If you would like to see details about our journey, check out our itinerary and our bike route.
There is such a thing as a free lunch!
We spent another gorgeous day on the EV7, coasting down the river. The trail was quieter than it had been over the weekend, but we still saw lots of bikers. About halfway, we came to a cute little town and stopped at a patisseria with a small group of bikers out front. Turned out they were Americans, on a 5-day tour of the Dolomiti, and had just started from Bressanone that morning. Their tour leader is from Sicily, which is on the short list for our next European adventure. We ordered a pizza and drinks, and sat talking with them for a while.
Pretty soon, we all got up to leave and I went inside to pay. Which caused a little confusion among the three women running the shop. Finally, one of them said she was sorry, but they had made a mistake, maybe, and charged the leader of the group for our meal.
The group were still organizing their bikes, so I had a chance to tell the leader what had happened and try to pay him. He said to just forget it.
How nice was that?
We said good-bye to our new friends and headed off in opposite directions. In another few miles, we started passing expansive, well-cared-for orchards and vineyards belonging to the Abbazia di Novacella, an imposing monastery that our host in Chienes had told us about when we checked out in the morning. We stopped to walk through the grounds and buy picnic supplies, including apple cider, wine, and big dinkelbrot (spelt) crackers.
Another 2 easy miles dropped us in front of our hotel in Bressanone. We stored the bikes, changed clothes, and went for a stroll to collect cheese, meat, olives, and fruit. Back in our room, we showered, ate our picnic dinner, and watched episode 1 of Hostage on Netflix on my laptop. For the first time since we started this trip, we missed our evening routine from home.
Back out for a stroll to the duomo and a patisseria. We will miss that evening routine from Italy when we get back home.
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| As our lunch friends were leaving, a couple of them made a point of telling us that the tour leader was excellent and they were very happy with the tour company. It was nice to spend time with a small group of happy riders. |
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Not long before lunch, we happened upon the Fortress of Muhlbach, a 15th-century fortification built to protect against possible invasions by Turks and Venetians. Anyone who wanted to pass through the fortress had to go through two tower gates.
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| Just 2 miles before we got to Bressanone, we stopped to walk around the grounds of the Abbazia di Novacella. |
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| Our first glimpse of the abbazia. |
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| With both of us stopped to take in the view of the monastery, it seemed like a good opportunity for another selfie. |
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| We wheeled our bikes around the grounds that were accessible without taking an actual tour. We hesitate to park our bikes with fully loaded packs. Although we do have good locks, there is no way to completely secure our packs, and we would be very sad to lose things like our rain gear and laptop. |
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| The grounds and buildings of the monastery were beautifully preserved and immaculate. |
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A peek into the gardens at the abbazia.
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| Bressanone is another fortified city, with busy streets and markets. |
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We like the loggie that line the streets in many old Italian towns. Behind the arches are wide walkways in front of stores and restaurants and other businesses. When it rains, you can walk for blocks without getting wet. That would be so nice in Minnesota...
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