So we decided to park the car in a small side-road, nearby a group of houses that are just in front of the waterfall. It isn’t a big one (or to say it more correctly, doesn’t have a high water flux) but is very tall as you can see from the pictures.

In the picture below you can spot the small head of my dog Artù that, as always, went forward us to explore the place first. Of course it is just a small place, not crowded or famous at all, but was a pleasant discovery nonetheless. Instead I could appreciate it even more, it was like we were the first men to explore that place, to discover a small, hidden gem in the deep of the wonderful and green austrian woods

And they are really amazing… below a more detailed picture.

It seems that those waterfalls were famed already at Dante’s times. The “Supreme Poet” was so astonished hearing the powerful noise of the Acquacheta waterfalls that he compared it to the infernal river “Flegetonte” in his famous artwork “Divine Comedy”.

The way was continuing over the waterfalls, but having only one day at our disposal (and we didn’t started early), we decided to go back. Before departing from that wonderful place though, we discovered a really nice place just below the waterfall: a sort of giant pool with a real crystaline water, that was really inviting!

Judge for yourself… doesn’t it look like one of those typical tropical waterfall you can see in the jungles? those that often appear in movies or commercial spots? incredible, really.

The last picture, taken from below (the pool above)… the beeches’ lush green is really shining over the background, and you can almost feel better only looking at that picture. Really a place to visit, if you need to relax and stay away from the daily routine. Guaranteed!

If you have more time at your disposal, I suggest you go on and take a longer trip, since the Acquacheta Waterfalls are just a part of the huge National Park of Foreste Casentinesi , in which there’s plenty of neat places to visit !

a stoned path lead us into the beginning of the journey…

on the left there’s already the river, even if in the picture it’s hidden

The route is not hard at all, goes up slightly but you can do it (starting from the town of S.Benedetto in Alpe) in about 2 hours.

The cool thing about the route is that the path borders the river for most of it, and so you have the impression of walking side by side with the river itself.

The forest is made of beeches, oaks and chestnuts, typical of the “Foreste Casentinesi”. The green of their foliage is simply wonderful and adds a sort of magic to the place.

A wooden bridge that you’ll encounter during your way.

A stone house we met during the route, I don’t remember anymore if it was just an abandoned house, or a shelter of some kind.

A place that I have many fond memories of is the town of Gengenbach, in the middle of Baden-Wurttemberg and the Black Forest. It’s a medieval town that was destroyed by an enormous fire and kept faithful to the original plans when rebuilt. Like it is written in the official site, “in 1955 the part of the city that’s inside the city walls was declared a national monument” and if you have the good fortune to visit it you will be pleasantly surprised.

The above photo is the Kinzig river, taken from the bridge that precedes the entrance to the marvelous town. Coming up are some photos of the buildings themselves.

When the streets and highways are congested and the classic Sunday outing becomes more and more of a burden than a pleasure, it’s good to rediscover places right near home that we normally ignore, but that have pleasing surprises. That’s what happened to me today. It was impossible to get on the road: the county fair mobilized herds of people that invaded the streets with their cars. The day, however, was splendid: blue skies without a cloud and a light breeze, an ideal climate for a stroll. And that’s how we decided to “explore” the cycling lane that skirts the river. We had seen it so many times while passing by in the car, we’ve even parked near its entrance but we never had the curiosity, the desire or the time to go for a walk in it. I didn’t imagine that it would be so relaxing, no one was there and the dogs could run free, sniff in freedom and swim in the river. Even the vegetable garden with its shacks seemed beautiful to me, and they usually confuse me with their dumps but today they seemed comically naïve. From one side of the path there were beautiful ripe fruits and sunflowers with bowed heads, the grapevines twisted around the fence, and on the other side was a green field, white pebbles and the clear, fresh water of the river. And we weren’t in Austria or in Tyrol; we were in our own backyard!