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“We were definitely at the right place at the right time today!” |
Mühlbach, South Tyrol, Italy
September 3, 2006
Getting back to enjoying and experiencing local life and culture, however, we were definitely at the right place at the right time today! We started out the Sunday with a visit to a small, but sincere and authentic church service in Brixen, a nearby town to Mühlbach. On a continent where churches and cathedrals have for the most part become historic sights and tourist attractions, it is good to see that people still gather to worship. After the service, we decided to stroll around the beautiful little Tyrolean town of Brixen. We chanced upon a band dressed in their Tyrolean finest seemingly gathering to play. We followed them into the courtyard of the cathedral of Brixen and eventually found out that the festivities were to welcome a new head of the church for this area. Beautiful tables of food, lovely music and even the mayor in his Tyrolean finest were there. We enjoyed watching, listening and even eating a few samples of the goodies. Later, after a nice lunch at a sidewalk café in the town square, we chance upon an even more beautiful surprise. Three men on a balcony above the square serenaded those down below with a beautiful folksong sung in harmony and accompanied by a double bass and guitar. It was thrilling! But then at the end of their song, a group of Swiss men dressed in traditional hiking gear who had listened and applauded the song in the courtyard, burst out in their own beautiful folksong in 4 part harmony! It was beautiful to watch and hear and we agreed that such an experience just could never been planned!
South Tyrol is at the very northern part of Italy in an amazingly beautiful part of the Dolomites, the Italian Alps. Both German and Italian are spoken here and David and I remember this area fondly from a previous trip 20 years ago and I from another trip with my family when I was 12. Mühlbach is not the little rural village with cows and cow bells that we remember when we think of South Tyrol. It is instead, a charming little town in tree-covered mountains with a much more Italian flavor to it. The areas that have been cleared of trees are not used for cows so much as for growing fruits. We pass orchards of ripening apples, late peaches and grapes and promise to stop and sample this fresh autumn bounty soon. The Italian flavor also encourages us to get out an Italian phrase book to learn some Italian for the next 4 weeks of touring around Italy. We have been spoiled by being able to communicate in German and English for the last 2 ½ months. We may have to struggle with the language a little more in the next few weeks. That, too, will be a cultural experience!
Muehlbach has been the location of our accommodation for the past week now and we have enjoyed our stay immensely. We rented a vacation apartment for 7 days for only 373 Euros. It is a central location to nearby towns such as Brixen, Bolzano, and Bruneck. We purchased a 3 day bus past that allowed us unlimited access to the efficient (yes, efficient and Italian still applies in this part of Italy) bus service. We traveled by bus to the 3 towns above and that gave us an opportunity to travel with the locals. We highly recommend buying the bus pass(available at local tourism information offices) either in 3 day format (15 Euros for adults) or in the 7 day format (25 Euros).
previous travel blog entryComments or Questions for the Author
Gilkinsons says:
Cheng Family, Oh, my goodness, your pictures are breath-taking! Yes, we have thought of you all too as we head back to school, but nothing at RCS could possibly compare to what you're doing now. It all seems so right and so meant to be when we see your pictures and read of your latest adventures! The Gilkinsons
Vikki06 says:
Hi Cheng Family, Love reading about your new adventures in the different European countries.Going back to school doesn't sound so bad when you're classroom is Italy. Take care and enjoy September.