A word of warning… If you plan on visiting Bolzano on a Saturday morning, go in time for breakfast (this is Italy after all, there are masses of cafes to choose from!), or even better, go just beyond the break of day. Anything later than 8am and you will be greeted with queues of cars snaking around the streets, as the weekend markets block off various parts of the city that you can actually drive through (much of it is traffic free). It’s not hard to understand why it’s already crowded at this time – Bolzano’s food markets are fabulous, with amazing displays of regional foods that leave you hankering after many a tasty thing (even though you’ve just had breakfast!). But, combine the locals stocking up for the weekend en masse with the usual visiting tourists, and you are in for a long long wait for somewhere to park…
Thankfully, after a long (quite often hair-raising) slog driving up and down various streets (desperately hoping that many of them weren’t one way!) we found an underground car park that cost us the princely sum of £3.50 for the entire day – Car Park 12. You can thank me later. Yes, it’s a little out of the city centre, but what’s a little extra walking on what you are about to undertake anyway?
Bolzano is somewhere that we have always driven straight past on our way to Folgaria, Lake Garda, Venice and beyond. And now, having been, I have to ask myself why on earth we haven’t visited before – this area should be a destination in its own right!
We loved exploring Bolzano’s medieval city centre and beautiful surroundings (it sits in a valley encircled by mountains so it has a film worthy back drop!), and given its history and location there’s obviously a strange mash of Austrian and Italian influences. You can spot it in the architecture, the food, and at times the language (although Bolzano is mostly Italian speaking, its surroundings are typically a mix of German, Italian, and Ladin – a language only found in the Dolomite region…).
Our first meeting of the day was with someone very special. Someone who, on being relocated to his new home (at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology) was protected by an armed convoy (with all major roads closed off!) just in case. Oh, and he is at least 5,300 years old. If numbers aren’t really your thing (they aren’t mine!) this might not blow your mind. But, if I was to tell you that this guy was roaming the earth around 500 years before the ancient Egyptians thought about building massive pointy triangle things, then that just might? Yes, our first stop in Beautiful Bolzano was to meet Ötzi, the oldest preserved person ever discovered (so far!). He’s not technically a caveman by the way (the small people just called him that) – he’s officially an Ice Man, as he lay for centuries under glacial ice high in the mountains – until he was discovered by a German couple out for a hike. They thought they had stumbled across the victim of a mountaineering accident, but as Ötzi was gradually prised from the ice (revealing the many secrets – tools, clothes, seeds etc. he had kept with him across the millennia), those who recovered him began to suspect that he was far, far older than someone who might have taken a relatively recent (and rather unfortunate) mountain tumble…
The entire three floors of this Museum (from what I could see with a squirming, wriggling baby in my arms!) are dedicated to Ötzi (although it does include special exhibitions from time to time), who he might have been, what his life was like, what he did, what he ate, who might have murdered him (because yes, he was actually murdered!). There’s also a fabulous reconstruction of what he looked like back then, and of course, in a rather morbid and completely fascinating way, you can gaze upon him in his chilly resting place, and inspect what he looks like now…
My older two are no stranger to ancient mummies, having previously introduced themselves to Copenhagen’s Viking Egtved girl – they find this kind of thing truly fascinating. And this museum has just about everything covered in getting those of us that haven’t met many ancient (non-living) people before truly and utterly absorbed in learning everything about them.
We will ignore the rather rude welcome we received at the hands of a woman on the ticket desk who took umbrage at the fact that we had asked for a ticket for two adults, and two children and had not included the baby (as is typical, no?). She demanded to know whether the baby was in fact a dog, because if he were he could be locked in a vast box near the cloakroom?! Those of you that know me personally might well imagine that this did not go down too well! It turned out however, that she meant she needed to have a tally of all persons entering the building! Secretly I think she also suffers from delusions of grandeur at the famous company she keeps… Anyway, it could have been worse, she could have called him a monkey I suppose!
Thankfully the remainder of the staff here were friendly, enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and I truly believe this museum would still be worth visiting if it were staffed entirely by grumps. Allow at least two or at a stretch three hours to explore (and read everything) properly. Do fiddle about with the headsets so that they eventually switch to English (if your Italian isn’t up to much), and do make sure your small people don’t miss the “have a go section” and the “dress like Ötzi exhibition” for a decent belly laugh at what they look like in his replica fur hat…
And, after our mammoth history lesson, hungry and wanting to take advantage of the fact that the baby was now asleep (typical!), we ventured slightly further than Bolzano’s picturesque Walther Platz, where we found Casa Al Torchio for lunch. When I don’t have prior knowledge of a place, the sign of a decent restaurant to me is always how many locals it contains, and whether it’s busy or not. This place was both busy and full of locals, and didn’t disappoint. We had an excellent lunch of regional pasta dishes and brain jolting espressos (for the grown ups obviously) to set us up for our mountain adventure that same afternoon (more on that later!)…
And later that evening (and once more while the baby slept!), we found an old documentary on Ötzi to help answer a few further questions (mostly arisen from the film clips in the museum that we couldn’t get to switch to English). But, as fascinating as it all was, I couldn’t felt a little sorry for Ötzi who we had gawped at (along with thousands of others!) in his high tech iglu. I wonder what he would make of where he eventually ended up? I don’t think he was that cross about us intruding though, there were no thunder clouds awaiting as there were after our first visit with the Egtved girl all those years ago in Copenhagen… This section from a fabulous piece in the National Geographic just about sums it up – “The Iceman might be the most exposed and invaded person who ever walked the planet”. “Only the arrowhead remains inside him, as if he’s saying, This is my last secret.”… Poor old bloke!
Ps. Apologies for the lack of photos of the famous man himself, understandably pictures aren’t allowed.
Wow, how amazing. This would really excite my boys too. They are fascinated about history
Thanks Jen! (:
I’d heard of Otzi, but didn’t know much about the place that’s now his home – sounds well worth a visit.
Have to say any chat about Italian food wins me round every time! :) x
I would absolutely love to live in Italy, in some ways I am quite glad that I don’t though, I would be blocking out the sun by now! :D x
Sounds like a fascinating visit although the lady at the ticket office would have got my back up too…….how rude. I am intrigued by the ice man
I know. I was sorely tempted to say “if you don’t like your job love…” :D Thanks Kara x
Oh Emma, I love Bolzano and one of my favourite memories is of the Christmas market which you must visit one year. Tommy spent a year at a school close by in Merano (another place to add to your list) and so we got to know the area quite well.
Your photos are beautiful and I second your choice of advising people to visit.
Thank you Mari! Merano is next on the list, that part of the world is just gorgeous. Still have lovely memories of our Folgaria trip! :) xx
How fascinating to see that!
I love reading about your adventures ;-)
Thanks Cass! (:
Very cultured! I probably would have stayed in the market eating!
It would have been more than worth it here! Thanks Kate! (:
Looks amazing Emma, and I love the idea of food markets. Do you think you’re going to have three little history enthusiasts??
I am chuckling at the dog comment :)
I already have two! :D Thank you! x
I always feel uncomfortable when seeing exhibits with skeleton’s too.It’s all very fascinating seeing how people lived and died but I feel they should have some kind of dignity.
It’s a strange feeling isn’t it? Thanks Aly x
Oh I live vicariously through you and your adventures . How exciting it all sounds
Aw thank you Becky! Travel destinations have been a bit limited this year, but hopefully that will change soon enough! :)
Goodness, it’s hard to really grasp the idea of someone from that long ago, isn’t it? How fascinating!
It really is, and how advanced they were when we think otherwise! :)
Bolzano looks wonderful and worth the hair raising drive. You did well not to completely lose it at the ticket lady! What a rude so and so! #culturekids
Thanks Ting! (:
Oh it sounds lovely! My kids would have been excited about meeting Otzi too ;)
Thanks Kate! (:
Hmmmm, I’d suggest the hot chocolate at Hotel Citta (StadtCafe) in Walther Platz. And a trip with one of the cable cars around the town (the one to RittnerHorn is possibly the most interesting to see).
The influences in Bolzano-Bozen are likely to be more Austrian than German per se though.
The cafes looked very inviting, but very very busy! Next time! Thank you, we did a cable car, more about that later! I was supposed to type Germanic! Will change accordingly! :D
How amazing the body survived all those years only to be found while a couple were out hiking! I’d be in my element in this place.
Can you imagine finding something (or indeed, someone!) like that??
That sounds fascinating- I would love to see, so incredible how old he is to have survived this long. I wonder what my four-year-old would make of it. #culturedkids
Thanks Cathy! My now 9 year old was 3 when he met a mummy in the National Museet in Copenhagen, not phased by it in the slightest! :D
Imagine coming across an ice man when you’re on a hike. Makes a change from dog poo!
Bolzano sounds beautiful – but then this area of the Dolomites can’t do anything wrong when it comes to picturesque towns and villages.
#CulturedKids
I have always been surprised how dog friendly they are in Bavaria and in these parts generally! They are very disciplined dog owners, not much dog poo to be found! Mind you the dogs are so well trained it’s unbelievable, they are probably trained to poop on command! :D Thanks Trish x
She mistook your baby for a dog?? Maybe she’d been hanging out with Otzi for too long… I’m really fascinated by places that are a mixture of different cultural influences. I’ll have to go to Bolzano some time. Thanks for joining in with #CulturedKids x
She was being facetious as we had declared ourselves to be two adults, and two children only. Although babies don’t pay, she was being anal about numbers entering the museum and chose to ask whether “he was a dog, not a child” which kind of didn’t go down that well with me as you can well imagine!… There are actually boxes here with holes where you can put your dog while you tour the museum. I might buy a particularly barky noisy one and go back… :D
Oh wow Otzi sounds fascinating we would love to visit him and this sounds like such a gorgeous town. But omg ! A Dog ? How rude it must have been quite difficult to remain composed x
Thank you Sarah! In the end I was very good and walked away and let Mr R deal with her, which is MOST unlike me!! :D x
A lovely read and written so well as to tempt anyone to stop and explore this interesting town. Otzi sounds fascinating and what a heritage to leave for humanity to discover what life was like so many years ago. Very glad the ticket seller did not recognise the monkey tendencies of the little one and confiscate him!! x
Thanks Mum xxx
great photos, the days sounds wonderful and fascinating. Love your travels.
Thank you Gemma x
Looks really good, and you had me at arriving in time for breakfast, great tips for a visit here too!
Thank you Alice! (:
This is really interesting – my son and I went to Ötzi village in Austria a couple of years ago. It’s near the place where he was discovered, and it’s a great place to learn about what life would have been like at that time.
We will have to look into visiting that! Thanks Gretta! (:
We met Otzi just this August, and loved it too. Though my kids refused to dress up (bit older than yours!). Our car park was 11€ so thanks for the tip in case we go back, we were actually in Austria this time and just drove down for the day but we hope to visit the area again.
You must Jen, I am kicking myself that we haven’t stopped there before now! Thanks so much for commenting! :)