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And so concludes my travels in Italy. I sat here at my dinner
table at the Hotel Madonna for several moments contemplating just how to
begin this journal entry. After doing so, I couldn't help but to
think that this is most likely my last night in Italy, at least on this
trip. I say most likely only because I may come back from Austria on
Sunday to literally jump off a cliff in the Italian Dolomites with my
friend, the Italian wood carver Ruben. But more about that in a bit.
 The drive
to Bolzano from Merano was quite direct and rather short with the
exception of a short traffic jam getting out of Merano. Once on the
road though, I arrived within a half an hour. Mr. Castelforte had
told me to take an exit that began with an App.... something or another
and so when I saw Appiano, I figured that was it. I guess it was a
neighboring city and had more direct route to Bolzano's city center.
Within minutes I was in the heart of Bolzano. I found it to be a
fairly good sized city, perhaps a bit larger than Merano but smaller than
Verano. I found a city lot to park in and then stopped at a really
nice hotel to find out where I was and where the museum was that I wanted
to visit. As I walked through the streets of Bolzano, in the rain
mind you, I immediately knew it was a place I could spend a day or two, as
it was beautiful. I found the museum with no problem, and with it a
line around the block. How often does one have a chance to see a
5,000 year old man I thought as I walked the que of umbrellas. Sure,
I had seen him on the Discovery channel back home several times, but this
was different - it was real life! So I waited, and waited, and
waited, and waited. One saving grace was a nice couple who were in
line with their kids who I engaged in a conversation. He is
optometrist from Berlin I discovered and we talked about a variety of
topics. I found it amusing he was wearing a Yankee's hat of all
things. Once inside the museum, I decided not to try the "I'm with
the press routine" as it was only 8 euros to go inside, and two very well
spent Euros for the audio guide. I must of spent two hours in the
museum and I was not disappointed. The actual "ice-man" who was
discovered in the nearby mountain ranges was found by a German couple on
holiday. They reported seeing a corpse. Anyway, you get in a
line to see him. He is in a space-age looking container of some sort
and is quite interesting to look at. Then, as you walk the museum,
they have all types of artifacts from the various periods of evolution.
I left the museum feeling well satisfied.
It was
getting late in the day and I thought it best to begin my journey to this
small village called Castelrotto. I had some pasta and then hit the
road. I had been told anywhere from twenty minutes to half an hour
to get there. The road was quite winding and certainly not for
amateurs as the Italian are no the most careful drivers - at all! As
I approached the village, I found myself continually debating my sleeping
arrangements for the night. "You can sleep on the couch" an email
from Elke, the wood carvers wife, that I had received some months ago
read. My mind keep going back and forth, back and forth. Maybe
I'd stay in a campground I thought. No, maybe Elke and Ruben are
really looking forward to a stranger on their couch. Oh, I just
didn't know. Then it hit me. I'd go to the Cavalino D'Oro
hotel
and see if they had a room available. They had provided me with a
complimentary room last year, but when I emailed them this year I was not
as well received. "We will give you a dinner" the first email read,
but then as I sat in the village gas station reading through the
correspondence on my laptop, I read a later mail from Stefan, the owner,
which read if I show up and their is a room, they will host me. Now
my intuition told me if I showed up and either Stefan and or his wife were
there, regardless of if they had a room or not, the answer would of been
no. I'm sure they'd take a gamble on a "paying" customer showing up
rather than give it to me for free. So, my strategy was to walk in
and hope neither were there. Then, I'd just act like a "tourist" and
inquire about a room. So, in I walked and there was a girl at the
desk. I smiled and said (the girl at the next table just leaned over to
her partner and practically laid in his lap. Moments like this are
when I regret being alone...) do you have any rooms available for
the night. "Oh yes Sir, we have only one left and it is a beautiful
double room!" I smiled (inside) and said, "Great, my name is Thomas
Hall... and you know the rest of the story..." I told her the room
was to be complimentary and she looked puzzled, but said she'd check with
the owner later. Within minutes, I was in the most beautiful of
rooms with a spectacular view out my window. I felt an amount of
guilt I must say, but the email had said what it said. "Show up and
ask. If one is available, then it is yours..." Well, that is
what I did so why feel guilty. I felt a lot better when I went back
downstairs to be happily greeted my the Susanne, the lovely owner.
Surely she must of been told about my presence so everything must be fine.
Now with my accommodations out of the way, I could focus on the business
at hand - dinner with the wood-carver and his wife!
When I
was in this lovely village last year, I stumbled upon a small shop called
Ladina. ( visit the
store ) Inside, I saw some of the most beautiful hand-carved works
of art. And as beautiful as anything sitting upon the shelf, was a
lady who greeted me with a wonderful smile. I told her I wanted to
do a panorama inside the shop and if it was ok. She wasn't sure, but
called her husband to find out. I had also showed her a panorama on
my laptop, to which she was quite impressed. Anyway, to make a long
story short, her husband arrived and we visited for a couple of hours and
at the end, I gave them the images and they told me I could have anything
in the store! Anything in the store? You had to be kidding I
thought to myself. Some of the items were very, very pricy. I
then decided the most appropriate item was that of a very small crucifix
with a corpus of Christ on it. Surely my efforts were worth this one
small item, one I would treasure for ever. (it is still on my wall
of course) Elke had felt so bad, because she wanted to have me for
dinner that night but had nothing prepared. Maybe next year I said,
and she replied, yes, definitely next year. Well, "next year" was
here and now I thought as I entered the store. (if you want to see
the store, go to my panoramas (trip two) and scroll down and you will see
the link) Ruben's father recognized me right away, and then Ruben.
He was so happy to see me and got on the phone right away, to call Elke in
the house not even a five minute walk away. It felt good to see
someone so excited to see me I thought. Not since Amanda in Scotland
had I felt so welcome... It was only five in the evening and we said
I'd be back at 7, when Ruben would close the shop. Elke speaks much
better English than Ruben, so when I asked
what was for dinner, he
shrugged. I said as clearly as I could - "I can't (won't) eat fish".
He looked puzzled and I was worried maybe he thought I would love to eat
fish. Oh God, please not fish I prayed... Anyway, I came back
at 7 sharp and I brought some flowers to bring to Elke. I had
offered wine but I had gotten the impression they might be "holy-rollers"
and don't drink at all. (I was wro*&^#*$!) When we arrived at
his house, his little boy came running out to greet us. He of course
only spoke German, but I told Ruben to give him the flowers to take in to
"mommy". The little boy was so happy to oblige. Once inside, I
found quite a simple home, which was actually an apartment with two
sleeping rooms, on living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. It was
quite small and cozy I thought. Anyway, the initial uncomfortable
ness wore off quickly and before I knew it, we were laughing the night
away with some bootleg cognac their friend had mad for them. Boy was
it strong. So much so, it burned my nostrils as I took each sip.
So on went the night, and I must tell you it couldn't of been any better.
And if I may, as I know Elke and Ruben will be reading this - "Thank the
two of you so much for welcoming me into your home, and your continued
friendship. I look forward to many more future visits in the years
to come." Oh, I should not forget to tell you that Ruben's "hobby"
is para-sailing off the nearby mountain ranges. He showed me some
great pictures and has invited me to return for a tandem ride. What
a kick it must be, though a tad bit scary as well. We will see if I
return on Sunday to do this or not...
Not much
more to say about the night except that fell asleep to some loud drunks
outside in the village and woke up to some little boys playing with their
cars in the streets below. Once I got showered and went downstairs,
I handed the girl my key and she asked if I wanted to settle my bill?
I look puzzled and said - "Don't you know who I am!" Ah, c'mon
folks, you know I wouldn't say such a thing! Let me try again, I
looked puzzled and said it was supposed to be free. I then booted up
my laptop and showed her the emails. The same ones she also found on
her computer. Yes, she said, it looks like you are right. How
much was it I asked, fearing an astronomical amount. $55 Euros she
said, and I went whew. I told her to tell Stefan where I would be
tonight, in the same village, and call me if he wanted to discuss payment.
I haven't heard from him. ;-) So, to finish this journal entry, the
rest of the day was spent doing some work on my dental web site and taking
some panoramas of the village. I had stopped at the office of
Tourism and the director "hired" me to walk the village, take some
panoramas, and then come back in the morning as he would buy them from me
for $50 each. Oh yes I thought, more income! So there you go,
I will finish this journal entry in telling you how much I enjoyed Italy,
and also how much I am looking forward to my final leg of Austria,
Hungary, and Prague before going back to Scotland to see Amanda.
Sorry I didn't write more about Castelrotto, but it is a magical and
beautiful place and definitely a must see.
PS.
Oh, Elke served cheese, melon, and a variety of bread and meat - it was
great!
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