A typical ski day for a Münchner starts with a painfully early wake up. Well before dawn, you toss on your ski clothes and haul your gear to the ski bus, or if you’re lucky, the car. Grab some coffee and a pretzel from your nearest bakery (the only thing open at this predawn hour) and hit the road. » Read the full post
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Ever since we did the flying fox across Munich’s Olympic Stadium, I’ve wanted to do another zip line. I mean, what’s not to love? It’s got all of the outdoorsy fun of an adventure sport without any of that pesky physical exertion. » Read the full post
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When in doubt, go to Italy for the weekend. The Dolomites are just a few hours away from Munich by car, so you really have no excuse not to. Last weekend we set out for Brunico (Bruneck in German), a small town in the Puster Valley. Normally the drive should have taken less than three hours, but thanks to the weather it was closer to four. I didn’t mind at all, given the snowy paradise that presented itself upon our arrival. » Read the full post
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Our first stop in the Ötztal was the recently-rebuilt Hotel Bergland in the mountain town of Sölden. Situated as it is in the Alps, it’s the kind of place that is full of skiers in the winter and hikers and bikers in the summer. After being welcomed with lunch in their dining room, we went on a tour of the hotel and then ended up at the top-floor spa for an afternoon of deep relaxation. » Read the full post
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After Innsbruck, Scott and I split up to try out two different blogger trips that were offered to the conference attendees. How can you not love a conference that comes with free travel at the end?
I went for the Relaxation in the Ötz Valley (Ötztal) trip. We’ve been to this part of Austria before, but always in winter to ski. The Alps feel like a different world in summer. » Read the full post
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Last week we headed to Innsbruck to attend a travel blogging conference. This little city nestled in the mountains absolutely oozes Austrian charm, so it was nice to have an excuse to go back. The old city center is full of pedestrian streets lined with shops and cafes, perfect for wandering around aimlessly. » Read the full post
7 commentsSo where were we? Oh yes: Merano, Italy. On our second day there, we asked at the hotel for a lunch suggestion. Lucky for us, the recommended place was closed, and we ended up improvising. We found Castel Fragsburg at the top of a windy road outside of Merano. The posted menu looked interesting, if a bit expensive, so we decided to give it a try. We were led through a large dining room out onto a terrace with a sweeping view of the valley below. Worth the price alone.
Before we can even order the chef starts sending us little ‘greetings from the kitchen’ » Read the full post
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The Dolomites were the perfect place to unwind after two weeks of Oktoberfest. A friend recommended Val Gardena, Italy – about a 3-hour drive from Munich. It’s a ski resort area in the winter, and popular with hikers in the summer. Since we are now the shoulder season, we were able to get a great deal on a room with half board at Hotel Grones in the little mountain town of Ortisei (St. Ulrich in German).
Signs in the area were often posted in three languages: Italian, German, and another one which contained wacky things like ë. This turned out to be Ladin, a local language similar to Romansh (one of Switzerland’s four official languages) and about equally decipherable. At the hotel and around town we heard all three languages being spoken around us, and it made my head swim a little. Our waitress clearly preferred speaking Italian with us, while the hotel owners were happier chatting in German.
The roads were small and windy, which made for some heart-thumping every time a tourist bus came flying towards us. There were a lot of tour buses. I don’t want to imagine what it must be like in the high season.
We visited various little towns in Val Gardena (each with a cute little church and graveyard, some hotels, and at least one collapsed wooden barn). There was a little Sound-of-Music-style spinning involved. And a waist-tall squash. I’ll let the photos say the rest.
Greetings from Italy. We’re recovering from Oktoberfest in a cute mountain resort town, because the best way to get over too much German beer, pretzels and kaesespaetzle is to wash it down with Italian wine, pasta, and cheese.
I’ll be back to finish off my Oktoberfest posting in a few days. But for now, the sauna is calling me.
Jul – I’ve spent the last hour or so being super jealous of you, sucked into your old blog entries about Switzerland and happening across Chagall exhibits, big cows, and castles and such. Man. I’ve got to get out there. Could you please tell me a couple cities in Switzerland you think are the cutest?
Switzerland is all kinds of cute, and a great place to vacation. I’m having a hard time narrowing it down to just a couple cities, so I’ll name a couple in each region. Starting in the German-speaking part of the country, I’d recommend Lucerne (the wooden bridges are charming) and Bern (about as quaint as a capital city can get).
Moving on to Ticino, or the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, I’d suggest Lugano and Bellinzona (castles!) for their adorableness. Lugano (which I visited pre-blog) is a lovely lake town combining the best of Italy and Switzerland – great architecture, yummy food, and clean streets. In Francophone Swiss cities there’s also plenty of cuteness to be found, especially in Fribourg and Lausanne.
If you want to get out of the cities, the cutest parts of Switzerland overall are the mountain villages. My all-time favorite is Mürren, which is in the Bernese Oberland and is so cute it will make your cheeks hurt. The whole area is fabulous – don’t miss Trummelbach Falls or Grindelwald, either. Interlaken is the gateway to this area, and from there you can take cog-wheel trains and other quaint forms of transportation to get up to the various little villages.
But really, Switzerland is just so chock-full of cuteness it’d be impossible to get it all into one post. You’re likely to find it wherever your trip takes you.
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Ask the Expat is a new feature I’m trying out here at the blog. If you have a question for me, go to this post to find out how to submit it.
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