Munich & Bolzano: Part 9 - Day 7: Wine tasting

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 7.

5/8 Day 7: Wine tasting in the morning. Walked around town and stopped at many places to have coffee, drinks and finally dinner. 

Must-Incur Costs
None

Optional Costs
(1) Breakfast Vital Coffee - Cappucino EUR2, Croissant EUR3,50

(2) Wine tasting at Rottensteiner - 1 person costs EUR5

(3) Lunch - 2 bruschetta shared between 3 of us and 3 Limoncello for EUR40

(4) Ice-cream gelato 2 scoops - EUR3 (3 scoops cost EUR4,50)
(5) Coffee espresso at Londra Cafe (random shop) - EUR1,20
(6) Limoncello Spritz - EUR6

(7) Dinner at Casa Al Torchio - Spaghetti carbonara EUR10,90; Alcohol-free Birra Analcolica EUR4; Tiramisu EUR5,90; 1 shot of Grappa Muller that has 40% alcohol shared between the 3 of us for EUR3,80; Macchiato coffee EUR1,60

The Story

050822 - Today, we walk around town. We did miss the mountains as it is so much cooler there. My boyfriend was constantly suggesting to take the cable car up to the mountains but our friend decided to go around town. I agreed with exploring town. For breakfast, we went back to our usual Vital Coffee cafe and had breakfast like the other Italians - croissant. Swedes are not used to eating sweet stuff for breakfast and they found it weird eating croissants and buns that have chocolate fillings. 

After breakfast, we gradually made our way to the nearest wine tasting vineyard and we passed by a small market. I think these are meant for tourists.

The nearest wine tasting shop. Unfortunately, we missed one day earlier to visit the vine yard. One has to make reservations to visit the vineyard. It was my first time with wine tasting and we are allowed to try 5 different wines. I could only manage 4 glasses. We could pour away the wine if we could not finish it.

Munich & Bolzano: Part 8 - Day 6: Cable car to Dolomites - UNESCO World Heritage

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 6.

4/8 Day 6: Took the bus 170 to Seis and then the cable car up to the Dolomites. Hiked different routes. 

Must-Incur Costs

(1) 1 day MobilCard pass - EUR15. We used the pass to board the Bus 170 to Seis. Same pass that I bought on Day 5. 

(2) Cable car (with return) to the ski resorts - EUR20. We did not know that the MobilCard pass is not applicable for these cable cars.

Optional Costs

(1) Breakfast Vital Coffee - Cappucino EUR2, Sandwich gourmet crudo EUR6, a gelato with 2 scoops EUR3,50 (3 scoops cost EUR4,50)

(2) Tips at Vital Coffee EUR1,60 (my friend generously left a tip)

(3) Lunch at Lavin Hytte - Speckknödel (bacon dumpling) soup EUR9, Hefe alcohol-free 500ml EUR5,80 

(4) Radler Beer at Almrosen Hytte - EUR5,60

(5) 3 Beer at Seis skicenter - EUR15

(6) Dinner at Batzenhäus - Red Frida sour beer 300ml EUR3,50; Baeurn Gröstel for EUR14,50, shared bread between 3 of us for EUR3

The Story

040822 - Breakfast is at the same place we had our gelato yesterday. The cappucino here is very affordable at EUR2 which if converted is SEK23. I have not seen a SEK23 cappucino in Sweden yet. Even the brewed (cheapest) coffee is SEK25. 

Today, we hike a different area of the Dolomites. We took bus 170 to Seis Skicenter which took about 40 minutes. This place is very packed during winter. We bought the same mobilcard pass that we bought yesterday but did not realise that this pass cannot be used for the cable car from the skicenter. That requires another pass which is more expensive.

When we reached the top, we could feel a huge difference with the temperature. It was 22 degrees and so much cooler than the 38 degrees in Bolzano town. Although it was cooling, I lathered myself with lots of sunblock because it was a very cloudless day. Also, look at the number of routes that one can attempt to hike around the mountains.

Munich & Bolzano: Part 7 - Day 5 Afternoon & Evening: Earth Pyramid

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 5 afternoon and evening.

3/8 Day 5 afternoon and evening: Saw Earth Pyramid. A man with a horse showed us the path through the forest to get back to Collalbo. Took train and cable car back to Bolzano town. Sweating dinner at Marechiaro restaurant. 

Must-Incur Costs

None. Cable car and train tickets are included in the 1-day Mobilcard pass. 

Optional Costs

(1) Beer at Maria Saal EUR14 for 3 persons. Mine has a different price because I drank a radler. 

(2) Dinner at Marechiaro - Focaccia bread EUR4,50 shared between 3 of us. Spaghetti with seafood EUR16,50 and a glass of red wine EUR5,50 

The Story

030822 afternoon - After the delicious lunch at Gasthus Amtmann, we continued with our walk towards the Earth Pyramid. We saw a church along the way and the church has a sun-dial on it. 

The route to the Earth Pyramid is not challenging at all. We walked on asphalt road for some time and then the path forked out into a gravel road which was well-managed too. The view along the route is very scenic and I just want to stop to take as many photos as possible. After some time, I realised that the view is quite similar with the same mountain in the background. Haha!

Munich & Bolzano: Part 6 - Day 5 Morning to lunch: Cable car from Bolzano to Soprabolzano, train from Soprabolzano to Collalbo

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 5 morning to lunch.

3/8 Day 5 morning to lunch: Breakfast at Cafe Verona and gelato at Vital Cafe. Took the cable car up to the mountains at 10.50am to Soprabolzano. Cable car departs every 4 minutes and the ride took 12 minutes. Continued with the train at 11.30am to Collalbo (or Klobenstein in German). The ride took us 18 minutes. Arrived at Collalbo slightly before 12pm. Hiked towards the Earth Pyramid and stopped for lunch along the way. 

Must-Incur Costs

(1) 1 day MobilCard pass that includes return trip for cable car from Bolzano to Soprabolzano and train from Soprabolzano to Collabo - EUR15. If one buys the ticket for cable card and train separately, it costs (with return) - EUR10 for cable car and EUR6 for train. So, it is EUR1 cheaper with the 1-day MobilCard pass.

(2) Facemask is compulsory on public transports. Bought at Eurospin which was behind the cable car station - EUR1.47 for 3 persons

Optional Costs

Food

(1) Breakfast at Cafe Verona - Brioche EUR1,30 and cappucino EUR1,80

(2) Gelato at Vital Cafe - EUR2.50

(3) Lunch at Gasthus Amtmann - Spaghetti with shrimps EUR18 and a radler 

The Story

030822 - We woke up to a lovely sunny morning and the morning got hot very quickly. My Swedish company was in sweat as soon as they stepped out of the apartment. Haha! I think it was about 27 degrees. My friend wanted to get a sunhat so we walked into a grocery store and I got shouted at by one of the staff, that I wanted to ask if the store sells sunhat, when I said - Excuse me. She started saying a lot of Italian words and I got surprised by it that I took a step back. So, I pointed to my head and asked for hat. She said no and went back to her work. Gosh, what an experience! I did take a picture of the price of the tomatoes there. They are very cheap, and not to mention, very red too. I love comparing prices. So, EUR0,99 per kg is about SEK10,78. So CHEAP! The cheapest price of Swedish tomatoes I have ever seen was SEK15 per kg. 

We left the grocery store when we could not find any sunhat. Then, we found a random cafe to have breakfast. The staff could not speak English so she pointed the menu to us which was in Italian. Not a problem. It was easy to guess what the words mean. Haha!

The walk continues to the cable car station which is in town. It was beginning to get hot. As we walked across a bridge, my boyfriend pointed out that Bolzano is like a big and deep pot. Bolzano town is at the bottom and surrounded by the mountains. Heat is trapped inside the bottom as the sun shines brightly so it is always hot. So, we stopped by at a cafe to have gelato. When in Italy, one must eat gelato! Although it was only 9.30am! The cafe was right opposite a church. 

Munich & Bolzano: Part 5 - Day 4: Train ride from Munich to Bolzano

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 4.

2/8 Day 4: Saw a sundial at St. Benno church which was a few metres away from the hotel. Had lunch at Park Cafe which was on the way to the train station. Took the Deutsche Bahn (DB) Eurocity (EC) 87 train from Munich at 1.34pm and arrived at Bolzano at 5.27pm, checked in at our AirBnb and had pizza for dinner. 

Must-Incur Costs

(1) 2nd class train ticket from Munich to Bolzano - EUR27,90 per person, Reserve seat - EUR4 per person

Optional Costs

a) Accommodation

AirBnb 4 nights - SEK5721,27 for 3 adults.

b) Food

(1) Beer garden (biergarten) in Park Cafe, Munich - Sausages, pretzel and radler (rhubarb and beer) EUR44.30 for 3 persons, tips to the waiter EUR4

(2) Dinner at Pizzeria La Veneziana which is pizza, a glass of wine and espresso - EUR58.60 for 3 persons. Tips EUR4 (which we did not need to give because our receipt included tips by default...)

As I do not have the breakdown of the prices, you can see the food and coffee that we got to estimate the portion and its worth. 

The Story

020822 - We had breakfast in the hotel and took a walk around the neighbourhood. Here, we saw a sundial at St. Benno Church and we found out that the time on our watch is 1.5 hour faster than the time on the sundial. So, 12noon on the watch does not mean the sun is right above us because it showed 10.30am on the sundial. Which means when the sun is above us, the time on our watch will show 1.30pm. I saw a number of sundials in Munich. 

Saw also a stand selling newspapers. One just drop some coins and take a newspaper. I think the people who live here are very honest. 

Then, we headed to Park Cafe for lunch at the beer garden. My company was keen to have a glass of beer before they boarded the train to Bolzano. We got white sausages, pretzels and beer. I got my radler and this time with rhubarb instead of the usual soda.