Before last summer the last time I had seen the Alps was in 2000 when I was just 16 and living in Sweden. I was skiing for a club there and we went to Solden, Austria for 10 days of training on a glacier in October. That was an amazing trip and I longed to see those mountains again.
Last summer I got my chance and my wife even went to see snow for the first time albite from a distance and a train window but it counts.
Bjorn got some last cuddles from his grandpa in Sant Agata before we went down to Sorrento to catch the train.
We had one transfer in Napoli and then another transfer in Verona in the north of Italy. Verona is the home to Shakespeare's, Romeo and Juliet. It also has a large colosseum and is known to be a very wealthy city in Italy.
We only made it steps outside the train station though as we had our baggage, and getting a bite to eat before getting on another train was our main priority. There was a large sculpture of a gladiator though in the forefront of an old church right outside the train station, which was pretty cool.
I noticed this sign board for a Cammino trail. My father has done the Santiago De Cammino a handful of times so I snapped it and sent it to him. It looks like it is another pilgrimage that people can walk.
It seemed like Verona had a lot more diversity, we saw a lot more people of African descent than other places in Italy. We had some nice young men sit across from us on the train before getting down in Verona. Some people would think they might look a little rough but we got into a conversation with them and they were very sweet. They were around 17 and of Moroccan descent but were born and raised in Verona. One was going to Morocco later in the year for the first time and was very excited about it. They enjoyed connecting with Bjorn and my wife who is straight from Africa.
From Verona, the train gradually went up a river valley until we crossed the border into Austria and the big mountains started. I did a short for youtube you can see her.
By around 10 pm we arrived in Munich and took a subway to my sister inlaws house and we slept off our journey. There will be more adventures to come in Munich.