In the footsteps of Lake Caldaro and Gewürztraminer – Überetsch wine cycle route to Lake Caldaro

We completed the route to Bolzano but unfortunately we ran out of battery in our phone and were unable to record it all.

Yay!! Back in Italy. We thought the first ride was an easy one. Until my chain broke. Back to Bolzano and found a bicycle repair shop who could make it right away. Luckily it was a lot cooler when we started the second time.

Nice bike ride. But there is also a lot of traffic on the bike path and when the bike path goes along the road (between Eppan and Gand) there is a lot of traffic - cars/motorbikes. I also couldn't find any access to the lake on the west side. The schnapps tasting at the Roner distillery was really good (great employee).

Today, with a daytime temperature of 38 degrees, we cycled through the vineyards and apple orchards to Kaltern. After a short stop at the tourist office, the former Oberetsch railway line awaited us. This once led to Bolzano. Today a great cycle path with a panoramic view. Of the 34 railway routes I have cycled (all in the Railway Route Cycling Collections folder) it is by far the most beautiful. 2 railway tunnels, viaducts and views of the mountains and plantations make the cyclist's heart beat faster. The route ended at the Etsch cycle path in Bolzano. After a short tour of the city, we drove about 28 km along the Etsch to Neumarkt. A cool breeze on the water made cycling bearable. Now the rest of the route took us via Tramin back to St. Josef am See. When we arrived at the hotel, the 15 meter pool at 24 degrees was waiting for the welcome refreshment. Take a look at this collection on komoot – I think you might like it. "Klaus on the road on the old train🛤️🛤️🛤️trassen🛤️🛤️🛤️. 🚲 " https://www.komoot.de/collection/2433110/-klaus-unterwegs-auf-alten-bahntrassen

Pizzeria Olympia in Gand near the gas station is super good. I can especially recommend Pizza Capriciosa. 👌

The Überetscher Bahn was a 14.6 km long, single-track, standard-gauge South Tyrolean railway line that was electrified from 1911. It branched off the Bozen-Meran railway line in Sigmundskron and led to Kaltern. After a construction period of two and a half years, the railway was opened on December 15, 1898 to provide a connection to the Überetsch. The passenger transport ended on August 1, 1963, the complete decommissioning took place on May 1, 1971. After the route had been left to decay for many years, a large part of the route was converted into Cycle Route 7 "Bozen <> Kaltern" by 2010. That's good, great route with a pleasant, moderate incline and many shady sections. 👏

Today's forecast was actually quite chilly, so we planned a bike ride south of Bolzano. In the end, the weather was glorious. We did the tour anyway and weren't disappointed. The South Tyroleans have conjured up some truly amazing bike paths. Always off the beaten track, through tunnels and old villages. Very beautiful. But we weren't alone.

Cycling season '25 is open and where, of course in South Tyrol, sun, blue sky and a good wine 🚴‍♂️🚴‍♀️🌞🍷