Better than Chocolates?

Better than Cookies, better than Candy.

Dried  Kumquats.

They're not easy to find.  

Of course the Piazza Walter in Bolzano, Italy has them.
The vendors of the Piazza have everything, no matter what time of year, Summer, Winter, Spring or Fall.  

The Piazza is named after Walther von der Vogelweide (1178-1238), one of the great German poets and storytellers of the Middle Ages. 
The Südtyrol region passed from Austria to Italy in 1919.  To this day both Italian and German is spoken. 

Bolzano is just over the Alps.  Getting there is very easy.  It's about a 2 hour drive from Innsbruck, Austria on the well maintained super highway, the Brenner Pass.  You can also take the train which is an unforgettable experience.  

Warning, most likely you will be driving on an Austrian Autobahn.  You must have a special sticker attached to your windshield.  They are available at any gas station and cost 8.50 Euros.  The permit is good for 10 days.  
(The fine is 120 Euros) 

Continuing from the Piazza, to the Lauber Gasse, you will find Bolzano's Medieval shopping Arcades.

 This is where the people meet.   

 Here and there remnants of beautiful and early frescoes can be seen inside the arches.  

If shopping is not your favorite pastime then admiring Belle Epoch architecture, visiting one of the more than 200 castles in the area or taking the funicular to high alpine meadows and continuing in a narrow gauge wooden rail car to charming villages is as easy as one, two, three. 

If you are a wine aficionado than this is the place to test your palate.  Hundreds of vintners grow their favorite grapes in the region.  

Sooner or later you will have to take a break for lunch.
So many interesting Restaurants to chose from.  Or you can have a Würstel right in the middle of the square and people watch, one of my most favorite pastimes.   

A basket of an assortment of fine breads, along with a glass of local wine, is always brought to your table, pronto. Shopping under the Arcades in the Lauber Gasse is serious business and soon requires a little nourishment.

There is beauty everywhere.  Most likely unnoticed unless you're walking with your head in the clouds.  

Has anyone else noticed this beautiful angel.  

The Bolzano and Alto Adige regions are known for their  fine wines.  Christmas is a special time to visit Bolzano and its famous Christkindl Markt.   But so is Springtime, when the valleys are a white puff of pear and apple blossoms.  Then there is wine tasting in the Fall and cross country skiing in Winter. 

 More than 20 major Museums are to be found in and near Bolzano.

A must visit is the Museum of Archeology to see the excellent installation of Ötsy, the 5,300 year old Neolithic Man.  The glacier mummy was found by two hikers on October 31, 2011 in the Ötztal Alps. Locals call him "Frozen Fritz".   

http://www.iceman.it/en/oetzi-the-iceman

I was thinking of you.  Maybe Bolzano will be in your near future. 

Gina   

Joining  http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/