After a grueling first day of eating, drinking, and taking in views, we woke up on our second day in Sirmione to a breakfast that looked more like a dessert buffet.
Italy
Northern Italy Road Trip: Sirmione, Lago di Garda
After breakfast in Levico, we drove a quick 1.5 hours down to the southern end of Lake Garda to spend two days in Sirmione. While the northern parts of Gardasee are overrun with German tourists, Sirmione is overrun with a healthy mix of nationalities.
Northern Italy Road Trip: Levico Terme
After a leisurely lunch in Bressanone, we drove another couple hours to Levico Terme, a small town on a small lake just outside of Trento. This destination was mostly chosen for its location – we wanted a short drive for our first day of the trip, and we wanted to relax and do nothing once we arrived at our destination. Well, nothing besides eating yummy Italian food.
Northern Italy Road Trip: Bressanone
We recently rented a car and headed to Italy for 11 days of food, art, medieval cities, wine, grappa, gelato, more food, more wine… you know, the kind of stuff you do in Italy.
Flying through the Dolomites
Ever since we did the flying fox across Munich’s Olympic Stadium, I’ve wanted to do another zip line. I mean, what’s not to love? It’s got all of the outdoorsy fun of an adventure sport without any of that pesky physical exertion.
Snowy Christmas fun in Brunico
When in doubt, go to Italy for the weekend. The Dolomites are just a few hours away from Munich by car, so you really have no excuse not to. Last weekend we set out for Brunico (Bruneck in German), a small town in the Puster Valley. Normally the drive should have taken less than three hours, but thanks to the weather it was closer to four. I didn’t mind at all, given the snowy paradise that presented itself upon our arrival.
National treasure
I don’t know about you, but I for one am happy to live in a world where parmigiano reggiano cheese gets its own stamp. In other news, our passports have returned home safely from their little giro d’Italia. Feels good to be mobile again.
Notes from the Dolomites
Tis the season of endless long weekends here in Catholic Bavaria, affording plenty of opportunities for short getaways. So away we got, three days enjoying the cognitive dissonance that is the German-speaking part of Italy.
This trip started, as so many do, with a quick stop in Bressanone for lunch followed by a proper Italian espresso.
Merano: best lunch ever
So where were we? Oh yes: Merano, Italy. On our second day there, we asked at the hotel for a lunch suggestion. Lucky for us, the recommended place was closed, and we ended up improvising. We found Castel Fragsburg at the top of a windy road outside of Merano. The posted menu looked interesting, if a bit expensive, so we decided to give it a try. We were led through a large dining room out onto a terrace with a sweeping view of the valley below. Worth the price alone.
Before we can even order the chef starts sending us little ‘greetings from the kitchen’
Merano: just another Italian spa town
Merano is a small spa town in an apple-tree-filled valley in South Tyrol, the part of Italy closest to Munich. It is also Italy’s German-speaking part, a fact that confuses me every time I go.