Naturidylle Geyrerhof

Faced with an ultra-long weekend created by skipping a Friday school field trip and adding two days for All Hallow's Eve and All Saint's Day on Monday and Tuesday, Amy and I decided to escape to the far northern reaches of Italy to the Alto Adige or Sudtirol with a couple of friends. Our destination for four nights: the Naturidylle Geyrerhof in the tiny community of Soprabolzano or Oberbozen. You might have already noticed that everything has two names - one Italian and one German. The region was annexed from Austria by Italy following WWI and is included as a semi-autonomous state within Italy. They have a margin of self-rule not granted to most other states and a large fraction of the tax income generated there stays in the area. It is by all measures the most affluent region of Italy. Both Italian and German are cumpulsory in school and many people speak English as well. Down in the valley, in Bolzano, you hear roughly an equal mix of both languages. On the Ritten Plateau, 1000+ meters above the valley, the language of choice is all German, all the time.

The Naturidylle Geyrerhof is run by the Family Ramoser. Amy and I stayed there 5 years ago during an August holiday trip around Italy and vowed we would one day return. We finally made it back and remember exactly why we were so captivated the first time. This year we had a second floor balcony room, which is on the west side of the building, shown to the left above. The accomodations are simple but comfortable. Two things are remarkable about the hotel. The first is the unbelievably spectacular setting in the middle of an Alpine field surrounded by the Dolomites. Pictured below is the Rosengarten (Rose Garden), already covered with snow, which lies to the east. It derives its name from the spectacular play of light at sunset which for a few fleeting minutes turns the entire range a glowing, rosy pink. Try as I might, I have dozens of pictures taken across four gorgeous sunsets, but not one does the scene justice.

Next is a picture taken at dawn more towards the west. The snowcapped mountains on the horizon are actually over 4000 meters tall! Yes, that is frost on the ground. The higher elevations have had snow already, but the fall temperatures have been so mild that little of it remains.

Next is a picture of sunrise over the group of mountains next to the Rosengarten.

Finally, there is a picture of the late sunset taken mostly to the south.

The second remarkable feature of the hotel is the food. They advertise a hearty, Tirolean breakfast of meats, cheeses, cereal, breads, etc. It is a very filling way to start the day. But, if you go, you MUST get the half board. Half board means you add dinner to the already included breakfast. Dinner is a 4 to 5 course, gourmet meal based on food produced either on the premises or locally. Amy can wax poetic about the various dishes, but they were GREAT! Venison, veal, pork. Some sort of appetizer and soup every day. The best of both Italian and German cooking. There were even some startling dishes. For instance, deer tongue with marinated  mushrooms, radishes and raspberry vinaigrette and a mushroom and truffle risotto. Each meal was paired with a suggested local wine. Given the wide range of conditions, from sun angle to elevation, it is possible to grow almost any kind of grape well, so the selection of local wines includes almost everything you have ever heard of.

I will have much more to say about the activites we occupied our time with over the next few postings. Suffice it to say, we have vowed we will once again return!