Early Spring Alpine Hiking
One of the great things about Innsbruck is easy access in all directions but especially to the south where one can take a train over the Brenner Pass to South Tyrol for the day or a long weekend. South Tyrol is an autonomous province of Italy. It was historically part of the Austrian–Hungarian Empire, but was transferred to Italy following World War I, with efforts to "Italianize" the region undertaken by Facist Italy. Some cultural challenges remain, but today it has a wonderful blend of Tyrolean and Italian culture, beautiful mountains, and a relatively mild climate. We spent the past three days in Meran/Merano (German and Italian place names are used in South Tyrol), which lies in a deep valley. They aren't native, but you can find palm trees in Milan giving it a touch of a subtropical feel. The big one pictured below is in the gardens surrounding Trauttmansdorff Castle. It's actually from Chile and is apparently quite cold resist...