I think it is across Europe, Adelaidean. My brother's partner's brother in law used to be a Benedictine monk. (Obviously, he left.)

Saturday was a two-castle day! Firstly I took the Vinschgau/Val Venosta train to Schluderns/Sluderno, which is almost as far as Mals. From the station is was a walk to Churburg/Castel Coira, billed as taking 20 minutes, but it took me more like 35. The first part was just walking through the small town, but the second part involved a steep woodland path. This was nice and cool, but quite rough walking, and because it was very steep pretty tiring. There is a car park just before the last part of the climb for those with car transport. Access to this castle is only by guided tour, and as I was the only English person there I had to tag along with an Italian group, who I think were on a day trip from somewhere in the Trentino. I can read Italian reasonably, and converse just about, but my aural Italian is not up to much, and it really wasn't good enough for this. The tour guide spoke very fast, and I could barely make out the odd word ;( The guide did give me a little brochure in English with the basics, but he was clearly saying a lot more, entertainingly judging by the frequent laughter. Nor were there any captions, which I could have read if available in Italian or German. So that made the experience as a whole a bit disappointing. They do say they offer tours in English as well, but obviously only when enough people to make it worth their while.

The castle itself was fabulous and is highly recommended. Still occupied by the last of a series of wealthy owners, it is gorgeously decorated and furnished like a stately home, with wonderful Renaissance frescoes. There is also a very large collection of Renaissance arms and armour used by the lord's private troop. It was a bit disturbing to see all the suits of armour and crossbows all lined up. Disappointingly, they didn't allow photographs - now that no one has flash any more (which is potentially damaging) that is a shame. There was a gift shop, but this seemed to be unstaffed and there was no opportunity to buy the guide book, which I would otherwise have done. There were toilets but no other facilites. The castle name comes from the Swiss city of Chur, known as Coira in Italian, as it was originally built for a medieval bishop of Chur.

I made my way downhill, and got to the museum of the Val Venosta. This was rather a disappointment, as although it has been expensively put together and presented, there was a paucity of original exhibits. The only interesting item was an Iron Age sword which had been discovered in archaeological excavations somewhere. It only took about half an hour to go round, so t was lucky I got there before their lunchtime closure. After lunch at a local café, somewhat troubled by flies and heat, but with the usual scrupulously clean loos, I wandered around the town a bit on my way back to the station. Schluderns was a very quiet country town, with very little going on, but it had an unspoiled charm. You can tell it's a very rura are - I saw a poster for three-day Tractor-fest. I bought an ice cream at the station while planning the rest of the day.

I decided to get the small citybus to Burgeis/Burgisio, which goes through Glurns/Glorenza again. It then climbed into the hills, and was quite a pretty journey. The plan was to get off at the stop closest to Marienberg monastery, which was another 20 minutes walk from there, but I unfortunately managed to miss the stop (signing wasn't all that clear, bt it was really my own fault). I didn't fancy doing it all again an hour later so I shelved the plan and got off at Mals to get the 2.20 train to Kastelbell/Castelbello. This stop is not a village name, but actually in the hamlet of Marein/Maragno, with the station named for the castle of the same name. You have to walk over the train tracks at a level crossing, then there is a short but steep road to the castle.

Kastelbell looks fantastic from outside, the vision of a medieval castle. Inside, however, it is a bit disappointing. There were two or three original rooms, which were moderately interesting, but the remainder has been rebuilt after a very bad fire and entirely lacks the original character, and is used as a gallery for contemporary art which is not my thing. The chapel had some attractive frescoes, and in the basement there was a very interesting temporary exhibition on the Via Claudia, the Roman road which led from Verona through this valley to ultimately, the Danube.

On my return to Merano, my heron friend was fishing directly outside my hotel.

Sunday I stayed in Merano to visit Castle Trautmannsdorf and its garden, the most advertised of all the local attractions. This is on the outskirts of the town. You can walk there along what is known as Sissi's Path, following a route taken by the Empress on her visits there. This is supposed to be lovely, and I considered it, but knowing the garden itself was big, I didn't want to tire myself out before getting there, so I wimped out and took the bus.

I was slightly surprised to find that the garden is not a historic garden at all, but one which was developed only in the 1990s, opening only in 2001. However it is a beautifully designed and maintained and very varied garden which is worth a visit. Perched on a steep hillside the prettiest part is below the castle. There are several signed themed routes to take round the garden and lots of different paths. The flowers on the sunny slopes are gorgeous, leading down to a lily pond with a pretty good cafe. It was another very hot day, so one blessing was the Trolean Landscapes section, which was dark, wooded and cool; here there were a few sheep (a rare Hungarian breed, for some reason); and (in a separate area) some rabbits, guinea pigs and fancy chickens. One (technically two) of the rabbits was then expecting the patter of tiny paws.

After lunch in the café I went up to the castle. This was the residence of Empress Sissi on her visits to Merano, and there are some exhibits relating to her, but mainly the castle has been converted into a museum about tourism in South Tirol in general and Merano in particular. The rather cringeworthy name of the Touriseum belies a truly excellent museum full of interest and with lots of information. It was much more interesting than I had anticipated. I particularly liked a couple of dolls houses of grand hotels. There was also a certain amount on the conflict between German and Italian speakers, which obviously impacted on tourist interest before the settlement of the 1990s. Coming out, I realised there was a whole other section to the gardens I had missed, themed around woods of the world, beside and above the castle. I didn't like this area as much as the lower sections, but it was quite pleasant.

Captions in both the museum and the garden were mostly in English as well as German and Italian.

A very enjoyable day.

Sounds like my kind of holiday :)

I am in awe of the amount of detail you have managed to remember, nonconformist, and the way you weave your descriptions into the narrative.

Really very enjoyable to read and you ought to get a cut from the local tourist board.

Thanks - I'm glad you're enjoying reading.

Anyway, Monday was a disaster all around.

Most places of interest to me were closed on Mondays, but I had found a lovely looking castle which was open, plus a musuem not far away. So I got the bus to Tscherms/Cermes. This is a small place, but big enough for a tourist information office. I checked there for the route to the castle, and soon afterwards started seeing the signs for Schloos Lebenberg/Castello Monteleone. It was a long hike uphill - not unexpected, but wearying on what was the hottest day so far. The way was along a road, but one with almost no traffic, passing between fields and orchards. There were lots of twists and turns switching back to account for the uphill gradient. There were some pretty views over the valley below, but it was very very hot.

After approximately 45 minutes walking, the road ran out. The path continued, according to the signs, up a three metre sheer wall. The 'path' beyond looked very overgrown and uncared for. I had an injured arm at the time (it was operated on just after my return) so I was limited in mobility and frankly scared to risk clambering up it, especially as I had a bag to carry as well. I did make an attempt, but couldn't manage it on my own. This is one of the drawbacks to solo travel. If I had got up there I was very doubtful I could have got down again on the way home. And as it was a rather unfrequented area I couldn't rely on finding someone to lend a hand. So I decided this was really not going to work out, and sadly made my way back. (I will add that absolutely nothing on the castle website, or on the leaflet I picked up in the tourist information place gave any indication that it might be tricky to get to at all, or any alternative route, although I suppose there must be a back entrance for the inhabitants - I can't find it on any maps though).

The heat was intensifying by this point, and I realised some horrible, malicious insects were around and had decided I would make a tasty lunch. They duly tucked in as I returned to the main road in the valley.

The bus route I had taken earlier continued on to the town of Lana, which sprawls across the valley floor. I got on the next bus and at the Lana bus station stopped for a much needed cold drink before getting the small hourly citybus to Schnatterspeckstrasse, the stop closest to the fruitgrowing museum in Lana, also open on Mondays. (This bus may have been a bad idea, as the scanning machine on the bus printed a strange message on my card to the effect that it was not valid,Maybe this bus wasn't covered by the scheme?)

There was a pretty church there, which apparently has a rather special medieval altarpiece, but it was closed until 3 o'clock. I thought I would try to get the guided tour then after my visit to the fruit museum, whch was quite small and I didn't expect to take too long.

It was just about lunchtime, so I decided to have something to eat at the small café nearby before finding the museum. This was very pleasant, and the staff directed me where to find the museum.

It was closed. Unbelievably frustratingly, there was a notice pinned on the front gate saying, in German, that they were closed that afternoon from 1 pm for an 'internen Fortbildung' (I think this means something like a staff meeting?). So if only I hadn't bothered with a lunch break I would have got there in time to see something ;(

I didn't feel like waiting for two hours for the altar, so after another 45 minutes got the bus on to the Lana Burgstall/Postal train station, on the Merano-Bolzano route. It was at this point that I realised something was wrong with my Mobilcard. Putting it in the scanner, and every time I used it after that, the machine made a strange sound and flashed red. All the bus drivers said it was OK, but I was concerned. I was pretty miserable by this point, and had decided I would just get the next train in whichever direction was going before regrouping. This turned out to be the train to Bolzano. I took advantage of the wifi to google somewhere to go, and decided on Kaltern/Caldaro. I could have got a bus from Bolzano, but looking at timetables, there seemed to be a quicker connection from Sigmundskron/Ponte Adige.

At Sigmundskron station, the right bus stop was a bit hard to find. I eventually worked out it was down the road a bit, by which time, it may be no surprise to learn, I had missed the connection. So I waitied on the corner of the main road for another half hour.

Having finally reached Kaltern/Caldaro it was getting quite late to actually do anything. Having only done my research on the train, I had gained the impression that the town was actually on the lake, but it turned out to be some way away, and I didn't think I had time for another journey on. So I just wandered around the town, which was very charming; had a cold drink; and asked a pharmacy to sell me something for my painful insect bites. They sold me a cream (which I couldn't get open until the evening as I needed to cut the foil), and some insect repellent which had an immediate cooling effect and was very welcome.

As I was feeling tired, I thought rather than walk uphill to catch the return bus to Sigmundskron, I would get a bus in the town centre which was supposedly going to the station. Some way into the journey, it emerged that it did not in fact go to a station (maybe it was a bus station instead?) and the bus driver advised me to get off and wait for the bus to Bolzano. This was at a stop which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, but eventually the Bolzano bus did come, and I got that and then the train home to Merano. All this time, of course, was worried that an inspector might pounce and say my card wasn't valid, but luckily they didn't.

One final point; when going through Sigmundskron again on my way back I noticed that an anti-Italian activist had graffitied out the Italian name on the station platform. So maybe all the talk about how everyone is happy being bilingual was not quite universally true?

What a dreadful day! I think I'd have been inclined to stick my head under the covers the next day and not come out!

Hope the next day is better.

Yes, things picked up after that, happily. I was still treating the nasty insect bites for most of the rest of the week, though ;)

The next day I took the bus to Schenna/Scena, another town in the hills overlooking Merano where there is a castle - not too far above the town. Access is a bit restricted, as they offer guided tours a few times a day, and when I arrived at the first tour time they wouldn't do it because there weren't enough takers. So I had to hang around for an hour, hoping more tourists would arrive, and luckily they did and it was quite a good sized group in the end. It was well worth the wait.

The tour is given in German, with an audio headset giving translations in other languages. However, the technology wasn't playing up, and it seemed for some reason they could only operate one language at a time. Our guide was rather obviously annoyed by the Italian speakers on the tour who ha apparently complained that as we were in Italy the full tour should be operated in Italian, so in a slightly passive aggressive move he made them use the headsets and gave me a one-to-one English spiel after he had done the German one. So it was a much better overall experience than at Churburg the previous week, and almost as nice a castle (minus the fab frescoes).

It was a really lovely castle which was beautifully furnished like a stately home. In the 19th century it was one of the homes of the Austrian Archduke Johann and his morganatic wife, a postmaster's daughter from Styria in Austria. Their son was given the title Count of Meran (Merano), and his descendants still own the castle, although the present count lives in their other estate in Styria. Our tour guide was the husband of the count's sister, and they live at the castle today. The tour was very well done, and the castle has lots of interesting items on display, including some artefacts relating to the Tirolean freedom fighter Andreas Hofer, who the Archduke had dealings with. The Archduke and his wife are buried in a separate grand mausoleum nearby.

After lunch in the village, I got the bus on to the end of the line. It was a pretty route, and the start point for a lot of walking routes. After that I went home early and had a nice swim (as much as I could given my injury issues). I didn't really get to make the most of the hotel pool, which was really lovely with refreshing cool water. It was in the basement, but opened out onto the (very small) garden with folding French windows which was very pleasant.

Happy to wake up to another update!
Coffee and a trip report :)

Enjoying ‘discovering’ these little towns and so many castles with you. Love taking bus rides and imagining living in these small places.
We have just returned from our trip, a bit starved of mountains, too, LOL

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d9d5c6503.jpeg

:o

That looks hot!

Wednesday was a good day, but I may have tried to cram too much in.

I took the train beyond Bolzano, to the charming little town of Sterzing/Vipiteno. The station here was a bit out of town, and t wasn't all that clear which direction to head in, so I got the little citybus. This was not a good idea, as I wasn't sure where to get off and it didn't go into the old town at all, and I ended up going on a magical mystery tour of the suburbs and hospital before eventually finding a stop near the 'new town' (which is actually 18th century IIRC, and leads into the real 'old town'. Bot areas were lovely. The tourist information office provided a map, and I realised I didn't really have time to explore the town properly if I was also going to do the main plan for the day. The local museum is some way out of town. So I just wandered around a bit, and had a snack in a pleasant café, enlivened by a meeting with a very sweet, friendly resident cat on my way to the loo. But I definitely shortchanged Sterzing, and should have had a whole day there.

Armed with my map, I managed to walk back to the station, hampered only by the fact that the most direct route was closed because they were doing repair works to a bridge. However, the diversion was reasonably well signed, and I managed not to miss the train. The focus of the day was Brixen/Bressanone, a beautiful cathedral city north of Bolzano. This too was an out-of-town station, and I made my way to the historic town centre on foot. Brixen is another attractive town.

I popped into the cathedral, where I noted there were small floor memorials to three former bishops. The two more recent ones had flowers left on them; the other very noticeably didn't Now, I knew from my reading that this bishop was a rather controversial character, having been in office in the 1930s and 40s. In 1939 Mussolini and Hitler came to an agreement that the German speaking South Tiroleans should be allowed to migrate to Germany, and a very high proportion of the population (over 80 per cent) decided to take up this 'Option', although the start of WWII meant very few actually went, and most of those who did go, and were not killed fighting in the war, returned after the war. There was a lot of very bad feeling between those who wanted to stay (mostly the landowners who felt more attached to their family farms) and those who wanted to go. The clergy (who as a group opposed Hitler) were on the side of the remainers. The bishop however, was not much of a leader, and after the vote stated that he to would be emigrating as a shepherd must follow his flock. The very interesting history book I read on the subject (Rolf Steiniger, South Tyrol, A Minority Conflict of the Twentieth Century) had the snide comment that perhaps he should have tried leading his flock rather than following them. The cathedral chapter at the time actually appealed to the Pope for Bishop Geisler to be withdrawn. It might just be that the other two bishops who were much more recent were remembered by more people - but it did look very much intended.as a snub.

The big attraction in Brixen is the Bishop's Palace, which houses the diocesan museum. There are several elements. On the ground floor is a very charming collection of 18th and 19th century models of religious scenes, made from an extremely wide variety of media. On the upper floors is a very nice collection of mainly religious art ranging from the 12th century to the 21st. Some of the rooms are lavishly decorated as they would have been when occupied by the Bishop and, when visiting, the Emperor. This was a fantastic museum. The only disappointment was with the temporary exhibition, which was the work of a contemporary artist who works in pottery, making religious figures which were pretty poorly finished in my opinion.

Just looked up Sterzing, what a nice town .....and it has a castle and a nearby gorge...so that’s going on my list, LOL.

Thursday I took the bus to St Leonhard/San Leonardo in the Passertal/Val Passirio. This is the river which flows through Merano town centre and joins the Etsch/Adige. Just before the village, and very clearly marked from the road, is the Passeier museum. I gather it used to be in the Sandhof, a historic inn where the Tirolean freedom fighter Andreas Hofer was born and lived for most of his life, but now it is in a purpose built building to the side. The main museum is a really excellent museum on the life and legacy of Hofer, and ways in which his legend has been appropriated by various groups in more recent times, and the period of the French/Bavarian invasion of Tirol. You start with a charming animated film giving the narrative, which can be heard in English. There are a number of original items from the period, and some very well researched information boards, also in English as well as German and Italian. On the top floor is a thought-provoking little section on the nature of heroism in general.

Then outside there is a small open air museum where a number of farm buildings have been re-erected on the site from other parts of the valley. One of the buildings has an audio visual unit with films of local rural life, and another contains a general local history museum including an interesting section on the distinctive local dialect. The objects displayed here were a bit less well thought through than the main museum.

Beyond the museum site are two small chapels. One was built by Hofer's grandfather in the 17th century on his return from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; the other was built as a memorial to Hofer, who was killed by a French firing squad in Italy.

I had lunch at the Sandhof, then took the bus on to St Leonhard itself. I had considered getting a connecting bus there to Moos, where there was a small mining museum, but it was quite hot and I decided just to go back to the hotel.

Friday was my last full day, and I took the bus along the Ultental, another of the long and very narrow valleys near Merano, climbing into the mountains. It was another scenic journey, very tightly clinging to the side of the hill. One of the benefits of the Mobilcard is that you can in effect treat any reasonably frequent route as a hop on-hop off, and I decied to get off in the village of St Walburg, where a brand new archaeological museum had opened that spring. It was so new, in fact, that there were no signs leading to it, and as it was situated on one of the higher roads parallel with the bus road, that was a problem. The little tourist Information office pointed me in the right direction to start with, but when the steep path reached the road above, there was nothing to indicate which way to go. I tried a short way in each direction, but it was a road with no pavement, and I felt a bit nervous. So I descended back down to the village and bus stop. Halfway down I heard the church bells (the church having been a landmark I was looking for) and I could have gone back up again but I felt a bit feeble and didn't bother.)

So I had a drink, and got the next bus further on. I went to the end of the line at St Gertraud, which turned out to be a very small village. This is famous for three ancient larch trees which are apparently 2000 years old. There is also a small visitor centre there, but I didn't feel particularly inspired, so decided to get the connecting minibus to Weissbrunnsee/Lago Fontana Bianca, a small dammed lake higher in the hills. There was a break in the timetable of three hours, so either I would have to turn around immediately, or stay there for a while, and I left the decision until I got there. If the journey so far had involved somewhat precipitous views with the hillside plunging a long way down, the ongoing road was even more so. It was a very winding road, switching backwards as we climbed further up into the hills, although we were going away from the river.valley. It was quite a short journey, only about 15 minutes, but it did feel like going into a different region, with very fresh, cool air compared to the heat of Merano an hour away.

Reaching the lake, I saw there was a restaurant, and the lake itself was exquisitely pretty, so I decided to spend the three hours there. Lots of people set out on hikes from here, and there is also a cable car, but I stayed in the immediate vicinity. I walked down to the lake itself - the ground is quite rough in places, but it was fairly easy, and so very pretty, with clumps of snow in the distance. There were picnic tables in the woods beside the lake, and some wooden loungers for sunbathers. You can't walk all the way around the lake, though. A small herd of goats was hanging around, including a nanny goat and her two kids. I even saw a few horses running free a little way away. The restaurant had amazing views of the lake from the terrace, and a pair of resident dogs. It was very relaxing.

I had intended to break the return journey in St Nikolaus, one of the larger villages in the valley, to visit the local museum there, but felt too tired, so went all the way back to Merano to do my packing.

Thoroughly enjoyed your report and you have enlightened me on this lovely region.

Gosh is the fortnight over so soon? I was just getting going!

Seriously I have really enjoyed reading about your trip and exploring this region through your eyes.

Thanks for all the effort you put into writing it.

Not quite done yet! My flight home was an evening one, so even allowing for the journey back to Verona I had a last morning and lunchtime in Merano. I didn't want to stray too far, so explored the riverside promenades. I much preferred the Winter Promenade, which had gorgeous views of the river and what I discovered was the best gelateria in Merano. There is also a building called the Wandelhalle, which was built for convalescent spa visitors, and has some pretty late 19th century wall paintings of various landscape scenes from across Tirol. The Summer Promenade is cool and shady, but because of that mostly lacked views of the river at all and felt quite closed in; it made for a pleasant short walk but noting special. The Winter side was lovely. I also wandered around the old town again; it was busier today than on the weekday I had been to the museums. There was also a beggar soliciting at the bridge - the first time I had seen anything like this on this trip.

Overall, it really was a great holiday. I think a lot of visitors are basically walkers, but there was so much more of interest. I happily filled my two weeks with sightseeing, and there were more options available. It is also a good choice for a solo trip - I felt safe everywhere - and very easy without a car as the public transport was excellent. It would be difficult with mobility issues, as you often had to climb to get to places of interest, and there was not much aimed at children. But I would recommend it as a destination for anyone who likes beautiful scenery and history.

I really loved it over there. Cant wait to revisit.