Bolzano is now a synonym for home for me. And I think a lot of my friends have the same feeling.

Sometimes when we travel, we feel so homesick that we want to go back to Bolzano. At least that happened to me and my old flatmate Natalya when we visited Munich.

The second part of my love letter to Bolzano is about its bars. Additionally I have to admit that a bar in Italy is a place to drink alcohol, coffee or to eat. But in Germany it includes only alcoholic drinks.

The research was of course only for this blogpost to inform and prepare you guys for your next trip to Bolzano! 

Temple Bar¹

This bar is an Irish Pub in the center of Bolzano. It’s almost always opened, even Sundays but not after 1am like any other bar with one exception. Inside you can watch premiere league and sometimes they have karaoke. Once we have been there for a karaoke night and after one song they had an electricity problem. So concluded, it’s a nice place to drink the best (but also most expensive!!) beer which you can find in Bolzano but it’s not recommendable for karaoke…

The deal: 0.5l of Guinness 5,50€

Bar Tiffany²

This place is also central and besides not a friend of anyone’s purse or wallet. I’d describe it as a bit fancy. But it’s a good place to have an Aperol Spritz followed by some crisps.

The deal: Aperol Spritz 4€

Kinda close Chinese bar³

This bar is unfortunately not in the center but close to the place where I live. It’s the perfect place to have a Cappuccino with a Croissant or to watch Championsleage. It’s the only place I know so far where you get a cheap Aperol followed by a lot of snacks like crisps, popcorn (salty(never sweet)) and bread. If you’re lucky you also get pasta for free! 

The deal: Cappuccino + Croissant 2,80€; Aperol Spritz 3€ (+a lot of Snacks)

The bar which never closes⁴

This bar or you could also describe it as a meeting point for unserious people is in the historical center of Bolzano in one inconspicuous street.

Its advantages: In comparison to the other bars it’s never closing and really important to me: downstairs you can find a guitar!

Disadvantages: Usually you don’t meet people you would like to hang out with another time.

The deal: 0,4l of beer (Pils) 3,50-4,50€

Nadamas⁵

This is the place to be if you like crowded places. Inside and especially outside you can barely move. I feel like all young people from whole Bolzano go there with their friends to enjoy this special atmosphere and to meet new people.

The deal: Aperol Spritz 3,50€ (+some crisps)

Picchio⁶

Picchio is not as central as the other bars but still not in the periphery.

It’s my favorite bar because of its harmful alternative atmosphere, drinks and people. The bartender is our favorite Italian teacher or teacher of Bolzano’s history. Furthermore they sometimes have live bands or publications of books.

But during the weekend it’s very crowded, so if you’re in group with more than 3 people it’s impossible to find a place inside and since spring started probably neither outside.

The deal: 1l of vino rosso della casa for 10€

So choose carefully and enjoy!

¹Dominikanerplatz, 20, 39100 Bozen

²Siegesplatz, 33, 39100 Bozen

³Via Palermo, 4, 39100 Bolzano BZ

⁴Erbsengasse, 12, 39100 Bozen

⁵Obstpl., 43, 39100 Bozen

⁶Vicolo S. Quirino, 11, 39100 Bolzano BZ

Nina Dentler

Bolzano, Italy

I’m living in Bolzano already for 5 months now. First of all it’s one of the best places ever.

It doesn’t matter where you go here, you always see the mountains in the background. Sometimes I still have to stop for a second and just stare at the beauty, it doesn’t matter if I’m with my bike or just walking around.

Second of all, the city isn’t so big, but has a lot of nice places which I mostly discovered with my old flatmate. Actually she showed me half of the places because she loved walking around the streets, the city center and the mountains. So, I would say that she knows nearly every part of Bolzano. Thank you Kathuska!

1st place – Guntschnapromenade¹

This promenade is in Gries, one of the most expensive parts of Bolzano and one of the most beautiful places! We always used to only walk to the first benches of this promenade which takes maybe 10 minutes. There you can sit and watch the sunrise or the sunset – depends how motivated you are to wake up in the morning. I always recommend to carry food and beverages with you because food makes everything better! ;) Especially chocolate…

2nd place – Talvera²

Talvera is the green part next to the river “Talvera” where people usually sit all day long even when it’s at least a little bit sunny. When we go there, we usually take our guitars, food and drinks with us and just relax, listen to music and play games. And to be mentioned, all of the old volunteers, who have already experienced one summer here, are really enthusiastic when it comes to this place because they used to watch the sunset every evening.
3rd place – strange street near to my home³

Actually it’s just a street, really small and less traffic. But I used to go there with my old flatmates, sit on the walls drink hot chocolate or hot wine and talk. And a small but important detail is that this street is surrounded by vineyards which don’t look so incredible during the winter, but if you’re capable to imagine this in summer, you feel like in heaven. So, if you once visit Bolzano, or if you’re lucky enough to do your EVS here, you should definitely go to these places and feel the spirit!

¹ Via Michael Pacher, 22, 39100 Bolzano BZ

² Wassermauer Promenade, 2, 39100 Bozen

³ Alte Mendelstraße, 101, 39100 Bozen

Nina Dentler

Bolzano, Italy

For English version scroll down.

Obwohl ich jetzt seit fast vier Monaten in Italien lebe, muss ich doch zugeben, dass ich mich längst nicht an alles gewöhnt habe. Dazu gehört die Art der Kommunikation der Italiener.

Diese kann man nämlich tatsächlich so beschreiben, wie man sie sich vorstellt. Sie ist laut, leidenschaftlich und schnell!

Aber nicht nur das, denn dazu kommt leider auch, dass alle zur gleichen Zeit reden. Sie schaffen es einen Dialog zu führen, während alle sprechen und eig. niemand zuhören kann.

Ich sitze während dieser Szenarien am Spielfeldrand, probiere alles leise für mich zu übersetzen, was zugegebenermaßen wirklich nicht leicht ist. Denn erstens lerne ich erst seit 4 Monaten die Sprache und zweitens sprechen sie nicht wie in den Audioübungen der Sprachschule… Sie sprechen schnell!

Italiener sprechen so schnell, dass nichts klar ausgesprochen wird (wie vermutlich jeder andere Muttersprachler auch). Sie lassen Teile der Wörter weg oder vllt. höre ich sie auch einfach nicht, weil ich die einzelnen Wörter nicht auseinanderhalten kann. Eig. sagen sie einen Satz, aber für mich klingt es wie ein sehr, sehr langes Wort. Und wenn man dann nicht nur einer Person, sondern direkt vieren zuhört, macht das alles nicht leichter.

Während ihrer Konversationen ändern sie ihre Stimmlage und gestikulieren mit ihrem ganzen Körper, so dass man zumindest ihren Standpunkt, im Hinblick auf ihre emotionalen Verfassung, relativ gut versteht.

Aber das wirklich Unvorhersehbarste ist, wenn sie auf einmal Füllwörter, wie z.B. „boh“, „eh“ oder „dai“, benutzen.

„Boh“ kann mit „ich weiß es nicht“ übersetzt werden. Sagt man das Ganze allerdings in einem anderen Kontext wie „va boh“ dann wir daraus ganz schnell „von mir aus“.

Mit „eh“ wird grundsätzlich nur geantwortet. Entweder drückt man damit Zustimmung oder Ablehnung aus.

„Dai“ sagt so viel wie „komm schon“ oder „warum“ aus, ist aber generell schwer zu übersetzen, weil es so viele Verwendungsmöglichkeiten gibt und dadurch auch Interpretationen.

Warum italienische Konversationen für mich so ein großes Ding darstellen ist offensichtlich. Denn ich bin Deutsch. Damit will ich ausdrücken, dass deutsche Dialoge zu gefühlten 200% anders ablaufen.

Denn wenn gesprochen wird, dann redet ausschließlich eine Person. Wird man unterbrochen, gilt das fast immer als sehr unhöflich und hat keinerlei Potential der Weiterempfehlung. Eine deutsche Unterhaltung ist klar, schnell und für mich dazu auch ohne Leidenschaft, weil es meistens nur um Informationsaustausch geht und darum, so schnell wie möglich zu einer Lösung oder eben zu einem Schluss zu kommen. Die deutsche Sprache ist für mich daher sehr effizient, bzw. sie wird so verwendet.

Gestik wird im deutschen hauptsächlich von Politikern verwendet oder von eben denen, die anstreben einer zu werden. Und wie man schon in frühen Jahren in der Schule lernt sind Lückenfüller Zeichen von Nervosität und Unsicherheit und deshalb unerwünscht.

Zusammenfassend lässt sich also sagen, dass ich meinen Part in italienischen Konversationen immer noch zu verstehen versuche. Ich muss auf jeden Fall meine Sprachfähigkeiten verbessern, aber nichtsdestotrotz auch wie ich gleichzeitig reden und zuhören kann.

Aber eines ist sicher, wenn ich nach Deutschland zurückkehre, dann werde ich Lückenfüller mit Genuss benutzen. Warum?- Boh!

Italian communication

Since I live in Italy for nearly four months now, I have to admit that I still haven’t got used to some things here. One of these is the style of communication.

Italian communication can be described as you imagine it. It’s loud, passionate and fast!

But in addition, the participants speak all at the same time. They manage it to deal with four or more different perspectives and opinions. They have a dialogue while everyone is talking and more or less listening.

I’m just able to sit next to scenes like these and I try to translate everything quietly what isn’t that easy because first of all I started to study the language when I arrived here. Second of all, they don’t speak like in the audio material of school books… They speak fast!

They speak so fast, so that they don’t pronounce everything clearly (like probably every other native speaker too). They miss parts of the words or at least I cannot understand it. In these cases I cannot separate the words which they are actually saying. They speak in full sentences, but for me it sounds like one really long word. And if you don’t have to listen to only one but to four people, you get confused really fast.

During their conversation they change their voices and gesture a lot with their whole body, so it helps to understand their opinion about the topics regarding to their emotional constitutions.

And I think the most unpredictable thing they use while talking are fill words like “boh”, “eh”, “dai” and a lot more.

“Boh” has the meaning of “I don’t know”. But if you use it like “va boh” it changes its’ meaning into “it’s okay…”

If somebody answers with “eh” it means either an approval or rejection of a statement.

With “dai” they want to say something like “come on” or also “why”. It’s used in a lot of different contexts and really difficult to translate because of its’ various meanings.

The reason why Italian conversations are such a big deal to me is because I’m from Germany and Italian and German communication are kinda 2 different planets.

In a German dialogue you will find only one person who speaks. Interruption is in nearly every case really impolite and has absolutely no potential of recommendation. A German discussion or conversation can be described as clear, fast and for me it’s without passion. Just because it contains a lot of information and in the most cases the whole conversation is only about this exchange of information to get a solution as soon as possible. German is a really efficient language or at least it’s used like this.

In Germany, gestures are more or less only used by politicians or people who want to become a politician one day. In comparison to Italians we don’t gesture at all. Fill words are a sign that the one who’s using them is nervous and not confident.
         In conclusion I can say that I still figure my part of italian conversations out. I definitely have to improve my language skills to take part of it but I also have to understand how to talk and listern to everynody at the same time. But one thing is sure! - When I turn back to Germany I'll use the Italian fill words... Why? - Boh!

Nina Dentler

Bolzano, Italy

Ciao ragazzi!

Wie kommt man überhaupt darauf, dass Google Maps Heimweh verursachen könnte? -Ganz einfach. Man setzt sich mit seinen neuen Freunden zusammen und plant einen Urlaub. Um die Route zu erklären und alles anschaulicher und verständlicher zu machen, wird Google Maps verwendet… Diese Art der Urlaubsplanung wird wahrscheinlich nur von Deutschen umgesetzt, die nicht nur drölf Monate im Voraus, sondern auch noch mit ihrem Power-Point-Wissen aus der Schule planen.

Dabei trinkt man Wein, isst Pizza und genießt natürlich die Gesellschaft.

Man kommt auf die nicht ganze abwegige Idee, den anderen zu erklären, wo und wie man vorher gelebt hat. Mit Leidenschaft und voller Energie zeigt man seine Heimatstadt wie ein Touristenführer (bzw. übernimmt Google Street View die Aufgabe), hat zwar keine Ahnung mehr, was sich in den Gebäuden befindet, die Google vorschlägt. Aber dennoch weiß man, wo sie sind. Man erinnert sich an die Wege, die zum alltäglichen Leben dazugehört haben und man denkt an die Menschen, die einen auf diesen Wegen begleitet haben.

Man sieht die schönen Teile der Stadt, aber Freunden zeigt man natürlich auch die hässlichsten Ecken. Man zeigt seine Schule und man zeigt, wo man die Pausen verbracht hat. Man zeigt seinen Lieblingsdöner und man zeigt natürlich auch sein Zuhause.

Man wird melancholisch und schwelgt in Erinnerungen und fühlt sich ein bisschen besser.

Denn Heimweh hat fast niemand. Vermissen tut man vllt. einige wenige Personen, aber wenn man dann doch Heimweh bekommt, dann ist das gut.

Man fühlt sich nicht mehr schlecht, weil Freunde und Familie einen vermissen und man das so nicht erwidern kann. Auf einmal erinnert man sich wieder und man fühlt sich nicht mehr wie ein Stein. Man vermisst Zuhause und das ist in Ordnung.

Man ist kein schlechter Mensch mehr, kein schlechtes Kind, kein schlechter Freund. Man hat ja doch ein wenig Heimweh.

The reason Google Maps makes you feel homesick

Ciao ragazzi!

How is it possible that Google Maps makes you feel homesick? – Not that difficult! You spend time with your new friends and plan a vacation. The explanation of the journey is underlined by Google Maps to simplify the understanding of the route and in general it makes it more aesthetic. This kind of planning suits German prejudices pretty good. The trip isn’t just planed like kinda 13 months before, but also supported by our Power-Point-knowledge from school.

During the planning we drink wine, eat pizza and enjoy the company.

However it happened, we end up showing each other our hometowns and how we used to live before. We guide the others with passion and full of energy through our cities.

Google Maps proposes buildings which I know, but I already forgot which kind of offices they contain. But I still know where I can find them. I remember the streets where I used to walk daily and I remember with whom I passed these.

We saw the most beautiful places of our hometowns, but friends are in the position to see every little detail of this place. So, we showed each other the most disgusting and ugliest parts as well. We showed our old schools and where we spent our breaks, we recommended our favorite kebabs and of course we showed each other our homes.

Some people would call it a sad, melancholic throwback. But I felt better after.

I have never been homesick here. Maybe I miss some special persons sometimes. But when I was homesick after this Google Maps marathon, it felt good.

I didn’t feel bad anymore. Friends and family are missing you, but you can’t really answer these messages the same way back. But suddenly you remember anything stupid and you don’t feel like a stone anymore. You miss home and that’s okay.

You are not a bad person, not a bad child, not a bad friend anymore. Because you are finally a little bit homesick.

Nina Dentler

Bolzano, Italy

Hello everybody!

This text is about my daily life in Italy, I hope you enjoy it!

So, I wake up at 7:30am, più o meno, what is pretty late compared to my standards in Germany.

Since I’m in Italy, I have to have breakfast at least for 30min, otherwise I feel tired and not in form to handle the daily life. That’s another thing that changed, because in Germany I was always late so that I hadn’t enough time to enjoy my coffee in the morning. I really appreciate the change and I have to admit, that for me breakfast is the most important meal now.

After breakfast I usually go to work by bike, except when it doesn't work which happens approximately once a month. Usually I work from 9-12am and from 2-6pm with two exceptions because I have an Italian course twice a week in the morning, so instead of work I go there.

As I said in my last article I work at VKE, an association which works and supports children and young people by giving them space to spend their time. But these places are only opened in the afternoon.

Allora, in the morning we often clean or prepare handicrafts for the afternoon. And in the afternoon we go on with that but in participation with the children and their parents. Besides that, we play active games which are invented by ourselves, to get in contact with everyone who wants to be a part of it. In the beginning it was hard to get really into the games because I had to forget that I’m an adult and I should behave like that. These kinds of games challenge me because I have to play like a child. With that I make it more interesting for everyone around. Furthermore I improve my skills of imagination because it is needed to feel the spirit of the game. I have to accept all the rules and conditions of the game, even if it’s really ridiculous at first, because if I don’t like to play the game, why should the children?

In addition there are possibilities to develop skills in connection with educational theory and pedagogy with your mentors what is really interesting for me, in view of the fact that I start to understand children’s behaviours which were nonsense for me before.

Regarding to the Italian course I have to admit that it is not so good because it’s really slow and I feel like I don’t really progress there. In addition if we want to study faster we’re not allowed to during the course.

On the one hand we learn something of course, but on the other hand we could learn so much more while we spend or waste our time there. So, if I want to improve I have to do it during my working time, my lunchbreak or after, and to be mentioned, most of the time there are a lot of cool things to do which keep me away from studying.

Because of this intensive time in the course, I still have problems with communication in general, but especially with children. I think they are sometimes afraid because they are not used to deal with people who don’t speak their language. For them it’s a totally new experience and I understand their first reaction. The only thing which helps is initiative and patience (and studying).

When I have to communicate with my colleges there are no problems because we either speak in German or in a mixture of German, Italian and French and there are always possibilities to understand each other.

In my free time I spend time with the other European volunteers in Bolzano. I have to mention that the majority is from Germany and for me it is a little bit disappointing because one of the reasons to do a gap year was to get away from German behaviour and lifestyle. But everything has advantages and disadvantages. I have learned a lot about dialects, detailed differences in the German education system and the difference between carnival and ‘Fasching’ for example.

We travel a lot in Alto Adige, the province where we are living, because it is free with our bus/train-tickets. At the weekends we spend our time at places with free entrance, for example the “Long Night of Bolzano Museums” or any strange concert, where the people around are always 20 or 30 years older than us. And sometimes we quit after 10 minutes but at least we were open-minded and tried it. And after everything, our final destination is Picchio the best (and) cheapest bar in Bolzano and drink wine (because beer in Italy tastes like water with some sugar or lemonade in it). 

The mixture  of work and free time makes the life really enjoyable and unique. I learn a lot of stuff the whole day long either about other cultures and languages (especially swearwords) or dealing with people in general. If one wants to live in a peaceful atmosphere, there is the need to talk with the people around you to explain different behaviors, to understand and to respect each other. And that's the reason why I learn more here than in my regular life.

Nina Dentler

Bolzano, Italy 

I finished high school in my hometown in Germany before I came to Bolzano, where I am living and working at the moment. I didn’t really know what I would like to study after, so I decided to do a gap year. There were two possibilities: The first one was to work and travel, but I thought this wouldn’t suit me well. The second one was to do a voluntary service either at my hometown or abroad.

I was really interested in living abroad and that’s how I ended up in my room searching for different options to go to any country in the European Union to learn new things about a new country with its language, culture and people.

One of the few things I knew for sure is that I wanted to work with children and youths, to get in contact with them, play and just have a fun time together.

Ideally I’ve found the perfect project for me in Bolzano at VKE. It is an association which has created a space for children to spend time playing, talking and being free as a child. In Bolzano there are two houses where children and youth can play. In my opinion these places are the places where it does not matter what's your origin, your ethnic background etc. They are places where children and teenagers can express themselves, share experience with others and communicate about so many things.

My expectations were of course totally different to the reality, but not in a bad way. I just thought that it would be somehow a little bit more like in Germany.

Maybe it’s because VKE doesn’t symbolize the typical kind of educational institution. But the relation between the kids and the educators can be described as a relationship with a friend. The children have to accept rules and everything what's important to create a nice atmosphere of course, but while spending time with them in general, there isn't that authoritarian feeling, neither for me nor for the children.

Furthermore there are other things I didn’t expect like this, for example my accommodation. I share a flat with 2 other women. We have separated bedrooms, but we use the same kitchen and bathroom. For me it’s the first time living without my parents. When you live with your parents, there is always somebody home, there is mostly a person who you can talk to if you are in a bad mood. In Bolzano I imagined that I might need some months to feel home, to get used to so many things.

But when I arrived some weeks ago, my flatmates offered me some meal. They took time to sit at the table with me and tried to get to know me when I was a little bit shocked and afraid of the first impression of the city. Furthermore they connected me to other volunteers directly and helped me with the orientation.

Concluded I can say that I don't feel alone at all, because here are many people who're having and have already experienced the same. 

Nina Dentler

Bolzano, italy