Bolzano and the Trentino-Alto: Part 1
Day One- Arrival and Recon
Having sadly bid Venice arevederchi, we boarded the "normal" train North to a VERY different area of Italy- The Trentino-Alto Ridge (or South Tyrol Region) If you are looking at a map, it's basically as far north as you can go in Italy before you enter either Switzerland or Austria. It couldn't be a whole lot more different than Venice. For one thing, it goes from being dead flat to being insanely mountainous, with the jagged Dolomite Range right up in your silly face. It's culturally much different, too. Sure, Venice has its particular ways, but nobody's going to mistake it for anywhere but Italy. But Bolzano? Or should I say Bozen, its German name by which it is more commonly called?
An unkind take of Bozen would be it's a very pretty tourist trap. Thing is, if it's a tourist trap, it's not for idiot Americans to shout in, vomit on, complain about, and otherwise defile. It's for Swiss and Austrians to sedately admire, sipping espresso from tiny cups and nibbling bratwurst and strudel, their clothing pressed, and conversations low and considerate. We heard more German there than Italian, and the menus have abruptly changed from being in Italian and English to Italian and German. A LOT more sausage and saurkraut and pretzels are on offer, and even the meat and cheese appetizer places now come with hot mustard and horseradish. The architecture now features steep roof pitches and Bavarian details, and everything just got, I dunno, like a lot more tidy, put-together, earlier-rising, and on-time. Are we even in Southern Europe anymore?
Day Two- Bolzano
It started out a little cloudy and hazy this day, but that soon burned off and we got a full dose of the absolutely jaw-dropping scenery of this place. I mean, I thought the Canadian Rockies around Banff or maybe the Grand Tetons in Wyoming had the World Title of Spectacular Jagged Mountain Ranges of the World, but the South Tyrol just stood up in my mind and said, "hold my Literstien." See, what those North American eyesores are missing is the entire fore- and middle-ground this area has- terraced vineyards surrounding Medieval villages, church spires jutting up just where they should, hilltop castles placed artfully here and there... it's just...just... it's really good, guys.
The handy "info brick" (as we call the weighty "Rough Guide to Italy" due to its similarly in mass and size) helpfully laid out a few suggestions about what we could do here. I had originally budgeted a day here to logistically prepare for Bike Tour #2, but the experience gained in Bike Tour #1 (loyal readers will know this happened in Tuscany- see appropriate posts), with the Swiss-like efficiency of the local bike outfitter (why are you here a day early "making sure everything's cool"? You asked for a bike, helmet, lock, rack, and so on. We have these things for you tomorrow, as you said. Now go, you, and do not waste a moment more of my time. Schnell! Schnell!) made it kind of superfluous from a logistics standpoint.
That being done, we did the thing in Bolzano that you apparently have to do, particularly if you are on a middle school field trip (that made up the bulk of the visitors), and that's the archaeological museum. Most of the Museums of this description thus far in the trip have been somewhat dry displays of Roman coins and Greek vases, housed in a very pretty old building. The coins, busts, and vases are very old, and numerous, though not particularly well explained other than how old they are and who owned them before they were in the museum. This one is different- for one thing, it's focused on one thing, or rather person- the "Ice Man of Bozen" or "Otzi." He is a 5300 year-old mummy found in a glacier high above town in 1991, along with all of his possessions. Admitedly, despite (or maybe because of) its narrow focus, the museum is pretty interesting. You can see the mummy in a special chamber, and all of his clothes, tools and weapons in interesting displays that tell you what they told scientists. Spoiler Alert! Later on in the museum you find out that he didn't die on that mountain pass of exhaustion or exposure- no, Otzi was very clearly murdered by an arrow shot into him from behind! Who did it or why is clearly not known- let's just call it... a cold case.
Next up was Runkelstien Castle, just north of town, and accessible by a very lovely stroll up the riverside park. It's one of the fairly numerous hilltop castles in the region built in the middle ages. This one is notable for the largest amount of secular frescoes anywhere in the world- mostly because in the late Middle Ages it was owned by a couple of wine-maker brothers who transformed it from a military instalation to a luxury vacation destination. Way ahead of their time! They decorated most of the interior spaces with scenes of Medieval aristocrats having a great time- stabbing local animals for sport, playing flirty games, beating each other with clubs and lances, and talking philosophy over great goblets of the delightful local white wine. Other chambers were decorated with panels very like a graphic novel, except the stories were about the Nights of the Round Table and so on. It's all in a very cool castle, and they let you up on the battlements and everything. Oh, and you can have a beer there in the courtyard before setting off back to town. Five stars.
The last attraction of the day was to ride the cable car way up the mountain to the little village of Oberbozen, which is 100 percent worth it. I have gone on and on earlier about how beautiful this area is, but you really get a gander at it from the ride up the gondola. For future reference- it also places you in prime position to access the network of little roads, trails, and mountain bike routes that criss-cross the region- so it's quite possible to take your bike with you on the gondola and bike down a few thousand vertical feet either on a challenging mountain bike track or a blissful country lane. If you dedicate the day to it, you can also walk back to town, or to a neighboring town for that matter, and take the bus back if you like. The little town itself is like a set from "The Sound of Music", so we lingered a while and had an early dinner and a bottle of wine. The ride down was even better than the ride up, as the sun was starting to set, and the surrounding high peaks of the Dolomites were basking in an amber glow.
A day very well spent, we, as usual, turned in early.
Day Three- Rauf und über den Mendelpass (Up and over Mendel Pass) (~60 km, ~3500 vert. ft. climbing)
Adventure awaits! But first some tedious logistics, as we collected the rental car (Jen opted to be the support vehicle as opposed to the victim of Bike Tour #2- good choice as you will read). This apparently requires a LOT more information and data entry than rental cars back home, but 45 minutes later we were out of there in our Citroen C3, which may even be smaller than our trusty Fiat Panda. Jen had her turn re-mastering a standard transmission while dealing immediately with Italian driving, and we got my e-bike, which was dispensed with in just a few ruthless minutes of Swiss efficiency. This one was generally an improvement from the Tuscany model- with a cooler electronic display and less-fussy charger, but the best improvement is that with a support vehicle, I only needed my one pannier with just the extra clothes I needed for the day in it. (In contrast to the two panniers stuffed with all of our heaviest gear.
Having 30-40 less pounds on the bike really became evident, as I gleefully discovered the route out of Bolzano was 15 km of just ideal "bike highway"- not attached to any road, asphalt new and butter-smooth, gently climbing up through parks and then vineyards, along rivers, through old train tunnels, then a forest... bliss for a bike tourist. Alas, it was not to last, for I had the formidable Mendel Pass to get over- which was one of the main reasons Jen was entirely uninterested in joining me for this experience. Medel Pass is no joke- around 3500 vertical feet and quite steep in places. Also the road, though smooth and quite scenic, is perhaps most loved by Europeans on sleek sport motorbikes going none to slow and none too cautiously. There are a few other cyclists- hardcore European road bikers on expensive lightweight bikes huffing up the pass. An e-bike can easily overtake them, but not fast enough to get a really good dose of (deserved) scorn and derision. Hey, I was working a lot harder than the guys on the Ducatis. But overall, it was a fun climb as the scenery (though a little cloudy) got better and better and I met Jen at the summit for a celebratory rabbit stew and half-liter of lager.
The rest of the day was all downhill, through perhaps more apple orchards than I have ever seen in one valley, and certainly never in one as scenic as this. As I described earlier, the scene is just stunning in every sense, and the Phone upped the pleasure by then routing me on little one-lane rural roads and the quickly little "bike path" system I would come to know and love over the next few days. Down and down to the little town of Revo, where our first night's lodging was arranged, and Jen already there settled in. The hearty lunch still filling our bellies, we went to the grocery in town to pick up some wine and snacks in lieu of a full dinner, and went right back to the place to sit out the rest of the afternoon and early evening in the lawn taking in the sweeping view of the orchards just before us, the turquoise Lake St. Glustina just beyond, the little town dotting the landscape, and the giant jagged peaks of the South Tyrol looming over all. It was view so nice that we posted up and enjoyed it for hours, settling in only when the sun had gone below the peaks.
Day Four- The soggy Charlemange Pass (61 km, ~4000 vertical feet of climbing)
Listen, it's hard to complain about the weather- we have been in Italy for just short of a month, and it's been pretty ideal for just about all of it. The Tuscany bike tour was forecast to be pretty rugged right through the middle of it, but the conditions improved just in time so that we enjoyed sunshine just about every minute we were on a bike- with rain coming only at night. Unfortunately, the luck ran out a bit today, and the clouds closed in over the previous night. Still, there was some hope- my phone told me that if we got an early start, we could beat the worst of it, so that's what we did. Sure, the big mountains up high were socked in, but I got a great start out of Revo and plunged down into the "Valley of the Sun." Encouraging! Even more so with the phone routed me to (yes!!!!) ANOTHER great bike highway, this time cruising through the lovely woods and apple orchards a long the riotous Noce River. The going was generally uphill, but the e-bike made that a breeze, and my only companions for a sweet hour or so of riding were the occasional apple tractor heading off to tend their charges in the orchards.
Just like yesterday though, I had to reluctantly leave my wonderful little bike road, and aim my steed at an EVEN bigger pass, where apparently Charlemagne once passed on a glorious conquest. Mine was a little less so, since I was again bedeviled by sport bikes, and the clouds turned to mist turned to a light rain. It was also a little disheartening to know I was missing some stupendous views of the surrounding mountains, which I only got vague peeks out through the veil of clouds. I made the summit though, with Jen waiting for me. Not wanting to cool down much, and not very hungry after a workout uphill, I soon began the plunge down the other side toward our destination of Pinzolo. At first, this was not at all pleasant, as the rain had turned pretty steady and even with every layer I brought with me on, I was still in a 30 mph, 55-degree soaking wet breeze in my face, with glasses thoroughly soaked and cars whizzing by me on the tight roads uncomfortably close.
A long, hot shower later, Jen and I went into the little town of Pinzolo and got a bite to eat for a late lunch/ early dinner. A fun side benefit of the bike tour is actually these little towns that aren't really tourist attractions- they tend to be filled with Italians doing their normal charming Italian things- though outside of tourist areas the Italy rules are strict- the siesta is absolutely real (so you are out of luck with any business being open from 12-3 or 3:30) and the designated eating time are also ( most restaurants close after lunch around 2:30 or 3, and don't open again until 7 or 8. ) Also most things are closed on Sunday, which we will have to remember tomorrow because it's Sunday.
Though I regretted some of the missed scenery, the outstanding bike trails and general charm of the area turned what could have been a "lost" day into a real pleasure. Happily, the biggest passes are done, and the weather forecast is cautiously optimistic for the rest of the trip. It's been an amazing experience so far, and we have some really cool destinations yet to come. We'll see!
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