*Bolzano*

*we have arrived! everything is in two languages: Bolzano (italian), Bozen (german)*


I had the privilege of traveling to the beautiful Alpine town of Bolzano for a couple of days. Bolzano is a quaint town in northeastern Italy, in the region Trento, where Grandma Overholt's family is from. The feel of the city is decidedly more Austrian/German than Italian, which might be partially why I loved it so much. Everyone there is perfectly bilingual-- on the streets I heard more German, but in the stores I heard more Italian.
Bolzano is famous for their Christmas market, so our timing was perfect! The city is decorated beautifully and the atmosphere is festive wherever you go. My classmate Kristina and I traveled to the region, and spent one day in the city of Bolzano and the next in a village up high in the Alps called Klobenstein, where there are "erdpyramiden" (earth pyramids), a geological formation from volcanic ash. Here are some pictures:

*Christmas lanterns line one of the main streets*


*a small park decorated in Christmas (Weinachten) decorations*


*leaning wooden carvings of people are headed toward the cathedral doors*


*a building turned advent calendar*



*Christmas market of Bolzano*


*Father Christmas*


*Kristina standing still in the fast-paced market place*


*delicious wienerschnitzel*


*me next to the outdoor heater, which allows cafes to keep their outdoor terraces open year round*


*day 2 in the Alps*


*ahh the air was so fresh and clean*


*the earth pyramids on the side of a mountain in the distance*


*close up of the earth pyramids*


*very happy EMCL students in the Alps*