Day 6: Travel Day: On #Eurotrip23, Friday is hump day.

 

I typically try to use a group shot to open the blog, but tonight I am starting with something different...a rainbow.  After the hectic night we had yesterday, this moment symbolized a return to normalcy and brighter times ahead.  It also happens to capture the transition we made from Italy to Austria. We are also at the midway point of our trip.  There are so many reasons why I thought to use this shot from our drive...one other being that I forgot to grab a group shot earlier in the day, oops!  It all worked out though, I think.

Let's go back to Italy for a bit, if you don't mind. If you remember, we returned to our hotel last night after a crazy turn of events. I expected a few late travelers this morning, but to my surprise everyone was one time for breakfast and our bus.

I had a light breakfast today. 

On the bus...driving away from Hotel Piccadilly

Our departure went off without a hitch and we began our longest travel date of the trip. I've referenced this before, but Italian and European law requires bus drivers to follow a strict schedule.  Basically, every two hours, a driver needs to stop for at least 15 minutes...sometimes 30 minutes. We knew we'd have one rest break before we arrived to Verona and the drive went by fairly quickly.  We only needed the one stop on our first leg.

Verona has it's own amphitheater. It is much smaller than the Colosseum. 

Kent giving a briefing before we broke for lunch and exploring the city center.

Supposedly, this is Juliette's balcony...a rose by any other name would be a tourist trap, lol

My final pizza of Eurotrip23?

Verona is a beautiful city and I admittedly made a huge mistake by not taking more pictures. I apologize for that! Like a lot of Italian cities, it blends thousands of years of history into one awe inspiring kaleidoscope of cool. As you can tell by the Roman amphitheater and renaissance art pieces, the city is also modern. It has free Wifi for guests and in the square where I bought the pizza there was a market place selling fresh fruit cups, souvenirs, and other necessities. It felt like a Medieval market with modern fare. One of my favorite things about these trips is when kids find hidden gems.  I was very pleased to hear many of them saying things like, "Rome and Florence were cool, but Verona is my favorite."  It served as a rest stop for weary travelers and became fair Verona to many of our kids.

Sadly, our visit was only two hours before we boarded our bus for Austria.  Many of us slept, or at least caught catnaps, while Joseph (our intrepid driver) navigated the ascending and descending roadway into the Alps. I am not a fan of heights and neither is Mrs. Agola.  Unfortunately for us, the only way to drive from Italy to Austria includes driving through the Europe's highest mountain range. We white knuckled the seat rests handlebars with every scary turn and every gnarly drop off. We persevered and even snapped a couple of cool shots.

Still in Italy, the mountains were smaller and had lost their snow cap

As we approached the border, they grew and we saw more and more snow

Peaks began to be hidden in the clouds

The extent of the Alps became even more present to our eyes.

I used the term hump day to describe this blog.  I hope the puns used in the opening paragraph were obvious, but the last one that was intended was the one describing the mountains. Geologic humps separated the people of Italy into different city-states until the 1890s.  Bigger geologic humps kept the Italians and Austrians separated for hundreds of years. The most navigable path through the mountains was the Brenner pass and for eons, humans made their way through passes like it to trade and explore. Kent taught the kids about Otzi, a man frozen in the ice for nearly 5000 years.  He was found near where we traveled today.  The Alps are a barrier, but the Brenner Pass is a gateway through time and space.

When we finally crossed into Austria we noticed architectural changes in the houses, linguistic changes in the signs, and an attitudinal change in the people we met. Austrians are a friendly folk, but they are more serious minded than the Italians...they are also more intentional.  

We entered into Tirol, Austria on schedule and began to make our way to the hotel...aptly named, "Tyrol Hotel." I had read some negative reviews on this place and hoped that the view might make up for any issues with the accommodations, but to be honest, I couldn't be more pleased. First, the view is amazing. I know many of you have already seen.  Second, while the hotel is older it has an old-world charm. Third, the spread they put out for dinner was amazing. I will comment on that soon. Finally, the hotel has also opened it's doors to 100 Ukrainian children displaced due to the war in their country.  I am writing the blog in the hotel lobby area and behind me there are kids laughing and playing Ping-Pong, table soccer, and pool.  Some of our kids are even hanging out with the Ukrainians.  I wrote earlier about the group meeting some Italians students and some Dutch teenagers, but this is even better.  As our trip transitions to Central Europe, we will be faced with some difficult emotional stops...this evening is a reminder of the good that comes from the bad.  I hope some of the kids live this memory on repeat for years to come and that they remember how lucky they are to simply be themselves.

Garlic wings ala Costco, American Chop Suey, French Fries, and Salad...and soup.

After dinner, a bunch of us decided to go for a quick walk. It was getting dark and we stayed on a gravel trail as Kent explained some tips and tricks for night time hiking. At one point, we crossed a field as a neighbor let his dog out...it definitely startled some of us.  Kent demonstrated his yodeling skills too. It was pretty cool. I wish it was a little brighter out and that we could have explored a little more, but it was good to get outside after such a long drive.

I used a night time filter on my phone to brighten this picture...a second later, the dog was let loose. I know who let the dog out...it was the guy who's field we were on!

The village church.

Tyrol Hotel under the big sky of Austria

Me...in the dark

The hillscape with no light except for a single muted star.

Our walk came to an end about an hour ago. I decided to get an early start on the blog in hopes of getting to bed earlier than last night.  It should work out.  There are about 10 of our kids still in the lobby, but things are winding down.  We will get an early start tomorrow and leave Austria, but before we do, I am sure...as I heard in Verona, that this place was many of their favorite.  Travel teaches us many lessons. It teaches us to overcome adversity, to open our hearts and homes to others. It teaches us to smile and laugh as a means of showing understanding. Travel encourages us to try new things and to learn to love new places.  Italy has provided many of those lessons these past six days. Germany and the Czech Republic will continue to teach us on our way.  I hope the lessons are as impactful as those we've already learned and I hope the list of favorite places continues to grow and grow as we go.

Thanks for reading tonight. I appreciate it!

Mr. Lavoie, currently listening to the sounds of children born thousands of miles away who all have the same laugh.