, get water and then climb up again. And then all I could find was a camp spot on lumpy grass. At least I was rewarded with a golden sunrise next morning. 

In the Appenin National Park the route follows the narrow ridge and requires some climbing at places. Nothing too difficult but suffering from a bit of vertigo I had a hard time. And then two horses grazing on top of the ridge did not move an inch when I approached. Pushing, yelling, caressing - nothing worked. I could only sneak past them when some day hikers approached from the other side. Because I was much slower than expected I was very low on food and happy to get a two course lunch at Rifugio Prato di Spilla where busloads of tourists were out and about.

I was surprised to see so many day hikers in some places until I realized that there ski lifts were working! When I descended into Abetone literally dozens of gasping hikers were climbing up the steep hill and every other one asked me: "Is it still far?"

I had hiked the entire day on a last package of peanuts and had no food whatsoever left when I reached Abetone. There were only two small mini markets but I was happy to eat whatever they offered. But first I checked bus schedules because I was going to Pistoia for two rest days. I patiently waited half an hour for the bus to arrive and was then told that I could not buy a ticket from the driver! But he had mercy on me and waited till I had bought one from a souvenir shop across the street. Important lesson for travellers in Italy: Tickets can not be obtained from the driver, you have to buy them in tobacco shops or even bars! I was lucky again with my accommodation in Pistoia: I could relax in fantastic kind of boutique hotel right in the city centre. The owner even spoke English and gave me plenty of travel advice. And the ice cream parlor next door was heaven!

 

Germany to Italy: Switzerland to Genoa

Panperduto

Because Switzerland is so expensive I had postponed my next rest day until Italy where I booked myself into a lovely room in Gavirate at Lago di Varese. Unfortunately this lake is so shallow and infested with algae that swimming is prohibited. No problem for me: I just lounged in my room basically doing nothing except recharching my batteries for the next stretch across the Po Valley which would definitely not be a walk in the park in the summer heat. At least I had my first real Italian pizza in Gavirate although there was no paper menu. You had to scan a QR code with your smartphone to get the menu ...

Ticino river

The walk across Po Valley was as bad as I had expected. I had already known at planning stage that hiking here in summer was bad timing - but this happens in a long-distance hike. The E1 first follows the river Ticino which is divided into three channels at Panperduto. One for ships, one for irrigation and the original river bed. 

Unfortunately I now had to walk around Milano airport Malpensa where planes were landing and taking off almost 24 hours despite Corona. I fled into a hotel.

Next day was a lot of walking along the channels: No other hiker, but literally hundreds of cyclists on this dead flat concrete stretch. I was constantly changing channel sides to get at least some shade! Luckily I found a wonderful campsite close to Ticino river and could take an evening swim to wash off all the sweat and grime. I did not need any sleeping bag or blanket these nights - on the contrary it was hard to fall asleep because my skin was constantly itching and I was dripping with sweat even in the shade.

Beside the excessive heat two things were complicating the traverse of the Po Valley: First of all there are very few bridges across the rivers like Ticino and Po forcing the E1 into long detours on roads. The brigde across Ticino was a swaying ponton bridge made out of wood - half of the planks on the pedestrian side were rotten and broken ..

Secondly rice is cultivated in the Po Valley which need lots of water. I was walking along endless irrigation channels which could only be crossed on a few bridges forcing me to further detours in the relentless heat and humidity. 

And walking along Scrivia river the trail disappeared into a jungle of blackberry bushes scratching up my arms and legs. 

Worst situation happened when the E1 crossed a private property which was not only fenced off but guarded by dogs and video cameras. I tried to sneak around always ended up in front of "no entry"-signs. I finally just walked across and was not discovered. 

I had chosen the E1 in this section because the Sentiero Italia makes a huge detour across the entire alpine range. Now I was approaching the Alps myself and joined the Sentiero Italia on the Alta Via dei Monti Ligurii. God was I happy to see mountains again! 

I took a train to Genoa where I spent two rest days. I was so lucky with my accommodation: It was on the top floor of an apartment building with a terrace running around it where breakfast was served in the morning. And this is the view from my breakfast table! Genoa is very hilly and very confusing with small winding streets but plenty of sights to keep me busy for two days.

Germany to Italy: Switzerland

Knowing that I would hike along the Apennine mountains for almost three months in Italy I did not have much ambition for alpine hiking trails in Switzerland. I decided to skip the Alps as much as possible and chose the fastest and shortest traverse through Switzerland: the E1! This is the view from Hörnli, with 1133 meters the highest mountain so far. And as you can see the weather turned bad. When I descended the mountain in pouring rain I came across a litte stone hut expecting to find it locked. It was not only open, but a first class toilet where I could wait out the rain and even charge my cell phone and enjoy heating. When I discovered that even in expensive Switzerland there are chocolate bars for less than 1 Euro I was reconciled with this country. 

The E1 follows a pilgrimage trail and leads through Einsiedeln, famous for its monastery. I liked the cheap pilgrims' hotel best were I stopped for a rest day to wait out the torrential rain - perfect timing!

I left Einsiedeln in sunshine and was overwhelmed by this view of Vierwaldstätter See! But not all was well that day! I had planned to sleep in one of the open shelters along the trail which are built for barbecues and picnics. Unfortunately two Swiss guys on mountain bikes had had the same idea and were happily enjoying there barbecue when I turned up. Jugding from the amount of meat and beer this was going to be a long night for them - I decided to hike on. It was almost impossible to find a flat spot in this steep terrain and I nearly despaired until I found a sloping spot in a meadow. There were even signs nearby saying: Do not stop! Beware of rockfall! I did not sleep well that night ...

Views of the Urner See were downright spectacular next day but unfortunately there was not much space along the lake side. Mostly I had to walk right next to a very busy road and even through a long tunnel where traffic noise was horrible! 

The E1 now starts its long ascent up to Gotthard Pass. Originally a lovely route it is marred by the fact that two (!) motorways and a train line is running parallel to the E1. I admired the engineering skills but the constant noise was nerve wrecking. Still I was surprised to see literally hundreds of racing bikers climbing up to the pass. They can do it in one day, I had to find accommodation because wild camping seemed impossible here. 

Things got a lot better when the main motorway disappeared into the long Gotthard tunnel. After 1,5 days of ascent I finally reached Gotthard pass at 2100 meters looking forward to long descent on the old cobblestone pass road called Tremola. I descended late in the day when all the cyclists and tourists were gone - what a delight. I was now in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland walking the Strada Alta, the old "high road" above the Ticino valley.

The weather was now changing between sunshine and thunderstorms allowing me to take this incredible shot of a village church. I nearly missed it - I only turned around incidentially to see "God's fingers" behind the church. 

Again finding a campsite in the steep terrain turned out to be a problem especially with thunderstorms threatening all the time. Although I was far away and high above the valley I could often hear the traffic noise. When the E1 finally descended into the valley and runs next to the Ticino river the motorway is only 100 meters away! Lovely scenery, horrible noise!

But after Bellinzona the E1 climbs up another ridge and leaves the noise behind. I could even see Lago Maggiore in the distance!

The E1 crosses Lake Lugano on a ferry that unfortunately only runs in the mornings and evenings. I did not want to be stuck in an expensive Swiss town and made little detour around the lake - in pouring rain. Rain gear is not very helpful in this temperature - I was getting wet from inside and outside!

Ticino river

It took me only 10 days to cross Switzerland from North to South with Gotthard being the only serious pass. There are definitely more spectacular routes in Switzerland but I still enjoyed this one - except for the traffic noise! It is a nice trial tour to get a good overview over what Switzerland has to offer - and then come back to explore more deeply.

On July 24th I finally crossed into Italy in Ponte Tresa. 

Germany to Italy: Rothenburg to Switzerland

Blautopf

The chocolate problem resolved itself easily because I was again invited by fans. I could just wash everything and was even given a Bayern München T-shirt while my dirty hiker clothes were in the washing machine (I am definitely no football fan!). And of course there was a huge barbecue followed by icecream with Baileys and cream for dessert! 

Next highlight was the Blautopf, the "blue" source of a river. When I was buying two pieces of cake in the nearby supermarket bakery I was even two plates and two forks - apparently nobody thinks that one person can eat two pieces of Black forest cake ... Leaving town I was stopped by another hiker who asked me: "Are you Christina Stürmer?" (For non-Germans: She is a tacky Austrian pop singer who is probably half my size...) Because our names sound so similar I am often "confused" with her although singing is definitely not my strong side. After clearing up the confusion we had a nice trail talk though. 

With Ulli in Ulm

HW 4 leads right through Ulm and I had timed this town stay perfectly because my birthday was approaching. I even had a surprise visitor: my old friend Ulli who drove two hours to treat me to my birthday dinner followed by ice cream! I spent my next rest day buying resupplies and treating myself with Black forest cake. (Ok, by now you know that I am a big fan of Black Forest cake ...)I left Ulm on the Donauradweg and made a little detour to Kloster Oberelchingen. I would have missed this gem if it hadn't been for Ulli who had recommended this overwhelming Rokkoko monastery. 

This simple little chapel in the middle of the forest is no comparison to it but when I reached it, it felt strangely familiar. I sensed that there was a water tap behind it - and indeed there was one. As I do not possess supernatural powers there must be another explanation for my foresight and it slowly dawned on me: I had been here the year before on my hike diagonal across Europe from Ireland to Greece! Again I got some water here. This stretch of the HW was not too spectacular and mostly on pavement but I could already see the Alps in the distance! 

This high percentage of pavement is the biggest disadvantage of the HW 4, on the plus side there are tons of churches and monasteries and endless orchards, although in the end I was hiking through hop fields which is not really edible. But in the end all was well: I took the ferry across Lake Constance and was invited by two ladies who treated me with pork out of the Dutch oven. I even got a quarter (!) of a Black Forest cake for breakfast. Thus fortified I entered Switzerland!