Life of MALA: South Tyrol, Italy

South Tyrol, Italy

The 8th Eggentaler Herbst Classic Car Rally

I'm not really sure where to begin explaining this part of the trip. How do you explain a German car rally to someone who has never gone? It's almost impossible. However, I feel pretty passionate about the word impossible. In that I passionately don't like it. It's like that quote, "It is what it is." I get that it can make sense sometimes, and I get some things really are...what they are...but I really dislike that quote. I mean think about it, it's a ridiculous saying.

Getting back to the point, a German car rally is extremely difficult to describe. I will begin with explaining that my father has an old car that he keeps over in Europe. (This is normal, no?) It was his first car in high school and after it broke down he put it into storage. A few years later he sent it over to Germany to have the engine fixed and it has been there ever since. My father and I actually actually participated in this same rally last year. (Click here to see that one!) It was his first time driving the car in 40 years and it was probably one of the coolest things I'll ever do in my life.

The rally isn't a race, it's more of a competition of accuracy. Each participant receives a book the first day that maps out the next three days. The first day is just an afternoon ride but the following two begin around 8 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. Once you arrive to the starting line each car (there are around 60 old classic cars) has its' own departure time and you follow the directions in the book that (thankfully) are mostly translated from German into English. Sometimes the signs you are following lead you to a parking lot where you have to go in between cones during a timed test. (These are usually dirt parking lots in the middle of nowhere that you get lost trying to find.) You have to make it between the first two cones in eight seconds, and then the next two in sixteen, and then in exactly one minute and nine seconds through the last one. This is not easy and there are a lot of these kinds of tests throughout the rally. Then you have to drive at exactly 35 kilometers per hour for about 4.3 kilometers. Needless to say there was no cruise control. This is also not easy. In fact, I'd say that nothing is really easy about the rally except the cocktail hour at the end of each day. If we could get points for how many Wodka* tonics we consumed due to stress and anxiety from any of the tested parts of the day I would have gotten us to first place. However, the actual driving during the rally each day that doesn't involve testing is absolutely amazing. You are driving in an old car through the Alps in Northern Italy. I mean, it's pretty damn cool.

The place where the rally participants stay each night is also absolutely stunning. It is overlooking the mountains and has a full spa with a pool, sauna, aroma rooms, and a gym. (I actually made it into the gym for 12 minutes during my stay!) Each morning you serve your own breakfast, which was always chocolate cereal, eggs, a chocolate croissant, and a cappuccino. After finishing breakfast I'd go back and make an entire sandwich that I would wrap up in napkins and keep in my jacket pocket in case I got hungry, which I always did about 45 minutes after breakfast.

While driving through the windy mountain roads of Italy we also got little breaks. Coffee breaks were my favorite. The best one was on top of a mountain. We took a gondola ride to the top where there was a restaurant that served everyone a little cake and coffee. The view was absolutely insane. 10,932 feet above sea level. Insane.

The final day was the best one. We woke up to a few inches of snow so the morning part of the rally was cancelled. I ventured to the spa, and then ate a delicious lunch and prepared for the afternoon drive. You had to prepare for each day because there was a lot of math involved in figuring out exact times for each trip. I never would have predicted in high school how frequently I'd be using that velocity equation. My dad insisted we put the top down for the final day because it "looked cooler," so despite the snow and arctic breeze, we did. That was our best day. We got the most points out of any other day which of course made the Aperol spritzes and Wodka* tonics taste even more delicious that night. It was the perfect end to the rally.

The next morning we packed up. After wrapping some sandwiches to go, we said goodbye to Dad's 1939 BMW and began our two day drive south to Croatia.

*wodka = vodka in German for those of you who couldn't figure it out. I can not tell you how many times I ordered a vodka tonic and was looked at like I had just spoken Chinese so I figured I'd explain.

This was the rainbow the first day. It poured all morning and then this came out. Call me Theresa Caputo but I was pretty convinced it was Mom saying hi: