Day 5 Badia Prataglia: ... and forest again

It might be boring for my readers: in my descriptions there is nothing but forest, and a lot of it. We are in the Casentino National Park. According to the guide, it is the largest contiguous forest area in Europe. I am impressed by the diversity and beauty. And I am shocked by the damage that storms have caused here. What is also clear: you should not stay here when there is a strong wind.

Casentino National Park

After the huge stands of fir trees, there is now an airy beech forest stretching for many kilometers. I find this particularly attractive. The treetops let the sun's rays pass through, creating a beautiful play of light on the ground. The bright spring green of the leaves gives the forest a light appearance. There are supposedly wolves in the Casentino National Park. I have not personally encountered them. But there are tracks on the ground in clayey places that probably do not come from a dog in this wilderness (and are also a bit too big for that).

Hours of peace and reflection

It is the first day that I can describe as pleasant. (The others were not unpleasant but exciting and exhausting.) There are several reasons for this: It is the first day without back pain. Perhaps there is a psychological explanation for this: Experienced pilgrims I met yesterday told me that the back pain would soon be gone. They also gave me the tip not to pay attention to the kilometers or the time, but to dedicate the path to reflection. So today I walked alone again, took lots of breaks, enjoyed the peace and quiet of the forest again and again and ended the hike in Badia Pradaglia after 4 hours, as snow is forecast for today.

Back to the 80s

Thank God I finished my tour early today. I had barely moved into my hotel room when there was a heavy rain shower and a sharp drop in temperature. Speaking of which: I looked into the room, a stately hotel that had its best years about 40 years ago. The hotel owners: a married couple around 80 years old. The two of them are working diligently in the kitchen, as you can see, although there are no guests other than me and no food is being offered. I watch the two of them for a while while I drink the espresso that was offered to me. But I don't understand exactly what the purpose of their work is. This situation is a little bizarre. It reminds me of Kafka's novel "The Castle", in which things happen that don't really follow any rules.

It's now so cold that I lie down in bed to make a snack. In the evening I go to the bar: it's obviously the only restaurant open. When I come back, the couple are still busy in the kitchen.