On Our Way to Colle Santa Lucia

Our 2-hour and 50 minute train ride didn’t seem to take that long. With just three stops before we reached Bolzano — Verona, Rovereto, and Trento — the time flew by.

Leaving Verona, the train reversed direction, which meant traveling backwards for the rest of the way to Bolzano. It also meant that the sun was now on our side. So much for the careful seat selection. Not that it really mattered. The tinted windows kept the heat at bay, and there was a pull down screen to cut down the glare. The A/C on the train kept us comfortable without freezing us.

We pulled into the Bolzano Station two minutes late … no big deal. The train had become increasingly crowded with each passing stop … passengers wandering from one car to the other in search of open seats (red lights and digital displays above the seats indicated which ones were pre-reserved and for which segment of the ride). We hadn’t even detrained yet when our seats were grabbed up by someone. Definitely worth it to us to pay the €3pp to be able to select seats in advance and not go through the hassle once on board.

From the station we walked to the Sixt office a short distance away to pick up our rental car. Paperwork signed, we walked to the parking structure at the other end of the street to collect the car. By this time, a bit overheated, we couldn’t wait to get out of the city.

The GPS showed the distance to Colle Santa Lucia as 55 miles … the driving time as a little over 2 hours … via narrow, twisty-turny, undivided two-way roads. The speed limits ranged between 18 mph to 55 mph … though there were some sections where we didn’t feel comfortable driving at the high end of the range. No matter. We were not in a hurry. About 30-40 minutes into the drive, we pretty much had the road to ourselves … except when driving through some of the larger towns.

It didn’t take long for the low-altitude temps to disappear when we got into the mountains. Clouds moved in and we had some sprinkles of rain. A misty veil in the higher elevations signified that the wet stuff was falling steadily there. The lowest temp we saw on the gauge during the drive was 58F … otherwise a fairly steady 68-70F. YAY!

The owner of the property we booked for this part of our trip kindly arranged an early check-in for us — instead of the usual 5:00p. So, we did not dally along the way. We enjoyed the scenery from the car … with some drive-by photography.

By 2:20p, we were driving the last bit of the road to Colle Santa Lucia.Read more