For reasons that only Google would know the GPS cut out at a crucial time i.e. as we approached the city to find our hotel. John had a basic idea and so we ventured up and up into the maze of streets that is the Meran suburbs. Out of the blue we saw a small, discrete sign which named the hotel. We followed the narrow path and accidently found the hotel. By the way, the tiny lane turned out to be a two-way street! 

It had been a big day. We had called our daughter for her birthday, negotiated the Timmelsjoch Pass and were keen to see the Matilda’s play in the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup. We had arrived early and were greeted by Patrick who was very gracious and help us with our luggage and got the TV organised so we could watch the match. The UK beat the Matildas and while it was disappointing, we were still very proud of team who brought Australia so close and demonstrated grace and composure as well as tenacity and great skill. 

Patrick had given us a travel card, but we decided to walk down the hill into town for an aperitif and bus back. We were entertained by the driver of a recycling truck that negotiated the tiny street with incredible dexterity.  

Juval Castle is one of six museums Reinhard Messner has established with the view to educating people about the mountains and mountain cultures. Messner is a renowned Italian adventurer and climber who has scaled every mountain over 8000m and without the use of supplemental oxygen. 

We arrived at the carpark at the foot of the mountain and took the bus. We expected it to take us to the castle, but we had to walk the last 500m and that was a bit of a challenge. Nevertheless, we did it and explored the castle, the major focus of which was the Tibetan peoples. The museum was informative. Juval is Messner’s summer home and while some of the visitors saw him, we did not. 

On our return to the hotel we explored the extensive spa facilities. As well as indoor and outdoor pools there is a steam room, saunas, kneip baths and even an infrared cabin. It was fun just exploring. While I am not a big fan of hotel rooms when staying for a week, this one was pretty good. The room was enormous and the breakfasts generous. The location was reasonable but staying in a room for a week really requires easy access to eating places and this was limited. They did provide a half-board arrangement but the evening meal was four courses and didn’t suit either of us. We discovered the walk to the Piazza Fontana was an easy downhill stroll and there were a selection of places to eat and we would catch a bus back. It all worked well.