A sunny day over the Adriatic Sea - Opicina to Basovizza
11.10.2020
Today welcomes us with sunshine and breakfast with freshly squeezed orange juice. Since our third last stage is only 10 km, we want to enjoy the sunny weather over the Adriatic, So we walk the Strada Napoleonica again in the sunlight. We take the way over the place of pilgrimage on Monte Grisa. The church is built in reinforced concrete structure in the form of two triangles representing an M, as a symbol of the Virgin Mary. It is the national sanctuary of Santuria Nationale a Maria Madre e Regina. It was built in the mid-1960s. The lower church is flooded with light and imposing, but - for our taste - it was overloaded with too many votive altars and figures. In the upper church is a Fatima Madonna, which was donated after the war out of gratitude for the survival of the city of Trieste by the then archbishop, including the pilgrimage church. The view over the Adriatic Sea and the city of Trieste is impressive from up here. This slingshot was really worth it. Our path now leads us downhill to Napoleonica, which we follow again to Opicina in bright sunshine and fascinating panoramic views. From the obelisk, the new section of the trail begins. Out of the city we find the trail via the Alpe Adria Trail app, because the signage in this section is catastrophic. In the next village we enjoy our bread with great views of Trieste. Continue on karst paths, which are flanked to the right and left by low dry stone walls, from the white rocks typical of the karst. In the leaves we hear the rustling of lizards and perhaps also snakes, which are supposed to exist here.
After this election, the duty now follows. The last kilometers of the day we follow, almost an hour, a Strada Provinciale to the village of Basovizza. Here we move into our night quarters in the Center Hotel and end the day with gellati and espresso on a terrace in the sunshine, as well as the evening with a stone oven pizza with a red wine in the pizzeria connected to the hotel. The price ratio is really good here and hotel guests also receive a 10% discount. We have a room in the Depandance, which is very spacious and equipped with balcony.
After this election, the duty now follows. The last kilometers of the day we follow, almost an hour, a Strada Provinciale to the village of Basovizza. Here we move into our night quarters in the Center Hotel and end the day with gellati and espresso on a terrace in the sunshine, as well as the evening with a stone oven pizza with a red wine in the pizzeria connected to the hotel. The price ratio is really good here and hotel guests also receive a 10% discount. We have a room in the Depandance, which is very spacious and equipped with balcony.