It is not such a nice morning today with a lot of cloud
and drizzly rain. Hopefully we shall see the sun later as we are going to
Merano in Italy, and it is always sunny in Italy!!
It only takes five minutes to reach the Italian border
and soon after we are driving alongside the Reschensee or lago de Resia
depending on your Italian or German. The road we are on today is in the Alto
Adige or Sud Tyrol.
All of the Italian part we visit today was part of the
great Austrian/Hungarian empire before the first world war and only became
Italian after the war. German is still the first language for most of the local
people and all road signs are in both Italian and German. It still looks very
Alpine right through until we reach Merano when the architecture becomes very
Italian.
Back to today and soon after crossing the border we stop
alongside the Reschensee where there is a lone church tower rising out of the
water, a symbol to the village that used to be here.
It is always a good photo opportunity here and they have
now built a small platform to stand on for the best view.
There is also a camera here that asks you to press a
button and then go and stand on the platform and soon after a flash will go off
and your picture is taken. If you go onto one of the two websites you will see
your photo immediately. It is very funny as I manage to get the pictures up on
my phone! All of the girls want a go! www.reschenpass.it
If you put today’s date in the pictures may still be
there!
From here it is a lovely drive through the valley passing
mile upon mile of apple growing fields. It must be harvest time as there are
loads of little diddy tractors stacked high with crates full of apples or empty
crates waiting to be filled. These little tractors are a sight to see and do
make you smile but can be a pain if stuck behind one for too long!
The beauty of today’s drive is that it is different from
all the other journeys we have taken although just as scenic.
On arrival in Merano I drop the passengers in the coach
park close to the town and then disappear to the coach park.
Merano is a great place to visit with modern shops, a
lovely old town and a promenade alongside the river that has an almost seaside
feel to it.
The coach park is a long way out of town, by the large
racecourse, so Hollie and I don’t manage to venture too far.
As well as being parked at the racecourse we are also
close to the vast indoor swimming pool and also the large ice rink. A sporty
part of town.
We have a short stroll to the ice hockey stadium where
there is a nice cafe and after a poor attempt at Italian on my part and very
little English on the waitresses part we eventually end up with a couple of
toasted sandwiches and drinks. Happy with that! The waitress seems pretty happy
to! Lovely to spread a little happiness!!!
I drive back to pick the group up at 14:00 to take them
to our next port of call, wine tasting.
We drive south through more lovely scenery this time the
road is surrounded by vineyards rather than apple orchards but equally
attractive.
We are booked in for our wine tasting at 15:00 and have
to wait for 20 minutes as we arrive a little early. Our wine tasting is at the
Erste and Neue wine makers in Kaltern, close to the Kalternsee in the heart of
the Italian wine route.
At 15:00 we are taken on a short tour into the cellars
where there are some enormous barrels filled with thousands of litres of wine.
After the tour we finish in a bar area where four different wines are tasted.
Some good, some bad, I just wish I could have a taste! There is a picture of me
sitting in on the wine tasting looking more like a primate than a jolly bus
driver!! If I could only have a little slurp I would have brightened up a
bundle! I was given a bottle of red at the end so will find out later at home
if it is any good. (It was!)
We return to Nauders the same way and I love driving this
way. It is nice being off the motorway and the scenery is truly stunning.
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