HANNAH SHARES

Over July 4th weekend we spent the weekend at Schloss Hotel Korb – a beautiful resort in a 13th century castle in Eppan (a small town in the hills about 20 minutes from Bolzano). We visited the castle on a whim back in April for a quick trip and couldn’t wait to come back to enjoy it in the summer.

The resort is owned by the Dellago family and guests can take advantage of all the amenities on the property. They have pools, a spa, a gym, a wonderful restaurant, vespas for rent, vineyards and a winery. When we arrived on Saturday afternoon we hiked up to Boymont Castle (also owned by the Dellago Family), which has been restored and part of which is now used as a restaurant. The views from the hilltop are beautiful. We shared some meat and cheese and a milkshake outside in the courtyard area before hiking back to Schloss Korb.

Dinner is included in your stay each night. I am sometimes weary of this because we like to enjoy different spots where we visit, and sometimes when meals are included the food isn’t great (other than breakfasts). That is not the case here! Their menu for dinner is different every night and the food is very, very good. Each night they set up a special place for Lucy at our table on the terrace and she got her own special pasta.

Sunday we enjoyed the pool for most of the day. For lunch we took a picnic up to a table in the vineyards – meat, cheese, bread, fruit, yogurt, tomatoes, and a bottle of wine! Monday was July 4th, and felt weird not to celebrate with fireworks and a barbeque. On Monday evenings the family does a tour of their vineyards and winery followed by a tasting for anyone staying at the resort. The owner’s son took us through the tour and tasting, which was helpful because he was able to translate everything to English for us even though the tour was mostly in German. Part of their wine cellar is actually in an old bunker in a tunnel built into the hillside. The bunker is a WWII relic. They still have relics in the bunker and many parts of it have been untouched since then. We enjoyed a taste of a few of their wines with cheese before we went up for dinner.

After breakfast on Tuesday we planned to drive home, but we stopped in Bolzano before making the drive. We walked through a Franciscan Monastery on our walk through the city, which had many beautiful frescoes painted on walls and look as if they’ve been restored in recent years. Bolzano has an awesome market in the city center, and it was fun to “window shop” the stalls. We brought home some spice mixes to make homemade pasta sauces, and some extras to give as gifts.

Our evening ended with a proper July 4th celebration on base here in Vicenza! We didn’t stay late enough for fireworks, but enjoyed music and good food. Next year Lucy will get to experience a true American 4th of July in America!