[Hillside covered in bombing indents and trenches from WW1 seen from Monte Fior]

Monte Fior

A landscape shaped by war. A war shaped by landscape. Monte Fior is the epitome of both.

Until you’ve witnessed deep indentations in the earth from bombs that landed 100 years ago, you’d never understand just how long mother nature takes to heal. Until you’ve hiked up the side of Monte Fior or through the trenches, you’d never have the smallest idea of what the soldiers endured during WWI. And until you stand atop Monte Fior you’d never realize how a place with endless beauty could have seen some of the darkest, most bloodshed filled days in modern history.  

[Looking down into the trenches atop Monte Fior]

The trenches were so fascinating to me. I did not realize that they were literally set into the ground, winding miles and miles through the mountains. You were quite hidden in most places along the trenches. I’m not entirely sure why I was expecting something a bit more above ground, but this just spoke to how advanced this type of fighting was for the time period. A lot of time and energy went into war preparation. I also, no matter how hard I tried, could not picture living in these conditions. 

[WW1 bullet and shrapnel found on Monte Fior]

This picture is what made my whole trip. One of my favorite pass times s seearchiing for agates on the Oregon coast so scannng the ground and finding treasures that double as WWI artifacts was probably one of the most special moments of the trip for me. Talking to the locals, these are pretty common finds for them which seems so surreal. It leaves me to wonder juust how many bombs went off, how many pieces of shrapnel were released, how many bullets shot? 

I loved learning about the differences in the lead and steel shrapnel and being able to identify the different ones on my own!

  [Venice from atop Monte Fior]

Venice. Although we had gorgeous weather, the conditions weren’t quite right to witness the natural light phenomenon that allows Venice to appear super close. Our view was probably much different than the view the Austrians had when they had secured the position atop the mountain. Nonetheless, it was very apparent how significant the view was. A beautiful site that provided peace and hope to weary souls.