Welcommin der und Nord de Italia?

Escaping to Northern Italy was just what we and our feet needed after the 2 day whirlwind in Rome. I was craving to get out of cities and some fresh mountain air so we decided to check out the Dolomites. We took the overnight train from Rome to Bolzano (10 hours) and got the cheapest seats, so no bed for us. Our compartment mates were nice and they had earlier stops, so for the last few hours, Mike and I were able to lie down and get some sleep!!

When we woke up, we were treated to amazing views of the steep mountains and green vineyards. This area of Italy was part of Austria prior to WWI and after the war it was made part of Italy. So everyone spoke German as their first language, there was good beer and we were able to eat some amazing German food. I felt like we visited an entire new country, a nice surprise!

We didn’t have hotel reservations, so we spent an hour or so hunting for a place to sleep. Once we figured out the German word for Guesthouse, it made it a lot easier! We found a place for the night and then headed to enjoy the town.

The Iceman, Otzi (5300 year old mummy), was discovered very close to Bolzano in the mountains in 1991. Both Mike and I remember this event and watched videos of his discovering in our science classes, so we were excited to visit the museum to see him. The exhibit was fascinating starting with the discovery. I didn’t realize how close to the border of Austria he was found (92 meters!) and the countries even re-did a survey to verify ownership!

Otzi is kept in a cold case mimicking the ice that had preserved him for so many years. There is a small window so that we could see him. It really was amazing to see his skin and even his tattoos (thought to be an early version of acupuncture!). All of his clothes and tools were also on display. His fur hat was completing intact and his leggings mostly so you could see the fine stitching between the small pieces of leather. They also had a section devoted to his health and cause of death – murder by arrow! I really enjoyed this amazing exhibit!

Since vineyards completely surrounded the town on every piece of open land, we decided to taste some of the local wines. We stopped at a small tasting room in town, St. Magdeline. The man who was working was very friendly and happy to see us! He spoke little English, so we mostly just smiled at each other. We tasted 5 wines – 2 whites, 2 reds and 1 dessert wine and all of them were good.. The 2 reds were excellent, so we bought one of each for a total of 15 Euro!! Super cheap and amazing wines! Our favorite was called Lagrein.

The next day we took a short bus ride to the town of Suissi to do some hiking in the Alpe du Suissi. We had wanted to try via ferretta, but could not find a place to rent gear. We will be coming back here to climb though!! We took a gondola to the meadow and hiked for a few hours. The views were great of the meadows sprinkled with tiny wood barns and houses. There were lots of cows and horses grazing and the cows all had bells. It was a nice sound as we hiked. The mountains continued to tease us with glimpses between the fog. We got a few really good views, but just enough so we knew what we were missing! I really enjoyed our hike and breathing some fresh mountain air. It was a nice change from the cities!

We needed to change hotels that evening and we had arranged a farm-stay right outside of town. So we took the bus there and found the farm. The entrance walk was covered in a canopy of vines with grape clusters hanging down. The house was cute and had beautiful flowers surrounding it. Our room had a balcony overlooking the town, the hills and the vineyards. It was paradise!

Our hosts spoke no English, but they were really nice. I didn’t realize we had a private bathroom, so I took a shower in the bathroom down the hall. Mike went next, but the owner stopped him and told him – not yours and pointed to the locked door in our room. Oops! As we were leaving for dinner she laughed at us and told our story to her other guests in German and we just smiled!

After dinner, we enjoyed our bottle of Lagrein on the balcony. What a nice treat! It was magical to wake up to that view in the morning and I didn’t want to leave, but we needed to make our way south to Florence. So we packed up and had an easy day in town prior to catching the afternoon train. What a great 3 days!!

We are still figuring out our traveling style after a few weeks into the trip. A few things we have learned:

1. We need to plan a little bit more for accommodation. It takes quite a bit of time each time you are trying to find a place and adds some stress. So we will be trying to work a few days in advance going forward.

2. A rest day is needed every 6 days or so. After Rome and London back to back, we were quite exhausted. So it was nice to have a down day to just hang out, give our feet a rest and catch up on our journals.

**We have not had internet in several days, so hopefully we will get pictures posted shortly for Rome. We are currently in Siena and just experienced the preliminary for the Palio!  It was amazing!!  More to come on the past few days in Italy:)

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8 Responses to Welcommin der und Nord de Italia?

  1. Mom says:

    Great to hear from you – I was getting worried. Can’t help it – I’m a mom!!!!!

    • Sarah says:

      Hi Mom, We are safe and happy! No internet for several days! Italy is amazing! Tomorrow we leave for a small wine town in Tuscany. Love,
      Sarah

  2. Dad says:

    What an adventure you are having already. Otzi was very interesting – and I didn’t know about Austria and Italy – funny considering that Italy was part of the Axis countries. Your evolving travel is great. Love you.

  3. Hank says:

    You’ll love Sienna and Florence. I was sick in Sienna, so took one day off from our wandering there. But we had the best meal EVER there at the San Desiderio.

    • Mike says:

      Siena was awesome! We got a real treat there…I will explain in the blog. By the way, our cab driver in Montepulciano must be your long lost Italian cousin, Hank, even his mannerisms reminded me of you!

  4. Ryan Morrison says:

    Sounds like you guys are having a wonderful time! I’m glad all that wine drinking is keeping you hydrated! 🙂 Miss you guys.

  5. Jane Pallister says:

    I loved the Sud Tyrol. I visited the Dolomites with two geologists…. puts things in a different perspective, but like you, I saw the flowers, the grapes, all the apple orchards, and the pristine, clean atmosphere after Rome and Venice. Did you meet a thousand kind German and Austrian tourists ready to help you with every translation? I loved Balzano, but we had an apartment in Lana and a car and traveled around from there. What a trip you are having! I’m so happy for you all!

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