Wednesday, 8 June. The next morning we explored the village looking at the many decorated buildings, and also taking the opportunity to browse the fabulous woodcarvings in the many shops. Many were exquisite. We’d never seen anything comparable, but unfortunately they were also extremely expensive. We also spent a little time driving around the beautiful area. J
Later we attended the Passion Play. The play was first performed in 1634 after the town's residents vowed that if God spared them from the effects of the bubonic plague ravaging the area, they would perform a play every ten years thereafter for all time depicting the life and death of Jesus. The play was all in German, yet we were able to understand much of it. That may have been because of the many similarities between German and English, or more likely, because the script was taken from St. Matthew’s gospel and was already familiar to us. The weather fluctuated wildly during the performance. The audience was under a roof, but the stage was not, and there were a few real downpours.
Thursday, 9 June. The next morning we headed back to Italy. Thankfully it was an uneventful drive. We stopped along the highway for lunch at a small rustic place. We were already well inside Italy, but they gave us a menu in German. When we asked for an Italian menu, they said they didn’t have one and added that they don’t speak Italian. (We had been speaking to them in Italian.) Only later did we learn that we were in Sud Tyrol, annexed from Austria in 1919 after World War I, and still the focus of a separatist movement.
We got home to Verona in the late afternoon. The boys greeted
us enthusiastically, but I think Jane was more excited than they were.
Although we were only gone two nights on this trip, it did break the ice and
establish that we would be able to travel without the boys. |
