I am spending three nights in Triest, in a cheap but nice hotel that has a ventilator to keep the heat bearable in the room. 

After having celebrated a little my arrival and taken a shower, I start the hunt for new hiking boots. The information centre marked the sport shops in a map for me. In the first shop I get a big sigh when I ask for hiking boots. But the woman is still helpful and sends me to the only mountain sports shop in Trieste, the Alpstore. Of course they don’t speak English (nor German nor French) so I just show a few boots I want to try. Luckily an Italian who spent ten years in New York is there for shopping as well. He soon becomes my personal translator although he doesn’t manage to keep up with the constant flow of information the vendor is providing. Luckily I can also understand some words. The shoes that fit best are also his recommandation for durability, dry feet and good grip. Someone bought it for weeks on the Jakobsweg and  although all others had wet feet his staid dry all the time. I prefer breathable boots that dry quicker but there is not much choice. I don’t want to buy the more expensive and sturdy mountaineering boots. I didn’t need them on my way here so I will be fine with lighter ones on my way back. I have the boots put aside as I want to go tomorrow to a bigger shop further away. 

Next morning I am already walking to the shop at 9am… It is indeed a bigger shop but the service is bad and none of the shoes seems a good fit. So I walk back to the other shop and buy the Lowa boots as I don’t have any other choice. At least they are on sale and I can save a few bucks. 

Back to the hotel where I just want to relax a little. In the end I stay a few hours, sleeping, eating lunch and reading. In the late afternoon I get myself to do walk around the city and end up at a nice bar terrace for aperitivo. Meaning usually that some snacks are served for free with the drink. It’s Aperol Spritz for me plus a big plate with bruschetta, olives, tomatoes… I guess I can skip dinner! Time to see the sunset at the harbour and go to sleep. 


For my last day in Triest I decide to go to the “beach”. It basically is some concrete made structure where you can sunbath or go for a swim. There are no sand beaches at all in this part of the Adria. I take the comfortable alternative and rent aea sunbed. It’s so relaxing to sleep, read, swim and enjoy the warm sun. Luckily people don’t seem to mind or notice my improvised beach outfit… 

On the way back I treat myself to Spaghetti Vongole and a coffee. I haven’t done any serious sightseeing but I didn’t feel like it at all and my priority was to relax and get some strength before my hike back from Venice to Munich!