BOUNTIFUL BAVARIA
A road trip from the Dolomites to Munich brings thrills and spills for all the family
My husband reverts to a default setting of lowlevel depression unless he is kept busy on holiday. Fortunately, we have four super-active children, aged nine to 14, so there’s no chance of us lying on a beach doing nothing.
On this occasion, we opted for rural bliss in san Cassiano, in the Italian dolomites, combined with a few days in the bavarian capital Munich, a city that somehow manages to hit the spot for all ages.
Innsbruck is the nearest airport to san Cassiano, but flying in and out of Munich is half the price. The rental car was also significantly cheaper in Munich than Innsbruck.
Mind you, modern technology provided the first hurdle — the easyJet app lets you save only five boarding passes, a problem when you are a family of six. It meant a sprint to the gate while the plane waited for us.
The three- hour drive from Munich to san Cassiano is beautiful. We had planned to stop for a traditional Tyrolean lunch in Innsbruck, but we didn’t make it by 2pm, which is when most restaurants stop serving.
The children were delighted as it meant we were reduced to a service station with a Mcdonald’s. but even the ghastliness of the golden arches couldn’t take away from the view. It must be the only Mcdonald’s to have a wall of glass that looks out on to what could be the backdrop for a chocolate bar advert.
The staff at the Rosa alpina hotel in san Cassiano greeted us warmly. In fact, one of the children looked as if he had arrived in heaven on spying a table laden with pick-and-mix sweets in oldfashioned glass jars accompanied by a sign saying ‘Please help yourself’.
and there’s so much to do. We hiked up and down the mountains, rock- climbed and went mountain biking — with only a few tears along the way.
One morning, the pain of cycling uphill proved too much for my 12-year-old son, and on another occasion my husband Toby crashed into our daughter on a downhill descent, causing her to fly off her bicycle. not quite the Von Trapps on tour.
We spent our evenings in the hotel’s newly-built ‘cinema’ — a cosy screening room with huge leather armchairs where you can order pizza and drinks.
after a few days in san Cassiano, it was back down to earth in Munich, where I’d rented an airbnb. It was never going to be easy going from a five- star hotel to a small suburban flat.
but, first, our youngest, Charlie, started hyperventilating in the back of the car as we drove into the city. he seemed to be chanting some strange mantra — aliana, aliana, aliana — or something along those lines.
TOby explained he had spotted the allianz arena — the home of the bayern Munich football team, which was on our list to visit. I am no footy fan, but the architecture, the tour of the locker room, the discovery that each player gets an audi of their choice for the season, and so on, was fascinating.
If that wasn’t enough to keep the boys happy, there was the huge bMW showroom by the Olympic Park with dozens of bMWs, Minis and motorbikes for you to get in and on.
If you need to take a break from football, cars and motorbikes, visit the Viktualienmarkt — Munich’s famous food market that doesn’t disappoint with its overwhelming number of sausages. Or take a trip to the Englischer Garten, where you can see surfers riding a large, manmade wave, and enjoy a beer.
The only time Toby complained was when we went white-water rafting on the Isar River, a 45minute drive from Munich. he bruised his coccyx. Oh well, the kids and I enjoyed it. and after five days in Munich, we felt chuffed to have combined the mountains and city so well. TRAVEL FACTS EasyJet ( easyjet.com, 0330 365 5000) from Gatwick to Munich from £66 return. Doubles at the Rosa Alpina Hotel & Spa ( rosalpina.it, 0039 0471 849 500) from £390 B&B. Book football tours at allianz-arena.
com and white-water rafting at adrenaline-hunter.com.