There’s the saying “All roads lead to Rome”. You also have another one. “Vedi Napoli e poi muori”, to see Naples and to die. I had no death wish, but considering the fact that I was going to drive deeper and deeper into the boot, I liked the idea of going to Napoli and the bay of Naples. I soon left the Eternal City and reached Artena, a small, picturesque town on the outskirts of the Italian capital.
The (almost) empty streets of ArtenaOutskirts of Rome
Again I was driving in the late hours. I did enjoy the landscape that passed by, mainly the Alban hills and other landmarks in the Lazio region.
Lazio’s landscape
The 11th stage was a short one, especially compared to the last ones. With about 140 miles to go, I could just enjoy the ride, without it becoming to tiring or tiresome. Soon I left Lazio and entered Campania.
Entering Campania
Soon enough I entered the city of Naples. I decided, before taking a rest, that I wanted to see the bay. So I drove a bit further. It was an excellent spot to sit and relax and to think about the past eleven stages, from the Scandinavian pine forests, to the big German cities, the Bohemian countryside and then onto the Alps and finally my last two days in la bella Italia. I had only one place left to go, the end of my route. It had been a wonderful journey, and as I was sitting there, watching the ships roll in and the lights of the houses in the bay shine bright, I could only hope the end would be as memorable as the beginning.
Where to go next? What could match the Swiss jetset of Zurich? I had a few logical options. Either I could remain in Switzerland, and go to the capital of Bern, I could head to the east to Slovenia or Croatia or I could, as I set out to do on this trip, enter Italy. I decided to choose the last option, and what better destination as Venice, with one of the most romantic city centres, although my truck wouldn’t come near the bridges and canals (not to mention the potential hasard of the pigeons). It was a win-win situation as I would pass through the Alps, towards Milan and from there on bend eastwards, into the Veneto region. However, I made a mistake. I decided to leave at night.
Like a thief in the night
Not long after leaving Zurich, I saw a familiar sight, a sight that I had first seen, to a lesser extent, in Austria. There they were, the mighty Alps.
But my problem, or my miscalculation, becomes instantly visible. I drove through the most impressive parts between 2 and 4 AM, with my headlights and the occassional road lightning as my main source for a better look. The combination of light and darkness can create magic, as the Belgian painter René Magritte proved in many of his paintings, but a ray of light would have done wonders for my Alp experience as well.
Towards the Gotthard tunnelGiants looming in the darkBlack mountains, not the Welsh ones
So it was only once I left the mountains behind me that the sky was getting a big clearer. But not before I passed another natural landmark of the region, lake Lugano, which, rather significantly, meant that I was nearing Italy.
Entering la bella Italia
Crossing the border, I had another large part of the trajectory ahead of me. First I had to pass Milan. I decided not to make a detour, I had been driving for almost 6 hours and wanted to get to Venice without having to take a long break. I did enjoy the view from afar, though.
Passing Milan
The part between Milan and Venice was mostly highway, but it did prove the added value of sunshine. Ordinary stretches of road became beautiful when bathing in the morning light.
Everything is prettier in the morning lightIs it a bird? Is it a plane? Yes, it’s a plane
The closer I got to Venice, the more beautiful the weather became. And to be honest, I did hope to get some blue skies in Italy, even at this time of the year.
Hoping for blue skies
After 9 and a half hours and more than 372 miles I finally reached Venice, although it was the part that few tourists would remember the Floating City for.
No tourist traps here
I was happy, melacholic and a little bit disappointed at the same time. My passage through the Alps was a bit of a let-down because of the late hour. My entrance into the North of Italy was memorable because of the rising sun. And most of all, I was almost there. The trip from Venice to Catania is about 800 miles. Still enough time and distance for some wonderful discoveries and experiences, but not enough to postpone the arrival at my final destination. Luckily, my journey would take me to at least one more must-see. I would travel to the Eternal City.
My Bohemian rhapsody (terrible pun, I know) was about to end, and perhaps a bit too fast. I really love the Czech Republic and would have liked to linger there a little longer, but my journey was taking me to the south and the Czech Republic is a rather “horizontal” country. So I was leaving the city of Kafka and Der Golem, among others. Luckily I was able to move from one beautiful historic town to another as my journey would bring me to Salzburg.
Goodbye Prague
The journey was about 237 miles. About 124 of those were spent in the beautiful forests of Bohemia. The sun was at its highest point and illuminated the countryside in a wonderful way. As I was heading towards the Alps I truly felt the previous and this stage were pivotal in my journey, and that the rather mundane section from Aalborg to Berlin was mostly an accident de parcours (luckily not literally).
Outskirts of PragueBohemian countrysideUp and down
Soon I reached the Czech-Austrian border and found my surroundings and the overall landscape changing. The hills were making way for the Eastern Alps, first subtle and in the distance, but soon enough I was nearing the first slopes, as my truck was put to the test on a couple of climbs. I had no time to stop in Linz but it was an interesting sight from across the bridge over the Danube, a river that was just as iconic as the Alps, themselves.
Linz and the DanubeShy mountainsTowards the Alps
I now had a terrific vista and wasn’t too far away from Salzburg, the destination of this seventh stage, in my seventh country. I was nearing the Italian border. Perhaps it would end in 3 or 4 stages. But this wasn’t about dwelling for dwelling’s sake, this was about the magnificent discovery of a continent and the freedom of going from point A to point B in whatever way I wanted it, with one eye on the road and the other on a maximum of diversity and natural and cultural splendour.
Salzburg and the Eastern Alps
DISCLAIMER: From now on the screenshots will also feature the work of ProMods, who have done a wonderful job to enhancing the already great work of ETS2.
After my detour to the east I had to make sure I advanced to the south. I had a few options ahead of me, but I thought a capital to capital ride would be fun, so I set out for Prague, the beautiful capital of the Czech Republic, which I had visited before as a city trip. I knew it as a beautiful country so I was looking forward to my trip. I left Berlin at the dead of night, letting my head lights do its enchanting magic in the darkness.
Arcade Fire – Ready to start
If there’s one thing that I learned on my journey is that there is a certain kind of music for a certain kind of atmosphere (I know, nothing groundbreaking). Foo Fighters are great to listen to during an early morning sunrise, Arcade Fire work wonders in the evening and at night I grew fond of One Night in Bangkok from Murray Head (yes, weird but very uplifting).
My journey from Berlin to Prague was set during these transitioning periods, from the dark of the evening till the first rays of sunshine. This particular sunset came after a rather hefty spell of rain.
Misty dawn #1Misty dawn #2
When I was nearing the border between Germany and Czech Republic and truly entering the center of Central Europe, the rain ended and the forests went from misty mysterious to bathing in light. What a great first impression!
Bathing in lightBohemian splendour
Not long after that I finally reached Prague, yet another wonderful city with great architecture and atmosphere and home to one of my favourite writers, Kafka. Luckily for me my journey had been anything but Kafkaesque so far.
Wonderful Prague
It was more a combination of Romantic poetry and Kerouac’s On the road (without the drugs and counterculture). I had driven about 1800 miles and had at least another 1200 left ahead of me. I had been in awe when driving through the impressive Norwegian fjords, but now something entirely different was waiting for me. Heading south from Czech Republic meant that I had to release my inner Hannibal. I was about the cross the Alps.
To go from Uppsala, in the north of Sweden to Catania, in eastern Sicily, crossing many borders, countries, rivers, seas, going underground and high above sea level in the mighty mountains of central-Europa. As I stood there, with the Fyris river in front of me and Uppsala cathedral behind me, I wasn’t aware of what my journey would look like. I would travel from north to south, but I wouldn’t be taking the shortcuts nor the fastest route. I wanted to explore and discover.
I wanted to experience the continent in all its diversity and contrasts, its natural beauty and architectural pride. I also wanted to feel what it’s like to live the life of a trucker, modern day travelers, who often spend their days in solitude, with only their thoughts and perhaps some music to accompany them. I have visited many cities in Europa. Usually I’d take a train or airplane and delve myself into the bristling streets for three or four days.
Life on the road is different, though and to drive into a city after hours and hours spent in a cabin, watching the world fly by, is on a whole other level. One would think it’s more superficial, but it’s the other way around. You truly get to know a country and a city, because you experience it in its entirety, from dusk till dawn.
And so I left Uppsala. I didn’t know where I’d end up tomorrow, let alone next week. The only thing I was sure of was my destination. And so began my journey, from Uppsala to Catania.
ETS 2: Stories 