Coolcation- Alto Adige
- ItaliAndrea
- Jul 6
- 3 min read
Alto Adige, located in the northern section of the greater region called Trentino-Alto Adige, is often referred to as its German language name, Südtirol. It's been sweltering all over Europe this summer, so Svein and I headed for a (bit) cooler escape, a coolcation in the mountains and vineyards in Alto Adige.
Alto Adige is a unique corner of Italy where you are just as likely to hear German spoken as you are Italian. Both languages are officially recognized and taught in school. Road signs and street markers are also bilingual. Svein and I had fun competing to see who could start speaking first, allowing us to hold our conversations in Italian (me) or German (him), depending on who was faster!
Bressanone/Brixen
We didn't stay in Bressanone, but there's always next time! We had a delicious lunch at Fink 1896. Based on the quality of food, design of the bathrooms and the photos they shared of the modern guest rooms, Fink would make an excellent spot to overnight.
Just north of Bressanone is the Abbey of Novacella, or Cloister Neustift by its German name. They have a winery so obviously Svein was sold on a visit.
If the monks living here took an oath of austerity, they must have a very broad definition of 'austere'!
My favorite room of the cloister was the chinoiserie room.
The verdict- there are much better wines in Alto Adige. Head elsewhere!
Bolzano/Bozen
We opted to stay in Bolzano/Bozen for its central location and its offerings, being the main town in the area.
Eat
Summer is perfect for enjoying the outdoors! Wirsthaus Vögele's building dates back to 1277 and remains a local favorite (pictured above right). They serve mountain favorites like venison, goulash, canderli, a type of golf ball sized gnocchi made from bread and laced with speck and the in-season favorite, finferli (chanterelle) mushrooms. We liked it so much, we went twice! The inside is also very quaint.
Somehow we always stumble on a wine shop (surprise). Enoteca Gandolfi had a large selection of wines from all over Italy and France. The friendly owner guided us in our selections from the local region. They have a small menu which changes daily. Don't miss a visit to their impressive wine cellar.
The Skybar Meta was lively and offered a stunning view of the duomo by night.
Schüttelbrot, a hard cracker-like rye flour flatbread was everywhere. It's a traditional bread created from necessity. By cooking all of the moisture out of the bread, it had potential to last for months. Good when you don't have access to an oven daily. Hurtig specalizes in this Südtirolian bread and you can sample all of their creative flavors in their shop. Don't miss the ones with nuts.
Stay
Stadt Hotel Città wins for a prime location on the main piazza of town (with easy parking).
Park Hotel Laurin wins for its private garden right in the middle of town.
Up in the mountains
Ortisei is a charming town nestled in the foothills of the magestic Dolomiti. There are gondolas going up various mountains from town with the highest being Seceda. The panoramic views from the top are well worth the rather steep price you pay for the gondola ticket. You can always hike up the even more steep mountain for free, but I wouldn't recommend it! 😂
Baita Sofie Hütte is a short walk from the gondola and makes a perfect spot to enjoy a nice meal outdoors. Expect Alto Adige mountain cuisine, more goulash more polenta, more canderli!
Coming next week- our favorite Alto Adige wineries...
Ciao for now,
Andrea
So well written I always feel like part of the experience
Love this Andrea! Makes me want to visit!