Up early, went down for our first Italian breakfast, bade farewell to our host and a group of 9 German men from a mountain bike club in Germany, went to the extraordinary market day in the village and then promptly came back to the Gasthof to check in again. The truth was - the rain started in earnest at the market and became quite heavy - and we were feeling tired from the past few days - so why not stay. The price is right, we love the quaint eccentricities of the village and Gasthof, and the breakfast is to die for. So, we were able to get the same room back and settled in for a relaxing day. Mary Ellen hunkered in and finished reading a book (what a luxury), Barry worked on the journal (when the internet allowed him to) and then when the weather settled down, we went for a walk around Malls, a mountain village full of interesting nooks and crannies. In walking around the village, we were reminded how close we are to Germany and the history of the time when this area was German. Residents in this area and all signage are bilingual - Italian and German. What a great and relaxing day we had and a wonderful introduction to life in Northern Italy. Now back to breakfast: the excellent carafe of Italian coffee was replenished like magic along with a big pitcher of frothed milk, as well as trays of freshly baked almond croissants, fresh Italian buns, platters of local meat sliced thinly with cheese, preserves, local fruit and museli. If this is 2 star treatment, could it be any better at a higher priced Gasthof? We think that the proprietor loves food and this is reflected in the presentation. Old buildings like the Gasthof have thick stone walls and are very quiet - and this was helpful as the mountain bikers had a very late and raucous night in the bar. Thankfully the soundproofing of the walls and the loud roar of the river outside our window muffled their good time below.
Breakfast at Gasthof Sonne. We enjoyed waking up to the smell of croissants baking in the kitchen.
This is the view from our window and just below is a river that is charging down from the mountains. Unfortunately, the clouds are obscuring most of the mountains, but later we got a great view.
..and this is what speck looks like before it is cut for selling in smaller pieces. We also really like the smoked pepperoni as it travels well on the bike.
A sweet shop in Malls - and my German lessons are coming in handy - Obst (fruit), Gemuse (vegetables) and Blumen (flowers). Note that the sign is bilingual - German and Italian.
Town centre of Malls, municipal building Each window is painted with a different time in history with the date and something of significance for that time.
As we came around the corner, guess who came along? our German tour guide, Herbert Hill. He was off for a ride to see some friends, the final day of his holiday.
The proprietor of Gasthof Sonne ran a good hotel and was very kind to us. We are beginning to realize that very few cyclists come through who are fully loaded like we are.
