Photos and the City

Category: Nature

Minori & la Grotta dello Smeraldo

Good morning Amalfi Coast! Early morning the traffic wasn´t that bad so I decided to stop in Minori for some caffé and cornetto. The Amalfi Coast was already loved by the old Romans, there is a more than 2000 years old Roman villa at Minori, the Villa Marittima Romana. But I only went for a little breakfast at the tiny harbour.

My second stop kind of happened by accident. I actually just wanted to take a picture and saw a free parking space. Pulled in I was greeted by a lovely man who informed that this was the parking for the Grotta dello Smeraldo and if I want to visit it. An elevator brought me down to sea level and I entered a big cave. It was a short boat trip around the cave and a nice break.

On one side the cave is flooded with brilliant blue (green) water and was discovered by a fisherman in 1932

Unlike the Blue Grotto located a few kilometres to the west on Capri, the Grotta dello Smeraldo has no natural outlet above the waterline. The only opening to the outside world is just below the water level. Refracted sunlight entering the cavern through the opening gives the water its characteristic emerald glow during daylight hours. (Wikipedia)

And again, traffic on the Amalfi Coast…. I had planned to make another stop in Sorrento to visit the Vallone dei Mulini (Valley of Mills) but just when I arrived it started raining and I just drove on in the direction of Pompeii, my next stop.

19/07/2018
Danube Auen National Park

Lying in between Vienna and Bratislava the National Park Donau Auen spans

over 9,300 hectares area, the park protects the last remaining major wetland environment in Central Europe. For a distance of just over 36 km, the Danube flows freely and is the lifeline of the national park. The dynamic rise and fall of water levels – sometimes up to 7 meters – mean that the wetlands landscape is constantly recreated and reformed. In this way, the flow of the Danube creates habitats for a large number of plants and animals. (Donauauen.at)

One of the loveliest ways to visit the park is going by boat. The “Nationalpark Boot” leaves every day at 9 AM from Schwedenplatz and brings you right into the park. It´s also a great possibility to see Vienna from the Donaukanal – but we left the city behind quite soon and reached the end of the Donauinsel, where the Donaukanal joins the Danube again.

When we had reached the end of our boat tour a ranger already waited for us and during a little walk through the Au he told about their work to protect the area, the animals living here and many more things.

We had to say goodbye to the Danube jungle and start our journey back to Vienna – upstream it takes about two hours.

10/07/2018
Agropoli

T-17 days until my adventure in Northern-England and Scotland and I just realized there are quite a few posts missing from my road trip around Southern Italy two years ago. Perfect timing to write them now!

After cruising around Puglia and Basilicata Agropoli was my last stop before the Amalfi Coast. And I spent those two days in one of the best Airbnb apartments ever! Cosy, a beautiful shower, amazing views, recycling (!) and cute gecko neighbours.

Agropoli is situated in the province of Salerno, in Campangia, right on the Cilentan Coast. It´s only a short drive to Paestum and the perfect base to explore Cilento´s coastline and the national park.

And it´s also a lovely town, that must be quite busy in the summer! Inhabited since Neolithic times Agropoli lies nearby Poseidonia (c. 625 BC) and had a lively trade between the local hunters & fishermen and the Greeks.

During the Greco-Gothic war (6th century) the Byzantines needed a secure and protected harbour south of Salerno, so they fortified it, and called it Acropolis, meaning “high town”.

The Angevin-Aragonese castle was built on Byzantine foundations and stands on top of the hill (rock) – it offers great views over the surrounding areas and the sea!

It´s a lovely walk strolling around the Old Town, narrow cobbled streets with old churches and so vibrant.

The old town is seen from below, the coast. At Greek times there used to be a temple on top of the rocks – on the site of today’s castle.

03/07/2018