So here are a few images from our trip to Italy and Germany. Take a moment to look at these remarkable mountains in the Dolomites. You would think that only Hollywood would dream up landscapes like this. (For those of you who read the news about the twelve hikers who died several weeks ago when walking on a glacier, this is the area where it happened.) We had the use of my German cousin’s convertible, and you can imagine how wonderful it was to drive with this wonderful landscape open to our view – 360 degrees!
But the roads were something else. There were only two-lane roads barely wide enough for two regular cars. We shared the roads with full-sized trucks, buses, farm tractors, and many, many motorcycles, bicycles, and hikers. Everyone, especially the bike riders, assumed they owned the roads. The roads went straight up the mountains with thirty plus degree switch backs and in many cases no guard rails on the downhill side! Each day we drove over multi-thousand-foot passes with every turn offering another unbelievable view. And it never failed that there was a group of cyclists making the ascent along with us. Yes, there were many young people, but there were also many in the “older generation” …and they were having no difficulty.
But that is only part of the story. Before we left Los Angeles our travel agent remarked, “in the time of Covid, you have to be ready for anything.” This turned out to be a foreshadowing of things to come.
A few weeks before we left for Europe, Carol and I were back east for memorial services for her 90-year-old aunt and 93-year-old mother, both of whom passed away at the start of the year. It must have been on the flight home that we caught Covid for the first time. It was not a pleasant experience but being fully vaccinated and boosted our experience was like a bad summer cold and we recovered and tested negative in time to start our European vacation.
Four days into our trip, Carol tested positive again. If you get Covid, you are required to leave your hotel immediately. Where do you go? How do you isolate? This is something one must consider, and we really had not given it much thought.
Fortunately, we were travelling with my German cousins and while we could not go back to their home in Munich and risk infecting their sons, they have a 300-year-old mountain farmhouse that Carol and I retreated to. It had all we needed and was completely isolated, with no cell or internet service. Moreover, it was so far into the mountains and forest that GPS did not work in the area. We would never have found it if one of their sons had not met us to show us the way. Once there, we decided that whenever we left the house, we would have to leave a track of “breadcrumbs” to remember how to get back home.
After five days in this wonderful wilderness and after many other adventures, Carol recovered and tested negative again (I never tested positive) and we resumed our trip as planned. However, the message is clear – have a plan of what to do in case the unthinkable happens!
Glad to be home, and I look forward to working with you again.
Dan
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