Family „Reh", a technical sensation and ice-cold schnapps.
Summer freshness. What a lovely word, isn't it? And one that would almost have ended up in the drawer forever if senior boss Helmuth hadn't recently remembered why he doesn't like soup. It's one of those things with memories: if one pops up in your head, the next one isn't far away and then there's another and another and then you have the nostalgia salad. Or the idea of reviving the tradition of summer holidays. With a modern twist, of course. You can read here how my farm people intend to do this and what awaits you here in Val Senales this year. But now back to Helmuth. Perhaps the reason he became such a gourmet is because he only had a very limited menu as a child? His culinary horizons broadened in the 1960s at the latest. That's when the first "summer holidaymakers" arrived and wanted to be properly catered for. Before I tell you about the exuberant days and wild summer nights that arrived with the guests from afar, I'll take you back to the late 1950s.
Come, you children of the city.
Fresh air. Clear water. And a completely different world. The well-heeled businessmen from Merano already knew why they were sending their offspring to me on the mountain. 15 to 20 children and their nannies romped around here at my farm. And for a whole four months. That's how long the summer holidays lasted back then. On Sundays, the parents would come and bring toys and chocolate. It was all too rare for the city children to give the farm children anything. Senior boss Helmuth can still vaguely remember that double standards were applied: While the summer holiday children were allowed to play, the farm children had to tend the cows and pray a rosary every day at 5.00 pm. Anyone who missed the "Hail Mary" could expect something.
Off to the attic, the Reh family is coming!
Things were a lot more fun in the mid-1960s. Helmuth still vividly remembers how he had to vacate his room and move into my draughty attic. Because one thing was clear: the best rooms on the farm went to the guests. And so the Raffeiners slept under the roof all summer and the guests made themselves comfortable in the beautiful bedrooms and the good parlours. They bathed once a week in the wooden tub, the cattle trough in front of the hay barn was used to cool high-proof spirits and everyone was completely satisfied with the rustic farm fare and the simple life up here. Sleeping, eating, lying in the sun, the occasional hike and maybe a trip into town once or twice. They didn't do much more than that, the first summer holidaymakers. I think this concept is ultra-modern and would do you a world of good too. Here you can find out whether my courtiers still have a room available for you. But first, back to the 1960s.
The first stereo system and rock-hard chestnuts
Unfortunately, no one remembers exactly how the Reh family found out that my farm people were particularly good cooks and rented out extraordinarily beautiful rooms. But the fact that the friendly people from Bielefeld arrived up here one June day in 1966 with a stereo system in their luggage will stay in everyone's memory forever. How impressive it looked there on the stove bench! And how loud it could be turned up! I'm sure you can imagine the racket. They danced like wild animals, my courtiers and the Reh family. Helmuth thinks he saw the first bikini of his life that summer, but he certainly remembers how formative and uplifting it was to climb the 3,739 metre high Weißkugel with a group of experienced alpinists. And then, of course, there was grandfather Anton, who sat in the evening sun after his work was done, watching the day go by and slipping the children dried chestnuts from his blue apron. They were rock hard, but better than any chocolate from the city. And that's the way it is. No human child can stop the passage of time. But special memories can be created. And that works particularly well with me, your Oberraindlhof. That has always been the case and will certainly remain so.