Feelin' hot, hot, hot!

It is blazing hot here in Bozen.

A little about Bozen before we go on. This region belonged to Austria before WWII, but was given to Italy after the war. German is still the predominant language here, and it very much feels like Austria here.

One cool thing is that most people here can jump back and forth between Italian and German with great ease, and this makes sitting around at outdoor cafes especially interesting, as the people will switch between languages at will, sometimes in the middle of a conversation. Very cool.

The town itself is lovely, and we spent the day looking around, eating and drinking a very cool drink called a Venetian. It is a mix of Aperol, prosecco and mineral water, with ice and an orange slice. I will add thus to my favorite recipes.

We spent the afternoon at the pool, but we barely put a dent in our farmer/sock tans. We met the handyman from the hotel -his name is Ronald- and his enthusiasm for Bozen was highly infectious. He clearly loves his home, and Petra and I are also believers at this point. It is wonderful here.

We are looking forward to getting back on the trail tomorrow, though. It was great, but equally weird to be in the city, and for all of its positive points, we are ready to do the Sherpa act again.