Via Romea Germanica Day 65: Brixen - Barbian

Kommet  her und sehet an  vie Werke Gottes,  der so wunderbar ist

(Come and see the works of God, He is awesome in His deeds toward the children of men)

- Psalm 66/5, quoted on a plaque at the Monastery of Sabiona

Today's stage may well be the most awesome of all the Via Romea Germanica so far! Amazing views of the peaks of the Dolomites towering over the green and fertile valley, with its fruit trees and vineyards, and the ribbon of the fast-flowing river Isarco rushing down the valley floor... In short, a perfect day's walk. Or rather, it would have been perfect, if we had ended the day in Chiusa as planned, and not decided to add on another two hours' walk with a steep climb at the end!

We walked this long and difficult stage with a special guest: my husband Silvio, whom we last saw in Predazzo for Dolomites Bike Day, and who has since completed several more days of cycling over the mountain passes of the Dolomites. He came down to the central valley of the region, the valley of the Isarco river, early this morning to join us in Brixen/Bressanone for the day's walk. 

Setting off from Bressanone 

We walked out of the city and climbed up to the Keschtenweg or "Chestnut Path", a trail that took us along the side of the mountain slope through forests, pastures and fields.

We walked without our packs again today, planning to return to the hostel in Bressanone/Brixen by bus. And this was a good thing, as the day's walk ended up having a total elevation gain of 1285 metres! After climbing high above Bressanone, the Chestnut Path took us along the side of the slope, with a few minor ups and downs along the way, before descending to the village of Feldturns/Velturno, where we stopped for drinks and a snack in a bakery café. 

We walked along the south-facing slope of the valley, among ancient chestnut trees, slopes covered with wild strawberries, cherry trees apple orchards, elderflower trees and vineyards: literally a fruitful landscape! We found a rest area with a vending machine selling apples, apple juice, dried apples... even apple-flavoured chocolate! Here we bought a big bottle of delicious apple juice to share. 

Ancient chestnut tree

The path headed downhill and crossed a narrow bridge of land to the fortified monastery of Sabiona, or Säben, perched high atop a rock above the town of Chiusa/Klausen. 

Then we headed down a steep, gravelly incline where we had to be careful not to slip and slide, into the town of Chiusa/Klausen, where we had planned to end the stage and take the train or bus back to our hostel in Bressanone. But once there we decided to continue on a little further, to Barbiano, six kilometres into the next stage of the walk, and catch the bus back from there. To make it easier, we would take the cycling route. This started out all right, following a flat cycling track beside the river... but then turned off and began a long, steep climb. We knew the climb was there, of course, but hadn't realised how steep it was! With much huffing and puffing we finally made it to the top, where we celebrated our arrival at a bar across from the bus stop while waiting to be conveyed back to Bressanone/Brixen in comfort.

View from the monastery grounds 

View over Chiusa

Brief stop in Chiusa

Sabiona monastery seen from Chiusa

The cycling path beside the river 

The church in Barbiano

Just rewards after the climb to Barbiano

The view from the bus stop in Barbiano

Brixen/Bressanone to Barbian/Barbiano 23.5 km, total elevation gain 1285 metres