Bolzano, Italy

We drove to Bolzano, Italy today through the Brenner Pass. It didn't work out exactly as I had planned. My hope was to first go to the Archaeological Museum to see Ötzi the Iceman and then have a quick lunch followed by a trip up onto the Seiser Alm (Alpe di Siusi in Italian) to do some hiking or cross-country skiing, followed by a sauna and dinner in a local hotel near the Seiser Alm. Well it all worked out okay except that we never made it up to the Seiser Alm. A shame, since it is so very beautiful up there and I wanted to show it to Rosie and Brendan and have them experience it. But the day was too short. First of all, we got out later than expected (no great surprise there.) Then we spent two hours in the Museum. Everybody loved the Ötzi exhibit and seeing him in person was quite moving for me. He still has skin on his hands and feet - you felt like you could hold his hand. The exhibits of his clothing and supplies he had with him were amazing, some in very intact condition. His bearskin cap was in almost perfect condition. And to think that he lived here 5,300 years ago!!! Must count as one of the most important archaeological finds of all time.

After that, Rosie and Brendan wanted to walk around Bolzano. The old part of the town is quite attractive.

One of the problems turned out that I hurt my foot - I don't know how- skiing on Tuesday and can't put weight on it. So I couldn't walk very well. Jim and I sat in a cafe while Rosie and Brendan explored the town a little. Then we tried to get up to the hotel and the Seiser Alm. We made it to the hotel, but it was already too late to go up to the plateau. Seiser Alm is the largest alpine plateau in all of Europe and it is quite spectacular. Sorry to miss it. Also, the weather was unusually hazy yesterday - not the perfect weather we have been having. So we hung out at the little Pension-Hotel Rier in the little hillside town of Seis. They had an outdoor hot tub (not hot enough for our taste) and a sauna and steam room. We were given the unused massage room to change in. The hotel people were extremely nice to us. They had coffee and cake there, very good, and we enjoyed that before the sauna. Then we had a very nice dinner meal there. Buffet of hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, appetizer of homemade raviolis (Teig-taschen) and then mdeallions of pork followed by homemade vanilla ice cream with lemon tuiles. Then Jim drove us home to Oberperfuss.