Monthlong journey across northern Italy in search of a home to rent. We didn’t make advanced reservations so we could pivot our destinations as the weeks progressed.

Flew into Munich from the east coast of the US, a simple hourlong taxi ride got us to our hotel in the heart of old town Munich. Spent a few days enjoying Munich before taking the train 4 hours south to Bolzano, changed trains and continued 40 minutes to Merano.

Munich

Merano, Italy

There are beautiful apple and pear orchards covering every space imaginable around Merano.

Cortina d’Ampezzo, Dolomites, Italy

Auronzo, Italy

Venice

Trieste, Italy

Ljubljana, Slovenia

We took a tour from Trieste Italy into Ljubljana for the day and found it to be a lively bustling city full of open markets and deep history. We started our tour by crossing the “dragon” bridge and were immediately greeted by huge markets drawing us in. There were carts selling fruit, vegetables, flowers, milk, hand crafted items as far as the eye can see. Off to the right was Butchers Bridge, full of engraved padlocks to steel wire ropes where couples throw the keys into the river to symbolize eternal commitment. As we continued our walk, the center then opens up to buildings dating back to 1808. You can see works of Joze Plecnik throughout as he shaped the identity of Ljubljana. We stopped to admire the Cathedral of St. Nicholas which has remarkable sculpted bronze doors, with 3D head portraits of the Pope.

Lake Bled, Slovenia

The drive to Lake Bled was across corn fields with mountains off in the distance. Lake Bled is a town of 7000 residents the triples during the high tourist season. There are vendors along a lakeside walkway selling cake, beer, and meats with fries. The walking path around the lake was bustling with people out enjoying the sunny afternoon. As we sat down to enjoy a local beer, the church bells started ringing and we turned around to find horse drawn carriage rides.

Tuscany