Bolzano in Spring

10-12 April

Since we had packed up almost everything in the apartment, the walls were bare and depressing, and the book shelves were empty. Students were off on the last travel break, a 4-day weekend, and the campus was deserted. Abbey, Emma, and I decided that we too needed to get away. While excited to see family, friends, and pets again, we find ourselves having a very difficult time preparing to say good-bye to Italy. We contemplated a number of inexpensive options – a road trip seemed good, and we settled on returning to Bolzano to enjoy it in spring. Abbey had not been here yet as she was in Switzerland when we came the end of November for the Christkindlmarkt. Emma was psyched since many of the hotels have spa facilities; Bolzano is near Gries, a famous spa town. We booked a two-night stay at Hotel Eberle which offered free whirlpool, Turkish steam bath, and sauna to its guests. The extras such as massages were tempting, but the budget didn’t allow for that. We picked a good time: rates were lower than usual as we were in-between the winter season (skiing) and summer season (hiking).

I printed out the driving directions, highlighting the key turns to get us to Hotel Eberle, which sits above the city, a quarter of the way up one of the mountains. The drive up was beautiful. We made it to Trento in about an hour and a half, navigated a rather tricky entrance onto the Italian autostrade, the A22, and 30 minutes later, we were entering Bolzano. All in all, we did well, with Abbey navigating very proficiently – only one wrong turn because of unmarked streets. Well, okay, two wrong turns if we count the adventure on the switchback road headed up toward one of the Dolomite peaks. The road from downtown Bolzano to the hotel made Asolo’s narrow streets seem like a major highway. Not only were they narrow (we carefully watched the mirrors and door handles in places), but they were also steep. At a couple of points, I began wondering about the angle and how close it was to 90 degrees. At what point will a car tip backward? Several sharp turns and extremely steep inclines later, we arrived. As I parked the car, I told Abbey and Emma that it was going to sit there until we had to leave. I don’t recall any arguments from them.

After checking in to a lovely room with a south-facing balcony over the city and beds with those incredible down comforters, we had some lunch. Grilled vegetables with melted cheese for me; risotto with fresh white and green asparagus for Abbey; and spaghetti with clam sauce for Emma. The house red wine, St. Magdalena, is lovely. Hotel Eberle has its own vineyards and herb gardens and sells the products to hotel guests and locals.

After lunch, we went on a 3-hour hike, and the path began at the hotel. We hiked up and down, then mostly down to Castel Roncolo, or Schloss Runkelstein in German. Bolzano is in the Alto-Adige or Sud-Tirol region of Italy. After WWI, it officially became a part of Italy; however, the Austrian-German culture remained strong. People speak both Italian and German here; the signage is bi-lingual as are schools. Bolzano is an old town, and, before the region was an official part of any country, it was dual-natured. In the Medieval period, it was a trading town, a mid-way point for what are now Italians and German-Austrians to meet fo exchange goods. While many people embrace the duality, some do not. I’ve noticed that those of German heritage tend to look down on those of Italian heritage. Also, the Italians were much friendlier and warmer than the Germans, who were always polite to us but rather distant.

Back to the Runklestein Castle (as it is known in English): We paid our fee, and as typical, the Italian-speaking staff let Emma go in free. (Italians love children and despite age classifications for tickets, they usually let any child younger than a mid-teen in free.) According to the brochure, it was built in 1237 and was home to rich Bolzano merchants. They were not royalty or noble; however, the Castle is famous for its incredible frescoes which are over 600 years old. They tell romance stories of Tristan and Isolde and of Arthur and Guinivere. While some have been damaged from weather, most are in incredible condition.

After the brief visit, we had some refreshments and set out to climb up and then climb down along the hiking path. I realized then how out of shape I had become over the winter. The trail was beautiful, though. We encountered frisky Italian Wall lizards; a rather impressive bee hive (whose owner was checking on it as we came back); spring flowers – including lilacs, wisteria, tulips, and iris; and vistas of nature that refreshed my soul in so many ways.

Back at the hotel, we donned our swim suits. “Never travel without one,” says Bill Buckley. Abbey reminded us of that before we left! We did the whirlpool, sunned a bit on the terrace, hit the Turkish steam room, whirlpooled some more. Ahhhhh. Herbal teas and sparkling/nature water were available. Luxury. As we enjoyed the hydro-therapy of the whirlpool, we took in the view of vineyards and farms on the smaller mountains and the snow-capped Dolomites above. Incredible.

We headed for dinner at 8 or 8:30 and decided to eat inside as the breezes had become chilly. Emma, the bottom-less pit, had entrecote (steak); Abbey had a tomato-mozzarella calzone; and I had a house specialty of white asparagus with some herbed potatoes and “Bolzano sauce” on the side. Bolzano sauce has chopped hard-boiled egg in a light mayonnaise sauce, but is not as rich or thick as an egg salad mixture that Americans are familiar with. We slept well!

Saturday, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast and walked the ½ mile down into town; only problem was remembering that we had to walk UP to get back to the hotel. Piazza Walther was bustling with people. The warm, sunny day brought everyone out. Wisteria, lilacs, tulips – everything is in bloom. We spend most of the day strolling around town, visiting some stores of course, and looking inside the Duomo that was closed when Tim, Emma, and I were last here. A highlight on the piazza was an exhibition of photographs on billboard-displays that were about 3 x 6 feet in dimension. We had a blast taking pictures of us by them, pretending we were in the scenes.

The hike back reaffirmed my out-of-condition state, but I consoled my muscles with a long soak in the whirlpool and the Turkish steam room. We all enjoyed unwinding in the warm sun. Another wonderful dinner and fairly early bedtime – LOVE those down comforters!!!

Easter Sunday was warm and sunny, and after breakfast, I enjoyed hearing the church bells from many mountain churches as well as those in the valley. Perhaps they were timed with one another; perhaps, it was just coincidence. But the chimes and tolling seemed in harmony with one another, one answering the other.

We could have stayed another day, but work at home required that we leave. PDG had the same warm weather; we opened windows and let in the fresh air. It was good to be home again.