Confusion reigns on this blog but I sally forth

Oh dear friends today we mastered the mighty Dolomites, the mountain range between Germany,Switzerland and Italy. Taking a funicula a thousand or more feet to not the top but high up we enjoyed first, cooler temperatures, then hiked around enjoying the greenery and the flowers, the little houses decorated sweetly with yet more flowers, and then twice we had ice cream (we needed to claim a place at the little cafes where we wanted to rest, hence, more treats.) However, we wanted gelato and they tried to fool us into believing we were eating that lovely Italian ice cream but we know we were eating regular ice cream. Ed though they likely had it shipped in from Costco for a hundred dollars a truckload. So I see the font here is so small. Will anyone continue to follow me? I hasten on, remembering I need to say we took the train from Munich to Bolzano, Italy, on Saturday. Photo forthcoming. Christa, lovely Christa, who is Kent Nagano's assistant, came to our hotel and accompanised us to the very noisy crowded train station. Overwhelming fact: we have too much baggage and too little brawn. The ride down was fine; the people across from us allowed me to have a window seat and the scenery became better and better. We passed through Austria, and I had two memories: the opening scene of "The Sound of Music" where Julie Andrews sings from the mountainside of Salzburg; and the other, a lovely B&B I stayed in when I came to Europe in 1978. In Bolzano with the help of a sweet man from Australia we met on the train we got off with luggage in tow. Since Christas had assured us that the hotel was only 3 minutes away, we rejected a cabbie offer and trudged over to the hotel. It was hot and humid and I do not know how we did it. That night I had dreams of throwing most of my clothes away and experience the freedom of what is always preached: traveling light. Note: When Paul and I traveled through Europe in 1998 we each had a small rolling bag, and I mean small. We washed our clothes in the hotel rooms and dried them in the windows and we were gone one month! This year we had to carry our dress clothes because of the Festival and then the Musicology Conference. Too much! I am still considering giving some away or mailing it back as we are now only 1/3 way of our adventure. OK. Bolzano. Our hotel, Hotel Laurin, is overhyped though we have a nice room with a small sitting area at one end and our beds at another. What I had aread in the reviews did not turn out to be true: that the air conditioning did not work. But thankfully it does work and we are very comfortable. Yesterday I sat ourside in the garden area, claiming to be a very large area in the press, only to find it rather small, surrounded by epople of every age, mostly Germans. (I listen carefully) The pool which in pictures looked huge is small, not even as large as the one we owned in Tucson. Ah well. I love people watched which we continued together when Ed came out later and we dined in the bar area. Note: too much smoke in bar area. How did I ever smoke? We had a tasty supper: Ed a club sandwich, I ham/cheese toasted and a bowl of gaspacho. This soup abit too soupy for me; in the US I've known it to be filled with chunks of tomato and pepper. I'm full of fear lest I lose this so I post it now. Pictures will follow somehow. I may be switching to emails using word so I feel more self assured which with blogger I do not. We await cooling outside to go down to the bar and have a drink.