Bolzano, The Trek Starting Point

Bolzano town centre

Getting to an Alpine destination from a big foreign city always takes quite an effort.  Somehow planes, trains and buses are always involved. But once you’re there, memories of the problems getting there are forgotten, until you have to head back!

I started off at 4am, heading off to London Gatwick to catch the flight to Venice.  From there, I took the bus to Mestre, then the train from Mestre to Bolzano.  And viola!  Twelve hours after leaving my house I am in Bolzano!

The good thing is Italian fast trains are of a pretty high standard. I tried a Eurocity train.  They're more traditional.  6 People in a section with a door, all facing each other. It was fine but there was no luggage space.  We (the four other women in my carriage included) decided to leave our luggage outside our door.  We saw our luggage fly by on their wheels at the varying turns.  Additional excitement and chatter arrived in the form of four policemen doing a door to door search through the train, so the time flew by faster than expected.  Besides, the views from the train journey are pretty special. 

Unusual cloud formations as seen from the train.

Bolzano is the capital of South Tyrol. It really is quite Austrian. People speak German and Italian and look Austrian. Historically, as I mentioned in my previous entry, this region of South Tyrol was Austrian but only became part of Italy in the first World War.   

My hotel in the center of town. The Stadt Citta. Mussolini stayed here.

The town normally has 105,000 people but during the summer months it’s inundated with trekkers and cyclists. The most famous tourist destination, in the town, aside from the medieval castle and church, is a museum that holds a 5300 year mummy from the Alpine region called Fritz Ötzi. I decided it best to give old Fritz a miss and instead enjoyed an Aperol spritz at my hotel bar and watched the tourists walk by. 

And on to dinner. My hotel concierge recommend a good local called the Vögele.  My trek doesn’t start until tomorrow and I had to carb load. Well....that’s an understatement! Alpine cooking is heart stopping. Literally.  In the olden days, you can understand the need to keep warm and fuelled whilst working and living in these altitudes, so a rich diet was required. I think now there are healthier options, but when in Rome..... So I approached and embraced the local cuisine. 

I kicked off with “gray cheese” on sliced beetroot.  Somehow, it is the most unattractive name for a dish since it conjures somehow moldy visions. But it was good. A local delicacy made traditionally with secret family recipes that have been handed down.. A kind of herby burrata served with beetroot and tomatoes. I read it's quite low in fat but it certainly didn't taste that way.

My second dish arrived.  . It transpires they were someone else’s ravioli. They were lovely and I ate them anyway. Delicious.

Ravioli with potato, pork and mushrooms.

Onto my third course!  

Satueed fresh chantarelle mushrooms with bacon and herb dumplings.

Local wine pairings: Kemen Niklaserhof/white and Reserve del Conte/Red.  Locally produced wine from the region.

By now I was ready to white flag it. No room for dessert, I'm afraid.  Carb loading a success!

The trek starts today.