June 23: Lago di Fie and the South Tyrol Archaeology Museum

 We packed up everything and dropped the keys to the apartment off and then walked down to Hotel Regina, where of course we were too early to checkin but they allowed us to leave our luggage there. I'd considered just cancelling the reservation and extending our stay at the apartment, but the reason I'd picked Hotel Regina was that it was right across the street from the train station, making loading passengers and luggage into Lukas' car the next day easy. I thought we should visit the Otzi museum first, but we were so early that Xiaoqin suggested that we go swimming at Lago di Fie first. I'd already packed all the swimming gear and a towel into the backpack, so we were ready to go.

The bus ride was pleasant --- the bus takes a route that's not insanely steep compared to what a cyclist would use, but the traffic on that road would make cycling unpleasant! Once off the bus, we were greeted by amazing scenery, the equal to what we'd see anywhere else. The hike itself was short, and with our new working shoes it was not a burden at all!

Upon arrival at the lake, we discovered that it was very organized: there were 2 restaurants, changing rooms, and even lockers! We grabbed a table and ordered some snacks, and then I went in for a swim, and after playing a bit in the water, the kids did as well. It was a pretty perfect swimming temperature, much warmer than most alpine lakes in the Sierra, but cooler than a heated pool so you could swim as hard as you liked.

There was some grass and seeweed growing in the middle of the lake, so you had to take care for it, but I took my time exploring the various structures, swim ladders, and diving boards built around the lake, and then returned. Bowen had managed to swim to one of the other structures ,but didn't know how to navigate the grass, so I jumped back into the water, swam to a clear spot, and had him join me before leading him to a route back.

After that, it was time to have lunch, which was very good food, with huge portions suitable for cyclists and hikers. hike back. It turned out that there was a way back that didn't involve backtracking and let us visit another lake, so we took it.

The second lake wasn't nearly as inviting, with green water that didn't make you want to swim in it, but the hike back showed us more scenery, and we didn't have to wait too long for the bus to take us back to the train station where the day had become much warmer. We checked into the air conditioned hotel, took a quick rest, and then headed back out to the Otzi museum, though in the afternoon heat we made sure we stopped for ice cream first. I had ordered a replacement GoPro mount from Amazon, and it showed up, so now Xiaoqin could use her GoPro again!

I expected the kids to enjoy the museum, but I didn't expect them to like it so much. We spent almost 2 entire hours in there, and the kids so enjoyed the material that Xiaoqin would be showing them videos of Otzi the iceman and various documentaries going forward. We had more ice cream when the museum closed, and then went to the same place for dinner, since the kids liked it so much yesterday. We bought some food for the hike, and then went to bed. The next day was a taxi transfer day, but we'd also scheduled a hike as well!