Dirty dirt // Session 12

Arrived in Italy, I had to take a train from Civitavecchia to Naples. It took a while, but went smoothly. However, it was already late when I arrived in Naples (around 11:20 PM). Unfortunately, due to the time, the metro was already closed and I had to walk to my hostel since I didn't want to pay the exorbitant prices of the taxi drivers. 20€ for 3km🤦🏻‍♂️. It wasn't very pleasant since I was tired, but I eventually arrived and went straight to sleep after taking a shower. The hostel was not bad. The rooms were spacious, the beds were satisfactory, although the shower was not particularly clean. But they offered free breakfast and you can't expect everything for little money. Naples was about 10 degrees colder than Madrid, but still warm (32 degrees). So you're sweating, but not dying. Unfortunately, at first sight, I didn't like Naples. It's really dirty and disgusting in some places. There are beggars everywhere and the parks are occupied by homeless people. In addition, you are often warned to be careful because of all the pickpockets.

In general, Naples was too hectic for me. I don't really like the mentality of the southern Italians. It's chaotic and loud. When I was in a restaurant, it was pure chaos. All the waiters, the jostling, and the noise...

Well, what did I do: On the first day, I took my time and went to eat in a notorious pizzeria. The pizza was really delicious, but very different from Germany. Then I went to an ancient archaeological museum, which was pretty cool. But here too, you just walk through and look at the things, as they are just statues and paintings. Then I went to a castle/museum called Castel Nuovo. That was a waste of time. On the first day, I also had to realize how crazy Italian traffic is. You can consider yourself lucky if you survive it. Nobody pays attention to each other. And all the honking is so annoying...

Well, other than that, on that day, I looked at various things from the outside and walked around a lot.

On the next day, Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius were on the agenda. So I went to Pompeii first and then directly to Mount Vesuvius. It was pretty cool and looked beautiful. Both the view from Vesuvius and the crater, but I imagined it differently somehow. When I was on Mount Teide in Tenerife, there was a smell of sulfur at the crater and you felt somewhat insecure, realizing that you were standing on a volcano. Mount Vesuvius, on the other hand, seemed like a normal mountain🤷🏻‍♂️. After the volcano, I visited the ancient excavated city of Pompeii. At first, I was fascinated and wanted to see everything. Every building. But then I quickly realized that everything is just ruins and stones... No matter what it was supposed to represent, only stones are left and everything looks very similar. So after 1.5 hours, I only looked at the highlights. But it was still worth it. After that, I went back to Naples, had something to eat and then went to bed. The day was extremely exhausting due to the warm weather and climbing Mount Vesuvius.

On the next day, in the afternoon, I continued to Trento. Actually, Bolzano was on the plan, but the hostel in Bolzano was fully booked for the next 2 weeks, so I settled in a city nearby. Before the train ride, I had something to eat in the hectic restaurant mentioned earlier. There, I had a delicious first course. It was pasta with potatoes and mozzarella. Unfortunately, it looked like vomit, but it tasted wonderful. I also visited Napoli Sotterranea, the underground of Naples. That was really cool. I had to squeeze through very narrow corridors and was about 40 meters below the ground, exploring these tunnels. From what I understood from the English tour guide, this was originally an underground water pipeline, started by the Greeks and improved by the Romans, which used to supply Naples with water. However, it was eventually abandoned and during World War II, it served as a huge bunker where all the residents found shelter. (The underground system is said to be between 80-100km long) Unfortunately, after World War II, all the garbage and debris was brought down there and it became a landfill. Therefore, not much has been uncovered so far, but the tour was still cool.

Well, that's it for Naples. Unfortunately, I didn't like the city at all, but I enjoyed the activities in the city, so it was worth it!