Anyone can go to Paris, Vienna and Amsterdam. But one should not succumb to the radiance of “1A” without thinking. How about something less familiar? Surprise yourself with experiences that you do not know from the top ten on radio, TV and the Internet. We enjoyed Sterzing and Brixen in South Tyrol; a journey that, moreover, is possible like one to Paris, Vienna and Amsterdam by train.
In Sterzing (the Italians say Vipiteno) you can breathe in the mountain air at 960 meters above sea level and only 15 kilometers to the Austrian border directly after the Brenner Pass. The town in the Wipptal has a good 7000 inhabitants and, as an old trading town, offers a historic old town.
Mauls on the gourmet map
Sterzing is best “strolled” and fortified with a cappuccino. Even in times of high inflation, coffee is still cheaper in South Tyrol than in Austria. Prices of less than three euros per cup are not uncommon. The show factor in the numerous street cafés is free of charge.
Anyone who says Sterzing and Brixen must not forget the village of Mauls, almost exactly in between. With a slim population of 500, it lies a little off the highway on a former Roman trade route and was ennobled with customs rights by Emperor Ferdinand I in 1547.
The history of the “Stafler” romantic hotel there goes back around 450 years. The pretty property is a mixture of a manor and a manor house. Angelika and Irene Stafler are the nth generation to run the hotel, which is actually a village within a village. Because a park with a water lily pond, a garden with 80 kitchen herbs, the Kerscherhof and Naglerhof farms and the Kramerhaus from 1542 as an event location are family-owned, as is a wood chip heating system from our own forest.
The former post office used to be a stopover on the way south. Now the four-star hotel tempts you to stay for a longer period of time or even for an “extra holiday”. Because not only the wellness landscape with the “bacherl warm” indoor pool and sauna is a seduction. The Gourmetstube Einhorn is also one of them.
But then Brixen calls, just 22 kilometers from Mauls. Without a navigation system, we would not have dared to wind our way up the steep mountain through the narrow streets of a residential area. And really, there they are, the “Haller Suites”, trendy and hip, as if they had fallen from another planet. It’s a bit confusing that the people in the house are called Pichler. Teresa, the youngest generation, is happy to explain: Haller is the house name of the winery, the vineyard has remained. In it you now live in suites with an eagle view of Brixen. Meals are served in the gourmet restaurant AO.
An elephant in Brixen
A manoeuvrable district bus (free with the guest card) takes guests to the center of Brixen. Stroll past the Hotel “Elephant”, whose name reminds you that a real elephant passed here in 1551 on the way to Vienna. The animal was a gift to Archduke Maximilian of Austria. The Bressanone Cathedral, a paragon of late Baroque beauty, and the Hofburg, where powerful prince bishops lived and worked, should not be missed.
If you are not afraid of the 44 kilometers by car or train, you can include the “Firmian” museum of parade mountaineer Reinhold Messner in Sigmundskron Castle south-west of Bozen in your collection of experiences. It makes alpine history possible even with high altitude experience. The course leads over many steps and transparent floors. So please wear sturdy shoes!
Trendy suites and hip restaurant
Yes, “the boys” have dared to do something. The three are Teresa Pichler, the head of the Haller family, her brother Simon Pichler, and Teresa’s darling Levin Grüten, who rocks the kitchen with Simon. We are in the brand new “Haller Suites” with the gourmet restaurant “AO” in the vineyards high above Brixen. Grüten, the 27-year-old chef with classic gourmet training in Belgium and German roots, also worked at the pots in the cult restaurant “Noma” in Copenhagen for six months.
The AO restaurant, which has only been open for a good year, has already cooked up three Falstaff forks and three Gault Millau toques, regional and minimalistic-modern. The half-board dinner also bears this signature. “Very regional with a fresh twist,” Levin, quite talented (and tattooed), describes his and Simon Pichler’s kitchen.
There is a mosaic of Eisacktal trout with Chioggia beetroot, purple radish, currants and nasturtium or Villnöss organic Limousin veal with spinach, oat roots, radish and potato straw.
Sommelier Teresa Pichler brings wine from her own grapes, which winemaker neighbor Manni Nössing presses; such as the typical Kerner. Her father has the vineyard firmly under control. The mother helps in the service.
Haller Suite from around 230 euros for two people, with half board from 328 euros per night. Attention: A stay can often only be booked for two or three nights or more. Autumn break from November 7th to 24th.
- Haller Suites, AO Restaurant, Weinbergstrasse 68, 39042 Brixen; byhaller.com
From the post office to the gourmet parlour
The walls are paneled in dark, old wood, and the name also points to tradition. Because the Einhorn-Stube, the gourmet restaurant in the romantic hotel “Stafler” in Mauls in the autonomous province of Bozen, refers to the unicorn in the coat of arms of the former post office, which became a four-star hotel with park and wellness.
Peter Girtler has been the in-house chef de cuisine for more than 20 years. It boasts two Michelin stars and four Gault Millau toques. In the “Einhorn” there is liquid Vitello Tonnato with scallops, sweet potatoes and lemon thyme or Nebraska beef with a baked onion crust, chanterelles, kohlrabi and iceberg. Half-board with an afternoon snack is more down-to-earth.
“We stand for honest, authentic hospitality, are not interchangeable and are not subject to fashion,” says Angelika Stafler, who runs the RomantikHotel with her sister Irene. This year there will be big celebrations, because there are several 50-year anniversaries: Angelika Stafler is celebrating this milestone birthday, as is chef de cuisine Girtler, Angelika and Irene’s mother Traudi has been the hostess for 50 years, and the “Romantik Hotels” association is celebrating her 50th birthday .
Double room (economy) from 135 euros per night (early bird bonus), gourmet half-board with afternoon snack 49 euros per person. Gourmet parlor Einhorn 139 euros (four courses), chef’s menu 175 euros and à la carte. Tuesday and Wednesday closed.
- Romantik Hotel Stafler, 39040 Mauls near Vipiteno; stafler.com
Source: Nachrichten
