The top of the trip (in metres above sea level) was the crossing of the Splügen pass. On my way there, I avoided Milan and passed through the valley of several the lakes: Lago di Garlati as the appetizer, Lago di Como as the main course and Lago di Mezzola as the dessert.

From Pisa it takes only a short distance to the sea, this time to the Tyrrhenian. The entry point to the sea is the harbour of Viareggio, with moored small boats as well as luxury yachts, which also have their service station here.

In Rome I turned back north, passing three lakes in former craters. This turned out to be a very strategic choice – as temperatures started to attack 40°C in the afternoon, I quickly replaced cycling for bathing.

I reached the center of Rome around Roma Termini and the first impression, after a time spent in nature and in the picturesque medieval towns, was quite terrible: floods of litter, garbage and dirt of all kinds, noise, soldiers in armored vehicles with machine guns, suspicious idividuals of all nationalities, incl. e.g. one older lady just hand-measuring her black favourite as he counted the money, with other guy preparing his shot nearby… But it was enough to walk the marble pavements towards the historical centre, and the Eternal City has much more to offer.

In San Mauro a Mare I left the sea behind and soon I came across the first hill after a long time – and on the top of it the castle in Santarcangelo di Romagna. This was supposed to become a pattern. Behind the first hill followed the landscape I fell in love with. Beautiful landscape, on every hill a village or a town looking like it was just made ready for a medieval movie, narrow little streets, stone houses, marble, fortification around.

Lowland and corn, here and there wine, continued from Venezia on to Ravenna. And equally did continue the kilometres of mass tourism around the shore.

By an easy ride through the valley, via Gmünd and then around the Drau river, I reached Villach and from there, from the Austrian side with an effort smaller than expected, I got up on the Austro-Italian border pass.

I enjoyed nearly four weeks of holiday going south: from Salzburg to Italy. And actually, considering formal borders I visited quite a few countries: Austria, Italy, San Marino, again Italy, Vatican, yet again Italy, Switzerland, Austria.