Sightseeing Around Bolzano

(For those checking this regularly, I have added 4 long posts today, so don't forget to keep reading after this one!)

After some failed attempts to see the sights around this town (the first cable car we visited was closed, of course and the shuttle bus to the castle we wanted to visit was apparently invisible), we finally managed to find some of the nicer parts of Bolzano.

Our first trip was to Schloss Runkelstein (or Castel Roncolo - this is such a bilingual city that everything has an Italian and a German name - and all of the locals speak both languages - pretty amazing!) This 14th Century castle is most famous for its frescoes which decorate all of the walls of the castle. It also gives some pretty amazing views of the nearby scenery.

We then headed up the San Genesio cable car (we found one that was working! Luckily we arrived just before it took its 90 minute lunch break. Yes, even the cable cars need a siesta...) , tried some fantastic local wine (only 1 Euro a glass!) and saw a beautiful little church and cemetery. No photos, though as my camera ran out of batteries, sorry.

The next day (the last day of Rita's visit) we headed to the nearby town of Merano (immortalised by a terrible song in the musical Chess). Merano is amazingly different from Bolzano. It is much more Austrian in many ways and feels much calmer. I really liked this city and will certainly be visiting it more often in my time here.

Right in the middle of town is a really small castle which was amazing on the inside.

The main cathedral in Merano was also very beautiful, as was the side chapel nearby that contained the bodies of 2 dead saints!

Outside the cathedral was an amazing food stall selling an incredible range of yummy pastas, pasta sauces and even truffle oil. I had to buy a few things that will go on the menu for Christmas lunch!

After a terribly traditional lunch of Specknoedelsuppe (Bacon dumpling soup) and beer, we took a walk along the river to find the most spectacular scenery in the area!

It was so great to discover this beautiful little town on Rita's last day here. Having her here with me has really helped in what has been a fairly stressful time and I am looking forward to catching up with her one more time in LA on my way back to Melbourne in January. Only 10 more days left in Bolzano... (and I still have to write about my trip to Milan last Friday!)