Via Romea Germanica Day 73: Ospedaletto - Cismon del Grappa

Si ponga in viaggio la mattina allo spuntar del Sole, e la sera di buon'ora procuri ricetto, per non esporsi all'inclemenza della notte, ed a quei pericoli, che si possono probabilmente incontrare in tempo notturno, specialmente nelle campagne e strade non frequentate.

(May the traveller set off as soon as the sun rises in the morning, and find shelter early in the evening, not to be exposed to the inclemency of the night, and to those dangers which are likely to be found at night, especially in the countryside and on unfrequented roads.)

- from Il Viaggiatore Moderno, ossia La vera guida per chi viaggia. Parte Prima, Regole Generali per Chi Viaggia (1775), complete text available online here

This morning I managed, for the first time, to set off at first light, so that I had reached my destination by lunchtime, despite the length of this 26-kilometre stage!

B&B La Casa di Campagna offered the best price to quality ratio of anywhere I've stayed on the Via Romea Germanica: I had the use of an entire apartment (seeing as no-one had requested the other room, otherwise I would have had to share the bathroom and kitchen) for less than fifty euros, and it even came with some food, and a bottle of beer! As an added advantage, the house is right on the route. Up at 5:30, I didn't have to wait until seven for breakfast as in a hotel, but made myself an omelette with the eggs and cheese Silvia had provided for me, ate half of it with toast and coffee, and packaged up the rest in my box along with the remains of yesterday's salad. By 6:30 I was on the road, long before the sun rose above the mountain-tops.

The sky was mostly cloudy anyway, and the narrow paved road or cycling track soon went into the woods - it's either all or nothing, in terms of shade, on this route! I followed a winding road among the farms and through the woods towards Grigno, and saw no-one along the way other than a lone boy on a motor scooter and a couple of people doing yard work outside their houses. I passed a shady picnic area by a stream, from which rose an early morning mist: an enchanting spot.

Leaving B&B La Casa di Campagna 

Following a small settlement consisting of a few houses, with a drinking fountain and benches, the cycling track became a true road, though with very little traffic, passing through the nature reserve of Fontanazzo. By eight o'clock I had already walked more than eight kilometres, and so I opted to take the suggested one-kilometre detour into the village of Grigno, tucked under the base of the cliffs on the eastern side of the valley.

On the way back to the cycling path, I walked along the top of the Trincerone, a long defensive wall constructed on the eastern side of the Grigno stream during the First World War as a second line of defence behind the front lines of the Kingdom of Italy battling the Austrian Empire. 

I crossed the river Brenta and continued southwards along a small road, stopping for a cold drink at Bicigrill Tenna, a cyclists' café. I ordered fresh local apple juice and a glass of fizzy water, and mixed the two to make something approximating the Apfelschorle I used to drink in Germany, much further up the trail.

The village of Martincelli is located on the former border between the Austrian Empire and Italy, now the border between the Autonomous Region of Trentino and Alto Adige and the Veneto. 

There's a sign indicating exactly where Veneto begins, because this section of the route is on a provincial highway, for a short distance, where the cycling track is closed due to a landslide. I soon turned off the highway and onto a long, straight road between houses, Via Vicinale Brenta, leading into Primolino. Here I took a shortcut continuing along the main road instead of passing through the village centre, and came upon a providential bar and cheese shop which serves as a gathering-place for the local elders - and their dogs. I followed the example of the man beside me at the bar and ordered a spritz, in the original Veneto style, which involves neither Aperol nor Campari but is simply a glass of white wine with a "spritz" of fizzy water. Very refreshing, and only one euro!

Back on the trail, I came upon a sight that sobered me up right away: an Austro-Hungarian cemetery from the First World War, bordered with barbed wire and posts from the trenches. 

The list of the dead

I continued along the shady cycling path through this narrow part of the valley, with the river on my left and the highway beyond it on the other bank. I speeded up my pace, because the man who has the keys to the parish centre in Cismon del Grappa had called to ask if I could be there before one thirty, as he had a medical appointment to go to. He actually came out to meet me in his car just before the town, at the ford over the river, and dropped me off at the parish centre in what was presumably originally the home of the priest, next door to the church. The centre has a kitchen, two bathrooms, and several meeting rooms with chairs and tables - but no beds. As in some of the church-provided accommodations on this route in Germany, an inflatable mattress would have come in handy here - but I didn't bring one this time. No problem: there's a big thick quilt, which I definitely won't be needing for warmth on top of me, so I can use it for cushioning underneath me. It makes a perfectly good mattress, and I have my summer-weight sheet sleeping bag, while my dry bag full of clothes makes an acceptable pillow!

Crossing the Brenta at the ford before Cismon

Cismon del Grappa 

Colourful laundry

Home sweet home... for tonight!

Cool staircase

Japanese-style minimalist bedroom 😁

Ospedaletto - Cismon del Grappa 26 km