Thursday September 29
Haus Klara www.hausklara.it was such a great little place. We arrived at night and had to ride through a couple of miles worth of forest. It certainly seemed like the beginning of a horror film. Then the forest opened up to apple groves, and a tiny little town called Natz. Kathrin, the daughter of Klara herself, met us at the door and was very sweet. Here English was very good and we had an interesting conversation. It turns out that up in this part of Italy they actually teach German as the first language in schools. And the people with German roots still consider themselves German and not Italian. Their passports even have them listed as both.
The room with it's slanted Chalet roof, and wooden ceiling had us feeling like we should be hitting the slopes in the morning. The room was very comfotable, and the breakfast was laid out in the most pleasant way so far. It's the friendliness, the conversations, and the the people like Kathrin laying out maps and explaining where to find a typical Alto Adige restaurant that make staying in these places such a great experience.
Bressanone is the Italian name, but up here I've only heard it referred to as Brixen. I wish we could tell you a little more about it, but I can't. It was a bit overly optimistic of me to think that we could make it through this whole trip without encountering rain, but I was hoping just the same. Today was the first time that we were foiled by mother nature. The morning started with a drizzle, but as soon as we pulled into town the skies opened up. So we weren't able to wander around. One thing we did see, which was closed due to the weather was an entire market dedicated to Schnitzel! That would have been tasty.
We were able to get into the church, which might be the best thing to see in town anyway. Seth was just saying that the churches in this more Germanic region of Italy weren't as ornate or nice as they usually are. Then we walked into this place. It might be the prettiest church I've seen, very unassuming on the outside, but the inside was tremendous. Ther frescoes were all in perfect condition and the entire ceiling was painted. The altar piece was 40 feet high and 20 feet wide and made entirely of marble. The church was flanked by a great arched cloister which at one point was covered in frescoes. Unfortunately much of the plaster has fallen, there is enough left though to help you imagine what it originally looked like.
The rest of the day was basically a rain soaked ride over the Dolomite mountains. The thick fog and wet chill added a certain something to the ride, but I would have loved to have clear views over the various valleys and lake. We decided to pop into Austria for a quick lunch. How cool is Europe? That's like crossing the border into North Carolina for us.
The next stop was Belluno, and the major reason to come to Belluno are the views over the river and surrounding mountains. Of course when we arrived it was so gray that you couldn't see past the building in front of you, much less the landscape. I wouldn't call it a wasted day, but it wasn't good to miss towns like that.
The saving grace of the day was the Villa Rubini! www.villarubini.it We've been right on top of each other thus far, and Rubini was nice enough to give us our own rooms.