Skating On No Ice

We knew that Europe has had a very warm New Year's with rains washing away most of December's snow but that hadn't really affected us until today. We ventured higher up into the mountains (bus 165!) which should have been covered by snow at this time of year but which looked more like a spring day according to the locals. Our afternoon activity of ice-skating was unfortunately a no-go as both the natural lake was not frozen, and the artificial outdoor rink was non operational as ti was too warm. 

We did, however, have an amazing morning experience tasting apple juice at Kohls! We were the only ones there and the surrounding area was pretty dead. It was also a little bit of a schlep to get there but the experience was unique and we all enjoyed it! This would probably be a better experience in the summer when combined with a hike. We booked a "PURE enjoyment package" through Teresa, the travel planner mentioned in our earlier posts, which included a brief tour of the apple farm, the factory floor as well as a tasting of their 6 single variety apple juices. The cynics in us questioned just how different apple juices could taste from each other. We were happy to be proven very wrong! Even the children could taste the unique quality of each variety. The flavour of the apple juices were also very intense. Sophie, our guide and also the marketing manger, was very generous with her pours! She also kindly included a tasting of one of their "blends" - apple juice and hops. Also surprisingly delicious! We thought it would taste like beer but it did not, in fact the family consensus was that it had hints of lychees! The proof of how much we loved it came in the 6 bottles of apple juice that we purchased to take home, as well as the fact that the kids wanted to buy it as gifts for their friends!

Beautiful views even from the bus

Apple juice tasting time!

An apple named after Elliot AND Jonah!?!

Yes very dead looking apple trees as it is winter. But they were trees not grapevines! Usually all this would be covered in snow...

Factory floor

Red apple juice! From an apple variety aptly called Rouge. The most "sour" almost has a rhubarb taste

Onto juice number 2, the kids favourite, Gravensteiner

With ice-skating off the agenda, the rest of the afternoon was making our way back down to Bolzano using various scenic transportation options all include in our museomobil card. First up the Rittner Bahn. In summer there are many hikes that start from the various stops. We used it to get to Sopra Bolzano where we took the modern gondola down the mountain. The original railway went all the way to Bolzano. With an early return home, we took the opportunity to wander the shops, repack for the next major leg of our trip (ski safari), have some currywurst for dinner and chill. 

Edited to add: The apartment was advertised to have a washing machine but the laundry room was no longer available for use! The owners were apologetic and ended up doing our laundry for free. Bonus that it came back all folded. Yay!

We hopped on the 165 all the way up to the end of the line. The station for the Rittner Bahn was there

1907 narrow gauge railway

Spectacular views of the Dolomites

Lunch stop. The hot chocolates now taste like Swiss Miss!

Typical South Tyrol "toasted sandwich"

Give the man beer and sausage and he is happy

Hopping off the Rittner Bahn and onto the gondola (stations right next to each other)

Picture of the gondola

Looking down at Bolzano in the valley. And an appreciate of just how high we were!