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Our first stop in Italy, Bolzano |
When plotting our adventures last summer in Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland, it was a challenge to figure out which interesting towns we should use as stopovers getting from Munich to Venice. Thanks to the DK Family Guide to Italy book, I found the German/Italian town of Bozen/Bolzano just over the border of Austria and home to Europe's oldest naturally preserved mummy. A perfect stop for the wannabe Indiana Jones C&Gs.
Ötzi was discovered frozen in glacial ice high in the mountains bordering Italy and Austria in 1991. Originally thought to be a lost hiker, imagine the scientists surprise when they realized his prehistoric clothing and gear aged him by a few thousand years. The frozen conditions kept him so well preserved for the past 5,000 years that scientists have been able to find out how he lived, what he looked like, what he ate, and how he died. An x-ray revealed a broken arrow embedded in his shoulder, turning Ötzi's story into an ancient murder mystery. We shared his interesting story with the boys before we left and they couldn't wait to check out a real live (not really) mummy.
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Big Ötzi |
After a quick run through the gift shop (thankfully no mummies came home with us) the boys headed downstairs to the kids room. The family room is only open during the summer months and offers a great space for them to play, color and dress up. The little C&Gs loved dressing up like Ötzi and I'm sure if it wasn't so hot outside they would have begged to take the giant hats with them. The room came in handy at the end of our tour of the museum so the kiddos could get some energy out after all that focused attention on our ice man friend.
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Little Ötzi |
The South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10:00am to 6:00pm. During July, August and December it's also open on Mondays. Entry for a family of four is €18, roughly $22US. There has been a lot about Ötzi in the news recently and PBS/NOVA has a wonderful documentary on the research scientists have been doing with our preserved ancestor. If you're thinking about a visit to Bolzano, it's a definite must watch with the kids.
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