5. Jan. 2022

FALLING IN LOVE WITH SOUTHERN ITALY

Pure romance. That comes into my mind when I look back to this trip.

I have been to Italy a several times, but the Italy what I used to know was completely different. I was in cities like Jesolo or Lignano, but it’s not comparable with Naples or Sorrento. Southern Italy flashed me completely. The landscape, the food, the people … the whole lifestyle there. Everything goes in some way much slower, people seemed not so stressed (besides tourist groups). Not everything has to be that perfect. Italy gave me the vibes to just sit down for a moment, enjoy the flair and celebrate life.

Read and lose yourself in Southern Italy…

ONE WEEK IN NAPLES

Basically, we stayed for one week in Naples and made day trips from there. Our apartment was in the heart of the city, so we were in the middle of action. Besides that, Naples is dominated by moped drivers, I’d like to mention that Naples is a very turbulent city – that of course takes getting used to. But Naples is perfect for young people in my opinion, especially for those who love to plunge into the nightlife – but more on that later.

Good to know

Back to the moped situation … I would like to add that, because it is significant for Naples and in some way essential, that you must be f*cking careful, that you won’t get run over by mopeds. They drive everywhere, they are everywhere in every broken condition you can image (patched with tape or without handlebars or mirrors) and they drive very fast and wild, so watch out and take care please.

What I really like about Naples is that it’s kind of a… how should I put it… grubby city, without being offensive. Not everything is clean and tidy, it’s authentic and I think that makes the whole flair in Naples. Maybe not everyone likes it, but I thought it was great and just different to other tourist cities.

Viewing points

The funiculars in Naples connect districts and are a comfortable public transport. So, you can easily get from the centre of Naples to Vemore hill and districts as Mergellina and Posillipo, plus you catch an amazing view over the city.

My tip to get the best view over Naples is to visit the Sant ’Elmo fortress. It can be exhausting on a hot day to go all the way up but trust me it will be worth it. You will be rewarded with a view to Capri and a great view to the volcano Vesuvius.

Naples Food Guide

Food, food, food, great wine and more food! Naples and whole Italy is well-known for its fantastic kitchen. Already on the first day we were overwhelmed by the different smells, the variety of restaurants, cafes, and bars. Delicious Danish pastries on every corner, croissants filled with chocolate, jam, or pistachio. Naples is also well-known for a special pastry called Sfogliatelle. It consists of puff pastry and is filled with sweet ricotta, glorious! Best combine this sweet temptation with a cold coffee Freddo.

When it comes to pizza, the Italians are and will forever be unbeatable.

An insider tip from my boss of my summer internship is the restaurant Sorbillo. Fantastic pizzas! I recommend you ordering a classic Margarita.

In addition to good coffee, Naples also offers good liquors, as Grappa, Limoncello and Meloncello. Last but not least I would lie, when I say that we didn’t drink wine abundantly.

Nightlife in Naples

In order to the list of alcoholic stimulants mentioned above, I would like to come back to the nightlife in Naples. Crazy! Absolutely overcrowded with teenagers and young people who like to party and meet people. Even when the night clubs were closed because of covid, hundreds of people romped on the streets and celebrated.

Back to a short story, when we met three Italian girls, which said that we should come with them to a party. They talked about a place called “Orientale”. We came with them, and it was full stuffed with young people, most of them were locals, but also many tourists enjoyed their nightlife there. It was basically a bar called Orientale, when I understand it right, but the whole party corner or place was known as Orientale. And the whole scenario resembled a festival area. Side note: you also should check out Piazza Bellini (also great party hotspot!). Weekends and nightlife in Naples are a vibe and so funny. Italian people know how to party hard!

DAYTRIP TO CAPRI

Oh, lovely Capri! What a nice memory to look back when we got off the ferry and admired the view from the port to the city centre. I felt like the character in the summer novel I had read before. Carried away by the carefree atmosphere of this little island in the gulf of Naples and the scent of lemons. Romanticizing everything too much? Hell, yes! Anyways, Capri offers not only one of the greatest views I have ever seen in my entire life, but it also has turquoise bays, and magnificent historical villas.

Ideas how to spend your day in Capri

After your arrival, which is typically with a ferry from Naples, Sorrento or Positano you can have a drink and explore Capri and look where you can catch the best views.

You should know that the island is divided in Capri and Anacapri. Anacapri is in contrast to the island’s capital Capri a rather dreamy romantic village. You can reach Anacapri with small buses.

The highest point of the island is the mountain, Monte Solaro. It is in Anacapri and reachable with a chair lift.

The last thing on my Capri To-do-list was to look for the famous Capri perfume Carthusia. Capri is famous for their fresh and summery perfumes.

For sure I could write a lot more about Capri and of course you can stay longer than just one day. But it was only one point on our Southern Italy list, so we only spent one day. There is definitely more to discover, and to be able to perceive Capri more intensely, you should consider spending a several days on the island than just one.

DAYTRIP TO POMPEII AND VESUVIUS

Honestly, I can’t tell you many details about Pompeii because we had no guide and explored it by ourselves. Admittedly I was still tired from the previous party night in Naples and a little hungover… but hey, sunglasses on and I made the best out of the day haha. The city, which was buried when Vesuvius erupted in 79 B.C., was preserved under the volcanic ash. Very tragic, very interesting, very much to see. So much for that, as a mentioned before I was unfortunately not very receptive that day. But my highlight was the huge amphitheatre, that was actually really impressive.

Later that day we took a taxi to the volcano Vesuvius and made a hike. That was my first-time hiking on an ACTIVE volcano. And no, you can’t see red boiling lava, as we know it in movies. It looks simply like a mountain with a giant krater. The last eruption was in 1944 – so not really long ago. It was kind of adventurous hiking on a volcano, that could erupt at any time.

DAYTRIP TO THE AMALFI COAST

Now let’s move on to the phenomenal highlight of this trip. THE Amalfi Coast. Shortly beforehand, we stayed at the different small cities only for a very short time. We rented a car (Fiat 500 XL) for five people and made a road trip from Naples to Salerno. That is probably one of the most beautiful and famous coastlines in the world. As I mentioned we started in Naples and made short stopovers in Sorrento, Positano, Ravello, Amalfi and Salerno. This took a whole day and was thereby very stressful. We went straight back to Naples via the expressway (A3) from Salerno. Finding parking areas is probably the most difficult thing at the Amalfi Coast and expensive.

I recommend, if you have more time, to stay in one of the small villages on the coast and rent a Vespa. Everybody, especially couples in love drive around with Vespas on the coastline… must be a whole different vibe. I promised myself to get back to this place when I am in love, because the Amalfi Coast screams for romantic.

Despite stress and many impressions at once it was gorgeous. I can’t even describe how I felt when I opened the window of the car, stretched my head a little bit outside the window and looked at the sea, the coastline, and the infinite horizon... a pure dream.