Ciao, Italia!: Bolzano, Bressanone, and Maranza

Hello fellows and ladies,

Sorry I haven't updated my blog in a while! I'll have to remedy that now. In the last few weeks, we've gone on a few trips--to Bolzano and to the mountains (Maranza & Bressanone). Our trip to the mountains was even accompanied by real Italians! Here we go...

Bolzano:
Bolzano is the capital of South Tyrol here in Northern Italy. The city itself is a unique mixture of Italian and Austrian culture (quite a bit like Trento). In Bolzano, they speak Italian, German, and Ladin.

In the city center, you'll find Walther Square, which has a statue of a German minstrel named Walther von der Vogelweide.


Walther Square in Bolzano


Statue of Walther von der Vogelweide

Walther Square also has a lovely gothic church--the Assumption of Our Lady Cathedral. We went inside to check it out, but ended up leaving because there was a wedding going on.


Assumption of Our Lady Cathedral

While we were in the city, we ate lunch at a cafe in the square called Walthers'. I'd say the food was fairly average, but the dessert was buonissimo! It was an espresso mousse that was very creamy and flavorful.

Espresso Mousse from Walthers'

Now, one of the reasons we took a day trip to Bolzano was that we wanted to get Tyson's dad a Harley-Davidson shirt (mission accomplished), but even more importantly we wanted to see Ötzi the Iceman! While in Trento, we met some archaeologists who recommended that we go to the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology to see him and they were right. The iceman is a must-see while you're in Bolzano.

So where's the picture of Ötzi? Well, unfortunately pictures of the iceman are not allowed, but I did look up this picture on the internet for you.

Ötzi the Iceman

Who is Ötzi? He's a man who lived around 3,300 BCE and he is Europe's oldest mummy (through natural means). There is still some speculation as to his cause of death, but it may have been from an arrowhead wound in his shoulder or a blow to the head. It's speculated that his arm is in such a strange position because he was trying to stem the flow of blood from the wound.

Ötzi, as he may have looked in life

We also checked out the rest of the museum, which included such delights as a replica of a Roman road and exhibits on the Rhaetians (an Alpine tribe).

Tyson's masterpiece (but it's not in Rhaetian?)


We played a Roman game of Delta

Overall, I quite enjoyed Bolzano and I would like to go there again when the weather warms up.

Maranza & Bressanone:
We were invited by our new, wonderful Italian friends to visit the mountains with them. The scenery was breathtaking and the weather was surprisingly warm/sunny. We walked around and enjoyed the view--