Today was a trek to the Messner Mountain Museum at Furmian castle. It was another stunning day, starting to border on hot, and the views from the castle were stunning.
The museum was very interesting and laid out so you felt a little like a mountaineer … ie there were a lot of narrow stairs and elevated walkways to negotiate. The exhibits within the buildings built on the history of traditional mountaineering, however they really don’t lend themselves to photography, and you almost had to be listening to the ‘audio tour’ from Messner (there’s an App!) to give some coherence to the place. In that sense you’re saved from a massive photo dump.
The views from and of the castle though are great.
The museum and the trip to and from the castle (there’s a bus and then a 20 min hike up to the castle) took the main part of the day and we spent the remainder of the day updating journals and just enjoying some down time.
Dinner was outside at another ‘Ivan recommendation’, Gasthaus Fink (no more German language jokes, promise), traditional Tyrollean and northern Italian fare and very well done.
It’s been a great extended stay here in Bozen / Bolzano but we’re bugging out tomorrow and heading into the high alps to the north west. The weather is starting to heat up (30° c forecast for Bolzano by Sunday) so hopefully the higher altitudes will quell some of that.
The view looking north up the Adige valley towards Meran as we’re walking up to Firmian castle.
Great view of Bolzano and the Isarco valley. That’s the Sciliar massif in the background. We would have been riding right along it a few days ago if we hadn’t been rained out on our Alpe di Siusi day. Nice to see it from here at least.
There was a little ‘alcove’ in the castle with an old chairlift set up by a ‘window’ in one of the walls, perfectly framing the Sciliar Massif … so here’s another shot of it, but focused on the little metal work climbers in front.
Kirsten KaarsooTo Brenda CardinalYes it is. It is essentially a much sadder story than how it was depicted in The Sound of Music. It happens all over the world. Reply to this comment 2 weeks ago
Although it might be a bit cliche, there were two section of the MMM where selected verses of this classic were being played.
One, with a montage of mountaineers, many of them Messner’s contemporaries, who died executing their craft:
‘Yes, how many time must a man look up before he can see the sky? Yes, how many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry? Yes how many deaths will it take ‘till he knows that too many people have died’
…. and another where the temporary nature of mountains, in a geological time frame, was expounded on:
‘Yes, how many years must a mountain exist before it is washed into the sea? Yes, how many years can some people exist before they’re allowed to be free? Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn’t see?
Good night from Bolzano. It’s been a wonderful stay and we hope we’re back someday.
