Otzi - The Iceman Cometh

On our second full day of vacation, we rode the funicular or sielbahn (cable car) down from Soprabolzano to Bolzano. The plateau is at an elevation of approximately 1200 meters while Bozen itself is less than 300 meters above sea level. You can drive up by way of tiny, twisting roads that traverse back and forth across the mountainsides, or you can take the cable car. The cable car is the longest single track cable car in the world. The trip is about 4 km long and takes 12 minutes or so. It runs every 4 minutes during peak times and every 12 minutes during offpeak times from around 6 am until 10 pm. The round trip cost is 3.50 euros per person making it both economical and efficient.

View from the cable car.

The cable car terminal in Bozen is a few hundred yards from the main rail station which is the hub of the older portion of town. Piazza Walter/Walterplatz is one of the main squares in the city and is home of one of the main churches in the city.

Our principal destination for the day was the South Tyrol Museum of Archeology to see Otzi, the Iceman. They are hosting special exhibitions to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his discovery in September of 1991. When he was originally discovered as a tuft of brown sticking out of the ice at 3000+ meters up in the mountains, it was assumed he was recently dead. As he was recovered from the ice, it was quickly apparent that he was old, maybe centuries old. Carbon dating ultimately placed him at 5300+ years old. The roughly surveyed border initially located him in Austria, but a more careful remapping of the area placed him 92.56 meters inside of Italy. Hence his resting place in the Sudtirol. As a scientist I must marvel at the precision of that number. During the intervening years, research has yielded many discoveries. The copper axe he carried with him single-handedly pushed back the dates of the copper age by a millenium. A CAT scan performed a decade after his discovery revealed an arrowhead lodged in his shoulder/back suggesting his death is one of the coldest of cold cases. One display contained letters from the public concerning Otzi. Some claimed him as family, insisting that he was old Uncle Ernie who disappeared 30 years ago. It seems somehow fitting that the one letter included from somebody in the US was the one which disputed his age, claiming it was inconsistent with the biblical timeline. I'm sure others had the same comment, but it was discouraging that the one displayed was from the US. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed in the museum, so you will just have to make do with other images online or go to the museum and see his mummified remains for yourself.

Following an excellent lunch of German food, we finished our excursion with a walk around the city. Our first stop was the Franciscan Convent. Below, Amy and Carolyn hang out in the sun waiting for the building to open. The picture beneath that is of the cloister area. The sanctuary was also beautiful.

We ended the day with a walk along the river which runs through the city. Pictured below is a castle on the outskirts of town, surrounded by vineyards with the Dolomites in the background.

Upon return to the hotel we rested and partook of excellent dinner number three.