(Continued from last week)
Next morning we had to get up pretty early, as we have a very hectic schedule. We travelled south from Innsbruck and a distance of 560 km was to be covered from Austria to Italy culminating in Venice, Queen of the Adriatic. On the way from Innsbruck to Venice passed the Majestic Europa Bridge and Brenner Pass. The 2,549-foot long Europa Bridge is an engineering marvel on the river Sill, which forms the boundary between Austria and Italy. This bridge is a part of the main route across the Alps.
As we passed by the 650-foot high bridge and the Brenner Pass I was bewildered to see the breathtaking beauty of the lush green valleys and coniferous forests on the mountain slopes. We were following the E-45 motorway and the topography was changing gradually. After about two hours’ drive we stopped at a gas station in the Tyrolian city of Bolzano for a coffee break.
During the journey from Innsbruck to Bolzano, after Brenner Pass, the entire stretch was dotted with medieval castles perched on hill tops, churches, numerous terraced vineyards and orchards on the hill slopes. After Bolzano towering hills with stunning Alpine scenery on the right hand side with dolomite exposures accompanied us for miles. Here the greenery of Germany and Austria started disappearing very fast and the topography turned a little barren and rugged with tinge of grass on the hill slopes. This is the typical ‘Karst Region’ of Italy, the Mediterranean climate coupled with ample rain and with a high content of limestone in the soil, suited to orchard farming, especially grapes and oranges.
Italy is famous for grapes, which is extensively used for the preparation of the world famous brand of red wine, Chianti. The road side orchards added a different colour to the environment. Suddenly I had a weird idea of getting down from the coach and pluck few of these, which were in plenty everywhere. We stopped again near a Ferrari Factory for a toilet break. Apples were so cheap that one of our friends bought about fifteen apples for only two Euros! The energy was rekindled with bites of delicious apples. The journey continued passing Trento and Padova. By noon we entered the city limit of Verona, the center stage of the Shakespearian drama, The Two Gentlemen of Verona. We have already descended to the Venetian plain and by 2-30 in the afternoon reached Venice for a gondola ride and a visit to San Marco.
(Concluded)
(Contributed by Parag
Ranjan Dutta, former professor
at St Edmund’s College)
