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.
South Tyrol
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.
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.
Italy: you say Bozen, I say Bolzano
I was happy to finally get back to Bolzano (Bozen in German), a city where we spent some time many years ago and completely loved it. At the time we were living in Italy and found Bolzano’s German-ness to be novel and charming; this time around it was the Italian side we were more interested … Read more
Italy: Val Gardena
The Dolomites were the perfect place to unwind after two weeks of Oktoberfest. A friend recommended Val Gardena, Italy – about a 3-hour drive from Munich. It’s a ski resort area in the winter, and popular with hikers in the summer. Since we are now the shoulder season, we were able to get a great … Read more
Italy: Bolzano’s colorful market
I could have wandered up and down this street all day. Not that Munich doesn’t have a nice market; it does. But for some reason everything looks more delicious when it’s in Italy. Luckily we didn’t have to just look. We came home with many delicious Italian treats from this market. My husband gets credit … Read more
Hiding out in the Dolomites
Greetings from Italy. We’re recovering from Oktoberfest in a cute mountain resort town, because the best way to get over too much German beer, pretzels and kaesespaetzle is to wash it down with Italian wine, pasta, and cheese. I’ll be back to finish off my Oktoberfest posting in a few days. But for now, the … Read more