Day 2: Alpine coaster, horse racing, and famous castle gardens

October 10, 2021

This morning we can actually sleep in, but I'm already awake at 7:30. Around 8:30, the kids also climb out of bed and we have a cozy breakfast.

Outside on the terrace, the Haflingers are taking their rounds, and the first rays of sunshine are already illuminating the mountains, when the guests' dog in the neighboring holiday apartment pays us a visit.

After a few strokes, we set off for Hafling village.

But first: scraping the ice off the car!

Everything is frozen!!! 😱😱😱

Oops - I had noticed a white glitter layer in the meadow, but I didn't think it would be so cold up here that all the car windows would freeze.

We quickly reconsider the contents of our backpack and replenish it, despite the kids' protests, with gloves and hats.

Through a very winding road through Hafling village, we reach the Falzeben cable car, which takes us to the Meran2000 hiking and skiing area. There is also a cable car starting from Meran at the bottom of the mountain, but we are already halfway in Hafling, so we take the higher Falzeben cable car.

When we arrive at the ticket office, we have our vaccination certificates ready, as well as the valid tests for the children. Of course, we wear masks.

We are somewhat surprised to see the tourists, some of whom are even boarding a cable car without a mask, and nobody at the ticket office is interested in the 'Green Pass', masks, or the test results of the children 🤷🏻

Well, that means less testing than expected... let's see...

Of course, we all wear a mask in the cable car. Otherwise, it seems to be seen very loosely here in South Tyrol.

The weather is fantastic, blue sky and sunshine, but it's quite 'fresh'. Once we arrive at the top, I'm glad to have a hat and gloves with me.

Once we arrive at the top, we head straight to the Alpine Coaster.

We are all alone - we take advantage of that and treat ourselves to two rapid descents on the 1.1 km long track, making the Alpine Coaster at the Meran 2000 mountain station at an altitude of around 1,900 m one of the longest rail toboggan runs in Italy.

What a blast!

(And I'm very glad to have a hat and gloves with me)

Once we reach the bottom, we can either get off or ride the elevator back up with the bob to dare a second descent.

After the second descent, we get off at the bottom and let the bobs ride back up on the elevator by themselves.

From here, we walk across the meadow to the path below the cable car and want to walk back down to the Falzeben cable car station.

There are no more Haflingers on the alpine pasture. We only see their droppings.

But there are still plenty of cows and sheep up here.

It takes us about 30 minutes to descend, and then we head straight to Meran, where we want to watch the first harness race at the local racetrack at 12:15.

Unfortunately, I make a huge mistake: I get in on the passenger side......🙈

This will be proven on the winding road from Hafling to Meran. We have to stop at a bus stop just before Meran. I feel like my face is green with nausea - I'm motion sick - I just manage to get out of the car and sit on the side of the road 🤢🤢🤢

Darn, I should have driven.... as always. It has its advantages for my husband that I always have to drive as soon as there are curves involved.

It takes me 10-15 minutes until I can take the wheel again, slightly trembling.

Arriving at the Ippodromo, the Meran racetrack, I slowly feel better. So, we get out of the car and into the racing circus.

At the entrance, the Green Pass is actually required. Our vaccination certificates are scanned, and the children's tests are carefully checked, then we are allowed to enter the racecourse with the previously purchased tickets.

The racetrack is really nice! The building has had its best days, but the racetrack is in top condition, and the location, with the view of the mountains, makes it a unique venue.

We watch the first harness race.

It's really exciting to see how the Haflingers trot in front of the sulky - some visibly prefer the gallop - and then race into the finish line to great applause.

From now on, there is a harness race every 30 minutes.

The upcoming highlight is the Autumn Galop Race of the stallions at 2 pm.

Before the race, we get a portion of fries for lunch, watch the whip show, and listen to the musical sounds of the folk music duo.

After lunch - we sit right in front of the racetrack in the sun and enjoy the warm weather here in Meran - we visit the stables and the paddock.

For the upcoming stallion race, there are only 3 stallions starting. So, just for fun, we want to bet the minimum bet of €2 on each horse. At the paddock, we check out the 3 stallions, and each person can bet their €2 on one of the stallions.

My husband takes number 1 - it has the lightest rider and looks the 'freshest' (according to him); our daughter and son bet on number 3 - the young horse in the field, prancing through the paddock.... that leaves number 2 - the relaxed 'Stone Prince' - for me.

Alright, we have 3 betting tickets, each person has 'their' horse, let the race begin 😉

Compared to the trotters before, the stallions run a rather short distance, basically just one length.

But it's packed with excitement. Everyone cheers loudly for the galloping stallions!

And....?????? Excitement!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Number 2 wins - Stone Prince!!!

Yeah!!! He was also the underdog and quadruples my bet. I receive almost €8 in winnings for my bet of €2. Hihi, how cool!

So, we have actually won a total of €2 (with a total bet of €6).

It was definitely a fun experience 😉

There are several more filly races that we watch, but then it gets too boring for our son.

We leave the racetrack and spontaneously drive to Schloss Trauttmansdorff, whose gardens are said to be an absolute highlight. As it is on the way back to Gfreinhof in Hafling anyway, it's not even a detour.

Apparently, Empress Sissi used to vacation here in the past -- well then 😉

We arrive at around 3 pm and enter the outdoor area. Just like at the racetrack, nobody cares whether we have a Green Pass or not 🤷🏻

On the overview map, we can already see that we have some walking paths ahead of us. The gardens are huge and divided into different theme areas.

We start with the 'Forest Gardens', including the 'Path to the Palm Beach'.

That already sounds promising!

We pass the bamboo forest and make a stop at the 'Glass House', a greenhouse with various tropical plants and a terrarium, where we come across an escaped stick insect on the showcase full of ants 😱😱😱

No idea how the stick insect escaped from its terrarium full of conspecifics, but when it falls in front of our eyes and visibly lies down in distress on the ground, we put it on a large plant nearby and hope that nobody steps on it and it finds its way back to its home (or that a staff member puts it back in its terrarium!?).

That was exciting - let's continue through the Fern Valley with a waterfall.

The weather is cooperating, it's over 20 degrees, and we enjoy the T-shirt weather while following the sometimes steep paths, the so-called 'blooming clay walls' (colorful blooming clay slope, through almost vertically arranged flower beds) that wind through the forest and lead uphill.

By 3:30, we reach the Palm Beach, which is further up the mountain. How much I would love to lie in one of the sunbeds in the sun and just chill....

Unfortunately, no sunbeds are available (soooo sad), and my husband insists that there is still a lot to see.

Alright, let's continue up to the viewpoint and aviary, where in addition to many colorful parrots of all sizes, there are also many sparrows gathered around the feeding stations.

Quickly take a photo on the observation platform (I'm not really free from fear of heights...!!!) and then we walk from the Forest Gardens to the Sun Gardens with a detour to the 'Garden for Lovers'.

After a longer uphill path, we reach the 'Gardens for Lovers'.

Here, colorful glass sculptures in the shape of leaves create a fancy light show with the sun.

Unfortunately, you cannot get on the oversized recliners - at least not without getting your feet wet

We walk down through the Sun Gardens to the Water Gardens via the Panorama Path. Our son has set his sights on the labyrinth, which we explore afterwards.

Our last stop is the Tyrolean Garden landscape. Here, among other things, there are animal enclosures with funny sheep (Hungarian Woolly Sheep) and an adventure bridge, which of course has to be tried multiple times immediately.

At around 5 pm, we leave the gardens. Our soles are smoking, we are pretty exhausted and worn out. Soooo many impressions on the first day!

Arriving at Gfreinhof in Hafling, we are immediately greeted by Border Collie Ronja.

Today at noon, I found out via WhatsApp from a friend that they are traveling with their motorhome to Lake Garda and are basically just before Meran, where they are planning an overnight stop somewhere.

So, we ask Sandra if she can give us a tip on where to spend a night 'freely' in Hafling and the surrounding area with the motorhome.

Sandra immediately offers the Gfreinhof yard as a place to stay overnight! That's amazing!!!

Our friends arrive at around 6:30 with the motorhome and can spend the night next to the swing with the same cool view of the mountains and horse pasture.

In Hafling's Pizzeria Platzl, we order pizzas - very delicious - and have dinner together in our holiday apartment.

It's truly a great surprise!

Once again, many thanks to Sandra and Peter for the great motorhome overnight offer!! 😉

After a few rounds of 'Skyjo', we fall into bed around midnight. It was a very eventful and great day!!!