We are mountains.
We love mountains. 3
Getting to Know Vitalpina Table of Contents We Are Mountains 7 The Vitalpina philosophy. Experience Vitalpina 9 From Mount Ortler to the Dolomites.
Staying Active
11 Beyond hiking: Living.
Wellbeing 19 Beyond feeling good: Growing. Vitalpina Breathe 22 Beyond respiration: Knowing yourself. Vitalpina Aroma Concept 29 Beyond aromatherapy: Joie de vivre. The Power of Herbs 31 Beyond wellbeing: Sustainability. Dining 35 Beyond gourmet food: Healthy eating.
Sustainability 43 Beyond organic labels: A way of life. Water 45 Beyond spring water: The elixir of life.
We Are Mountains The Vitalpina philosophy. Vitalpina delineates a way of life that brings a conscious sense of nature and the surrounding landscape into resonance with one’s own self, drawing strength, vitality and creativity. Vitalpina stands for an authentic standard of living – for our Alpine lifestyle. We hoteliers are not only enthusiastic hiking guides and mountain climbers but also herbalists, fitness trainers, bike guides, photographers, wildlife enthusiasts, musicians and chefs who are happy to share our knowledge about and love of the South Tyrolean way of life with you. We see our mountain nature as a valuable resource between Alpine and Mediterranean landscapes, and would be happy to share it with you during your holiday. The Vitalpina Hoteliers 6
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Experience Vitalpina From Mount Ortler to the Dolomites. A Vitalpina holiday unites hiking and an active lifestyle in an Alpine landscape with spa treatments based on local and traditional natural products and delicious, light, regional cuisine. This holistic composition – Active Lifestyle, Nutrition and Wellbeing – makes you want to know and experience more and gives you a chance to discover new sides of yourself.
The 36 host families of the Vitalpina® Hotels South Tyrol are as varied as the South Tyrolean landscape. All are experts on nature holidays focusing on adventure and wellbeing, from the Mount Ortler area to the Dolomites.
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Experience Vitalpina 9
Vitalpina Staying Active Beyond hiking: Living. Vitalpina’s Staying Active concept in an approach towards quality of life. It means being proactive in diverse ways: physical movement outdoors, immersing yourself in nature, active and introspective downtime, a keen interest in local everyday culture and taking responsibility for your own health and nutrition. We Vitalpina hosts are passionate hiking guides, and have identified the theme of hiking in the mountains, in all of its forms, as a common core competency. “We will personally accompany you to our favorite natural places, and love bringing our own life experiences into the equation. Each hotelier has his or her specialty: in addition to herb walks, summit tours, breath-focused hikes and snowshoeing we can even take you out to watch animals in the Dolomites, on a barefoot tour at Salten or animal tracking in the Mount Ortler area.” Walter Sattler – Vitalpina hotelier from Alpe di Siusi, plant specialist and wildlife enthusiast
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The Great Outdoors The South Tyrolean way of life is a permanent invitation to the great outdoors. When one is immersed in nature and out in the fresh air, it’s easier to connect more deeply with ourselves. In so doing, you’ll enjoy a healthy sense of renewed energy and joie de vivre and – under the guidance of specialists – sharpen your sensory perception and discover abilities you didn’t know you had.
Our Expertise: Active Lifestyle Your hotel will definitely offer the following services, regardless of its Vitalpina category: » At least three guided and escorted tours per week, in both summer and winter » Expert advice about individual tours » Information about the most important tips for hikers and climbers » At least three options for nature-related sports and outdoor activities » Transfer service on hikes/tours » Professional equipment available at the hotel » Library with relevant literature and hiking maps
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Why exercise outdoors? Suitably intense, regular and conscious movement through forests and across meadows not only clears your head but is also healthy. It brings fresh air into your bloodstream, fresh energy into your cells, fresh images into your mind’s eye and fresh ideas into your brain. Hiking is a great way to get in shape.
Good reasons for exercising outdoors » Seeing lush greenery and wide-open spaces relaxes the eyes. » The steady rhythm of walking and conscious abdominal breathing have a calming effect on the body’s stress hormones. » Hiking regularly strengthens your cardiovascular and immune system demonstrably. » Hiking ensures good circulation and a comfortable body temperature. » Hiking stimulates the elimination of waste products, releases pent-up energy (from stressful thoughts) and prompts self-healing. 14
» Hiking regulates metabolism and has a positive effect on lipid and sugar levels in the blood. » The stillness found in nature allows you to achieve peace and distance from daily life. » Round foot movements made on the soft soil found in forests and meadows are good for the joints and strengthen the back muscles. » The air in the forest has low levels of dust and allergens and is enriched with soothing essential oils. » Interplay of light on the landscape or between the trees lifts the mood. Vitalpina Staying Active 15
Staying Active Tips for daily life 30 minutes of exercise a day increases longevity. Be sure to choose a sport that you enjoy. Stairs offer a good opportunity to increase your fitness. Steer clear of elevators.
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Fresh air every day, no matter what the weather, sets you in motion again. Getting there on foot keeps you fit. Leave the car at home, and walk short distances instead. An active office lifestyle gives rise to new ideas. Stand up periodically, and treat yourself to a little post-lunch walk, varying your speed. Deep breathing and conscious abdominal breathing support the positive effects of staying active.
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Vitalpina Wellbeing Beyond feeling good: Growing. Vitalpina Wellbeing arises from a combination of consistent experiences at various levels: Mindfulness during an exhilarating mountain adventure brings wellbeing, enjoying light regional products makes one feel well and letting go during an Alpine spa treatment with locally sourced skincare products from highly qualified, regional suppliers helps increase wellbeing. “We Vitalpina hosts see ourselves as guides for a holistic holiday devoted to wellness. The secret to Vitalpina Wellbeing lies in its foundation: nature. Enjoying nature, tasting it, appreciating it, protecting it and coming into closer contact with it allows us to live in a more conscious way and to sharpen our sense for what really matters. So our appreciation of wellbeing begins with our spa treatments, and touches every area of your Vitalpina stay in South Tyrol.”
Luke Gerstl – young Vitalpina hotelier from Burgeis, cook and ski-touring enthusiast
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Our Expertise: Wellbeing The strength-giving properties of South Tyrol’s pristine nature cannot be overvalued. That’s why Vitalpina’s Feel Good program utilizes Mother Nature to the fullest, in a sophisticated, sense-oriented and authentic way, through soothing, nourishing and fragrant treatments utilizing locally sourced wellness products such as mountain herbs, quartz stone, hay, whey, arnica, juniper and apple.
Feel-Good Tips: Relaxing at Home » Stay loose: Keep your shoulders relaxed, your belly unrestricted and your legs slack. Stretch several times a day in every direction – there’s space enough anywhere for this, even in the office. » Down time: Set aside time every week just for you. » Relax: De-stressing isn’t something that can be done on command, but a long salt bath often does wonders.
» Power down: Does your mobile phone really have to be on? Nobody needs to be permanently reachable. » TV off: In the bedroom, turn off all electrical appliances (TV, mobile phone, radio alarm clock) so that you can truly rest. » Your inner voice: a good compass for wellbeing. Do more of what makes you feel good – whether it’s morning yoga, a stroll at lunchtime or getting a massage.
» Take a breather: Build a little breathing exercise into your day more often, ideally out in the fresh air. It’s a quick way to restore your energy. 20
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Exercise 1: Drawing Water Letting go through purifying exhalation
1: Choose a quiet place. Next to a stream or spring is ideal. 2: Stand with your feet slightly wider than the width of your hips.
3: As you exhale, bend down with your upper body and hands, drawing water up in your hands (the stream or spring can be imaginary). 4: As you inhale, slowly straighten your body and lift your hands over your head. 5: As you exhale, imagine that you are
pouring water over your head; intensify this movement by using your voice: “Schschschttt”.
6: Then slide your hands across your
shoulders laterally, and back down to the starting position.
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Vitalpina Breathe Beyond respiration: Knowing yourself. “Vitalpina Breathe is a finely tuned program focusing on the breath, with valuable tips for an extra dose of vitality every day. Respiration is a source of vitality. Little exercises have a big impact and, when practiced throughout the day, can lead you on a journey in discovery of untapped inner resources. This is a source upon which you can draw at any time, instantly improving your quality of life. The best thing is to simply try it yourself!”
Renate Winkler – Vitalpina hotelier from Jenesien, specialist in low-impact hiking, decorates with natural materials
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Exercise 2: Quiet Walking The Key to Deeper Relaxation and Vitality Harmonious Rhythm
1: Walk somewhere in nature: move in a relaxed way, together with someone else, and at a pace that is pleasant for you. Talk to your companion. 2: Now continue walking, without talking and direct your attention to your ideal walking speed.
3: After you’ve walked a few minutes in silence, notice the sounds of nature in a conscious way. What do you hear? 4: Your pace will begin to follow its own
rhythm. Notice how many steps you take during one inhalation.
5: How many steps do you take during one exhalation?
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Interview with Vitalpina Breathe coach Dr. Werner Kirschner
Why is breathing properly so important to our physical and mental wellbeing? The breath is the connective link between man’s physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects. Every emotion results in a specific breathing pattern. For this reason, conscious and observant breath work is a wonderful way of finding balance and wellbeing. Most people breathe in a very shallow way. What types of repercussions does this have? Shallow breathing renders the body’s oxygen supply insufficient. Reduced productivity may result from this, and frequently listlessness as well. The use of diaphragmatic breathing, also known as belly breathing, creates a feeling of deep tranquility and serenity and calms down the entire nervous system.
Is it possible to manage stress through proper breathing? When people are subjected to stress, they manifest a particular breathing pattern. Noticing this and changing it in a targeted way, through the use of appropriate exercises, helps reduce stress on an experiential level. Doing this puts people in a psychological position where they can look at the problem affecting them as something distant from themselves. What is the objective of breath work? The goal is to learn how to breathe fully – meaning that the breath fills all of the body’s respiratory spaces. When flat or chronically problematic breathing patterns occur over a longer period of time, it can lead to muscular tension, a drop in performance or other mental and physical complaints. Attentive, correct breathing draws our focus to the body processes and to internal regularity, making our movements more efficient and increasing productivity. Dr. Werner Kirschner – Research scientist in exercise and sports at the University of Innsbruck and the breathing coach of the Vitalpina® Hotels South Tyrol Vitalpina Breathe 25
Exercise 3: Lying Still
Abdominal Breathing Silencing the thoughts
1: Lie down and relax on a soft surface (a bed, or even a meadow). Bend your knees. Support your knees with a blanket or backpack, and prop up your head with a pillow or jacket. 2: Observe how you breathe naturally.
Inhale calmly, and then exhale. Pause your breath.
3: Direct your attention to your abdomi-
nal wall. Notice how it raises up (during inhalation), and feel the back of your diaphragm expand.
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4: Notice how your belly lowers (during exhalation). Keep your upper chest still. 5: Place one or both hands on your lower
abdomen so that you can observe the process even more intensely. Inhalation. Pause. Exhalation. Pause. Repeat.
6: Direct your attention to the aromas
and odors that surround you, and let your thoughts roll past without judging them or holding onto them.
7: After seven cycles of inhalation and exhalation, you will feel a stronger sense of inner peace.
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Vitalpina Aroma Concept Beyond aromatherapy: Joie de vivre. Our sense of wellbeing starts in our noses. Natural aromas promote free, deep breathing and have a harmonizing effect on the whole organism. Aromas and odors have direct access to the limbic system, and thus to your emotional and hormonal center. The Vitalpina hoteliers actively contribute to your overall sense of wellbeing through attentive interaction with natural aromas. “The natural worlds surrounding the Vitalpina Hotels are rich in aromas that send impulses to our brains. South Tyrol’s aroma spectrum includes coniferous woods such as Swiss stone pine, spruce, larch and pine, fruit like apples and berries and alpine herbs. Vitapina’s specially created room fragrances promise an olfactory journey through the high alpine mountains all the way down to the Mediterranean areas in the valleys. Herb treatments expel waste products from the body and aid in regeneration. At our hotels, delicious herbal teas and fragrant sachets are part of your daily routine, creative combinations of herbs enrich the Vitalpina cuisine and special breath exercises amplify your sensory perception as you enjoy physical activity in the great outdoors.” Eva Zelger – Vitalpina hotelier from Deutschnofen, herb enthusiast and bike guide 28
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Vitalpina Herb Power Beyond wellbeing: Sustainability. Some 130 species of plant can be found in a healthy South Tyrolean mountain meadow, including many wild herbs that have played an important role in traditional folk medicine for centuries. People who have a close rapport with nature have always felt the subtle vibrations of wild herbs, and love utilizing them during particular yearly or life cycles. “This trend of opening up more to the arcane wisdom of living in closer accord with the laws of nature blends well with the philosophy of the Vitalpina® Hotels South Tyrol. We have selected four versatile companions from South Tyrol’s abundance of mountain herbs. We attach special importance to them during your nature-focused Vitalpina holiday: nettle, wild thyme (meadow thyme), lady’s mantle and yarrow.”
Michael Trocker – Vitalpina hotelier from Seis am Schlern, amateur photographer and herb specialist
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Nettle – for gourmets
In the Alpine countries, stinging nettle is the king of the healing herbs, mostly due to its stately inaccessibility and diverse array of applications. A nourishing and flavorful ingredient, it has also inspired the Vitalpina chefs as the basis for original culinary creations.
Lady’s mantle – for a soothing effect
Next time you walk across alpine pastures enjoying nature, stop and take a look at this dainty species of meadow rose, which sprouts out of the ground between May and September. In the morning it has soft silver pearls in its calyx, and is a cherished herb especially for women’s complaints.
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Wild thyme – a magic herb
Wild thyme is the wild central European brother to southern European thyme. In the sunlight, its delicate purple flowers emit a spicy scent. In ancient times wild thyme was an important healing and magical plant, and today it lends a very special appeal to Vitalpina’s spa treatments.
Yarrow – a healthful herb
Achillea millefoglie, with its white flower head, is an extremely resilient herb and is valued in folk medicine for its many applications. It is a tried-and-true remedy for headache and digestion troubles.
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Vitalpina Dining Beyond gourmet food: Healthy eating. Vitalpina cuisine stands for wholesome and environmentally focused nutrition and for conscious enjoyment of easily tolerated, regional dishes using seasonal products. We pay close attention to added value through the preservation of nutrients and the local sourcing of raw ingredients.
Nourishing Body and Spirit Regionalism is the keyword for Vitalpina’s nutritional concept. Vitalpina food is based upon high-quality raw materials, carefully selected local products and South Tyrol’s fresh spring water. At the same time, traditional dishes are reinterpreted in a light way from the nutritional standpoint.
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Our Expertise: Wholesome Food “Light, fresh, regional and seasonal: these are the characteristic features of Vitalpina cuisine. Some of us Vitalpina hoteliers are chefs ourselves. Our nutritional concept is holistic at heart, and a sense of responsibility for our environment and future generations is interwoven into it. Our creativity is guided by conscious, respectful interaction with nature, a high level of nutritional expertise, knowledge about wine and communication of South Tyrolean popular culture: Less is more.” Stefan Volgger – Vitalpina hotelier from Ridnaun, chef and distiller
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Vitalpina Bread Baking Beyond tradition: Quality of life. Vitalpina’s bread-baking activities put you in touch with an ancient rural art of survival. Bread symbolizes life – a life lived in harmony with nature. The genuine craft of baking bread takes time and inspiration. The aroma of freshly baked bread conveys the most important message of the Vitalpina philosophy: experience Alpine quality of life.
“In South Tyrol, baking bread is a rustic tradition. On mountain farms, the winter supply of bread was baked in the fall, after the last harvest. Some types of rye and sourdough bread came into being in this way, and still define South Tyrol’s diverse array of breads today. Many of the Vitalpina Hotels focus strongly on this tradition, baking fresh bread and South Tyrolean specialties on a daily basis. Our guests appreciate this culinary experience and take a little piece of the South Tyrolean way of life back home with them after learning to bake bread on holiday.”
Annelies Stocker – Vitalpina hotelier from Sand in Taufers, hobby baker
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Tradition-Rich Dishes Beetroot dumplings on horseradish sauce. Serves 6 300 g day-old white bread 100 g of boiled beetroot 1 onion, finely chopped 2 eggs, 2 tbsp. butter, 2 tbsp. flour Âź l milk, salt 1 tbsp. horseradish 2 tbsp. butter, 2 tbsp. flour 1 cup of beef broth 1 cup of whipping cream 1 pinch of sugar, pepper, salt Cut the white bread into small cubes. Fry the onion in butter until golden brown. Cut the beetroot into small pieces and add it the bread, together with the onion, milk, flour and salt. Mix well and let stand for 10 min. Divide the dough, and form small balls (approx. 40 g each). Cook the dumplings in salt water for 20 minutes. For the sauce, melt the butter, stir in the flour, sautĂŠ it just a bit and then pour the broth in. Stir in the horseradish, cream and sugar. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and let cook briefly. Arrange the dumplings on the sauce. Enjoy! Source of recipe: Taubers Unterwirt Vitalpina Hotel 40
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Vitalpina Sustainability Beyond organic labels: A way of life.
“The Vitalpina Hotels are constantly ‘on the road.’ Mountain life implies sustainability, because Mother Nature is respected and appreciated as a valuable resource. Many of the Vitalpina Hotels have already carried out an environmental certification. They use natural resources for heating, decorate with natural materials, create their ambience with indigenous woods and pay great attention to the prevention of waste. Many others go much further still, striving towards CO2 neutrality and adhering to Common Good principles – because Vitalpina is an approach towards life, a way of living that can be tangibly felt.” Franz Hinteregger – Vitalpina hotelier from Lüsen, visionary and innkeeper by nature
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Vitalpina Water Beyond spring water: The elixir of life. “We are so fortunate. Because the mountains of South Tyrol safeguard a valuable treasure: fresh, clean spring water. Try sometime to drink a glass of water with keen awareness as it goes down your throat, exploring its flavor and enjoying the pure drinking experience. Being able to drink mountain-fresh water is not only a pleasure, but almost a luxury that we Vitalpina hosts gratefully appreciate and entrust you with as a pleasurable experience after physical activity. To your health!” Viktoria Holzner – Vitalpina hotelier from the Ulten Valley, epicure and herb lover
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Enjoying being immersed in nature in the mountains of South Tyrol.
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Free space for your Vitalpina experiences ...
Vitalpina® Hotels South Tyrol Piazza Parrocchia, 11 - I-39100 Bolzano - Phone +39 0471 999 980 - info@vitalpina.info - www.vitalpina.info Project, Text, Graphics: werbelust - stingelgrafik | Translation: Cassandra Han | Printing: Lanarepro, 2015 Photographs: Vitalpina Hotels archive, Stefano Scatà, Frieder Blickle, Helmuth Rier, Alex Filz 48
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Discover Alpine quality of life. www.vitalpina.info