Опубліковано: 08.02.2022
My ears are ringing and I am grateful for the silence in my monastery cell. Only the heater, which is mounted 3.5 meters high below the beautiful old wooden ceiling and operated by radio, bubbles and rushes as always. It sounds as if the house is located on a mountain stream, where cubic meters of melted snow rush down a cliff as a waterfall.
12:20 PM: The Italian course is over and I go out to have lunch with this wonderful elderly lady from Boston, Massachusetts. She has been here for three months and speaks fantastic Italian, unlike me. She says it makes no sense to speak Italian with a non-native speaker. And yes, English flows effortlessly, only occasionally do I struggle with an expression or have to strain my ears with her.
2:00 PM: We are standing on the banks of the Adige River, enjoying the not so warm early spring sun. Suddenly I remember that this funny change machine, with which I paid in the restaurant, did not give me back €5 or rather, because I was so concentrated on speaking Italian with the waiter, I forgot to take the bill. Since we still have time, we go back to the restaurant and actually, the €5 bill is still hanging in the dispenser waiting to be taken by the German. An Italian guest stands unaffected next to this machine, he just had to reach out his hand.
Apparently, only German tourists pay with cash, but they come at a different time of year.
2:30 PM: Enrico greets us in front of the Italian school. He talks like a waterfall during the small city tour through ancient Verona that he gives us. He manages to tell the historical facts in an exciting way and make me feel like I can understand Italian. Exhausted but happy, I drag myself back to the monastery.
For those interested:
The hill of San Pietro was already settled around 1000 BC. Then at some point, the Romans came and first built infrastructure, namely trade or military roads and bridges, and the places along the roads came almost naturally. This infrastructure was the key to the success of the Roman Empire.
In the 21st century, many German companies settle their representation for Italy in Verona because it is so close to the Brenner Pass - and Lake Garda, where the gentlemen and ladies businessmen like to vacation. One participant in the tour was a young woman from Ingolstadt who has been working in Verona for two years - for Aldi Süd.