Dolomites
We took a plane south to Verona
And stayed there only one night
Having visited the Guggenheim in Venice -
A decision you’d made that was right
We loved the Magritte and Kandinsky
Picasso’s On the Beach was great fun
Alexander Calder’s work was quite mobile
Man Ray’s Silhouette was good in the sun
We took the Vaporetto on to the Rialto
And a walk among old alley ways
Watching gondoliers pass on the water
Each turned corner gave a new gaze
We ambled along to the station
Taking in all that was there
The shops, people and buildings
Which made for a great atmosphere
Back at the Hotel Accademia
There was a photo you had to take
Of blinking eyes at Louis Vuitton’s window
A shot you would not forsake
This epitomised everything about you
An eye for picture and detail
Not just architecture, castles and churches
But in this case modern and retail!
Off to the Piazza delle Erbe
With a beer under the Lamberti Tower
So watchful of the pedestrians and tourists
We were there for a full half an hour
Then dinner at Ristorante Greppia
With spinach pasta a wonderful green
Sitting outside in the warm late evening
All added to Verona’s sparkling sheen
On through Bardolino to Garda
Malcesine and on up the lake
Until we reached lovely Riva
Where we had planned a two night break
What a lovely old town to walk through
And linger alongside the shore
You’d chosen this place so wisely
An Italian resort to its core
Up some hairpins to find Tremalzo
We had to turn back in despair
Not the road on the lake we’d imagined
And the top of the mountain was not there!
So we walked on the Strada del Ponale
Minding the cyclists who thought it their own
But you preferred Salcombe in Devon
Where we had peace when we tramped there alone
Dinner with a red gingham checked table
The food seemed authentic and real
The waitress explained all the menu
Which added brio to the feel of the meal
Perhaps now we might gloss over
The tears on the way back to our bed
With the pain so obvious between us
Made worse by what each of us said
It may have been a watershed moment
Or perhaps a pit of despair
But what we resolved on that difficult evening
Was to share what we could bear and repair
The new morning took us to Castello di Arco
With its frescoes of court ladies playing chess
As I kept an eye on the warden
You captured them in their medieval dress
The climb and descent were well worth it
And its painting by Albrecht Durer
Which nowadays is in the Louvre
Doubtless covered by an expensive insurer
We headed on up to Tenno
With its castle, village and Romanesque church
Which sadly was being refurbished
And to find it required a long search
Let’s cut out the ticks at Salurno
Whose castle is high up a rock
And pass by a dull trip to Bolzano
Where the TIC was quite a schlock
On to the hairpins right up to Siusi
Or St Vigil to be more precise
Where the Hotel Vigilerhof was quite splendid
And the cake beer and lamb was quite nice.
As you flung back the curtains each morning
With the Canon always in your hand
The sunrise and valley before you
Made you glad we had come to this land
Our first walk was right up a mountain
From a cable car would you believe
And as we overlooked the Val Gardena
It was a fabulous view to achieve
As we circled right back to Compaccio
With the incline and direction being down
And the temperature really pleasant
And the mountains forming a crown
We found peace in this altitude setting
Hoping for more Dolomite walks just like this
Agatha Christie’s at Lake Carezza
Was another hot hike not to miss
As we headed through pines to the Labyrinth
Climbing up high all the way
The views became more entrancing
But without enough water for the day
The relief of the downhill in shade
Away from the granite hard rocks
And the spruce of the Latemar forest
Was a welcome change from hard blocks
As we finally reached the Lago
With its water clear green and clear blue
We realised it was a perfect mirror
And my beautiful companion was you
Our map of all Trentino castles
Suggested we had dozens to tour
Maybe too many to visit
But some with outstanding allure
Their names were written in Italian
With Castello always at the front
But we remembered their names in German
As Schloss is more of a stunt
Prossels, Roncolo, Appiano,
Tyrolo, Hocheppan and Rafenstein
Brunnenburg, Trostburg and Taufers
Quite a few owned by Oswald Wolkenstein
The marvellous walled village of Glorenza
From Merano it took quite a few turns
But the trip was really quite worth it
Even though in German they call it Glurns
The totally wonderful arches
Which we’d seen in Bolzano too
In Merano and later in Brixen
Kept the glare of the sun from our view
We might think of these wonderful places
And some of their outstanding features
You could say Tirolo was best
For its strange and weird romanesque creatures
Or you could promote the great Appiano
Which featured basic life on a mountain
In pictures photos and sculptures
And religion as its base fountain
In Selva you were captivated by Fischburg
Also known as Castel Gardena
Built by Engelhard Dietrich von Wolkenstein-Trostburg
In a setting which couldn’t have been greener
And the photos you took were quite numerous
While walking on the disused railway line
But they paled into insignificance later
When Trostburg was flagged as divine
We might take a break at this juncture
And reflect on the castles and rambles
Were we coming together momentarily
Or papering over the shambles?
Every morning as we sat and ate breakfast
And planned the events of the day
Were we thinking of being together
Or keeping emotions at bay?
We thought that we would try Brixen
Which I’d thought would be quite unappealing
Yet another error of judgement on my part
Being blown away by the cathedral cloister ceiling
You said that Brixen was brilliant
The best we’d visited in Southern Tyrol
Yet again you were right in your judgement
As the town had a beautiful soul
And you allowed me to take a family photo
Of you with a rather large bear
Smiling and looking really happy
And for a moment without a care
We returned for a further long visit
And a cable car right up to Plose
When I covered my eyes on the journey
To hide my fear and cross my toes
A reasonable climb to the summit
Yielded a 360 degree view
Of mountains each way all around us
And Apfelstrudel so large you couldn’t eat through
Taking things a bit out of order
We’d headed to Daunei from Selva
The crucifixes in the Vallelunga Valley
Got rather wet like us without shelter
The two cable cars up Marmolada
Took us high up above the snow line
You hung on for dear life on the cliff edge
Thinking this incline was far too alpine
I may have missed out some important features
Of a fortnight spent with just you
But one thing was constant throughout
Was that I love you through and through
Our companions who appeared in your photos
Showed their happiness in every snap
And their company was important for us two
When they napped and they sat on your lap
And they also showed they don’t like it
When tensions between us arise
Wims and Wonks put their put paws down daily
As they disapproved of tears in our eyes
And they said they loved their time with us
And can we all do it again
Come together as a happy family
And put behind us all of the pain?
