#94 Surprise Concert on the Amalfi Coast

March 20, 2022: Salerno, Amalfi

F. It has snowed! Fortunately, only on Mount Vesuvius and not down here on the Amalfi Coast. With its steep towering cliffs, rugged coastline, and many small beaches with turquoise water, the Amalfi Coast is a popular holiday destination. Due to the very steep mountains, the roads in the Amalfi region are very narrow and winding. So we decided to set up our camp in Salerno and then take the bus to Amalfi. This turned out to be a completely right decision, as the only road to Amalfi was closed for motorhomes and it was really very narrow. For a little over an hour, our bus twisted past oncoming traffic, which was greeted with a honk before each curve, and we enjoyed the beautiful view of the coast and the mountains.

After we had walked all the way through Amalfi and got upset about the horrendous coffee prices (1 espresso for €4), I saw a few instrument cases of low brass instruments lying by the side of the road on the way to the bus stop. Cool, I thought, there's going to be a little combo playing here soon. But we quickly realized that the supposed little combo wasn't so small after all, as we saw more and more people with instrument cases. We followed the stream of musicians and stood in front of a group of 130 musicians who were setting up on the steps in front of the cathedral. It was the high school band from Eagan (Minnesota, USA), who were on a week-long trip to Italy. For an hour, we listened to the sounds of this huge wind orchestra, which not only had many musicians but also three conductors who took turns conducting. The program included Disney medleys, American pieces like the Washington Post, and the Italian national anthem, which was sung loudly by the many Italians standing around.

On the way back to Salerno, I just couldn't get the melody of the Italian national anthem out of my head. What an earworm!

Day 156 - Total tour 11,519 km

---- Subscribe ----

If you would like to subscribe to our blog, you can either sign up with Vakantio and click on subscribe or send us a message and we will include you in our own distribution list. Of course, we also appreciate feedback!

Email: querfeld2@gmail.com