Alto Adige

I didn't think I'd have a great deal to blog about today.  We've moved south, into Südtirol and had hoped to drive over the Grossglockner road but a pretty dire weather forecast sent us a less adventurous route over the Brenner  pass instead.

Thankfully, the weather was none too bad and actually cheered up a little as the sun came out later in the morning.  A brief stop for a walk around Innsbruck and we were all feeling more optimistic as the rolling green fields of the Austrian Tyrol gently changed into rocky outcrops and steep vineyards as we crossed the border into Italy.

We checked into our hotel in Bolzano - another beauty in a charming city - and decided to take a short walk around to get our bearings.  Late Sunday afternoon, there were a few families enjoying the sunshine and we too, enjoyed a stroll through the old town.

Then a sign reminded us of one of the reasons why we chose to stay here

Ötzi’s here.

Rather than wait until Tuesday (once again, Monday's closing day for the museum) we decided to go and see him there and then.  We joined quite a long queue and feared a scrum inside.

Not so.  This is a really well thought out museum which caters well for everyone.  We found the background story to Ötzi fascinating and the detective story which has arisen from the findings is remarkable.  Other exhibits in the special "Mummy" exhibition were interesting but not quite so arresting as the one we (and everyone else) had really come to see.

So, Ötzi is the highlight of the day - though we haven't had dinner yet and now we're in Italy...