{"id":1653,"date":"2021-08-06T23:53:33","date_gmt":"2021-08-06T23:53:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/setyourownscene.com\/?p=1653"},"modified":"2021-08-06T23:53:44","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T23:53:44","slug":"from-bari-back-to-britain-an-unconventional-road-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/setyourownscene.com\/?p=1653","title":{"rendered":"From Bari back to Britain; an unconventional road trip"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The delights of Foggia, Cervia, Lucerne, Mannheim and the overnight Hook of Holland ferry <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In late-July and with daily temperatures now registering well into the mid-30s, the school year finally wound to a close after another turbulent nine months of lockdowns and curfews.  Whilst some of my colleagues returned to the UK via a quick two-hour flight from Bari Karol Wojty\u0142a Airport<\/em>, I decided to instead drive<\/em> the 2,445-km journey back (the main reason being that the car needed its MOT service back in Britain) and then spend three weeks in the UK catching up with family and friends – also fitting in two festivals as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had previously driven to Bari from my parents\u2019 home in Highclere (now famous for being the filming location for\u00a0Downton Abbey<\/em>) late last August.\u00a0\u00a0After a hardcore punk festival I wanted to go to at Bari\u2019s\u00a0Ex Caserma Liberata<\/a>\u00a0venue was cancelled, I decided to take my time, travelling through Laon and Oyannax in France, as well as various towns in Emilia Romagna, and after San Marino, Vasto and the Gargano National Park.\u00a0\u00a0However, this time, things were more urgent and with an overnight ferry from The Hook of Holland (France was a no-go due to the strict Covid restrictions still in place there) booked for Sunday evening, I had just four days to complete the journey.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My final evening in Bari for a while.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On average, I spent 5-6 hours each day\u00a0driving fast\u00a0<\/em>on the motorway.\u00a0\u00a0The Italian leg of the journey was fairly hassle-free (apart from a near-miss with a driver didn\u2019t indicate when changing lane near Milan) but as anyone who has spent any reasonable amount of time in Italy will tell you, their drivers are\u00a0very<\/em>\u00a0aggressive.\u00a0\u00a0Most of their motorways\u00a0(\u201cautostrade\u201d<\/em>) are only two lanes so invariably, you spend much of your energy checking blind spots and constantly switching between the two.\u00a0\u00a0The Slow Lane<\/em>\u00a0is populated mainly by lorries, ageing\u00a0Fiat Unos<\/em>\u00a0and the occasional farm vehicle, whereas\u00a0The Fast Lane<\/em>\u00a0is the reserve of a steady stream of hot-headed 4×4 drivers who will appear out of nowhere, drive within touching-distance of your rear bumper and flash their lights until you obviously do\u00a0the right thing<\/em>\u00a0and move over to let them zoom past.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Swiss motorways were a breath of fresh air initially; super clean, well-maintained and not particularly busy but then everything changed when I started to go through their tunnels.  One hour-long queue was shortly followed by another one, and the continual heavy traffic meant that the Swiss part of the trip soon became quite a stressful episode, eventually leading to me having to bed down for the night, unplanned in pricey Lucerne.  As well as producing tasty beer, excellent penalty-takers and mid-level luxury cars; it turned out the next day that Germany also does motorways very well.  Not only was the autobahn<\/em> free but fast-moving and I was able make up for lost time after the debacle in Switzerland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s safe to say that my stop-offs of choice were a little unconventional but each place still had a certain charm.  See below for quick city guides to Foggia, Cervia, Lucerne and Mannheim. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Night one: Foggia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poor old Foggia gets a bad press. Officially \u201cItaly\u2019s hottest city\u201d<\/em>, it\u2019s located in the middle of the arid and flat \u2018Tavoliere\u2019<\/em> plain in Puglia – known as \u201cthe granary\u201d<\/em> of the country.

It suffered large-scale bomb damage during WWII and as a result its \u201ccentro storico\u201d<\/em> is a lot smaller than other similar cities. Foggia also has something of a reputation as a m****a haven and several Pugliese, including a teacher I know, urged me to give it a miss.  Indeed; it has been described by some newspapers as an \u201cunderworld battleground\u201d<\/em>. 

Foggia actually seemed fine to me. The city\u2019s old town was a lot smaller than Bari\u2019s but still had some impressive architecture and its imposing cathedral \u201cduomo\u201d<\/em>. The lively Via Arpi (the city\u2019s oldest street) was darkly-lit and a little run-down but had a lot of interesting restaurants, bars and even the odd tattoo parlour. I was also privileged enough to witness not one, but two trademark Foggia blackouts. Luckily power was restored quickly.  

All in all, not a city you would necessarily want to go to on your honeymoon (or even stag do), but I found it interesting enough to at least whet my appetite for a long weekend (perhaps when Calcio Foggia 1920 next play SSC Bari at Stadio Pino Zaccheria).  Osteria La Giara<\/a> was a very good family-run restaurant serving traditional Pugliese dishes and Quarto Novo<\/a> was an immaculately clean B&B in the city centre with helpful staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A snapshot of Foggia including the ancient Via Arpi, the city’s cathedral, Fontana del Sele and Teatro Giordano. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Night two: Cervia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was my third visit to Cervia on the coast of Emilia-Romagna (I spent some time there last summer, as well as nearby Ravenna, Rimini, Cesenatico and Forl\u00ec). It\u2019s one of my favourite small towns in Italy and was an ideal stop-off for my second night on the road. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cervia\u2019s fortunes historically revolved around its nearby salt pans (known locally as \u201csweet salt\u201d<\/em>) and Leonardo da Vinci is said to have designed the network of canals at neighbouring Cesenatico.  Cervia hosts an annual Salt Festival<\/a> early every September and I took a couple of bags back home with me last year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cervia has two main parts to it.  There is the picturesque canal-side area flanked by bars and restaurants, where the colourful gold and maroon sails of the barges moored there have become a symbol of the town.  Then there is the area near the beach which resembles more of a typical Italian seaside town a la<\/em> Rimini.  It isn\u2019t quite as refined here as the area surrounding the canal but the beach is great for swimming (I took a dip here at 8pm after a long day of driving) and accommodation is a little cheaper (expect mid-century concrete tower blocks though).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the night I stayed in Cervia, I was very lucky to see the city\u2019s orchestra performing for free in Piazza Garibaldi, accompanied by some local opera singers.\u00a0\u00a0The red mullet and tomato strozzapreti at\u00a0I Vinai<\/a>\u00a0was damn good too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The main canal in Cervia, its vast, sandy beach and the open-air concert by its city band at Piazza Garibaldi, 29.07.21.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Night three: Lucerne<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though it\u2019s only a few hours from Como and the Northernmost part of Italy, the culture in Switzerland couldn\u2019t be more different. Everything<\/em> is pristine, the people went out of their way to be polite and friendly and efficiency is the name of the game. The downsides; Lucerne is not a wallet-friendly city (a Covid test cost me \u20ac110) and for all its beautiful lakes and mountains, things can feel a little clinical here. A lesser-known fact about Lucerne is that as well as its medieval architecture and famous 14th century Chapel Bridge<\/a>, Lucerne is also known for producing high-quality violins. 

I stopped in Lucerne after a frustrating day; 11 hours in the car, thunderstorms, heavy holiday traffic, numerous tailbacks and a hotel that had overbooked itself.  On my 8.30pm arrival at the city centre branch of a well-known international budget hotel I was told by its manager that unfortunately there had been an error with my booking but they had found another room for me in Kriens, essentially an industrial estate on the edge of the city.  Not ideal to say the least but I checked in and after a quick train ride, I was back into the city centre.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucerne is generally a genteel city but on Friday night the locals were boisterous and seemed to know how to enjoy themselves (the drinks were flowing).  In particular, the area just south of the main train station was full of hip bars and restaurants and Das Schwarze Schaf<\/a> was a lively spot with DJs and live music. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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18 hours in Lucerne…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Night four: Mannheim<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mannheim is a city with a population of around 300,000 in the Rhine-Neckar region of Germany. Most of the city was razed to the ground during WWII, leaving only a small number of older buildings. However, unusually for Germany, the new city was then rebuilt in a grid layout with each street being given a letter and a number, rather than a name (for example, M1, N2, Q3), giving it a somewhat dystopian feel.

Initially Mannheim seemed like a slick, modern city dominated by the lush park and rose garden surrounding its 19th century water tower in the city centre and its university which is situated in the old Mannheim Palace.  However, as night fell and I made my way towards the docks and the hip Jungbusch<\/a> district; Turkish restaurants and hookah bars stood side-by-side with shebeen-style drinking dens and arty cafes and bars that wouldn\u2019t be out of place in East Berlin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At midnight, it felt like things were just warming up for the night ahead (given the long drive ahead of me the next day, I decided to avoid temptation).  Special mentions to Kurf\u00fcrst am Markt<\/a> for some hearty traditional German food (the staff spoke no English so I had to wrack my brains to remember my GCSE in German \u2013 the schnitzel was immense) and Caf\u00e9 Vienna<\/a>; a laidback, lo-fi literature bar that was full of arts students gearing up for a night out.  You could do a lot worse than spending a long weekend in Mannheim. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mannheim’s famous water tower and surrounding garden, the baroque palace and some of the sights of its Jungbusch area.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Night five: The Hook of Holland<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After powering my way through Germany; the final Dutch leg of the trip was pretty straightforward (apart from not being able to navigate the high-tech bathroom at a service station near Eindhoven) and I arrived at The Hook of Holland ferry port around 8.30pm for a 10pm boat to Harwich, Essex.  It\u2019s a tiny port compared to Dover so we able to board the Stena Britannica<\/a> straight after checking in.  The boat was an hour and a half delayed setting sail worryingly, due to \u201ctechnical issues in the engine room\u201d<\/em> but after we eventually left Holland around 11pm things went smoothly for the remaining seven hours.  The passengers on the boat were a curious mix of truckers enjoying a post-drive beer and families making their way to the UK; the word on the street was that the exclusive \u2018Truckers-only Bar\u2019<\/em> was the place to be on the ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll be embarking on a reverse journey at the end of the month, perhaps spending more time in Germany and Lichtenstein so let\u2019s see where I end up then\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n