South Tyrol, 7-10.10.2018

Sunday, 7th October 2018: Flüela Pass, Ofen Pass, Müstair

In the afternoon, Bernie and I set off. Despite our suggestion to let the girls stay in a sleeping barrel at the campsite, they preferred to stay at home... 😊

Our route took us through Landquart and Klosters, first over the Flüela Pass, then over the Ofen Pass into the Val Müstair. A beautiful route!

As it started to get dark shortly after 7 p.m., we headed to the campsite in Müstair and set up for the night. After a small snack with salad, we watched a movie on the iPad and cuddled up in the lower bed in our sleeping bags. We kept the pop-top roof closed in an attempt to retain more heat in the car. After all, we were in the mountains...

Monday, 8th October 2018: Vinschgau, Meran

After breakfast, we continued our journey and soon crossed the Italian border. 🇮🇹

For sentimental reasons, we made a brief photo stop in Glurns in front of the 'Gasthof zum grünen Baum'. 'It's just an old car, Röbi...' 😂 (1st Alpine Rally 2006 😉)

We continued our leisurely drive through the Vinschgau, passing numerous apple orchards, until we reached Meran in beautiful sunshine. The first campsite on the outskirts was already fully booked, but we found a spot at the campsite in the city center. For lunch, we treated ourselves to a delicious raclette on the small stove. Wonderful! And it worked 😝👍!

We changed into our shorts, as it was 24°C, and then took a 10-minute walk to the city center to stroll through the arcades with their many shops. Clothing stores, gourmet shops, leather goods, souvenirs, and traditional costume shops lined up next to each other.

We then climbed the steep stairs up to the Tappeiner Promenade above the city. From here, you have a great view of the city and the surrounding hills. Back in the city, we treated ourselves to a piece of cake with tea and coffee 😊.

Back at the campsite, we were approached by two Swabians who admired our camper van. Father and son were on their way to a concert by the Kastelruther Spatzen. 😂

We skipped dinner. We had enough raclette and cake. We watched another movie and then went to sleep. This time, Bernie slept in the upper bunk, and I had the lower bed all to myself. Thanks to the nearby horse racing track, it was very quiet, despite being in the city.

Tuesday, 9th October 2018: Bike Tour, Meran

Today, we set off early with our bikes because we were expecting guests for lunch! The Passeierweg follows the river for 20km up to Sankt Leonhard. Numerous apple trees line the bike path! Incredible 😳! Apples as far as the eye can see!

In Sankt Leonhard, we made a quick stop at a charming café and had a drink before heading back towards Meran at high speed. 40km in just under 2.5 hours 🚴‍♂️🚴‍♀️💨. Not bad 😊.

Back at the campsite, we prepared a cold platter with local sausage, cheese, tomatoes, grapes, and Schüttelbrot. And then Claudia and Gex arrived around the corner on their bikes! As we found out on Sunday evening, they are here for a few days of wellness in Meran 😝. It was great to have a cozy meal together and some time to chat before they had to rush off to their first massage!

We then made another detour to the city center and explored the many side streets. In the evening, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner on the terrace at 'Sigmund' to conclude our trip.

Wednesday, 10th October 2018: Return via Ofen and Flüela Pass 

After packing up and stowing everything, we headed back home. We found our way out of the city and made our way back to the Ofen Pass. On the pass, we sometimes felt like we were in Canada. A beautiful landscape 😍! Therefore, we had a leisurely picnic shortly after the pass summit with a fantastic view of the colorful larch trees, alpine meadows, and peaks of the national park. Then we continued quickly towards Zernez, but soon we were slowed down again by the steep mountain road of the Flüela Pass.

Our next stop was the outlet in Landquart, which we reached without much traffic. Finally some shopping! But the loot was small. Only a pair of shoes...

We quickly finished the remaining part of the journey. At home, the girls were waiting for us with self-cooked Älplermagronen. It was delicious 😊! Thank you so much 😘!