We Head Into Austria and Northern Italy - But Not Without Some Challenges!

Today we thought we’d do something a little different and strike out on our own. We noticed that the resort had a guided tour into Bolzano and Vipiteno in northern Italy for sightseeing and shopping.

Zugspitz peak, view from our resort

The tour was offered on Wednesdays and Fridays and didn’t coincide with our schedule, so we decided to take matters into our own hands and do part of the tour on our own.

The Edelweiss flower

We weren’t really that interested in seeing the sights in Bolzano, but Jane was really interested in the renowned shopping area in Vipiteno.

After a light breakfast, we jumped in our rental car and headed out towards Innsbruck, Austria, which we had to cross to get into northern Italy. The car’s GPS routed us into Innsbruck via a back road that tortuously wound its way along narrow mountain roads and through small country towns that we could not have possibly followed with a map.

Shopping in Vipiteno

Vipiteno town crest

One small town had 20-25 turns on narrow streets to get through it, and it was only about 2 miles wide. Crossing the border, we were in the Austrian Alps, which were absolutely stunning, and made our way onto a major highway that took us into Innsbruck. After Innsbruck we turned south and headed toward Brenner, near the Austrian-Italian border.

Vipiteno shopping area

Along the way, we encountered a toll plaza which charged us 8 € (about $11) to get back on the main highway.

Beautiful Vipiteno

We figured that we would just breeze into northern Italy, but a restroom stop changed all of that. We needed to go and spotted a rest stop that we pulled into. After the pause that refreshes, we got back into the car, circled the parking lot, and were faced with a confusing confluence of roads which did not intuitively demonstrate to us how to leave the rest area. We drove down the exit ramp and at the end we made a U-turn that put us on the entrance ramp. We circled the parking lot three times, much to the amusement of a parked truck driver who knew the secret passage, before Capt. Larry spotted an Autobahn sign and made the decision to follow it back to the highway. Unfortunately, the ramp took us in the wrong direction back towards Innsbruck. We drove in the wrong direction about 8 miles and spotted an exit ramp. BUT! To exit the highway at this point we had to pay 4€ (about $10) to pass through.

We drove down the exit ramp and at the end we made a U-turn that put us on the entrance ramp. At the end of the ramp there was another collection station, requiring another 4€ (a little over $5). Back on the Autobahn, we zoomed down to the Italian border. At the border we came to a toll plaza that gave us a ticket.

Looking at the town gate

Ticket in hand, we left the plaza and immediately found our exit for Vipiteno about 100 yards past the plaza.

The clock tower

We exited and another toll booth read our ticket and told us we owed 1.3€ ($2) for the 100 yards we drove on the highway. We were beginning to tire of European highway tolls. Some of the toll booths announced that they did not take cash, but did take credit cards. We successfully used our cards at two booths, but at a third credit card lane only, our card didn’t work. Cars were lining up behind us until Capt. Larry chanced a try on the second card reader which worked. Apparently the other reader was for prepaid Autobahn passes, but with everything in German or Italian, how is an American to know. Those waiting behind us will eventually get over it!

Clock tower at town gate

All we can recommend is that if you are driving in Europe, have credit cards and cash readily available. We ended up paying about $22 to drive about 60 miles, and that much returing. In Europe, plan to pay to pee and pay to drive!

 

We entered the quaint, beautiful little town of Vipiteno and found a great parking space near the main shopping area. Vipiteno is noted for its ski resorts and silver mines, and is a popular for tourist shopping, particularly for fin Italian leather goods. W

Town gate

e walked through the shopping area and eventually found ourselves at the town’s main gate and clock tower. We passed by a lot of fine shops. Capt. Larry found a hat shop and bought a couple more bebop hats. Jane purchased some fine, hand-embroidered table linens which she drove a hard bargain for. We decided to get a cup of coffee, only to be disappointed in getting espresso in teeny, tiny cups. We had no way of knowing how to order café Americano.

Main square clock tower

We decided to end our Vipiteno experience and headed for the car. Making our way out of Vipiteno we were once again at the mercy of the toll plazas which were the exact reverse of what we encountered coming.

The Austrian Alps

Amazingly, however, the GPS routed us all the way back to Garmisch on major thoroughfares and not through windy rural roads and small towns.

 Arriving in Garmisch, we decided to visit the tourist/shopping are that we had toured the day before, but being a Sunday all the businesses were closed, except for the restaurants.

Another Austrian Alps view

Sunday window shopping , Jane had spotted a couple of pieces of jewelry that had her name on them, and she was eager to get back to the shops on a business day. Capt. Larry went to a beer garden for some German suds while Jane shopped (is this marital bliss or what?). After Jane finished her shopping, she found her captain and we decided to have a delightful German dinner at the beer garden/restaurant. Jane had pork schnitzel and fried potatoes, while Capt. Larry had pork tenderloin with potato dumplings and red cabbage. We headed back to the resort for a relaxing evening before turning in.