Kelsey's Travels: Water

Wow. Where to begin? We were only supposed to stay in Meran-Merano (just a bus ride away from Dorf Tirol) for just 3 days. 72 hours only... But ended staying for almost two weeks. We were simply..obsessed. Not too many people know about this beautifully gorgeous small town tucked away in Northern Italy (as in super North, practically bordering Austria. Interestingly we had been to South Tirol for White Water Rafting 4 years earlier ).

We had just come from Verona which was breathtaking- but this place was another type of beauty, simple and natural (except for the man-made castle, yes there's a castle here too!).

The impetus of our travels to Dorf Tirol was actually an inspiring newspaper Alana's grandma (an adorable hiking enthusiast and world traveler herself) found and gave to Alana before our trip. We were intrigued but didn't know if we'd actually make it, as the town and area wasn't the easiest to get to.

But oh was it worth it.

Hiking about Dorf Tirol

Our daily hangout
The town of Meran-Merano is small, but still it was a bit difficult to navigate to our hostel. We did not speak Italian or German, languages that are spoken in the city. English, however is not heavily spoken at all here. Still, we managed thanks to the help of locals (who always seem to help us when we are in need). It is always fun to ask for help when you don't speak their language. You become creative and utilize words that you've picked up on and 'voila!', with a few key words, creativity, hand gestures and usually laughing, you'll get your answer, and know where to go. Our hostel was pretty awesome, very low key and meant for families and hikers, and of course came with free breakfast (if you haven't guessed, I kinda love/need my free breakfast) and also free use of the much needed walking sticks. It was an amazing location-perfect really. It was relatively close to bus stops that took us into Dorf Tirol (2.5 euros), and close to the water and walkways for hiking/exploration and close to the main parts of the town.
Alana and I had our routine: Go into town get water and snacks from Spar, go to the beautiful Dorf Tirol, hike, come back, cross the bridge and go to the water way in front of the Terme Spa, journal, tan and people watch, then get some gelato from the many gelato stores. Simple livin'. Writing about it now, man, I really miss this enchanted place!!

Namaste

Alana journaling

Missing this typical view

Many Christian icons are abundant in Dorf Tirol

Castle Tirol. A nice hike to get there, pretty steep in some parts, even had to go through a curious tunnel to get there :).

THE TUNNEL.

Being so far north, Dorf Tirol has a distinct culture in itself. Most of which is German, as German nobility to maintain a stronghold of lucrative trading routes established "posts"/castles in Italy (learned a lot from the castle). There is still a very strong German influence with most people speaking more German than Italian, and German on everything.