Mountain Adventures in Bazzano & Merano

I woke up at 6:00 this morning and got ready for an adventure to the most northern part of Italy! It takes about 3 1/2 hours to get there on the highway. The girls slept in the backseat for a lot of the trip and I tried to stay awake as much as I could to watch all the scenery. The region is known for its amazing white wine, apple orchards, and the best Italian beer, Forst! We arrived in Merano first around 10:30. Angelo dropped me and the girls off at a theater that is close to the city center. One of the first things I noticed is how different the buildings are! They do not look like they belong in Italy! They look more victorian style, not Italian at all. Gianna was right...I felt like I was in a completely different country! This small town looked like what I would picture Germany or Austria to look like. Not only are the buildings different, but every sign is in German on the top and Italian on the bottom! It doesn't make much sense to me because they still live in Italy so I feel like the first language should be Italian. Angelo told me that about 75% of people in Merano and Bazzano speak German as their first language and Italian as their second. I understand that they use both languages intermittently and know both very well. When we were sitting at a cafe on a street corner, all I could hear was German...not Italian. Anyway, I just think it is crazy! It isn't like we are that far away from there but it really is a whole other world. First, the girls and I found a park they could play at since they were very antsy from being in the car for so long. I had a map but it wasn't too useful for me so I decided to go down a street that looked busy and it headed for a church steeple. Remember, if you see a beautiful church steeple in the distance, that probably means you have found the city center! We went into the church to get some good pictures and some nice cold air. Gianna told me it was going to rain today so I had all our rain gear in a backpack but it was so hot! I was carrying around 3 full water bottles and they were gone before we were half way through the morning! After the church, I saw a toy store that looked fun for the girls. It was a very expensive toy store so they didn't have anything little that I could buy them...besides a big basket of stick on tattoos for 30 cents. They love tattoos so I told them they could pick out two each and they were thrilled. They are pretty funny! We had a snack at a cafe and had a strawberry cake and a small ham and cheese sandwich. We kept on going down the street with all the shops, going into all the ones that looked interesting. I found a huge bookstore and they had a very large English section, which was surprising to me because they already have to have every book in Italian and German. I found two good books, "To Kill A Mockingbird", which I haven't read since high school, and "The Glass Castle". I have heard from a few people that it is really good so I thought I would give it a try. I love to read here and I am almost done with my 5th book so I was glad to have found some new ones to read. By that time, it was time to start heading back to the theater to meet up with Angelo for lunch. We made a quick start at the park because they loved the slide. The girls were perfect today for me! I was a little nervous taking them into a town that I didn't know by myself but it worked out just fine. For lunch, Angelo took us to the Forst brewery restaurant and it was delicious! I had a fried beef thing that was the size of my platter and french fries on the side. I had to have a beer there and it was really good, very light and refreshing. It was a great restaurant but I was so full when we left! I ate everything on my plate! After lunch, we drove to Bazzano which is about 40 minutes away from Merano. In the car, Angelo told me about a museum they have in Bazzano that has the famous "ice mummy" man named Otzi! In 1991, hikers found a purefied body of a man who they later found out was living around 3300 BC! I watched a youtube video about him tonight and it is pretty facinating. I wish we had time to go to the museum to see Otzi but we didn't, especially since we had the girls and they were getting really tired from a long day. Bazzano is different from Merano because it has the feeling of a bigger city. Angelo told me it is the capital city of its region, where many people live, shop and travel to. It also looks like an Austrian town, definitely not in Italy. There are many buildings that are colorful with paintings on the sides, large window seats hanging off the houses, and steeples. Once again, everyone speaks German there so I had no clue how to communicate. I learned today that Angelo is also fluent in German! To be a pharmaceutical rep in the region where Bazzano and Merano are, you have to be licenced and fluent in German. It was awesome to have him with us today in Bazzano so he could translate for us and order things without any embarrasment. We arrived back at the car around 6:30 and made the long drive back home. Angelo drives like a mad man so we actually made it back in 3 hours, which was nice because I was getting hungry! Gianna had dinner waiting for us, baked fish and a big salad. Tonight I am so tired and I can't wait to go to bed! I am taking a risk tonight and sleeping with the door and window open in my room so pray for me that no bats decide to come in! I have been so hot in my room that I can't sleep through the night so it is a risk I am willing to take! There is a sheer curtain over the door and window so hopefully it will block anything from getting in...yikes! Enjoy the pictures! The first pictures are Merano, the second half after Forst are Bazzano. Arrivederci!