… to … Munich?!?!

Arrived at Dulles on Wednesday evening, March 20th to fly to Munich and then on to Rome. As we checked our bags we discovered Lufthansa planned to strike on March 21st, and our Lufthansa flight from Munich to Rome was cancelled. What to do? Our bags would be off-loaded in Munich, and we had to find our way to Barga (close to Florence, where Mia’s school is) from there. Because of the strike, all later flights on other airlines were full. On the plane waiting for take off, after checking train schedules and calling other airlines, we decided it was best to drive from Munich to Barga. Google Navigator said it would take 6 hours. We confirmed with Hertz just as the plane took off.

We arrived in Munich the next morning after a nice flight with about 2 hours of sleep to find an almost empty airport and wild-eyed fellow travelers.

    

We got the car with no problem. Google inexplicably now said the trip would take nearly 9 hours, but it was a pretty day. We drove through Germany and Austria, the Alps towering on either side, and a light snow began to fall, frosting the tall pine trees. Past Innsbruck and into Italy the sun came out. The Sud Tirol region of Italy looks a lot like Austria; the only changes are “Autobahn” to “Autostrade,” and the beautiful castles on the hillsides. 

     

Things went well until Modena, 6 hours into the drive. We stopped for snacks and gas, and were mostly awake. One truckstop had an extensive selection of cooking appliances which plug into a cigarette lighter. Casserole to go? No problem! Another had a display of giant chocolate Easter eggs.

  

Navigator told us to turn from A13 onto a provincial road. And then another. And another. Each road was smaller than the last, and they all climbed straight up the side of the mountain. Hairpin turn after hairpin turn, and some beautiful little villages later, we hit a snowy patch.

   

Coming down the steep wet curves was even more challenging than going up, especially with our stick-shift low-powered Fiat 500L. Worse still, there was traffic coming towards us, and one gutsy woman driver, tired of following, passed us going into a tight curve. I flashed on our trip on Oregon’s Gold Mine Road …

       

At 5:40 pm we finally reached our hotel, the Renaissance Il Ciocco, a lovely sprawling resort on a hilltop overlooking the ancient town of Barga. We’ll see Mia tomorrow! Here we are after our flight, with little sleep, followed by a 9 hour drive.