The Winter Wonderland of Valnontey

In the region of Valle d'Aosta, in northern Italy, there is a lovely village called Valnontey. We went there after our visit to Torino. It was snowing as we drove up there, and the scene was truly a winter wonderland: powdery white snow resting gently on all the tree branches, dramatic mountains with snow-capped peaks, car slipping despite chains on the tires.



We went for a walk after checking into our hotel, even though it was getting dark. The trail looked like this:



It stopped snowing that evening, and in the morning we saw this:



It's so peaceful here.



This Alpine valley is known for its great cross-country skiing trails, although some of them were blocked off due to avalanches.



It was my first try at cross-country skiing. It's fun and a great workout -- really gets your heart pounding. We paused to rest occasionally.



Although it was in the low 30s, we quickly got warm and found we needed to remove our hats and outer jackets. A fleece was sufficient.



We've now visited all but two of Italy's twenty regions (analagous to states in the US). Regions visited include Valle d'Aosta, Piemonte, Lombardia, Liguria, Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Marche, Umbria, Lazio, Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, and Sicily. The regions that remain are Sardinia (an island just south of Corsica) and Friuli-Venezia Giulia (in the northeastern corner of Italy, next to Slovenia). Stay tuned to find out if we make it to those places!

Two days in Torino

We went up to Torino (Turin) a week and a half ago.

The Egyptian Museum there is world class. We last saw such quality Egyptiana in Cairo.



Below is part of the Book of the Dead, showing the scene where Osiris is getting ready to judge the deceased. The ibis-headed person is Thoth, and the goddess wearing the ostrich feather is Maat.



After lunch, we headed straight for Al Bicerin, a cafe frequented by Nietzsche, Dumas, Puccini, and Italian Risorgimento figure Count Camillo Cavour.



Al Bicerin's signature drink, the Bicerin (how imaginative), is a delicious mixture of espresso, hot chocolate, and cream.



Fortified, we continued our museum crawl. Next up was the National Cinema Museum. It's in the tallest building in Torino, the Mole Antonelliana.



The museum features plenty of movie posters, artifacts like Chaplin's hat, and two big screens showing film clips. There are reclining chairs with speakers in the headrests if you care to watch those clips. The chairs are really comfy to people who have been on their feet all day. The museum is worth visiting only if you've bought the Torino Card, which gives you free admission to a lot of museums and tourist attractions.

Another reason to go to the Mole Antonelliana is to ride the elevator to the top. The elevator goes right up the middle of the building with only cables around it. It was foggy when we went up, so there wasn't much of a view. By the way, this is also included in the Torino Card.



For much of the day, there was some kind of firefighter festival going on in the city's central square. There were activities set up for kids, antique fire engines, and men in capes!



After it had gotten dark, they amped up the show with fire.



The finale was a couple of firefighters rappelling down a building facade while unfurling the Italian flag to a recording of the Italian national anthem. The crowd sang along.

Nearby is the Royal Palace, which housed the royal family of Savoy. They later became the royal family of a united Italy.



Torino is decked out with lights to celebrate the holiday season. Different streets had different light themes. This one's lights resemble constellations.

Road trip north, part 17

This is the 17th and final installment about our road trip north, back in May 2010. Whew, took long enough to post about it.

According to BBC TV's Top Gear, the Stelvio road is one of the best driving roads in the world. Naturally, we had to check it out. When we approached the Stelvio pass, however, we discovered that it was closed to traffic, due to snow. We visited the National Park there instead.

The park is stunning. This lovely clear stream ran alongside a trail.



Here's one of the rocky snow-topped mountains.



As if that wasn't enough, there were also waterfalls.



After leaving the park, we stopped by the side of the road to take more photos. It's just so pretty up there.

Road trip north, part 16

What's more fun than alpine slides? OK, maybe zip lines are close. We were very lucky on this trip to go on not just one, but two rollicking alpine slides.

This one, in Imst, Austria, is called Alpine Coaster. During the winter, this is a ski run. Although I am writing this post in December, we went to Alpine Coaster in May, hence the lack of skiers in the photos. Here's the view from the ski lift:



We watched the riders as we ascended the mountain on the lift. There were many adults as well as kids.



The track weaves in and out of the woods, making for a scenic ride.



We rode in a 2-seater like this one. It was as thrilling as a roller coaster, but with a nicer view.

Road trip north, part 15

Wow, talk about theme park-esque. Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany appears to be something out of a little girl's princess fantasy.



Despite the mishmash of styles, these shots are all of the same castle, believe it or not. The photo below is taken from an upstairs window.



Ludwig II, the 18th century Bavarian King who had this castle built, was obsessed with Richard Wagner operas. Wagner was a friend of his and lived here for a time, but there are lasting impressions of Wagner's work here in the form of frescoes. Many of the rooms are painted with scenes from Wagnerian operas. I'd show you some, but visitors were not allowed to take photographs inside the castle.

Here's another picture of the outside.

Road trip north, part 14

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is an attractive walled medieval town in Germany. We read about it and were sort of on the fence about visiting because it is rumored to be a little too perfect, maybe a little Disneyesque, and quite touristy. However, we were nearby, so we figured we'd take a look. It turned out to be charming. If it were any more cute, it would be too much, but it reached just the right level of appealing in a medieval town way. We did not feel as if we were in Orlando, Florida.

The main square at night:



This street view shows some of the well maintained houses and shops. Although you can't see it in the photo, some of the buildings are half-timbered, and others feature pretty ironwork.



The valley below and the town above:



There is a covered walkway on the city wall, perfect for a rainy day.



Rothenburg's Night Watchman is a legendary tour guide and funny storyteller, even though the story topics include plague, siege, and war. Be sure not to miss his tour if you visit this town.



We tried delicious toffee-like cookies at a bakery. The counterman called them "florentines," although we don't remember seeing anything like this in Florence. Sorry, no photo, but I highly recommend you try one.

Road trip north, part 13

Hello again, our two faithful readers! We took a hiatus from blogging, but now we're back. We have a lot to report since our road trip north, but we didn't finish talking about that yet. So here is installment number thirteen.

We couldn't leave Germany back in May without visiting the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart. This place provided an impressive look back at automotive history with an emphasis on Mercedes Benz and its predecessor companies.

Here's one of the earliest internal combustion engine vehicles, a Daimler motorcycle.



The internal path of the museum reminded me of those in the Guggenheim and the Hirshhorn -- a spiral walkway. In this case you take the elevator to the top floor and wind your way down a chronological display.



Mercedes makes all kinds of vehicles, not just passenger cars. Tractor trailers, for example:



Buses:



Race cars, too:



Mercedes was far ahead of its time in automotive safety.



Not only did the museum highlight the company's many accomplishments, it did not omit the most shameful episode in its corporate history. There was a display (which unfortunately we didn't photograph) explaining that Daimler-Benz factories were manned by forced laborers from concentration camps during World War II. It wasn't until 1988 that the company paid $12 million in reparations to the surviving laborers and their families.

It's amazing how much we learn from museum visits.

Road trip north, part 12

Munich: to some, it's the land of beer. To others, it's the home of the BMW museum and factory tour! Tip for visitors: try to book ahead for the tour in English. Otherwise you end up on the German tour and have no idea what the guide is saying. In our case, the tour guide wouldn't even give us the earphones so we didn't even get to try to hear what was said. Still, you can see factory workers and robots putting together the various parts of the cars and pretty much figure out what's going on.

No photos are allowed on the factory tour, alas, but we did take some in the museum. A classic motorcycle:



There were some real beauties on display.



What lines! Smooooooth.



And oh, yeah, we looked at the town as well. Here's the Town Hall (Neues Rathaus).



We were lucky to catch some great chamber music on the street. Ever seen buskers with a piano before? Not exactly the usual instrument of choice of street musicians.



Here in Bavaria and also in the Tyrol (Austria and parts of northern Italy), we noticed many shops that sell traditional clothing, like lederhosen, caps with a jaunty feather, and sort of peasant girl/milkmaid outfits. In Munich, non-traditional colors are available, as shown below.

Road trip north, part 11

Does anyone know what these flowers are? We saw huge fields of them all over the Czech countryside.



Kutna Hora is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a former silver mining town.



Miners even figure in the cathedral's 15th-century frescoes.



On to Prague, the beautiful capital city.

Here's a closeup of the astronomical clock in the main square.



Spires and statues.



A view from a hill.



Intricate design on this facade.



The famous Charles Bridge.



Is this guy proposing marriage to the deer? If not, what is this about?



The Vltava River.



A mural that makes one think. You might not be able to tell, but it's the infinity symbol.