The springomether | another week passed :)

It's amazing how many things can happen in one single week... You can be totally happy, angry, relaxed, sad, enthusiastic, disappointed, hopefull and even grow a little bit :)

After a snowing Friday and a strange Saturday, the sun kissed Merano today, it was so lovely that you could even walk without your jacket! The best time for enjoying Merano peacefully! A friend of mine took her mum here from Verona to spend a well-being week-end at the Therme, with massages, health packages and nice food.
I bought them two Faschingskrapfen with apricot jam, an unrenouceable delicacy in February!
-42 days to my beloved spring!

My hibernation... abroad!

It's amazing how fast time passes...!
Shame on me, hibernating like that for over two months...!
Well, there are good reasons for not being online during the last time :) I had the awesome chance to enjoy some free time abroad, where I could recharge my batteries with new cultures, languages, colours, food, architecture... I love travelling!!!

While I took my dreamy parentheses around Europe, Merano kept drinking wine, playing music and celebrating Christmas with many other enthusiasts :)
November was the time for the world's best wines in the Kurhaus with the WineFestival, a long red carpet welcomed the visitors on the Freiheitsstrasse and many precious wines were awaiting them in the inside.

As soon as the gastronomic tent of the MIWF was removed, diligent men started mounting the little wooden houses of the Christmas Market. This year the weather was gentle, it snew 3-4 times, the mountains are still covered by a white blanket :) What I can't stop watching during the Christmas Market, are the black sheep staying in a small cot on the Thermenplatz: mummy, daddy and their children, they are just soooo cute! People go mad for them!

In December I was particularly diligent and Christmas-minded :) I made a lot of Christmas biscuits! It's a nice South Tyrolean tradition I love! South Tyrolean women start baking biscuits various weeks before Christmas (the more they are kept in the box, the better they get) and give them as a gift to those people who deserve them ;)
I still have a small number of them, which I gelously conserve in my last, smallest box...

Thanks to the big effort of the Tourist Authority, the New Year was celebrated with music and fireworks and my city colourfully started its 2010!

Since last Friday the days have become sunnier and brighter, my narcissi are miraculously coming up from their dried little bulbs... Wow...
I'll talk to you soon again, my winter sleep has finished :)

Bio, etc.

Last Friday I got my fortnightly Biokistl. The Biokistl is a nice service which settled in South Tyrol some years ago. You sign in by Internet, choose the size of the "Kistl" (chest) you need and the things you absolutely don't want and those you could live at :) Then, they bring you the "Kistl" at home early in the morning, so that you're able to store them, before going to work. Of course also Merano is provided with this service. As I wasn't really a big fan of vegs and fruits, but I knew they are healthy, I found this solution to get accostumed to having some vegs in my fridge :).
Last Friday in my "Kist" I found some plums... I love them dry, but I can't stand them fresh... What was I supposed to do? I looked at my "So kocht Suedtirol" (that's how South Tyrol cooks) recipes book in search for inspiration and found a cool recipe for a cake and just baked it :) Let's see how my friends will like it! :)

So many things :)

This has been a pretty full week :) September is a stressy month for me anyway, but this week I had also some interesting happenings I can still hardly recall :)
On Monday it was the turn of tradition, I went to Algund to interview some of the guys who take their time every year to rebuild the giant grape for the carriage marching during the big procession of the Grape Festival Merano. It's an amazing thing that people dedicate time and passion for tradition every year just for the sake of it. It's an honour for them to prosecute a familys usage. One of the two guys I could interview is the grandchild of the man who created the carriage 1951. They will start rebuilding it two days before the Festival (16. October) and I'm allowed to go there, take some pictures and of course... to help them ;)
On Thursday I met a friend of mine and we decided to go to eat sth at the Sardinian restaurant "Mirto" in Merano. The temperature was still as nice as to allow us to eat outdoors. I took the usual lamb dish with vegs and something really special for dessert: a beer-Tiramisu!!! You wouldn't believe it, it's great!! Tasty but delicate at the same time, fresh and creamy... Yum! We had a nice chat and a great dinner and got home pretty late... ;)
Saturday was a great day again, I had the chance to cooperate for the Children Festival in Merano. The Tourist Authority of Merano organised a travelling fairy-tale telling. We had a professional narrator and a few little children curious to listen to her stories. The first leg was the Kallmuenz park, an amazing place for it's quiet and magic atmosphere... Then we took our blankets and bottles of water and went to the park of the Thermal Baths. You feel totally surrounded by the mountains there... Some elder people passed by and briefly listened to our stories smiling :) The city was packed with children and their parents taking them from one game to the other, fortunately the weather contributed to the success of the event :)
During the afternoon we went to the 2. ECM BBQ. The ECM is the English Club Merano in Facebook, a club for people talking in English in Merano, started by a good friend of mine. The first idea was to meet for aperitives, then we organised a BBQ and yesterday we had the 2. Due to the uncertainty of the weather, some members purposed to keep it in a court they own. It is a get-together of nice people knowing each other, meeting there for the first or the second time, staying together easily and talking about many different things. It's always really funny that there is a huge quantity of any kind of food, from Indian, to American, to Italian, to South Tyrolean... It's a cool mix of cultures and of people talking English, German and Italian just as they wish, one of the nicest groups I ever joined :)

Looong week-end

Last week my week-end began on Thursday. A simple call from a sweet friend of mine, asking me if I wanted to go to concert the same night. Chico & the Gypsy were playing at the Gardens of Trauttmandorff Castle! We had a great night! Singing, dancing and laughing all the time, an amazing scenery was surrounding us all...

On Friday began the Matteotti Street Festival, a party with rock music and nice food to eat. We went there on Saturday and had some gorgeous chanterelles with dumplings and vegetables by Erwin's Pasta Fresca.
After that we enjoyed the dessert by Poehl, a tasty Sacher and I was in peace with the world!



The day after I got up early to meet my mum and a friend for a trip in the mountain. We went to Voeran, left the car at the parking place and went up to the station by walking. It took us nearly two hours, it's 900 m altitude difference, fortunately it was fresh and shady, so we could go up without suffering the heat. As we arrived, we rewarded ourselves with a big, sweet breakfast: coffee and self-made cakes...! Wow :)

Busy, dreamy summer nights in Merano

Every year the whole thing starts the third week of July. Five long Tuesdays and twice as many summer nights take place in the heart of the town. I had the fortune to live some of them after my holiday abroad. I went to the long Tuesday last week, enjoyed a gorgeous fish meal on piazza della Rena and watched beautiful models dressed with autumnal, South Tyrolean, night garments and pretty lingerie. A dreamy night with a beautiful bottle of Lagrein for my mum and me. Life can just be so simply amazing! Yesterday we went to the last Long Tuesday, which was dedicated to theatre and did some shopping because we thought we would get some tickets of the shopping lottery "buy & win" and... guess what? We got into the only shop not participating at the initiative! Gosh!

Anyway... nearly every night the tourist office of Merano also organised a different concert, from jazz wiht the Zato so sings 4et, to Latin American music to Abba. Tonight it was the turn of the "Rivali", performing beautiful blues, soul and funky music, taking you back in time, as well as energic and funny songs by Sugar. Friday evening will conclude the series with a concert dedicated to the 80ies. In the night the air is wonderful, the heat disappears and a nice breeze takes its place. Merano is packed with enthusiastic people enjoying the last summer nights of this year.

A few steps into nature and towards good music

Last Sunday I had a strangely intensive day. Actually I'm taking advantage of my new big passion for hiking and go any time I can and find some willing friends following me in some improvised excursions. By now I manage to go up to the mountains once a week on Sundays :) This time it was the turn of the "Meraner Hütte". We started from Merano, drove 20 min. till Falzeben and went up by walking. As we reached the "Rotwand" we decided to go further to reach the Meraner Hütte, it took us another hour. Close to our destination we met a group of blond horses, quietly browsing among people caressing them gently. I liked to see them, even if I'm deadly scared about hourses - and they know it...! After these 12 km we could enjoy a South Tyrolean meal, the climate - approx. 15 degrees - permitted us to eat dumplings even in summer ;)
As I came back home I was quite wrecked, I rasted a bit and then got ready for a jazz concert in the Puccini Theatre: it was the last night of the Merano Jazz Festival. My sweet mum and I could enjoy the Dave Douglas Brass Ecstasy. Funny, entertaining and affecting, just as good jazz music can be :)

Hot, hot Merano - escape in the fresh Pfossental

2day it was just so hot in Merano, that I didn't even want to go to the pool...! Who knows me, also knows that's pretty uncommon ;) I wanted to escape somewhere I could breathe fresh, healthy air. Called up some friends and went to the Pfossental, a small valley reachable from the Schnalstal. It took us 50 min. by car from Merano. In the car we already felt the temperature changing :) How good! We parked the car and started hiking up from alp cottage to alp cottage, along the way we saw many goats and cows on the steep slopes. As usual the cows enjoyed their time without bothering about our discrete passage.
Just a moment before it started raining we could make halt at the Rableidalm. There we could enjoy some nice speck and alp cheese with homemade paarl bread. A fresh ender juice accompanied the biggest cheese omelette I've seen in my life! I couldn't finish it off, even though it was absolutely delicious! On the way back we saw some ibexes far up on the mountain and we went to the Gasthof Jägerrast to have some beautiful strudel and rolade... Yummy!!!
Guess what? In the meantime Merano got a bit fresher and I didn't have any dinner :)

Serenely losing my way in the labyrinth garden Kränzel

Wednesday I had the chance to visit the fascinating labyrinth garden Kränzel in Tscherms, a few minutes by car from Merano. After an exquisite glass of Cabernet-Lagrein and some lovefully prepared appetisers, the rain stopped and we could make our way barfoot into the fresh garden.

We went through some small labyrinths decorated with amazing artworks and reached the horizontal labyrinth - which origin goes back to the ancient Greek culture - representing the personal development of people, making their way to the center of it. There we could experience a deep meditation moment.
In the small lake next to it we could hear the toads quacking - some people love them, some do really not, it's funny...!
Then we proceeded to the 30 m long tasting table, the only unsailable artwork in the whole garden.
A bit of emotion mixed to fear cought me as I entered alone in the last, big labyrinth. I decided it to be a moment for me only, in order to live an intense experience with myself. A nice guide told me some details of the project, then she met another girl and I continued alone. As I finally got out of the labyrinth I could reach the others up the grassy amphitheatre, from where I could see what I passed through.
Two hours passed in a blink, some very well invested time indeed :)

Fine eating delights

Last Saturday I wanted to celebrate my birthday the whole day. A gorgeous breakfast with a tasty cake with redcurrants and a delicious lunch in a place I always wanted to try. The Kallmünz Restaurant in Meranos town center. We had a lovely weather, it was sunny and mild and could sit in the small court of the castle. Fish, vegetables and meat are proposed with a very special, gentle touch of Asia and they suggest wonderful wines, which blend perfectly with the dishes.
We had king prawns and tagliata and some beautiful dessert. As we went back home, we were very, very happy ;)
The night was dedicated to my family and my dearest friends, we went to the Brauerei Forst, in its beautiful Biergarten. Nice wine, lovely fish, veggies and a lot of joy :) Last but not least, a gorgeous, enormous cake by Mignon, one of the best pastry shops in Merano...! You could live at their chocolate icing! Well at least I could...! :)