4-Xtremes – Part 27: The mountain calls!

Series: 4-Xtremes – The World Tour

A special encounter.

In the foothills of the Dolomites, the Kammermanns visit the grave site of thousands of fallen soldiers on Monte Grappa and are astonished by an unusual wake-up call.

At times distances had to be judged by eye on the way up to the summit.


Last year, on our way to Greece, we passed Venice. Our present route will take us there again soon. Between then and now lie exciting months in which Covid-19 thwarted our plans again and again but in which we experienced exciting moments and got to know places which hadn’t even crossed our minds before.


Grave site for almost 23,000 people.

However we are still in the mountains; on 1775-metre-high Monte Grappa to be precise. It is the highest mountain of a small massif in the southern-most section of the Dolomites and is the location of Italy’s largest “ossuary”: in the 1930s the fascist government erected the structure as a monument to the fallen soldiers of the First World War and buried 12,615 Italians and 10,295 Austrians here.


Erected in the 1930s by order of the fascist government: the ossuary contains the remains of almost 23,000 soldiers killed in the First World War.
Erected in the 1930s by order of the fascist government: the ossuary contains the remains of almost 23,000 soldiers killed in the First World War.
The road still looks harmless. Later, when the bends became narrower and the road steeper, taking photos was no longer possible.
The road still looks harmless. Later, when the bends became narrower and the road steeper, taking photos was no longer possible.
Alarm clock with a “moo function”.
Alarm clock with a “moo function”.

But before we got here we had to complete a hair-raising journey. The road to the summit is well-developed but extremely narrow. While negotiating the narrow and blind bends we had to use our air horn for the first time in ages. The higher we got, the more unsure we became as to whether we hadn’t missed a height or width restriction sign for vehicles.


A driver with nerves of steel.

We were very relieved to finally pass the tree line and it became easier to see what lay ahead! The next day we could hardly believe our eyes when we saw a touring coach – bigger than our Axor – driving up the mountain. The driver must have had nerves of steel! 

Now we are enjoying cooler temperatures on the mountain and are hiking over the meadows with Aimée. With the far-off ringing of cow bells in our ears, we almost feel as if we’re back in Switzerland. The surprise we experienced the next morning could just as well have happened in Switzerland too: we were woken by the body of our truck rocking back and forth. Rather surprised we looked outside and discovered a cow, enjoying a good scrub of its back on our rear underride guard.

From up here Slovenia – our next destination – seems just a hop, skip and a jump away. We are already looking forward to visiting another country!


4-Xtremes – The World Tour.

An unparalleled journey.

Andrea and Mike Kammermann have been on tour in their Axor for three years. "4-Xtremes – The World Tour" is the motto of the journey that the two Swiss nationals embarked on in mid-2020 and which they share with the RoadStars community. Keep up to date and don't miss out on any of the stunning destinations visited by the adventurous pair.

You can find the current parts from the “4-Xtremes – The World Tour” series here.

You can find the route of the trip before the crossing to South America here.

 


Photos: 4-Xtremes

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