6 From a swim break with stones and an Italian villa.

Day 6: Wednesday, 28.08.2019

Route: Munich-Venezia bicycle path

Start: Longarone
Destination: Spresiano

Distance traveled: 75.0 km
pure driving time: 3:57 h

8:35 (Krissi)

Today our breakfast was a bit smaller. I suspect that Max didn't get full. We are currently in the Vajont Valley. We were already wondering yesterday what Vajont means. Due to Nico's great pronunciation, Julle suspected "watchdog". But at the church, the victims were commemorated and so we researched what actually happened. A landslide broke the dam in the valley and many many (I don't remember the number) lost their lives. Really sad, as the construction of the dam didn't go completely clean and the relatives had to search for the causes for a long time.

13:19 (Alex)

I have to tell you about the "accidents" now. The first one happened yesterday, when Emily decided to take a little break and lie down. The suitable place for that was at a curb on a road. But Anna and Krissi said that my fall looked very elegant. Aesthetics are very important to me too.

The second accident was with Max and me. On a beautiful long road, which went downhill for a long time and was very curvy, we almost missed our turn. Nico and Krissi made it, I also wanted to turn right and Max crashed into me. So we were both at fault. I was able to get off the bike again quite elegantly, but Max is still young and has to learn about aesthetics and elegance. But nothing happened. Luckily! A car could have come, etc. At this point, I quote Anna quite accurately: "Luck is with the fools!"

But after the little incident, we continued. We are currently sitting (after a short visit to Lidl) by a small stream with beautiful reed caves. The first accommodation we called in Nervesa unfortunately doesn't have enough space for the 6 of us. We'll see what happens. In case of doubt, we'll just drive a few more kilometers and then hope to find the path again. (As I know us, probably not, but adventure is beautiful and important anyway!)

13:42 (Max)

Today we have an accident. I do it like this. Wire does this. Accident.

And according to Anna, I'm not allowed to book hotels because I only order beer.

16:13 (Julle)

So today we actually arrived early, even with fewer kilometers than planned, and we don't know what to do now. Anna is throwing hair at Nico while the others are considering which pizza we want. It's because we're sitting next to a huge villa in the garden under a pergola and the hostess is providing us with cold water, juice, and sandwiches, we postponed the offered wine for later. It's just really hot today.

By accident, we just bullied Nico with the room assignment, so Anna gives her stolen grapes.

Uh, yeah, now about the route. Today was a very interesting day in terms of scenery. At the beginning, we cycled through and alongside the Piave Valley. The river is not that big, but our path went up and down, over the valley on a bridge, past a small power plant, through mini tunnels, and finally to Lake Blablabla, where we took our first break. After that, it became more Italian. Somehow we always cycled along different little rivers and lakes, mostly downhill now, through towns that somehow never ended and were adjacent to each other. That means not every area had houses, but they were scattered and there were vineyards even within the towns. The houses were often in bright colors or not plastered at all. Once we cycled through a larger town with cobblestone and mini cobblestone streets. It was an old town, the first statues and fountains were there and we cycled through archways. Then we took a short break on a lonely city stream island just after a Lidl in the middle of the city.

Afterwards, it wasn't far to the accommodation that Nico coolly booked. She navigated us via her phone, which is why we unfortunately deviated from the main route earlier than necessary and cycled on a busy road. But Nico navigated so confidently that the rest of us could follow along without any effort. We saw less and less of the increasingly flat landscape, which was completely moving away from the mountains and filled with rivers. Only the vineyards didn't leave our side. It's just amazing how the landscape can change completely within just a few days or kilometers, but also the climate and the people. When we rode the Brenner Pass in Italy at the beginning, I didn't feel like I was already in Italy, but when we left South Tyrol, definitely, but now for real. That's what I love about cycling.

Max just told me that he put a stone in Alex's luggage. I think it's funny.

17:11 (Krissi)

Alex and I are currently reviewing our journey. Time really flies and we already forget everything again. So once again from the beginning: our first overnight stay was at Pension Christina in Achenkirch. Then we went to Innsbruck to a run-down hotel from the outside. But we had an awesome suite with two floors and a kitchen and bathroom. Then we were really lucky in Niederdorf and got a 4-bed room for the six of us. But with good pizza and a lot of schnapps, a double bed for 3/4 was also perfectly fine. From Toblach, we went to Longarone to the lady with the firm handshake (Anna's hand wounds started bleeding again). Now we're sitting near Nervesa at Hotel Liberty. The lady welcomed us with food and drinks and has now ordered pizza for us. So awesome!

We just hung up my clothesline. Now the lovely lady is bringing a clothes rack. They're just great here! La bella Italia!