Just returned from a trip to Northern Italy and Austria in August. My husband and I have been to Europe a few times and love beautiful scenery and good food. We speak a little Italian and a few phrases in German.
Landed in Milan airport and picked up our rental car. Car to be dropped off in Munich for an additional $500 fee at the end of the trip, which is crazy, but after looking at other options with piecing together 1 rental within Italy and 1 rental within Austria and some trains in between, willing to pay the extra cost for convenience. We drove straight to Bellagio. I was concerned overall on this trip about visiting in August when so many of the Europeans are also taking their holidays. Road up to Bellagio was very narrow and curvy. But we were forewarned about this. You can also drive to Como and take the car ferry from there to Bellagio. We did encounter about a 15 minute traffic jam once we entered Bellagio but not too bad. Hotel Belvedere was absolutely beautiful and I immediately felt relaxed. Everyone at the hotel very friendly and beautiful views over the "other side" of Bellagio. Quiet side of the lake. I immediately understood why RS says that most visitors to the lake region appear to have thrown away their itineraries, because exactly what I did. Was going to visit Balbianello, but went to the pool instead.
The next day visited Villa Carlotta by ferry. Very beautiful gardens. When it says that the long trail will take 60-70 minutes it really doesn't take that long and would recommend that you take it. Really cool bamboo forest. Would love to come back in May when the spring flowers are in bloom. Walked about 2 minutes to Hotel Tremezzo and had a lovely lunch on their beach area outside. In the afternoon walked around the city of Bellagio itself. Found the cobblestone streets combined with the many stairs a bit difficult to negotiate. Had to really focus and be careful. (I broke an ankle on a slip and fall many years ago on a beach trail, so I am more cautious than most.) Was somewhat disappointed with the variety of shops. Mostly leather goods or silk items. Also a lot of clothes and shoes. We did find a nice wine shop with very friendly staff. And all of the gelato sampled was very good.
Next stop was Malcesine on Lake Garda. Very interested in purchasing some Franciacorta wine which is sparkling wine made in the traditional French method. We would be driving through the heart of this region. Rather than visit a specific winery, which requires a reservation and possibly a tour, I opted for wine stores in Brescia area. Because it was national holiday Ferragosta, many stores were closed, but we did find one store, Dispensa Pani e Vini which was a combination restaurant and wine store in Torbiato di Adro. Very nice selection of wine and I was able to purchase several bottles of wine. We brought our own special wine box. On to Lake Garda.
Let me tell you, Lake Garda is a totally different atmosphere compared to Lake Como. It has the feel of Myrtle Beach in high season. Tons of tourists in August and lots of traffic although it kept moving. Water parks, putt putt golf, very commercialized sights. The area is mostly frequented by German tourists who come for the beach, wind surfing, kite surfing. The northern area where we stayed was nice but when you went closer to the heart of Malcesine crazy traffic. We arrived at the lift to Mt. Baldo at 9:30 in the morning. No line for tickets, but 1.5 hour wait listed for the lift itself. Not worth it so took the ferry to Limone. Cute little town and pedestrian friendly. Reminded me a little of walking around Mt. St. Michel but unfortunately just as busy. For the most part the shop keepers seemed unfriendly and apathetic. There was one very nice lady with a soap/lotion/lemon store. Next day happy to leave Lake Garda (just not as beautiful or sophisticated as Lake Como) and onto Merano.
Posted by
OP
Farmington Hills, MI
21 posts
On the way to Merano, wanted to visit the Alpe di Suisi. To be honest, I was completely confused by the directions give by the RS guidebook and how to visit from Compatsch. Another book recommended Ortisei and the lift had a pretty good website in English that said they had a parking lot. So went to Ortisei, a very cute little town. Parked in the lot and bought a ticket for the cable car. My mistake was this - should have bought a ticket for the cable car and lift. When you go up the cable car in Ortisei, you end up above the actual meadow. They have a restaurant up there and not much else. You then need to take a short chair lift down to get on the actual meadow (unless you want to hike). Fortunately, we were able to take the lift down and pay when we got to the bottom so it all worked out. The meadow was really beautiful and glad that we took time to visit.
I chose Merano to be near the Dolomite region and because they are known for their spa. My husband loves anything spa- whirlpool, sauna, steam room, etc. This ended up being a more leisurely part of the trip to relax.
It was time for laundry, so the next morning after breakfast, we went to the self service laundromat. I bought some detergent from the vending machine. I can read Italian a bit and was reading the directions - put clothes in, go to the control panel, choose the machine you selected, put in the money, press start. Yes, there are some large letters in red that I don't understand, but that is not important, right? To make a long story short, the sign said - "do not add detergent", which of course I had already done. I was not aware of the existence of automatic soap in a laundromat machine. I had my Rick Steve's phrase book where i could have easily looked up what I needed in the laundry section. So I like to think that my clothes just got extra clean. It all seemed to be fine in the end. Lesson learned, take a little time to make sure you understand.
My husband enjoyed the public spa very much, it was enormous with many options. There were also several options at our hotel, Therme Merano, which was adjacent to the spa. I walked around the town of Merano and browsed the many shops. A rainy afternoon, so no opportunity to visit the nearby gardens or scenic walk above town.
We were going to Salzburg next and wanted to drive the Grossglockner on the way. The scenery in Italy between Merano and the Grossglockner was absolutely spectacular. Hillsides of trees dotted with villages. Everything so green and beautiful. My kind of scenery. The Grossglockner was also lovely, higher mountains with less vegetation. I got a glimpse of one marmot on the side of the road.
In Salzburg, we bought the Salzburg Card and used it to visit Mozart's birthplace, Hohensalzburg fortress, Dom Quartier, Hellbrunn Palace and Unsterberg. I must say I agree with Rick in that Salzburg has no blockbuster sights and that the charm is in just walking around the town itself. My favorites were Hellbrunn due to the fountain tour which was something totally different and Untersberg (25 minutes by car outside of Salzburg) which offered quite a beautiful view). The rest I could have skipped. Mirabell Gardens (free) was also very nice. Would have rather spent a night in the Salzburg lake district. We did end up driving the lake district and quite lovely. P2 was already full in Hallstatt and we weren't sure if we were allowed to park in P3 since it said BUS. Later we drove by and saw that lots of cars were parked there. Don't know if the shuttle that RS mentions was operating from P3 as it would be a bit of a walk. We drove around the lake instead and there are some very nice vantage points from which you can see the village of Hallstatt. We had lunch in a lovely restaurant in Obertraun.
Posted by
OP
Farmington Hills, MI
21 posts
continued**
So our trip was at an end. Drove to Muich and stayed the last night at Hilton Aiport hotel which easily connects to the airport itself.
A few final thoughts-
I would encourage all tourists to learn at least hello, goodbye, please and thank you in the language of the country you are visiting. Was dismayed to see so many people just asking for what ever they wanted with no greeting, no attempt whatsoever at Italian or German. It's fun-you should try it! It's part of the experience and helps me to connect.
Definitely noticed that as I moved from west to east, (from traditional Italy to Tryol to Austria) that the locals did seem to get a little more serious and reserved. i do love the Italians for their warmth and fun.
A wonderful trip and I hope that you enjoyed reading about it.
Posted by
681 posts
Thank you for your report. I was in that region a few years ago and loved the hiking.