Venzone to Tarvisio - 32 tunnels, countless waterfalls and trestles
As you can see by the Coat of Arms of Venzone, Roman roots run strong here. You can see it in the architecture of the building. This village has survived much over its long history, most notably the devastating earthquake in the 1970’s.
Venzone is a beautiful place. When you enter the fortified arches by the moat, you are truly entering a different world where time has stood still. After the most recent earthquake, buildings were rebuilt with the original stones placed as they had been. It has been described as a giant jig saw puzzle.
I hope this photo gives you the sense of the beauty of this place. This area is a place where nothing is taken for granted due to its ongoing threat of earthquake. When we were speaking to a local man and said “good bye”. He said, never say that. It is better to say Ciao or bye-bye, as living here, “one’s life is always in God’s hands”.
For the next few days we will be riding through countless tunnels. Last year they gave us relief from the rain, and this year they serve to cool us down.
Riding here gives you an opportunity to appreciate the topography and the fortitude of the inhabitants who live their lives and thrive in this beautiful, but sometimes challenging landscape.
The newly built section from Carnia to Pontebba is delightful with smooth new pavement and countless tunnels and trestles which give incredible views from on high. The green lights on the illuminated sign show that all areas of the trail are open
We had made sandwiches at breakfast or we might have been tempted to cross the road to have freshly roasted chicken cooked on a spit over an open fire.
Last year we stayed in Chiusaforte - a strange accomodation with video cameras everywhere, but we really liked the setting and the pizza restaurant across the river. This photo is of the former train station which is located directly alongside the Alpe Adria trail.
A former rail building along the trail is crumbling from within, but we are happy to see that someone has refreshed the paint on the cat since last year.
This only happened twice on this section, but we are mystified why they took the trouble to put in stairs. Why not pave a ramp so that loaded bikes could roll on through. Oh well, it does add to the adventure.
We pulled in to Pontebba and felt the need for ice cream. We met this jovial group from Czech Republic who invited us to join them. The man behind Mary Ellen raced over when we arrived to get his photo taken with our bike. Such excitement from this fun group of travellers who collectively clapped and said bravo for our bike and our journey.
