After our long castle hike on our first full day in Eppan, we decided to take it a little slower and settled for a shorter, easier hike around the Montiggler See which was about a 15 minute drive from our place. We did not really know what to expect when we got there but were pleasantly surprised to find (somewhat by accident) the "Kleiner Montiggler See" which proved to be the much better route to go. It was not nearly as crowded, had a huge grass lawn to layout on and the water was much warmer than the bigger lake which made swimming a lot more fun! We brought a delicious picnic lunch to the lake with us and after hanging out for a while and finishing our lunch, we decided to finish our walk around the lake and head back home ... because it was Dane's last night in Eppan with us, we had planned on trying a new restaurant for a "good-bye" dinner of sorts and decided to walk there from our place only to find they were closed for two weeks while they were on vacation! 
Luckily it was only a 1 km walk from our house so we returned in direction home and went to our favorite little pizzeria for another yummy meal. The following morning Dane left and headed back towards Frankfurt while Daniel, Mia and I got ready for another big hike. This time we left from the Montiggler See and walked a VERY long walk through vineyards and forest to a lake called the Kalterer See. It was SOOOO hot that day and once we got to the Kalterer See there was not even a public beach. You basically had to be staying in one of the hotels around the lake in order to use it - so lame! I was so tired, hot and hungry by the time we got there which made the fact that we could not swim in it even more frustrating! We ended up heading back to our favorite little spot at the Kleiner Montigleer See and after about 4 hours of hiking in the heat we were so ready for it!
That night Daniel, Mia and I headed to the town of St. Michael's for dinner at yet another pizzeria ... Mia met two little Italian girls at dinner named Ava Maria (3) and Francesca (2) ... the girls had a great time running around and wreaking havoc at this place but it was fun to watch! After dinner we headed home, put Mia to bed and read and relaxed on the porch of our place. It was heavan! The following morning we got up early and headed to Merano which was about 30 km from our place. Its a beautiful little town though we did not get to see all that much of it as Miss Mae decided to have a bit of a meltdown! Daniel and I are both beginning to wonder if she may be entering her terrible twos early?! WOW! She sure knows how to throw a tantrum and I am pretty sure she learned it while she was here?! I don't remember her doing this in California. Anyhow, we left Merano and Mia napped in the car on the way back (thank goodness!). After her nap we headed to St. Pauls where we began a hike through the vineyards that led to an "Ice Hole" ... after trekking through the heat we began a gradual descent into this ravine which was like walking
into a freezer (literally!). We went from dry, arid terrain (the only green being the wine grapes) to a lush, cold forest with patches of ice everywhere. Pretty amazing. That night (our last night in Eppan) we decided to have a mellow dinner at home - we bought a bunch of different cold cuts, cheeses and bread and sat on our balcony once Mia was in bed and had a meal we could actually sit through and finish without having to get up and chase a 16 month old around! Excellent! The next morning we got up early and headed north to Berchtesgaden, Germany which is where we still are now. Stay tuned for posts from this part of our vacation - as my brother Alex would say "Its been EPIC".
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