Bolzano & Innsbruck
This is Part II of our August adventure, written to accompany Part I: The Dolomites ~ Electrifyingly Beautiful.
We used Bolzano as our base, arriving there on Sunday evening (following a long day in the car) and then returning to the South Tyrol capital after the hike. Bolzano is a charming city with a pedestrian-friendly old town center.
It's not my first instinct to document the dispiriting moments of an excursion, so please enjoy these images of lovely Bolzano through the nadir of this narrative, m'kay?
We actually were pretty crabby the night we arrived, as the traffic was intermittently hellish, making the driving stressful and the trip longer than anticipated. We were hungry and tired. Plus half of the party was dreading the hike while the other half wondered why we'd brought along these interlopers. Calculate in the fact that the Airbnb apartment was near impossible to find, and when we did discover it we found it to be a noisy, hot, Wifi desert. Also? The trail map hadn't been packed.
This was not how Karl and I envisioned our return to the land of our honeymoon.
Fortunately, Karl inherited that even-keeled Seeley temperament that allows him to keep his head while those around him are ready to blow. After dinner he left us to shower and decompress while he headed out in pursuit of trail snacks, a new map, and train and bus tickets for the morning.
Though it will not come as a surprise that we weathered our difficulties, it was not a fun evening. Which gave us a deeper appreciation for the enjoyment we had in the mountains.
Karl was successful on all accounts. Ultimately we all got some sleep. Ben had no trouble as he had a dark, interior room. And we all praised the apartment gods for providing an oscillating fan as a sleep companion for Garrett.
Post-hike we took in more of Bolzano.
Found the hotel where we stayed in 2000.
Patronized a farmers' market.
And visited the South Tyrol Museum of Archeology, the museum that was built to house Ötzi, the Tyrolean Iceman discovered in 1991 in the Ötztal Alps.
The remains of the 5,300-year-old mummy are kept in a secure room in the museum controlled for temperature and humidity. A window into the cell allows visitors to view the remains. (No pictures allowed!) When Karl and I last visited the museum, the reconstruction model on display looked like this:
In 2011, a new rendition was revealed for the 20th anniversary of the discovery of Ötzi. Here's how he appears now:
We left the museum, grabbed some lunch, and hit the road.
Next stop, Innsbruck. Checked into our hotel and headed to Old Town.
Saw the Goldenes Dachl (Golden Roof).
Three of us climbed the old Town Hall.
One did not.
On Friday morning we visited St. James Cathedral.
And then Karl and the boys took a cable car up to the summit of the mountains overlooking Old Town.
I begged off.
For obvious reasons.
Finally it was time for the Wearing Of The Hats.
And then the drive back to Prague.
We used Bolzano as our base, arriving there on Sunday evening (following a long day in the car) and then returning to the South Tyrol capital after the hike. Bolzano is a charming city with a pedestrian-friendly old town center.
It's not my first instinct to document the dispiriting moments of an excursion, so please enjoy these images of lovely Bolzano through the nadir of this narrative, m'kay?
We actually were pretty crabby the night we arrived, as the traffic was intermittently hellish, making the driving stressful and the trip longer than anticipated. We were hungry and tired. Plus half of the party was dreading the hike while the other half wondered why we'd brought along these interlopers. Calculate in the fact that the Airbnb apartment was near impossible to find, and when we did discover it we found it to be a noisy, hot, Wifi desert. Also? The trail map hadn't been packed.
 |
| Bolzano Town Hall |
This was not how Karl and I envisioned our return to the land of our honeymoon.
Fortunately, Karl inherited that even-keeled Seeley temperament that allows him to keep his head while those around him are ready to blow. After dinner he left us to shower and decompress while he headed out in pursuit of trail snacks, a new map, and train and bus tickets for the morning.
Though it will not come as a surprise that we weathered our difficulties, it was not a fun evening. Which gave us a deeper appreciation for the enjoyment we had in the mountains.
 |
| Piazza Walther/Walther-platz ~ named for Walther von der Vogelweide, a celebrated German medieval poet |
Karl was successful on all accounts. Ultimately we all got some sleep. Ben had no trouble as he had a dark, interior room. And we all praised the apartment gods for providing an oscillating fan as a sleep companion for Garrett.
Post-hike we took in more of Bolzano.
Found the hotel where we stayed in 2000.
Patronized a farmers' market.
And visited the South Tyrol Museum of Archeology, the museum that was built to house Ötzi, the Tyrolean Iceman discovered in 1991 in the Ötztal Alps.
The remains of the 5,300-year-old mummy are kept in a secure room in the museum controlled for temperature and humidity. A window into the cell allows visitors to view the remains. (No pictures allowed!) When Karl and I last visited the museum, the reconstruction model on display looked like this:
In 2011, a new rendition was revealed for the 20th anniversary of the discovery of Ötzi. Here's how he appears now:
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| A little more grizzled and road-worn, sporting kind of a Jon-Fishman-goes-native look. |
We left the museum, grabbed some lunch, and hit the road.
 |
| The Alps! |
Next stop, Innsbruck. Checked into our hotel and headed to Old Town.
Saw the Goldenes Dachl (Golden Roof).
 |
| Commissioned in 1493 to commemorate the marriage of Emperor Maximilian I to Bianca Maria Sforza, the Golden Roof was completed in 1500. The upper fresco portrays the couple on the left as well as Mary of Burgundy on the right, Maximilian's first wife. She was included in order to keep peace with alliances forged by way of his first marriage. |
Three of us climbed the old Town Hall.
One did not.
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| (It's okay, Garrett. I can show you the pictures.) |
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| Dom St. Jacob (Cathedral of St. James) |
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| More than 2,600 gold-plated copper tiles were used to create the roof. The balcony was constructed to serve as a royal box where the Emperor could sit in luxury and enjoy tournaments in the square below. |
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| Jesuitenkirche (Jesuit Church of Innsbruck) |
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| Adorable little chimney covers that look like houses. |
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| Back down to terra firma |
Other things we saw.
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| G felt right at home on this street. |
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| Helblinghaus |
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| Hotel Restaurant Weinhaus Happ |
On Friday morning we visited St. James Cathedral.
And then Karl and the boys took a cable car up to the summit of the mountains overlooking Old Town.
I begged off.
 |
| Umm ... no. (photo credit: Karl) |
 |
| (photo credit: Karl) |
Finally it was time for the Wearing Of The Hats.
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| This one actually came home with G. |
Lunch at a bakery.
And then the drive back to Prague.
Fine/Das Ende
~ The end ~
~ The end ~
Reminds me a lot of Saltzburg. Where did you get the photo of me?
ReplyDeleteIt's a lot like Salzburg, but the mountains are even more dramatic.
DeleteIt's not so much the height but how quickly the land drops away ....
ReplyDeleteRight??
DeleteI love seeing the flowers in all the window boxes.
ReplyDeleteSo do I! I am plotting all sorts of landscaping changes for Draper Street.
DeleteFabulous pictures Kate!
DeleteNice Blog, Italy is not doubt the most popular and most beautiful wedding destinations in the world. Just for a know if I tried for an Italian catering sounds great! If any body wants to know more information about Italy wedding planer.
ReplyDelete