The Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle in Merano

There are few things in my mind that could be better than 12 hectares of gardens boasting plants from all over the world. When my sweetheart told me that we will be visiting the Trauttmansdorff Castle I thought that it would last about 1-2 hours (pictures included) but I reconsidered my calculations as soon as I put foot inside. Imagine exotic Mediterranean landscapes set amond the awe-inspiring views of the surrounding mountain chains and add the autumn’s explosion of vivid colors – sounds better than a refreshing drink on a hot day, I know. It is not surprising at all that a few years ago the Gardens of Trauttmansdorff were voted the Most beautiful garden in Italy, n.6 in Europe and International garden of the year. Now that I know about this rankings I am seriously considering doing a tour around all of them.

Back to the castle, we were smart enough to go there early in the morning, we found a parking easily (3.50 € for the whole day right below the entrance), avoided any lines for the ticket (6.50 € per person in late autumn) and started our five and a half hours exploration. There is a wide arrays of themed gardens and experience stations distributed throughout the grounds, so we followed the map in order to optimize our itinerary and not miss a single sight.

I was so taken by the scenery that I forgot my bag two times along the path withing 20 minutes. The second time, when I returned to the spot where I had forgotten it I didn’t find it. I was a little bit disturbed by this, we checked every bin and looked suspiciously at everyone, went to the info point but nothing, there was no trace of my bag. However, I wasn’t super anxious because a) I had little cash, credit cards that I blocked and my documents which are not irreplaceable, b) we were in an area that is probably one of the safest in the world so I was about 90% sure that I will see it again.  In the meantime I enjoyed the fact that I would not need to carry it me with me and have my hands free.  A couple of hours later I was called back by the reception and they told me that my bag has been found (#blessed and #grateful). I collected it at the end of the day and not a single cent was missing. I wish people were that honest in every part of the world.

While we were in the gardens I saw that in summer they organize a Sunday brunch with a live classic music, how cool is this? I will definitely not miss it and it would be nice to see the castle with the summer flowers and colors. There are also open-air concerts in the Water Lily Pond, highlighting music from different continents – count me in here as well!

For every info regarding the Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle check the website (in Italian, English and German).

Below are the couple of pictures that I took – thanks God my phone and camera weren’t in the bag 😀