Pope John Paul used to climb every mountain, ford every stream and take afternoon naps in a small, white tent. Pope Benedict reads, writes, takes naps indoors and plays Mozart on a baby grand piano.
On holidays, it's different strokes for different popes.
Pope Benedict is wrapping up three weeks of a private mountain holiday in the same isolated church-owned house where 20 years ago his predecessor broke with centuries of tradition by taking a vacation outside papal residences.
This storybook area of jagged peaks, whispering pines and gurgling streams that set apart hamlets graced by tall church steeples has dubbed itself "The Vacation Place of Popes".
When Pope John Paul began coming to this northern Dolomite area near the Austrian border in 1987, he was 67. Benedict, who was elected in 2005, is now 80.
John Paul, an avid mountain climber and hiker even before his election to the papacy in 1978, would often spend entire days miles from the mountain residence.
His security detail would deftly deflect the media, blocking roads as the papal party sped off to a different secret location each day to be used as a base for exploration of trails, plateaus and abandoned villages at high altitude.
He shed his white cassock, donned hiking boots and took off.
Reporters often did not know where John Paul had gone for the day until he returned, often just before sunset. Much younger security men would recount how they were left breathless.
A "MONASTIC" VACATION
