Strada del vino e frutta  - Cividale to Breg

We say goodbye to Cividale, have enough time to stroll consciously through the alleys and over the squares, because on the one hand the stage is short today, on the other hand it is still early and on a Monday morning very little going on. Yesterday morning the squares and restaurants were well visited. We learn from a guest that the city has only made itself again in the last few years, his father fled at the age of 14 because of hunger, but now has returned. Over the Devil's Bridge it goes back to the city - arrivederci - it was beautiful here. We take with us the positive mood, which is described by some as dreary. Yes, it goes a lot on the road, but there are hardly any cars here. We are lucky enough to be on the road for this route at a good time of year. Around us, the grapes are harvested diligently and we have a lot to look at, so that the way does not seem boring to us. But we also just love the vineyards. The gnarled trunks with their sweet fruits and the slowly discolouring leaves, even in our home. In turn, the olive trees are just as fascinating. The absolute highlight, however, was a Kaki tree along the way, we have never seen these delicious fruits grow. We already knew a pomegranate tree and a fig, but still nice to look at. Shortly before the Slovenian border we meet a woman from Lake Wörthersee at Chiesa di S. Elena, who walked the trail from Faak to here (almost 200 km) with a small Trailrunner backpack (approx. 3-4 kg), without any large map material in 4 days. When she misses an AAT sign and gets away, she simply reverses or seeks an alternative. Where it ends in the evening, she does not yet know in the morning, has still found a bed. A very different way we go, without planning in advance, with great trust in God and light baggage. Enviable, though not ours. We have great respect. It shows once again very clearly that the path is perceived in completely different ways and that is a good thing in the end. We met two young women, one of whom went to Castelmonte in sandals with all the obstacles, or hikers who go straight from Cividale to Smartno, because a 14 km stage is too short for them. Perhaps there are also some readers who say that everything under 30 km a day is okay, but for our feeling it was enough to borderline. We just want to give an open feedback at this point, for all those who may also be planning to go the way.

The last two years were more " pleasure walks ". Nice, here and there crisp, but also sometimes relaxed. This year we started immediately with challenging, long stages, which were sometimes very long for a trail with a large backpack, and also through rough terrain. As a mental challenge, each section is about 10 - 20% longer than indicated in the hiking guide. - Because we often hear that this problem is well known, but there would be, if there were many fewer hikers going the way, if the stage lengths and altitude meters were correctly indicated. This view can be disputed, but we want to let it be good now. - Last year we had the opportunity to swim regularly in the Carinthian lake or to use a sauna for relaxing in the hotel, but in times of Corona, when the wellness areas are closed, we only have the stretching and the small massage ball. Luckily, we shared the next stage for ourselves, so we have plenty of time to take pictures, enjoy some special places, or collect flower seeds for the home garden and relax

In Breg we stay today at Turisticna Kmetija Breg, a lovingly furnished accommodation. In the evening we are cooked again deliciously and sleep very well in the seclusion of the vineyards.