On leaving Verona

Yesterday we had the chance to travel outside of Verona, and it was great to see some other towns in Italy.

Our entire program went on an excursion led by Claudio. We took a bus at 8:30 Sunday morning to Bolzano, which is about an hour and a half away. I have to be honest, I slept for most of the bus ride. However, I woke up as we were driving in and was amazed at the sights. We drove right past the Italian Alps, and I have never seen something quite so amazing (since mountains in general are pretty rare in Illinois).

Bolzano is a small town in northern Italy, close to the Austrian border. Because of this, a great deal of architecture has Austrian influences. Of course I left my camera at home, so my iPhone pictures will have to do for this one!

Bolzano's claim to fame is that it is home to the museum which houses Otzi the Ice Man. Otzi was a corpse discovered in 1991 in the Alps by a couple who were hiking. After extensive research, Otzi was found to be over 5,000 years old!

I loved walking through the museum and actually getting to see this ancient man! After that we were free to walk around the city and get lunch/take in the sights. Some of us had packed a lunch and just wanted to find a place to sit and eat. Unfortunately, since it was Sunday, most places were closed. We finally came across a Burger King that was the largest fast food restaurant I've ever seen.

We tried to sit in the back and sneakily eat our own food, but soon a worker came up to us and started yelling at us in Italian. We're not sure what she said but she sounded angry so we packed up and left. And that was the day I got kicked out of Burger King.

We ate our sandwiches as we walked and saw some beautiful sights.  Bolzano is a cozy little city nestled in between the Alps.

Eventually we stopped to get tea, because it was so cold out!

After Bolzano we got back on the bus and headed to Trento, which is closer to Verona. While there, we toured a beautiful castle full of original fresco paintings, which Italy is famous for. 

After touring the castle we had a delicious dinner at a German restaurant that brews their own beer. It was definitely nice to have a break from pasta and vino! 

Although it was a long day, I learned so much about Italian history and am so grateful for the experiences I have been having!