The end of the year is a time not only to look at Christmases and Holidays Past but also at Christmases and Holidays Future. It is a time both to review experiences and to look ahead.
The Ghost of Holidays Past encourages us specifically to take a close look at what went well in days gone by and what not so well – what lessons we can draw from that and how we can improve. Which is exactly what Scrooge did, of course.
Scrooge was also made to understand that current problems often have their deeper roots in the past. And what is true for him is also true for Easy Hiker.
We started our blog many summers ago to communicate our enjoyment of hiking in Germany, and then extended the scope to cover hikes in front of our doorstep – which was Paris at first, later the French Riviera.
On top of that, we regularly visited friends and members of our family in London (where we had also lived for some time) – and, once we had settled on the Mediterranean coast, began to travel frequently and in depth throughout Italy.
As a consequence, the content of our blog reflects these biographies rather than a coherent perspective and clarity of purpose.
Is that a problem? It think it is. For the simple reason that every post is built on the same simple premise that says “we have done and enjoyed this, and so can you”.
The perspective of travellers, however, who are already living in the area of their destination and have all those attractions at their doorstep (or near-by) necessarily differs from the perspective of people who need to travel half-way around the world for the same experience.
“Minor key attractions” need to be bundled to make such a longer trip worthwhile, otherwise, they fail to reach the critical mass that alone can justify the investment of time and money which is required for an overseas journey.
Most of our activities, however, are more likely to enrich a vacation than to serve as a standalone holiday experience. Some of the most rewarding and spectacular hikes that we ever did such as the Sentiere Elsa near Florence and this year’s exploration of the Brodten Cliff in Travemünde would perfectly complement longer trips to Tuscany and Germany’s Baltic coast, but I would not recommend them to friends from different continents in the same way that I would recommend trips to Paris or Rome.
Which is why we are about to re-organize our content under much clearer structural principles, principles that will be informed by the needs of the reader above anything else.
This is not quite as dramatic a change as the one that Scrooge was encouraged to implement, but we still decided to do this under a different umbrella.
At some stage early in the new year, we will therefore migrate our content to Substack. The Easy Hiker blog will run parallel to our new publication, and we will keep you informed about anything that is to change and when such a change will occur.
First, however, we intend to close the year 2021 with a recommendation for a “major key” destination rather than for a minor-key experience that may serve you to embellish a longer and more comprehensive journey.
This is a destination we experienced as tourists, not as residents or neighbours. It is also the trip we enjoyed most among all our travels in the year 2021.
Our Destination of the Year!
A drum roll, please, for Easy Hiker’s destination of the year: Naples!
Naples is one of the grand cities of Italy, full of history and a proper royal capital – a branch of the Bourbon family ruled from here over the entire south of Italy – at a time when many of the northern Italian cities which hold their noses so high these days were not much more than provincial backwater fiefdoms.
In 1995, the UNESCO awarded its World Heritage Site status to the historic centre of our destination of the year, Naples, in recognition of the city’s “ancient forts, the royal ensembles such as the Royal Palace of 1600, and the palaces and churches sponsored by the noble families”.
Personally, I think that the World Heritage Committee got things somewhat upside down here. The truly magnificent Work Of Art – the one for which it is indeed worth travelling half-way around the world – has little to do with historic buildings.
This Work Of Art is the composition which is created by the people of Naples every day: the symphony of car horns and noisy mopeds, the tableaux vivants of urban life.
The last 150 years have not been kind to Naples. In the modern world, everything appears to be stacked against the city in favour of the big beasts higher up the economic food chain – government officials in Rome, wealthy industrialists further up north.
Neapolitans have only a few weapons at their disposal in order to wrestle some comfort and dignity out of the clutches of these hostile forces: mainly a cheeky opportunism when faced by rules that they feel have been designed to keep them in their place (Diego Maradona who led the local football team to a couple of championships in the 1980s is something like the city’s unofficial patron saint), and, above all, their solidarity.
The constant battle for survival – which gives the city its energy – is not a fight where every man looks out only for himself but a collective struggle.
Life is hard, and poverty is everywhere …
… but life is also beautiful: the sun shines, and there is never a shortage of personal warmth – or of something to enjoy.
For a walk in Naples, we suggest a stroll down the Via dei Tribunali, the spine of the city’s old town, …
… at any time of the day, but best after dusk when the street is at its busiest and most exciting.
Do not worry too much: you will be okay – there is safety in numbers – as long as you do not stroll too far into the side streets which can indeed seem a trifle murky. (Also leave your valuables in your room, and do not bring any excessive amount of cash – just in case.)
Provided you follow these basic ground rules, this will be an evening that will warm the cockles of your heart for some time to come.
We suggest to round off your experience with a pizza, accompanied by a bottle of the cheap-and-delicious local wine. There are some world-famous pizza places on the Via dei Tribunali, but we recommend the equally excellent Da Attilio on Via Pignasecca, a short walk away on the far side of Via Toledo.
It was perhaps the best pizza we ever had – and we had eaten one at Sorbillo before, the most famous outfit in town.
We will certainly come back, to Attilio’s restaurant and to Naples – and so will you, once you have enjoyed the delights of the city.
