Traversing Tyrol
Nov 8th, 2024, 07:32 AM
#21
Sept 22 -
We took the 9:03 am bus to Obergurgl just to see it; but there wasn’t much to see, the village pretty much shut down for the season, even more so as it was Sunday, so we got right back on the same bus about 15 minutes later and rode it back through Sölden and on to the Längenfeld Kirche bus stop to check out a walk I’d found online.
After poking around the church and locating the trail, we walked to the Längenfeld Hangbrücke, an 83 meter long, 220 meter high (721 feet) suspension bridge that was built in 2013 to connect the alpine plateaus of Brand and Bergstein, situated 200 meters above the valley floor.
Längenfeld Kirche
The trail began on what looked like a private road, so we turned back, crossed the creek and then followed the trail on the other side.
Unfortunately, the trail led to more stairs, not what either of us wanted to see after our stair adventure a few days prior.
More stairs
And these, which fortunately we didn't have to climb
At the top of the stairs, the trail led us through forest and then connected with the same ‘private’ road we were trying to avoid; evidently we were right the first time. The trail had been described as “easy”, but as we’d already learned, ‘easy’ in Austria is not to be confused with ‘flat’. The trail was rather steep, giving both sides of our knees a workout.
Hike to Längenfeld Hangbrücke, near Brandalm
Hike to Längenfeld Hangbrücke, near Brandalm
https://www.oetztal.com/de/regionen-...d-3bc988f94f21
We reached the bridge, crossed it, and considered continuing to walk up to Bergstein, but knew we’d either have to double back or figure out how to get from Bergstein back to Längenfeld.
Längenfeld Hangbrücke
We were hungry and wanted to check out the Brandalm bergrestaurant that we’d passed en route, so we backtracked. Here we had a good lunch; pumpkin soup for me, wurst, kraut, dumpling, and freshly grated horseradish for Bill, which he said was really good. The chocolate zucchini kuchen with cream was calling me, so I ordered it as well, but it wasn’t what I had in mind; Bill had no trouble polishing it off (€40 with drinks). We enjoyed watching the animals on site.
https://www.oetztal.com/en/regions-v...e-8873f14a9967
Brandalm bergrestaurant
Brandalm bergrestaurant
Brandalm bergrestaurant
Brandalm bergrestaurant
Brandalm bergrestaurant
Brandalm bergrestaurant
We then hiked back down to Längenfeld and walked to the Aqua Dome; we'd brought our swimsuits in the backpack, as we’d made a 5 pm booking, but not knowing when we’d be finished with the hike; we were very early.
So, we popped into the attached hotel for a pre-soak Aperol Spritz for me (€7.90), and a chat with the entertaining Italian bartender, who told us he’s lived in Längenfeld for years and has never been hiking. He said he occasionally rents an e-bike, then tells his friends that he’s had a really good workout, even though he’s not even broken a sweat.
We then crossed the hotel’s grounds to the Aqua Dome (free entry to the pools was another perk of our Ötztal Summer Cards), and asked if we could get in early. Why yes, we could. So we paid €7 each for a towel and spent the next 90 minutes exploring the place. It’s a very nice facility, but the water was way too cool for either of us. We tried all the pools, same result. I like my water hot, just like my coffee.
Afterwards, we considered having a meal in their bistro, but our return bus to Sölden was imminent, so we walked to the bus stop instead.
https://www.aqua-dome.at/en/
Thoughts and impressions:
We really enjoyed our stay in the Ötztal valley and the Ötztal Summer Card was a wonderful perk.
Bill was disappointed that we were unable to visit the Rettenbach Glacier and take the Schwarze Schneidbahn for that 360° panorama of the Ötztal, Stubai Alps and the Dolomites.
We’d also not been able to work out a visit to the Timmelelsjoch High Alpine Road; the logistics were just too difficult with the limited bus schedules, and the big snow the previous weekend made things a bit iffy.
https://www.tyrol.com/things-to-do/a...gh-alpine-road
If we return to the area, we might come back a bit earlier in the season. There’s so much to see and do, we could easily spend a few weeks. We might even consider staying in the Längenfeld Huben Kirche area, or perhaps Umhausen, as both appealed to us.
To be continued...
We took the 9:03 am bus to Obergurgl just to see it; but there wasn’t much to see, the village pretty much shut down for the season, even more so as it was Sunday, so we got right back on the same bus about 15 minutes later and rode it back through Sölden and on to the Längenfeld Kirche bus stop to check out a walk I’d found online.
After poking around the church and locating the trail, we walked to the Längenfeld Hangbrücke, an 83 meter long, 220 meter high (721 feet) suspension bridge that was built in 2013 to connect the alpine plateaus of Brand and Bergstein, situated 200 meters above the valley floor.
Längenfeld Kirche
The trail began on what looked like a private road, so we turned back, crossed the creek and then followed the trail on the other side.
Unfortunately, the trail led to more stairs, not what either of us wanted to see after our stair adventure a few days prior.
More stairs
And these, which fortunately we didn't have to climb
At the top of the stairs, the trail led us through forest and then connected with the same ‘private’ road we were trying to avoid; evidently we were right the first time. The trail had been described as “easy”, but as we’d already learned, ‘easy’ in Austria is not to be confused with ‘flat’. The trail was rather steep, giving both sides of our knees a workout.
Hike to Längenfeld Hangbrücke, near Brandalm
Hike to Längenfeld Hangbrücke, near Brandalm
https://www.oetztal.com/de/regionen-...d-3bc988f94f21
We reached the bridge, crossed it, and considered continuing to walk up to Bergstein, but knew we’d either have to double back or figure out how to get from Bergstein back to Längenfeld.
Längenfeld Hangbrücke
We were hungry and wanted to check out the Brandalm bergrestaurant that we’d passed en route, so we backtracked. Here we had a good lunch; pumpkin soup for me, wurst, kraut, dumpling, and freshly grated horseradish for Bill, which he said was really good. The chocolate zucchini kuchen with cream was calling me, so I ordered it as well, but it wasn’t what I had in mind; Bill had no trouble polishing it off (€40 with drinks). We enjoyed watching the animals on site.
https://www.oetztal.com/en/regions-v...e-8873f14a9967
Brandalm bergrestaurant
Brandalm bergrestaurant
Brandalm bergrestaurant
Brandalm bergrestaurant
Brandalm bergrestaurant
Brandalm bergrestaurant
We then hiked back down to Längenfeld and walked to the Aqua Dome; we'd brought our swimsuits in the backpack, as we’d made a 5 pm booking, but not knowing when we’d be finished with the hike; we were very early.
So, we popped into the attached hotel for a pre-soak Aperol Spritz for me (€7.90), and a chat with the entertaining Italian bartender, who told us he’s lived in Längenfeld for years and has never been hiking. He said he occasionally rents an e-bike, then tells his friends that he’s had a really good workout, even though he’s not even broken a sweat.
We then crossed the hotel’s grounds to the Aqua Dome (free entry to the pools was another perk of our Ötztal Summer Cards), and asked if we could get in early. Why yes, we could. So we paid €7 each for a towel and spent the next 90 minutes exploring the place. It’s a very nice facility, but the water was way too cool for either of us. We tried all the pools, same result. I like my water hot, just like my coffee.
Afterwards, we considered having a meal in their bistro, but our return bus to Sölden was imminent, so we walked to the bus stop instead.
https://www.aqua-dome.at/en/
Thoughts and impressions:
We really enjoyed our stay in the Ötztal valley and the Ötztal Summer Card was a wonderful perk.
Bill was disappointed that we were unable to visit the Rettenbach Glacier and take the Schwarze Schneidbahn for that 360° panorama of the Ötztal, Stubai Alps and the Dolomites.
We’d also not been able to work out a visit to the Timmelelsjoch High Alpine Road; the logistics were just too difficult with the limited bus schedules, and the big snow the previous weekend made things a bit iffy.
https://www.tyrol.com/things-to-do/a...gh-alpine-road
If we return to the area, we might come back a bit earlier in the season. There’s so much to see and do, we could easily spend a few weeks. We might even consider staying in the Längenfeld Huben Kirche area, or perhaps Umhausen, as both appealed to us.
To be continued...
Last edited by Melnq8; Nov 8th, 2024 at 07:40 AM.
Nov 8th, 2024, 01:08 PM
#23
Sept 23 -
We left Sölden via the 320 bus to Ötztal, one hour, no charge as covered with our guest card.
Then we caught a train to Innsbruck; we’d bought tickets via the VVT app, €21.80, the ride took about 35 minutes.
We arrived in Innsbruck around noon, planning to utilize the luggage lockers in the train station for a few hours. Unfortunately, three of the four banks of lockers were out of service, and there was a group vying for the few remaining.
I looked into Bounce luggage storage on my phone, which showed a nearby location, but it came to €23 once fees were added and we’d have to locate the drop off. So, we decided to just roll our luggage with us instead.
As mentioned earlier, we’d booked a late afternoon train from Innsbruck to Brixen, as at the time, the earliest bus left Sölden at 12:35. Once the schedule changed, we decided to leave Sölden early and spend a few hours in Innsbruck eating Indian food and visiting our favorite wine bar.
We rolled our luggage to a place I’d scouted out for lunch - Jaipur, about a 10 minute walk from the train station. It was very busy with local workers, perhaps because they offer a weekday lunch special. We squeezed into the small restaurant, left one suitcase out of the way near the bar, and tucked the other alongside our table.
Bill ordered the lunch special, chicken curry €11.20, I went for the Butter Paneer; both came with rice and naan. Both dishes were toned down for the masses, or perhaps the Austrian palate, neither the least bit spicy, but both were very good just the same, €36.40 with drinks.
Jaipur, Innsbruck
Afterwards we rolled our luggage over to Vinium.in, our favorite Innsbruck wine bar. Gregory, who we’d met and had a nice chat with last December was manning the shop. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t remember us. We had some lovely Riesling (€19.60) while sitting at an outdoor table watching the world go by.
Vinium.in
Watching the world go by
Innsbruck was hopping, sunny and gorgeous, and we realized this was the first time we’d visited outside of winter. We chatted up Gregory, who told us that it would turn cold in a few weeks, and said all the visitors were "old people from all over the world". Yep, that would be us.
Innsbruck
Innsbruck
Innsbruck
A favorite place for hot chocolate from a previous trip
We rolled our luggage back to the bahnhof; our train was 8 minutes late. Thank goodness we’d reserved seats; the train was full and stinking hot; we barely found a place for our luggage. It wasn’t clear what was going on with the air con, but we thought we’d pass out. We’d bought our Sparscheine tickets well in advance, €19.40, €6 for seat reservations. The ticket price later increased to €48.
It was obvious that there was some sort of issue, as every time we stopped, the train took quite a while to get moving again. The Italian police came onboard for a random passport check at the Italian border, which slowed us down even more; but somehow we arrived in Brixen/Bresannone, the oldest town in Tyrol, only 15 minutes late.
We’d missed our connecting bus (our Air BNB owner had sent digital Brixen Cards to us in advance and we’d downloaded them on our phone’s wallets, so buses/trains were free), so I suggested we walk the 20 minutes to the apartment instead, earning me no points with my spouse as it began to rain.
With the help of a woman who resided in the same building, we eventually found the apartment. After getting settled, I Googled grocery store near me, and we then walked about 10 minutes to the closest Spar for coffee supplies and milk.
Then we set out to find the Centro Storico (historic center), and hopefully some dinner. It was now dark and raining buckets, and not much was open on this miserable Monday night. I was hangry and needed food - now - so we settled on kebabs at a random kebab joint, but mine was awful, €17 with two bottles of water. Ugh. I instantly regretted not picking up something at Spar for dinner.
Then it was out into the rain for the meandering 15-20 minute walk back to the apartment (getting turned around in the process), where we spent the evening washing clothes as there hadn’t been any washing facilities in all of Sölden.
The apartment was quiet and spacious, with two bedrooms, an elevator, a washing machine and a balcony that we never used as we were just too busy during the day. The best thing about it was the location, convenient to the Centro Storico, about a 10 minute walk via a bridge over the river, a flat walk to the bus station, and a 20 minute hilly walk to the train station.
My only complaint was the unpleasant sour smell in the master bedroom, which I suspect was coming from the duvets. I mentioned it to the owner via a private message when we left, but he didn’t acknowledge my note, so he either knew about it, or didn’t care, which put me off a bit.
To be continued...
We left Sölden via the 320 bus to Ötztal, one hour, no charge as covered with our guest card.
Then we caught a train to Innsbruck; we’d bought tickets via the VVT app, €21.80, the ride took about 35 minutes.
We arrived in Innsbruck around noon, planning to utilize the luggage lockers in the train station for a few hours. Unfortunately, three of the four banks of lockers were out of service, and there was a group vying for the few remaining.
I looked into Bounce luggage storage on my phone, which showed a nearby location, but it came to €23 once fees were added and we’d have to locate the drop off. So, we decided to just roll our luggage with us instead.
As mentioned earlier, we’d booked a late afternoon train from Innsbruck to Brixen, as at the time, the earliest bus left Sölden at 12:35. Once the schedule changed, we decided to leave Sölden early and spend a few hours in Innsbruck eating Indian food and visiting our favorite wine bar.
We rolled our luggage to a place I’d scouted out for lunch - Jaipur, about a 10 minute walk from the train station. It was very busy with local workers, perhaps because they offer a weekday lunch special. We squeezed into the small restaurant, left one suitcase out of the way near the bar, and tucked the other alongside our table.
Bill ordered the lunch special, chicken curry €11.20, I went for the Butter Paneer; both came with rice and naan. Both dishes were toned down for the masses, or perhaps the Austrian palate, neither the least bit spicy, but both were very good just the same, €36.40 with drinks.
Jaipur, Innsbruck
Afterwards we rolled our luggage over to Vinium.in, our favorite Innsbruck wine bar. Gregory, who we’d met and had a nice chat with last December was manning the shop. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t remember us. We had some lovely Riesling (€19.60) while sitting at an outdoor table watching the world go by.
Vinium.in
Watching the world go by
Innsbruck was hopping, sunny and gorgeous, and we realized this was the first time we’d visited outside of winter. We chatted up Gregory, who told us that it would turn cold in a few weeks, and said all the visitors were "old people from all over the world". Yep, that would be us.
Innsbruck
Innsbruck
Innsbruck
A favorite place for hot chocolate from a previous trip
We rolled our luggage back to the bahnhof; our train was 8 minutes late. Thank goodness we’d reserved seats; the train was full and stinking hot; we barely found a place for our luggage. It wasn’t clear what was going on with the air con, but we thought we’d pass out. We’d bought our Sparscheine tickets well in advance, €19.40, €6 for seat reservations. The ticket price later increased to €48.
It was obvious that there was some sort of issue, as every time we stopped, the train took quite a while to get moving again. The Italian police came onboard for a random passport check at the Italian border, which slowed us down even more; but somehow we arrived in Brixen/Bresannone, the oldest town in Tyrol, only 15 minutes late.
We’d missed our connecting bus (our Air BNB owner had sent digital Brixen Cards to us in advance and we’d downloaded them on our phone’s wallets, so buses/trains were free), so I suggested we walk the 20 minutes to the apartment instead, earning me no points with my spouse as it began to rain.
With the help of a woman who resided in the same building, we eventually found the apartment. After getting settled, I Googled grocery store near me, and we then walked about 10 minutes to the closest Spar for coffee supplies and milk.
Then we set out to find the Centro Storico (historic center), and hopefully some dinner. It was now dark and raining buckets, and not much was open on this miserable Monday night. I was hangry and needed food - now - so we settled on kebabs at a random kebab joint, but mine was awful, €17 with two bottles of water. Ugh. I instantly regretted not picking up something at Spar for dinner.
Then it was out into the rain for the meandering 15-20 minute walk back to the apartment (getting turned around in the process), where we spent the evening washing clothes as there hadn’t been any washing facilities in all of Sölden.
The apartment was quiet and spacious, with two bedrooms, an elevator, a washing machine and a balcony that we never used as we were just too busy during the day. The best thing about it was the location, convenient to the Centro Storico, about a 10 minute walk via a bridge over the river, a flat walk to the bus station, and a 20 minute hilly walk to the train station.
My only complaint was the unpleasant sour smell in the master bedroom, which I suspect was coming from the duvets. I mentioned it to the owner via a private message when we left, but he didn’t acknowledge my note, so he either knew about it, or didn’t care, which put me off a bit.
To be continued...
Nov 8th, 2024, 02:56 PM
#26
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Enjoyed your photos and report on the Ötztal valley. We've been tossing around ideas for a mountain vacation next September, so one more destination to look into.
We spent a day in Bressanone - I think we were there 10 days before you (the 13th). The big snowstorm was the day before and trails were messy, so it was one of our rain/snow day options.
We spent a day in Bressanone - I think we were there 10 days before you (the 13th). The big snowstorm was the day before and trails were messy, so it was one of our rain/snow day options.
Nov 9th, 2024, 07:30 AM
#27
ms_go - Based on your experience, re-visiting earlier in September might not be a sure bet weather-wise! We really enjoyed Brixen/Bressanone, but then again, we liked all of our bases on this trip.
Nov 9th, 2024, 07:55 AM
#28
Sept 24 -
Rain was expected, but it didn’t look too bad. We walked to a café near the apartment for caffeine and pastry - Alberti, where we had the first of many tepid coffees, a recurring theme in Austria and Italy; this piping hot coffee lover was not impressed, €10.60.
Then we took the 9:36 am 321 bus to The Plose, Brixen’s local mountain, a massif with several peaks. The bus ride only took about 15 minutes, fortunately, as Bill almost lost his latte macchiato, thanks to his backward facing seat, the winding roads and our Mario Andretti bus driver.
Once there, we took the two stage cable car to the top (2,562 meters), free with our Brixen Card.
The Plose is a popular area; there were quite a few people here. It’s possible to rent bobsleds in the summer and toboggans in the winter, which looked like a lot of fun.
https://www.suedtirolerland.it/en/le...in-bressanone/
Once at the top, we followed the gentle Woody Walk trail to Rossalmhütte, which on a clear day would no doubt have spectacular views of the Dolomites; unfortunately, today wasn't that day.
Plose
Plose, non-views
Plose
We had a nice alfresco lunch, noticing that everyone was of a certain age (seems Gregory was spot on). I had the potato soup, Bill went for the barley soup with roast neck of pork cutlet - which I assume was in the soup as that’s all he was given, both very good, €30 with drinks.
Rossalmhütte
Rossalmhütte
Rossalmhütte
Rossalmhütte
After lunch, we returned the way we’d come, taking a beverage break at La Finestra near the cable car station. What little there was of the sun disappeared; it got really cold, really fast, we could see our breath.
Return walk to La Finestra
Return walk to La Finestra
La Finestra
We then took the cable car back down, where it was a much warmer 21c.
Then it was back on the bus down to the Brixen bahnhof, where we caught a train to Chiusa/Klausen; the train packed, and late again; the ride taking about 15 minutes; me surprised by the abundance of vineyards we passed along the way.
Once off the train in Chiusa, we didn’t know where to go; I’d read that Chiusa has a nice medieval town center. I’d also earmarked a hike from here up to Sabiona Abbey, which is the first thing one sees from the train, and Adelaidean had mentioned a hike from here via the chestnut path back to Brixen, but at 17.1 km we’d need to start earlier in the day.
Sabiona Abbey above Chiusa/Klausen
So, we wandered until we found the lovely medieval town center.
Chiusa/Klausen
Chiusa/Klausen
Chiusa/Klausen
Chiusa/Klausen
We had an early dinner of shared pizza at Hirschen Cervo, €31.30 with drinks. Afterwards I had my first gelato of the trip from a nearby gelato shop, €4, two scoops.
Hirschen Cervo
Hirschen Cervo
Then it was back to the bahnhof and on a train back to Brixen; which was late again, causing us to miss our connecting bus again, so, we walked to the apartment again.
It’d been another five mile day, 3.5 miles on Plose and another two miles of incidental walking.
To be continued...
Rain was expected, but it didn’t look too bad. We walked to a café near the apartment for caffeine and pastry - Alberti, where we had the first of many tepid coffees, a recurring theme in Austria and Italy; this piping hot coffee lover was not impressed, €10.60.
Then we took the 9:36 am 321 bus to The Plose, Brixen’s local mountain, a massif with several peaks. The bus ride only took about 15 minutes, fortunately, as Bill almost lost his latte macchiato, thanks to his backward facing seat, the winding roads and our Mario Andretti bus driver.
Once there, we took the two stage cable car to the top (2,562 meters), free with our Brixen Card.
The Plose is a popular area; there were quite a few people here. It’s possible to rent bobsleds in the summer and toboggans in the winter, which looked like a lot of fun.
https://www.suedtirolerland.it/en/le...in-bressanone/
Once at the top, we followed the gentle Woody Walk trail to Rossalmhütte, which on a clear day would no doubt have spectacular views of the Dolomites; unfortunately, today wasn't that day.
Plose
Plose, non-views
Plose
We had a nice alfresco lunch, noticing that everyone was of a certain age (seems Gregory was spot on). I had the potato soup, Bill went for the barley soup with roast neck of pork cutlet - which I assume was in the soup as that’s all he was given, both very good, €30 with drinks.
Rossalmhütte
Rossalmhütte
Rossalmhütte
Rossalmhütte
After lunch, we returned the way we’d come, taking a beverage break at La Finestra near the cable car station. What little there was of the sun disappeared; it got really cold, really fast, we could see our breath.
Return walk to La Finestra
Return walk to La Finestra
La Finestra
We then took the cable car back down, where it was a much warmer 21c.
Then it was back on the bus down to the Brixen bahnhof, where we caught a train to Chiusa/Klausen; the train packed, and late again; the ride taking about 15 minutes; me surprised by the abundance of vineyards we passed along the way.
Once off the train in Chiusa, we didn’t know where to go; I’d read that Chiusa has a nice medieval town center. I’d also earmarked a hike from here up to Sabiona Abbey, which is the first thing one sees from the train, and Adelaidean had mentioned a hike from here via the chestnut path back to Brixen, but at 17.1 km we’d need to start earlier in the day.
Sabiona Abbey above Chiusa/Klausen
So, we wandered until we found the lovely medieval town center.
Chiusa/Klausen
Chiusa/Klausen
Chiusa/Klausen
Chiusa/Klausen
We had an early dinner of shared pizza at Hirschen Cervo, €31.30 with drinks. Afterwards I had my first gelato of the trip from a nearby gelato shop, €4, two scoops.
Hirschen Cervo
Hirschen Cervo
Then it was back to the bahnhof and on a train back to Brixen; which was late again, causing us to miss our connecting bus again, so, we walked to the apartment again.
It’d been another five mile day, 3.5 miles on Plose and another two miles of incidental walking.
To be continued...
Last edited by Melnq8; Nov 9th, 2024 at 08:02 AM.
Nov 9th, 2024, 11:33 AM
#29
Sept 25 -
Our day began at Café am Gries for nice (hot!) café lattes, a very good ricotta filled pastry for me, and a large slice of Apfelstrudel for Bill, €12.60.
Café am Gries
Café am Gries
Café am Gries
Then it was off to the tourist office where a helpful young woman suggested a staggering number of options. Brixen was much livelier than the day we arrived, and felt much bigger than its population of 23,000. Everything was open; the town was much nicer without the rain. We poked around a bit and visited the Bressanone Cathedral/Brixner Dom.
Bressanone Cathedral/Brixner Dom
Bressanone Cathedral/Brixner Dom
Bressanone Cathedral/Brixner Dom
Bressanone Cathedral/Brixner Dom
Bressanone/Brixen
Later, we caught a bus near the apartment to the bahnhof; it late enough to make us run to our train to Bolzano. Making connections was proving stressful here. The ride to Bolzano took about 35 minutes, much of it through a tunnel.
Once there, we walked about 10 minutes to the Ritten/Renon cable car station. We knew today was the best weather day we’d have as rain was expected tomorrow, and mixed weather on Friday, so we figured it was a good time to check out the cable car.
https://www.ritten.com/en/1203-cablecar
We were met with a long line…who are all these old people? We had to wait about 20 minutes to board the cable car (despite their website stating the cable cars depart every four minutes, so there’s no wait, another low season thing perhaps?).
Ritten/Renon cable car station
The cable car was full, and before long we entered the clouds, completely obscuring any potential views.
Once at the top (Oberbozen/Soprabolzano) we got our bearings over gelato - strawberry and lemon for me, lemon and pistachio for Bill - €4 each.
Oberbozen/Soprabolzano
We noticed people boarding the train, so we hopped on; it was standing room only, completely packed, yet six more people after us managed to squeeze on; one of them with a nasty wet cough; we tried not to breathe as visions of COVID danced through our heads.
The Renon Railway connects the villages of Maria Assunta, Soprabolzano, Costalovàra, Stella and Collalbo.
Renon Railway
The views from onboard the train are said to be “phenomenal”, but all we saw were people’s heads.
https://www.ritten.com/en/1202-railway
We weren’t quite sure where we were going, but the woman in the tourist office had suggested the cable car, the historic narrow gauge railway, and the walk to the Earth Pyramids, which we’d never heard of until today.
So, we listened.
Once we reached the end of the train line (Collalbo) we disembarked and walked the 30-40 minutes to the Earth Pyramids.
Walking to the Earth Pyramids
Walking to the Earth Pyramids
Walking to the Earth Pyramids
https://www.ritten.com/en/1201-earth-pyramids
Earth pyramids consist of cone-shaped pillars formed by deposited clay and a boulder on top - they often form rather bizarre shapes, and tend to be shrouded in mystery.
Europe’s tallest and most perfectly shaped earth pyramids are to be found on the Renon mountain in several locations…
The pyramids were mildly interesting, but those views into the valley were lovely.
Earth Pyramids
Views into the valley
Then we backtracked (three miles return) to Collalbo, where we had forgettable pizza at a snack bar near the train station (€24, two small pizzas, two drinks), and then hopped back on the train when we noticed it getting ready to depart. Once again, the train was standing room only and absolutely heaving. I can’t imagine this or the cable car in high season.
Back in Oberbozen/Soprabolzano, we stood back from the cable car station, allowing a large group of rambunctious kids to board ahead of us, and then joined the old folks in the queue, eventually taking the cable car back down to Bolzano. This time we could see the views, and they were something else. Row after row of vineyards and copious rolling hills. Gorgeous.
Queue for the Ritten/Renon cable car station
Views from onboard the Ritten/Renon cable car
Views from onboard the Ritten/Renon cable car
Back on terra firma, we decided to walk to the Centro Storico, soon overwhelmed by all the people and the chaos. Bolzano is the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in Tyrol, and while it only has a population of ~107,000, it felt like a big dirty city to us; it just wasn’t our scene.
The city is also home to the South Tyrol Museum of Archeology, where one can see Ötzi, the Iceman, Europe’s oldest known natural mummy, whose remains were found in the Ötztal Alps in 1991, but Bill was feeling crummy and we just couldn’t garner up the interest to seek it out.
We did visit a church, and tried to have wine at a nearby establishment, but they were closed from 4-6, so we bailed and decided to return to Brixen, actually making our bus connection for the first time.
Bolzano
Bolzano
The trains, cable car and historic train were all included with the Brixen Card.
After dropping off the backpack in the apartment, we went into town to look for a wine bar and to poke around, much preferring sedate Brixen to hectic Bolzano. We ended up at Enoteca Vitis, where we pulled up a chair in their lovely courtyard, with grape vines overhead; so nice and calm after the mobs of the day.
Enoteca Vitis, Brixen
Here we had two glasses each of a lovely Kerner white from Brixen, then decided to stay on for dinner. Bill chose the steak tartare, I chose the Cavatelli with pecorino cheese and fried eggplant. Both were very good, €70, inclusive of €2 each coperto. Afterwards we walked to the Dom and listened to an organist audition, before dragging our tired selves back to the apartment.
Enoteca Vitis, Brixen
Enoteca Vitis, Brixen
Enoteca Vitis, Brixen
Brixen Dom
Brixen
Brixen Dom
It’d been another five mile day.
To be continued...
Our day began at Café am Gries for nice (hot!) café lattes, a very good ricotta filled pastry for me, and a large slice of Apfelstrudel for Bill, €12.60.
Café am Gries
Café am Gries
Café am Gries
Then it was off to the tourist office where a helpful young woman suggested a staggering number of options. Brixen was much livelier than the day we arrived, and felt much bigger than its population of 23,000. Everything was open; the town was much nicer without the rain. We poked around a bit and visited the Bressanone Cathedral/Brixner Dom.
Bressanone Cathedral/Brixner Dom
Bressanone Cathedral/Brixner Dom
Bressanone Cathedral/Brixner Dom
Bressanone Cathedral/Brixner Dom
Bressanone/Brixen
Later, we caught a bus near the apartment to the bahnhof; it late enough to make us run to our train to Bolzano. Making connections was proving stressful here. The ride to Bolzano took about 35 minutes, much of it through a tunnel.
Once there, we walked about 10 minutes to the Ritten/Renon cable car station. We knew today was the best weather day we’d have as rain was expected tomorrow, and mixed weather on Friday, so we figured it was a good time to check out the cable car.
https://www.ritten.com/en/1203-cablecar
We were met with a long line…who are all these old people? We had to wait about 20 minutes to board the cable car (despite their website stating the cable cars depart every four minutes, so there’s no wait, another low season thing perhaps?).
Ritten/Renon cable car station
The cable car was full, and before long we entered the clouds, completely obscuring any potential views.
Once at the top (Oberbozen/Soprabolzano) we got our bearings over gelato - strawberry and lemon for me, lemon and pistachio for Bill - €4 each.
Oberbozen/Soprabolzano
We noticed people boarding the train, so we hopped on; it was standing room only, completely packed, yet six more people after us managed to squeeze on; one of them with a nasty wet cough; we tried not to breathe as visions of COVID danced through our heads.
The Renon Railway connects the villages of Maria Assunta, Soprabolzano, Costalovàra, Stella and Collalbo.
Renon Railway
The views from onboard the train are said to be “phenomenal”, but all we saw were people’s heads.
https://www.ritten.com/en/1202-railway
We weren’t quite sure where we were going, but the woman in the tourist office had suggested the cable car, the historic narrow gauge railway, and the walk to the Earth Pyramids, which we’d never heard of until today.
So, we listened.
Once we reached the end of the train line (Collalbo) we disembarked and walked the 30-40 minutes to the Earth Pyramids.
Walking to the Earth Pyramids
Walking to the Earth Pyramids
Walking to the Earth Pyramids
https://www.ritten.com/en/1201-earth-pyramids
Earth pyramids consist of cone-shaped pillars formed by deposited clay and a boulder on top - they often form rather bizarre shapes, and tend to be shrouded in mystery.
Europe’s tallest and most perfectly shaped earth pyramids are to be found on the Renon mountain in several locations…
The pyramids were mildly interesting, but those views into the valley were lovely.
Earth Pyramids
Views into the valley
Then we backtracked (three miles return) to Collalbo, where we had forgettable pizza at a snack bar near the train station (€24, two small pizzas, two drinks), and then hopped back on the train when we noticed it getting ready to depart. Once again, the train was standing room only and absolutely heaving. I can’t imagine this or the cable car in high season.
Back in Oberbozen/Soprabolzano, we stood back from the cable car station, allowing a large group of rambunctious kids to board ahead of us, and then joined the old folks in the queue, eventually taking the cable car back down to Bolzano. This time we could see the views, and they were something else. Row after row of vineyards and copious rolling hills. Gorgeous.
Queue for the Ritten/Renon cable car station
Views from onboard the Ritten/Renon cable car
Views from onboard the Ritten/Renon cable car
Back on terra firma, we decided to walk to the Centro Storico, soon overwhelmed by all the people and the chaos. Bolzano is the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in Tyrol, and while it only has a population of ~107,000, it felt like a big dirty city to us; it just wasn’t our scene.
The city is also home to the South Tyrol Museum of Archeology, where one can see Ötzi, the Iceman, Europe’s oldest known natural mummy, whose remains were found in the Ötztal Alps in 1991, but Bill was feeling crummy and we just couldn’t garner up the interest to seek it out.
We did visit a church, and tried to have wine at a nearby establishment, but they were closed from 4-6, so we bailed and decided to return to Brixen, actually making our bus connection for the first time.
Bolzano
Bolzano
The trains, cable car and historic train were all included with the Brixen Card.
After dropping off the backpack in the apartment, we went into town to look for a wine bar and to poke around, much preferring sedate Brixen to hectic Bolzano. We ended up at Enoteca Vitis, where we pulled up a chair in their lovely courtyard, with grape vines overhead; so nice and calm after the mobs of the day.
Enoteca Vitis, Brixen
Here we had two glasses each of a lovely Kerner white from Brixen, then decided to stay on for dinner. Bill chose the steak tartare, I chose the Cavatelli with pecorino cheese and fried eggplant. Both were very good, €70, inclusive of €2 each coperto. Afterwards we walked to the Dom and listened to an organist audition, before dragging our tired selves back to the apartment.
Enoteca Vitis, Brixen
Enoteca Vitis, Brixen
Enoteca Vitis, Brixen
Brixen Dom
Brixen
Brixen Dom
It’d been another five mile day.
To be continued...
Last edited by Melnq8; Nov 9th, 2024 at 11:38 AM.
Nov 9th, 2024, 01:44 PM
#30
I’m reading your TR and watching the kangaroos feeding around our holiday cottage, Mel - which would bring back memories for you, while your report is bringing back lovely south Tirol memories for me.
We also found Bolzano very crowded, but it’s very pretty and the Ötzi museum is a real draw.
Looking forward to the rest of your adventure in this gorgeous region.
We also found Bolzano very crowded, but it’s very pretty and the Ötzi museum is a real draw.
Looking forward to the rest of your adventure in this gorgeous region.
Nov 10th, 2024, 04:41 AM
#33
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Thanks for the exhaustive report.
Where did you find this crazy infoi concerning bus 320: at https://fahrplan.oebb.at/ ?
As you visited Bozen/Ritten/Klobenstein anyway, I would have taken a taxi from Obergurgl via Timmelsjoch to Rabenstein and then the bus from there to Meran and the train to Bozen.
I suppose you got a South Tyrol Guest Pass for free at your arrival inyour Brixen accommodation.
Where did you find this crazy infoi concerning bus 320: at https://fahrplan.oebb.at/ ?
As you visited Bozen/Ritten/Klobenstein anyway, I would have taken a taxi from Obergurgl via Timmelsjoch to Rabenstein and then the bus from there to Meran and the train to Bozen.
I suppose you got a South Tyrol Guest Pass for free at your arrival inyour Brixen accommodation.
Nov 10th, 2024, 06:12 AM
#34
neckervd - we found the info regarding the 320 bus on VVT, OBB, Google, and we confirmed it with an employee at VVT. A poster on TA also looked at the schedules and saw what we did, but told us it would most likely change back to the existing schedule, and they were correct.
Yes, we had a guest pass in Brixen, as we did everywere we stayed in Sud Tyrol, but some covered more than others.
Interesting suggestion about a taxi, not sure how we'd have found one in deserted empty Obergurgl, although I assume we'd have to book one in advance. A taxi didn't even cross my mind, nor did we see any.
Yes, we had a guest pass in Brixen, as we did everywere we stayed in Sud Tyrol, but some covered more than others.
Interesting suggestion about a taxi, not sure how we'd have found one in deserted empty Obergurgl, although I assume we'd have to book one in advance. A taxi didn't even cross my mind, nor did we see any.
Nov 10th, 2024, 06:16 AM
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Nov 10th, 2024, 06:26 AM
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My answer to your post concerning buse in the Dolomites:
Apr 23rd, 2024, 08:10 AM
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"We leave Solden on Sept 23."
There will probably be no bus between Hochgurgl and the Italian border so late in the year.
https://www.gurgl.com/summer/hiking-...immel-bus.html
But I wonder whether it would not make sense to take a taxi for this short leg instead of making the detour via Innsbruck.
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Apr 23rd, 2024, 08:10 AM
#19
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"We leave Solden on Sept 23."
There will probably be no bus between Hochgurgl and the Italian border so late in the year.
https://www.gurgl.com/summer/hiking-...immel-bus.html
But I wonder whether it would not make sense to take a taxi for this short leg instead of making the detour via Innsbruck.
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Nov 10th, 2024, 08:51 AM
#38
Sept 26 -
Rain was expected. In the time we’d been in incredibly green Brixen, we’d encountered loads of bike riders, but not a helmet to be found.
Our day began with tepid coffee (despite asking for very hot) and disappointing croissants at Gasser Brothers; €10. We were not doing well on the coffee and pastry front.
Afterwards we gathered up our rain gear and walked to the Brixen bus station and took bus 330 to the tiny town of St Magdalena. The drive took us alongside a river and through the incredibly green Villnöss valley, which had quite a bit of traffic. Our bus driver seemed to enjoy whipping around the corners at high speed as he drove up the curvy road to the Val di Funes at the rear of the valley.
We passed through apple groves and heavily logged areas; our bus almost colliding with a bus coming in the opposite direction, forcing our driver to back up; the other driver not amused.
A large group of hikers got on the bus at Mittenmuhl; at least one of them in desperate need of a shower; we nearly passed out from the BO wafting our way, especially when one of the men sitting near us took off his coat. Whew. The bus was now full.
I’d read that St Magdalena is a beautiful village located in the shadow of the Dolomites and home to the Church of St. Magdalena, situated at the foot of the Ruefen Mountain. Unfortunately, the Dolomites weren’t visible today thanks to low clouds.
We disembarked at the Putzen stop, and joined two women who monopolized the information board, clearly confused about where to go. When we finally got a look at the board, we decided to check out St Johann church first, and tried to locate the trail, but we too were confused. More signage would not go amiss.
We crossed the street and walked up a wide gravel road, saw St Johann church below us, so backtracked and walked along the main road in the direction of the church. The other women had finally figured out the same thing, that the trail began on the main road, which didn’t feel very safe, especially with all the large trucks coming and going.
When we reached the entrance, we paid €4 each to walk up to the church, but it was locked so we couldn’t go in. I’ve since read that the church is privately owned; it lies on the Ranuihof farm, and the small Baroque church offers a nice view in front the Dolomites. Unfortunately, not today.
St. Johann
St. Johann
We watched a young Asian woman walk around the entire church with a camera on a very long stick as she filmed the church from every possible angle, presumably for her three traveling companions who evidently did not want to pay the €4 fee. She also set up a tripod and took numerous selfies; jumping and posing, completely oblivious to those looking on. This behaviour always baffles me. It seems we’d stumbled upon an Instagram magnet.
After the church, we continued walking up the hill to Restaurant Waldschenke, popping in for a beverage, in this case a very good Lilet berry, €6 each. The food offerings did not appeal, but the place got very busy with locals and workers; the carpark was full when we left, so they must have good food.
https://www.restaurant-waldschenke.com/en/
Several longer hikes originate from near the restaurant. Rain was imminent, so we took a pass.
St Magdalena
We returned to the village, and decided to have an alfresco lunch with the wasps (our constant companions anytime we dined outdoors) at Hotel Fines. Bill enjoyed his mushroom risotto, but my pumpkin soup looked prettier than it tasted; it needed some seasoning. (€38 with drinks). We weren’t a fan of the hard crunchy bread that kept showing up with our meals, Schüttelbrot, which is a traditional flatbread originating from South Tyrol, definitely an acquired taste.
Risotto, Hotel Fines
Pumpkin soup, Hotel Fines
https://hotelfines.com/en/food-drinks.
Neither of us was thrilled about hiking in the rain, so we took a pass on the hike up to St Magdalena church.
https://www.villnoess.com/en/culinar...-st-magdalena/
Instead, we took a bus back to Brixen and explored town. It was much busier than we’d seen it thus far; lots of people out and about, eating lunch, having coffee and dessert, drinking Aperol Spritzes. We poked around and stumbled across a few areas we’d not yet seen; we ate gelato, €3.50 for two scoops; I really liked Brixen.
Brixen
Brixen
Brixen
Brixen
We popped into Decantei, a restaurant/wine bar we’d walked by several times since we’d arrived. Nice place this; quiet and sedate. Bill had a Weltenburger Kloster black beer, I had a nice Kerner white wine.
Decantei
To be continued...
Rain was expected. In the time we’d been in incredibly green Brixen, we’d encountered loads of bike riders, but not a helmet to be found.
Our day began with tepid coffee (despite asking for very hot) and disappointing croissants at Gasser Brothers; €10. We were not doing well on the coffee and pastry front.
Afterwards we gathered up our rain gear and walked to the Brixen bus station and took bus 330 to the tiny town of St Magdalena. The drive took us alongside a river and through the incredibly green Villnöss valley, which had quite a bit of traffic. Our bus driver seemed to enjoy whipping around the corners at high speed as he drove up the curvy road to the Val di Funes at the rear of the valley.
We passed through apple groves and heavily logged areas; our bus almost colliding with a bus coming in the opposite direction, forcing our driver to back up; the other driver not amused.
A large group of hikers got on the bus at Mittenmuhl; at least one of them in desperate need of a shower; we nearly passed out from the BO wafting our way, especially when one of the men sitting near us took off his coat. Whew. The bus was now full.
I’d read that St Magdalena is a beautiful village located in the shadow of the Dolomites and home to the Church of St. Magdalena, situated at the foot of the Ruefen Mountain. Unfortunately, the Dolomites weren’t visible today thanks to low clouds.
We disembarked at the Putzen stop, and joined two women who monopolized the information board, clearly confused about where to go. When we finally got a look at the board, we decided to check out St Johann church first, and tried to locate the trail, but we too were confused. More signage would not go amiss.
We crossed the street and walked up a wide gravel road, saw St Johann church below us, so backtracked and walked along the main road in the direction of the church. The other women had finally figured out the same thing, that the trail began on the main road, which didn’t feel very safe, especially with all the large trucks coming and going.
When we reached the entrance, we paid €4 each to walk up to the church, but it was locked so we couldn’t go in. I’ve since read that the church is privately owned; it lies on the Ranuihof farm, and the small Baroque church offers a nice view in front the Dolomites. Unfortunately, not today.
St. Johann
St. Johann
We watched a young Asian woman walk around the entire church with a camera on a very long stick as she filmed the church from every possible angle, presumably for her three traveling companions who evidently did not want to pay the €4 fee. She also set up a tripod and took numerous selfies; jumping and posing, completely oblivious to those looking on. This behaviour always baffles me. It seems we’d stumbled upon an Instagram magnet.
After the church, we continued walking up the hill to Restaurant Waldschenke, popping in for a beverage, in this case a very good Lilet berry, €6 each. The food offerings did not appeal, but the place got very busy with locals and workers; the carpark was full when we left, so they must have good food.
https://www.restaurant-waldschenke.com/en/
Several longer hikes originate from near the restaurant. Rain was imminent, so we took a pass.
St Magdalena
We returned to the village, and decided to have an alfresco lunch with the wasps (our constant companions anytime we dined outdoors) at Hotel Fines. Bill enjoyed his mushroom risotto, but my pumpkin soup looked prettier than it tasted; it needed some seasoning. (€38 with drinks). We weren’t a fan of the hard crunchy bread that kept showing up with our meals, Schüttelbrot, which is a traditional flatbread originating from South Tyrol, definitely an acquired taste.
Risotto, Hotel Fines
Pumpkin soup, Hotel Fines
https://hotelfines.com/en/food-drinks.
Neither of us was thrilled about hiking in the rain, so we took a pass on the hike up to St Magdalena church.
https://www.villnoess.com/en/culinar...-st-magdalena/
Instead, we took a bus back to Brixen and explored town. It was much busier than we’d seen it thus far; lots of people out and about, eating lunch, having coffee and dessert, drinking Aperol Spritzes. We poked around and stumbled across a few areas we’d not yet seen; we ate gelato, €3.50 for two scoops; I really liked Brixen.
Brixen
Brixen
Brixen
Brixen
We popped into Decantei, a restaurant/wine bar we’d walked by several times since we’d arrived. Nice place this; quiet and sedate. Bill had a Weltenburger Kloster black beer, I had a nice Kerner white wine.
Decantei
To be continued...
Last edited by Melnq8; Nov 10th, 2024 at 08:58 AM.
Nov 10th, 2024, 10:07 AM
#39
Sept 27 -
It had rained all night, the river was running high.
Brixen
Brixen
We walked to Café am Gries hoping for an encore of hot café lattes and that lovely ricotta pastry from the other day. Nein ricotta pastry. We decided to stay for coffee anyway; same woman, same order, but she seemed confused about what we wanted. She offered us three alternatives. We picked one, and received a shot of espresso with a tiny bit of milk. It was good, but not what we had in mind. Oh well.
We then went looking for food, deciding to give Gasser Brothers another chance, this time a different location. We both got a ricotta pastry to go. Mistake; it wasn’t good at all. Very bready, full of raisins, most went in the bin. Zero for two.
As we nibbled, I was reminded of how disappointed we’d been with the food in South Tyrol last year. As our Italian friend Gregory (from the wine bar in Innsbruck) had told us last December, and then again a few days ago, South Tyrol is not really Italy, it’s South Austria. And unfortunately, as we would continue to discover, the food in Austria is not all that.
With more rain expected we decided we’d stay close to Brixen and check out Novacella Monastery, said to be one of the most important monasteries in the entire Tyrolean region.
https://www.kloster-neustift.it/en/
We took bus 401 to Neustift, soon realizing that our intended stop was not on the digital bus display, but we could see the monastery down below, surrounded by vineyards, so we got off at Neustift/Pacher some seven minutes later, crossed the street and then walked about 10 minutes down to the monastery.
Novacella Monastery
Novacella Monastery
We were a bit early (opens at 10 am), and were surprised to see quite a few tour groups gathered at the entrance. Entry to the grounds and museum are free with the Brixen card, but we decided to also visit the gardens at €4 each.
Novacella Monastery
Novacella Monastery
Novacella Monastery
Novacella Monastery Basilica
Novacella Monastery Basilica
Novacella Monastery Basilica
Novacella Monastery cemetery
Novacella Monastery cemetery
Novacella Monastery vineyards
Religious art isn’t our thing, but we spent a few rainy hours here, most enjoying the Basilica and the cemetery…and of course our personal favorite, the Stiftskeller (wine cellar). Here we tried a lovely Kerner grown on site. Bill also tried the Riesling which he liked better than the Kerner, €22.70.
Stiftskeller
The sun finally made an appearance as we left; so we decided to make hay.
Leaving Novacella Monastery
Leaving Novacella Monastery
We walked back up to the bus stop, caught a bus back to the Brixen bus station, then waited about 20 minutes for the 321 bus, which we then took to Skihütte/Rifugio Sci, about 20 squiggly minutes past the bus stop for the Plose cable car, the drive beautiful.
There were a lot of school kids on the bus; it seemed like a long commute for school.
Once at the end of the line, we walked up to the Pfannspitz cable car station and took it to the very windy top, where we got our first really good view of the Dolomites this trip; not another person in sight.
View from base of Pfannspitz cable car station
View from top of Pfannspitz
View from top of Pfannspitz
Spurred on by the sudden sunshine, our loose, last minute plan was to walk from Pfannspitz to the Plose cable car, and then take it down and catch the return bus to Brixen. But…it was damn cold and windy…we didn’t know how long it would take us to reach Plose in Bill and Mel time…we didn’t want to get caught out and miss the last cable car down…and we were hungry.
So, we decided to bail on the hike and have lunch at the near empty Pfannspitzhütte, situated at 2,480 meters, where as luck would have it, we arrived ten minutes before the kitchen closed at 3 pm.
We both chose the spinach, butter, and parmesan ravioli (€37 with drinks). The next bus was at 3:31, there wouldn’t be another one for an hour, so we quickly ate, paid and took the cable car back down, the staff no doubt thinking we were nuts.
Lunch at Pfannspitzhütte
Dangling above in the cable car, we saw our bus pull in, and then leave, minutes earlier than scheduled.
Well, poop.
So, we ducked into the warm and quiet Schlemmer restaurant at the base of the cable car station to kill an hour over drinks while waiting for the next bus.
Schlemmer restaurant
Schlemmer restaurant
Views from Schlemmer restaurant
As we walked into the restaurant, a medical emergency was underway. A man had passed out or fallen as he left the restaurant. He was taken inside, rendered aid and an ambulance was called. It took 45 minutes for the ambulance to arrive. Scary.
Bill ordered a glass of Kerner; perhaps distracted by the emergency, they brought out a .25 liter carafe; I had an Aperol spritz, €16.
There’s also accommodation up here; from the edge of the restaurant terrace we saw a couple in a hot tub below drinking champers while taking in the spectacular views; otherwise we felt like we had the place to ourselves.
We were the only passengers on the bus down to Plose, our bus driver a jovial Italian who told us to “get on, let’s go!”, and who seemed to enjoy whipping around the abundant curves at breakneck speed.
A lot of people got on the bus at Plose, and we felt a bit smug, as if we’d discovered a secret, the quieter back side.
Upon arrival at the bus station in Brixen, we strolled through town one last time, had some gelato and a final glass of Kerner at Dacantei, before calling it a day.
Thoughts and Impressions:
We both really enjoyed Brixen/Bressanone, and the Brixen Card was quite the deal. The city was lively yet manageable, and we felt that we only scratched the surface. We barely made a dent in my long list of things to see and do, and our hiking was limited somewhat by the weather. I can see us returning for a longer stay in the future.
To be continued...
It had rained all night, the river was running high.
Brixen
Brixen
We walked to Café am Gries hoping for an encore of hot café lattes and that lovely ricotta pastry from the other day. Nein ricotta pastry. We decided to stay for coffee anyway; same woman, same order, but she seemed confused about what we wanted. She offered us three alternatives. We picked one, and received a shot of espresso with a tiny bit of milk. It was good, but not what we had in mind. Oh well.
We then went looking for food, deciding to give Gasser Brothers another chance, this time a different location. We both got a ricotta pastry to go. Mistake; it wasn’t good at all. Very bready, full of raisins, most went in the bin. Zero for two.
As we nibbled, I was reminded of how disappointed we’d been with the food in South Tyrol last year. As our Italian friend Gregory (from the wine bar in Innsbruck) had told us last December, and then again a few days ago, South Tyrol is not really Italy, it’s South Austria. And unfortunately, as we would continue to discover, the food in Austria is not all that.
With more rain expected we decided we’d stay close to Brixen and check out Novacella Monastery, said to be one of the most important monasteries in the entire Tyrolean region.
https://www.kloster-neustift.it/en/
We took bus 401 to Neustift, soon realizing that our intended stop was not on the digital bus display, but we could see the monastery down below, surrounded by vineyards, so we got off at Neustift/Pacher some seven minutes later, crossed the street and then walked about 10 minutes down to the monastery.
Novacella Monastery
Novacella Monastery
We were a bit early (opens at 10 am), and were surprised to see quite a few tour groups gathered at the entrance. Entry to the grounds and museum are free with the Brixen card, but we decided to also visit the gardens at €4 each.
Novacella Monastery
Novacella Monastery
Novacella Monastery
Novacella Monastery Basilica
Novacella Monastery Basilica
Novacella Monastery Basilica
Novacella Monastery cemetery
Novacella Monastery cemetery
Novacella Monastery vineyards
Religious art isn’t our thing, but we spent a few rainy hours here, most enjoying the Basilica and the cemetery…and of course our personal favorite, the Stiftskeller (wine cellar). Here we tried a lovely Kerner grown on site. Bill also tried the Riesling which he liked better than the Kerner, €22.70.
Stiftskeller
The sun finally made an appearance as we left; so we decided to make hay.
Leaving Novacella Monastery
Leaving Novacella Monastery
We walked back up to the bus stop, caught a bus back to the Brixen bus station, then waited about 20 minutes for the 321 bus, which we then took to Skihütte/Rifugio Sci, about 20 squiggly minutes past the bus stop for the Plose cable car, the drive beautiful.
There were a lot of school kids on the bus; it seemed like a long commute for school.
Once at the end of the line, we walked up to the Pfannspitz cable car station and took it to the very windy top, where we got our first really good view of the Dolomites this trip; not another person in sight.
View from base of Pfannspitz cable car station
View from top of Pfannspitz
View from top of Pfannspitz
Spurred on by the sudden sunshine, our loose, last minute plan was to walk from Pfannspitz to the Plose cable car, and then take it down and catch the return bus to Brixen. But…it was damn cold and windy…we didn’t know how long it would take us to reach Plose in Bill and Mel time…we didn’t want to get caught out and miss the last cable car down…and we were hungry.
So, we decided to bail on the hike and have lunch at the near empty Pfannspitzhütte, situated at 2,480 meters, where as luck would have it, we arrived ten minutes before the kitchen closed at 3 pm.
We both chose the spinach, butter, and parmesan ravioli (€37 with drinks). The next bus was at 3:31, there wouldn’t be another one for an hour, so we quickly ate, paid and took the cable car back down, the staff no doubt thinking we were nuts.
Lunch at Pfannspitzhütte
Dangling above in the cable car, we saw our bus pull in, and then leave, minutes earlier than scheduled.
Well, poop.
So, we ducked into the warm and quiet Schlemmer restaurant at the base of the cable car station to kill an hour over drinks while waiting for the next bus.
Schlemmer restaurant
Schlemmer restaurant
Views from Schlemmer restaurant
As we walked into the restaurant, a medical emergency was underway. A man had passed out or fallen as he left the restaurant. He was taken inside, rendered aid and an ambulance was called. It took 45 minutes for the ambulance to arrive. Scary.
Bill ordered a glass of Kerner; perhaps distracted by the emergency, they brought out a .25 liter carafe; I had an Aperol spritz, €16.
There’s also accommodation up here; from the edge of the restaurant terrace we saw a couple in a hot tub below drinking champers while taking in the spectacular views; otherwise we felt like we had the place to ourselves.
We were the only passengers on the bus down to Plose, our bus driver a jovial Italian who told us to “get on, let’s go!”, and who seemed to enjoy whipping around the abundant curves at breakneck speed.
A lot of people got on the bus at Plose, and we felt a bit smug, as if we’d discovered a secret, the quieter back side.
Upon arrival at the bus station in Brixen, we strolled through town one last time, had some gelato and a final glass of Kerner at Dacantei, before calling it a day.
Thoughts and Impressions:
We both really enjoyed Brixen/Bressanone, and the Brixen Card was quite the deal. The city was lively yet manageable, and we felt that we only scratched the surface. We barely made a dent in my long list of things to see and do, and our hiking was limited somewhat by the weather. I can see us returning for a longer stay in the future.
To be continued...
Last edited by Melnq8; Nov 10th, 2024 at 10:13 AM.
