Concierge Blog

It is a quiet afternoon. The gentlemen sitting on table one are waiting for the heavy snowfall to calm down. A quick picture snapped by the Concierge shows how the first snowflakes drop, as they quickly grow larger and larger. On another table, a mother sips her Cappuccino. She and her children arrived with their sleds. The children are warming themselves with hot chocolate, as they eat a Bauerntoast with ham and cheese to regain their strength.

The snow keeps on falling.

This weather only means one thing for the Concierge. Back pain, from lots and lots of snow shoveling. Unfortunately there is no one around to whom he could designate this task. An annoying task sure, but still, an important one. No one is breaking a leg on his watch.

While thinking about the upcoming task, the Concierge faintly remembers a conversation with a friend and guest last summer. While drinking a beer in the hot of summer they somehow came to talk about winter, maybe they thought it would distract them from the heat, maybe the topic made perfect sense in the context of their conversation. The Concierge could no longer remember.
However, what he did remember, between the beer and the heat of a summer long gone, was a boast – or maybe an offer? It probably was both. His friend had told him: “Snow shoveling is quite the easy task, as long as you have the will and the know-how.” - obviously implying he was the one with both. He continued by saying: “even your parking lot would be a walk in the park – in fact, let me prove it to you if it happens to snow this year.”

The Concierge’s friend liked to talk a big game. The Concierge was eager to find out if any of it was true, in the best case scenario – it wasn’t his own back on the line.

A call later, dim lights were seen on the street. Cars were few in this weather except for the snowplows keeping the streets a tolerable, albeit not a pleasant experience to drive on.

A tractor pulls into the driveway. The Concierge’s friend and client Sebastian Stocker proudly shows of this Fendt Vario V211, a brand-new model, as he explains, with snow chains by König and the plow itself fabricated by a friend of his, Aldo Annovi from Modena.

Sebastian is the owner of a company specialized in the design and production of innovative agricultural machinery. The Concierge should have realized Sebastian wasn’t about to shovel the whole parking lot by hand.

Sebastian clears the parking lot in no time. The resulting hill is named Mount Sparerhof. If it keeps on snowing like this, eventually you’d be able to ski on it.

Ok, Sebastian, how can we thank you? All Sebastian asks for is a hot Gerstensuppe and a piece of fresh bread, right out of the oven.

Sebstian can’t stay for dessert though. He and his plow are needed in Bolzano. Apparently he made the same offer to multiple people.

They say it is supposed to keep on snowing for the entire weekend. The Concierge is sure that even then, Sebastian is going to honor his word. In the mean time, he can think about what specialty to serve him as thanks.

Stay tuned!!!

From April to May, the Terlan Margarete asparagus is at the center of South Tyrolean culinary attention. Harvested in the fields around Terlan, Vilpian and Siebeneich, and prepared in local restaurants, the Margarete asparagus could not be grown any closer to the restaurants it is served in.

The Terlan asparagus hosts are true experts in preparing the Margarete asparagus. Founded in 1983, by 8 Terlan restaurants, local asparagus farmers and Terlan winery, Cantina Terlano, each spring, the Terlan asparagus hosts deliver culinary highlights centered around the versatile and delicious vegetable. This year‘s asparagus season ends on 16th May 2021.

The Terlan Margarete asparagus is traditionally served with the characteristic Bozner Sauce. Another South Tyrolean spring classic is fawn with asparagus and potato puree. Whether it is in risotto-, soup, pasta-, egg-, fish- or meat dishes, the Margarete asparagus and its typical intensive, nutty flavor is incredibly versatile. Accompanying the asparagus: wine from the Cantina Terlano, the so called „asparagus wine“, made from sauvignon blanc, is a light white wine with a flowery aroma that is bottled specifically for the asparagus season and harmonizes perfectly with Margarete asparagus.
For all those that prefer sweet over savory, asparagus even pairs well with strawberries.

Creativity knows no bounds in Terlan. Each asparagus host offers different specialties. This year five of them offer takeaway on their dishes, until restaurants will open again.

More information on the asparagus season, current events and recipes can be found under: www.terlaner-spargelzeit.it

© pict Marion Lafogler

A busy weekend lies in front of the Concierge. Finally, he is back in his element. In compliance with the safety rules for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic all the guests staying at the hotel this weekend are professional athletes or otherwise involved with the upcoming bike race in Nals.

All participants and accompanying personnel have to undergo regular tests.
The Concierge is keeping busy. Expensive bikes have to be safely stored and athletes need tending to, so that they may prepare for the upcoming race.

Mainly young cyclists are staying at the hotel but also some more experienced riders. The race itself is divided into various groups:

Women - rookies and juniors
Beginners 1 & 2
Cadets 1 & 2

Even while the athletes rest, the Concierge’s efforts continue. Vans loaded with mountain bikes are pulling into the parking lot. The van drivers are asking for a garden hose, which the Concierge of course provides. He wonders: will 50 meters suffice? And, what for exactly?

Quite boringly, the hose is used to clean the bikes. But the bikes are far from boring, professional mountain bikes, the Concierge couldn’t even guess how much one of these would go for… He watches with interest as they are washed, checked and adjusted. The parking lot is transformed into an improvised bicycle workshop. The bikes flashing clean in the sunlight. For now at least, mountain bikes don’t tend to stay clean for long.

Not only participants of the race stay at the hotel. On one hand the Concierge welcomes the teams with their athletes, mechanics, van drivers, a sports doctor and the athletes parents, and on the other hand a group of race technicians, commentators, journalists and photographers are staying the weekend.

A big thank you to Michele Mondini, who is not also one of the event’s photographers, but also the organizer behind the race.

Congratulations to the winners and all other participants of this year’s edition.

One of the winners spent the night here at the hotel. Of course, the Concierge asked for a picture.

© Michele Mondini

Legend in Terlan has it that some years ago, in the after war period, a young farmer forgot to turn off his sprinkler system overnight. In the morning all of his apple trees were covered in ice, much to the amusement of his fellow farmers. But the laughter soon ceased, as they themselves discovered that all the blooming flower buds on their trees were destroyed by the freezing temperatures, while only those of the young farmer remained, safely trapped under a thin layer of ice that was now starting to melt in the morning sun.

Such stories are quite common in the area, as the importance of frost protection irrigation became more and more apparent with the increasing amount of apple cultivation. Blooming apple flower buds are very delicate and sensitive to the cold. And without flower buds in spring, there won‘t be any apples later in the year. Which is why at first sign of frost during the night, apple farmers turn on their sprinkler systems.

The ice on the trees might be spectacular to look at, but it isn‘t the ice itself that‘s actually keeping the flower buds safe from the freezing temperatures. Tiny water droplets in the air from the sprinklers fall onto the blooming flowers and begin to crystallize, releasing heat and thus protecting the flower buds.

The farmer's trees from the story were ready for harvest in autumn, hopefully, so will be our neighbor's!

Not even two weeks ago, we recommended our guests to enjoy their Sunday brunch on our terrace.
In the meantime snow has fallen, and not just a little bit, we haven't seen this much snow in years!
So outdoor activities unfortunately fall flat for those of us who prefer to stay dry.

Inside, the concierge tries to make himself useful.
He finds what he was looking for inside our cold storage rooms. Lemons, oranges and bergamots are just waiting to be processed. Nothing easier than that!
What was our recipe for jam again…?

And lo and behold, some time later, fresh jam is ready and waiting to be filled into jars and due to be enjoyed by our guests.

Still not satisfied the concierge continues on his quest through the cold storage rooms… what do we have here? Ah, cookie dough gifted to us by Chef Michele. More precisely “Julkakor” dough.

The original recipe, however, comes from another chef with whom Chef Michele and the concierge have worked. Chef Erik, former Executive Chef of the Swedish American Line cruise ship M/S Gripsholm. It was with Erik that the concierge completed his apprenticeship while Michele cooked under Erik as Chef de Cuisine.

Every year at Christmas time Erik baked cookies. This tradition was picked up by Michele, who kindly shared his dough with us.
And so the concierge set about baking. He might not be as naturally gifted as Erik or Michele, but the outcome is still something to be proud of.

In the late afternoon our neighbor came by and helped us clear the parking lot of about 35 cm of snow. As much as the concierge was looking for something to do that day, he preferred to leave the hard work to the professionals…
As a thank you, our neighbor received freshly baked cookies. Maybe they’ll bring us all some luck.

For now, let’s just hope there won’t be too much more snow.

Stay tuned...!

… the snow has melted, the weather is perfect again. How about an enjoyable light Sunday brunch at the Sparerhof, featuring local wine from Terlano, farmer's butter, anchovies and our homemade bread.

Stay tuned!!