June 30th and July 1, 2023 – We took the Eurocity Express train from Innsbruck to Bressanone, a two hour journey. Our train car was crowded with both passengers and luggage, and I could only catch small glimpses of the scenery in Brenner Pass, which is supposed to be spectacular. Once in Bressanone, we checked in to our hotel, then wandered around the town that evening and again the next day.
Our hotel, just across the Eisack River Bridge from the center of Bressanone
Downstream view from the bridge
Upstream view toward Bressanone
Entering town along the Via Ponte Aquila
Roof detail
Walking on beautifully geometric cobblestone streets
The Piazza Duomo in the center of town is surrounded by historic buildings:
Entering the Piazza Duomo
The Town Hall
The town symbol is a lamb, here interpreted in flowers
The Cathedral, originally built in the 10th century, with Baroque modifications in the 1700’s.
Cathedral
Cathedral
Piazza
I love the curved roof tiles and colored window panes…
We passed the Millenium Column on our way to the Hofgarten:
Millenium Column (1909) with Lamb mascot
Hofgarten Entrance
Hofgarten
Lilies and rudbeckia
View across the Hofgarten
Another Hofgarten view
Decorative gates near the Hofgarten
After a stop for gelato in the Piazza, we visited the Apothecary/Pharmacy Museum.
Inside the Apothecary Museum…
Old medicine jars
Very old books with illustrations of plants used for medicines
We crossed back over the river to our hotel, looking eastward toward the Dolomite Mountains, our destination for the next ten days…
Looking east toward the mountains…
That evening, we met our tour group at the hotel and set our agenda for the first few days of our tour.
Location Map for our hikes in the Dolomite Mountains. Blue suitcases circled in pink are hotel locations; Green flags circled in red are hike locations.
We would be heading east to the Sesto Dolomites, and staying in Dobbiaco for the next three nights.
Margaret Quilts 