Another short, easy ride lies ahead of us today - forty miles down the Adige following the Via Claudia Augusta cycleway, one of the most renowned cycle routes in Europe. It’s another beautiful, sunny day, and warmer than it has been - the expected high is 75.
We don’t leave the hotel until 11, partly because we’re in no rush, partly because I want some more time to wander around town with the camera, and partly because Rachael is getting a cold and wants to start the day slowly. Hopefully it won’t develop into much of anything, and hopefully she won’t pass it on to me. Good thing we’re not up in the mountains!
Both of us really loved Bolzano. It’s beautiful, and the bike infrastructure is hard to believe. It feels exceedingly livable, warm, alive. Like Trieste, it’s a place that I’d love to return to some day.
Andrea BrownI like how they protected the trees, too. Are these bikes locked? If that is unnecessary in Bolzano, I think we should all move there. Reply to this comment 6 years ago
Scott AndersonI’m not sure about locks - I think people don’t bother when they’re stopped nearby like this, and neither do we. They’re locked when people leave them unattended though.
You’re right, we could do much worse than starting over in Bolzano. Reply to this comment 6 years ago
Although I wasn’t aware of it yesterday, we were biking on the famous Via Claudia Augusta, the cycleway that runs from Salzburg to Venice. We continue down it today to Trento, and also tomorrow until we leave it for the south shore of Lake Garda.
I doubt that Rachael and I have ever ridden a better developed cycleway than we rode today. Not counting the short distance getting into and out of the historical core of these two cities, the entire distance from Bolzano to Trento was on a dedicated bike path. I might be forgetting something, but I don’t recall being on even a quiet street from the time we let town until we arrived tonight.
And what a bike path it is - smooth, wide, excellent riding surface, and essentially level except for the occasional dips or rises to cross under or over a road. And, the ride is gorgeous. The route never strays far from the rushing Adige River, passing through mile after mile of apple plantations and vinyards in between dramatic valley walls and cliff faces. Much of the ride follows the top of a long dike protecting the orchards and bottom land from the river, so you glide along fifteen or twenty feet above the basin and enjoy continuous uninterrupted views.
Definitely a ride worth repeating some day.
We were really astounded by how wonderful the Via Claudia Augusta is. The stretch yesterday from Bolzano to Merano was great, but it was even better today. Probably the most impressive cycle path we’ve ever ridden.
The scenery is spectacular all the way from Bolzano to Trento. For much of the way, the valley floor is given over completely to apple cultivation and vinyards.
While we ate lunch, we heard continuous cheerful whistling in the orchard behind us. We finally looked around and were surprised to see it was someone picking the orchard by hand, one of a crew of three.
About ten miles north of Trento the valley narrows to a steep walled canyon. This is a very beautiful section, that reminded me of the gorge country in southern France.
Valter FumeroI've been biking there at least 4 times in my life going to different destinations. But you make me wish to come back for a 5th time :-) PS: the Via Claudia Augusta connects Venice to Würzburg (not Salzburg; but never mind, we can accept such minor geographical inaccuracies from visitors from the other side of the pond). Valter Reply to this comment 5 years ago
We arrive in Trento around four, and fairly easily find our lodging - an apartment tucked into a tiny alley just off the duomo plaza. No one is there when we arrive, so we give a phone call and our host walks over five minutes later. She shows us around our spacious apartment, shows us the breakfast options for the morning and how to operate the coffee pot, and how to operate the washing machine. Unfortunately she only mimicked how to turn on the gas range to boil the coffee, or else she might have noticed that there are no matches to light it. In the morning we’ll be disappointed to start the day without coffee, but other than that it’s a great place.
As is Trento. It’s not as immediately appealing as Bolzano - a bit grittier, a bit larger - but there’s plenty to see in its largely pedestrianized historical core. Especially impressive are the fine fifteenth century palaces that line the main avenue, many of which are decorated with faded frescoe facades.
Outside our B&B (the Duomo B&B, a great place just off the duomo plaza), waiting for our host to arrive.
The historical core has many outstanding palaces, some of which are finely ornamented with weathered frescoes and low relief sculpture. I like this one - is she riding a unicycle?
