The road trip from Cortina is nothing short of spectacular—a winding journey through the Dolomites and the Trentino-Alto Adige region, filled with breathtaking alpine scenery, dramatic mountain roads, and charming villages. Every direction we look is a postcard come to life. We’re completely in awe the entire way, barely able to contain our wonder.
We think we’re just a short drive from Bolzano. Haha—nope. Turns out, we have to go up and over a mountain pass to reach our rental. As we climb Mendola Pass, we come to a stop—traffic is being held for a film crew with a permit to shoot for the day. A ten-minute wait? Oh no, how will we ever cope with sitting here, surrounded by jaw-dropping scenery? We’re about to run across the road to snap a photo when a crew member suddenly waves us through. “Go ahead—but drive fast and don’t stop.” Well, shoot. Now we’ll just have to keep the beauty locked in our memory instead of sharing it with you.
This region is noticeably bilingual. Signs are in German first, then Italian. We start wondering about it, so I do some quick research. Turns out, Italy has five autonomous regions: Aosta Valley, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Sardinia, Sicily, and Trentino-South Tyrol. In this area, 62% of the population speaks Italian, while 30% speak South Tyrolean German.
Suddenly, everything we’ve been feeling over the past six weeks makes a lot more sense. The Italy we’ve been experiencing doesn’t quite match the Italy we’ve lived in. And now, here we are in Trentino-South Tyrol, utterly confused. Do we greet people in Italian or German? Order in one or the other? I’ve been waiting for people to speak first so I know which to use. My German is limited, and I keep mashing up both languages in awkward combinations. Ugh. A kind woman tells me my German is good. She’s being too kind. Really.
Over the next two days, we take some incredible drives, marveling at every turn how lucky we are that Ancona didn’t work out. Instead, we filled our time with Assisi, Orvieto, Aviano, Cortina, and Bolzano.
On one drive, Google tells me it is rerouting to avoid a closed pass. No problem—I accept the proposed route change. A little while later, we see a toll booth up ahead… with Swiss flags. Wait, what?! Google, not helpful! We only have paper copies of our passports, and our rental agreement strictly prohibits international travel. One of Jim’s Snapchat friends jokes, “Enjoy Italian prison.” We laugh, turn the car around, and backtrack—only to find that seeing the landscape in reverse feels like a brand-new adventure.
paleremo presto