Dad was right....

„Drive over the passes if possible“...and I followed the advice.

But first a wonderful coincidence this morning...after waking up early and packing the car, I enjoyed my croissant and coffee in the camping cafe...Willi, the name of the campsite manager, had the weekend off and so I saw him for the first time today...being talkative as I am, it didn't take long for me to start a conversation with him.

Me: „Ah, studied in Vienna?“, „Ah, you also know a few people from Vorarlberg!?“, „So you only know one person from Bregenz...your former best friend?“...

Willi: „Yes...but you probably don't really know her...the chance of knowing someone is quite low...her name is Friedi F...“

Me: „excuse me!!!...that's my cousin!!“

HOW COOL IS THAT...

I love and celebrate these coincidences...Willi...always welcome in Bregenz and thank you very much for the great stay...I will definitely recommend you...and for all readers who need more detailed coordinates...  www.camping-vogelsang.com in Schlanders, Vinschgau...

So, END of this wonderful introductory story from this morning.

...SO...Dad advised...so daughter followed obediently...so I left at Merano and followed the paths towards St. Leonhard, home of Andreas Hofer...the South Tyrolean freedom fighter...btw...please Google him yourself....the museum was closed and my lack of knowledge about South Tyrol could obscure my convincing stories about my "roots being in South Tyrol"....(by the way, starting Wednesday at Lake Iseo I will tell everyone that my roots are in Italy,...just so you don't wonder...I think you have to adjust small talk accordingly...and after all Italy is South Tyrol and South Tyrol is Italy...so I'm not really lying ;)

So I drove there...boldly stopped by the Sandwirt who offered "continuous warm cuisine"...and also "Stop" and the sign "Andreas Hofer's birthplace" and then I sat in the inn with a Radler in front of me...(as mentioned before, the museum was closed...annoying...so I had to stop by ;)...charmed by Mr. Hofer's home, I couldn't resist the dumpling tris...here's a shoutout to my grandma..(and mom...please pass it on to her)...her dumplings are much better than the ones made by Andreas Hofer's "staff".

Okay - well mediocre - meal done, onwards it went...

To all the backseat drivers in my circle of friends...you would have hated me. My Audi A4 (a big thank you to Philipp R. for the affordable donation) was racing through the serpentines like a 'Zäpfle'...(that's what we say). Even the racing motorcyclists had to eat tons of my fresh mountain dust. Hehehe

Arriving at the Jaufenpass, I inhaled a breeze of mountain air...and then I plunged downhill....those stupid motorcyclists...you could almost call it "sluggish traffic" ;DD

As advised by Willi, I made a detour to a kind of cheese museum...hm...except for the fact that the house looked like a mountain cheese (and which Vorarlberger wouldn't love that) it wasn't really my thing...although I drive a great Audi...it doesn't include a refrigerator. So grocery shopping was a no-go.

Doesn't matter...Brixen is not far away...

From "hippyish" lifestyle to "hipsterish" swag...(God, I think I'm embarrassing myself here in terms of youth jargon)...doesn't matter...the hotel "Alter Schlachthof" offers everything a hipster heart desires.

After checking in, a short siesta and a short stroll including one (ok, two) scoops of ice cream at the ice cream parlor "Pradetto", recommended by Martin D., I'm now sitting at and in "Platzl"...Aperolspritz, Aperitivo, Tschik and iPad in front of me...I feel great...but still 1.5 weeks to go...I'm curious to see how long my mood will last... 

ps: Thank you Kathi F., mom, Veri, Caro, Manuel, Tanja and Philipp for your feedback on the blog so far...a bit of motivation is always appreciated.