Riva del Garda and Bergamo

Driving from the Dolomites to Malpensa airport is quite a distance so we decided to break the journey into two driving days. We spent two nights on the northern side of Lake Garda in a charming town called Riva del Garda. Parking here was a bit of a challenge; the public lot was showing as "full" so we passed it thinking there would be a place where we could just make a U-turn and park instead at our hotel. But to our dismay, for the next 13 kilometers we drove through a series of narrow tunnels bored directly through the rock until we reached the next town, Limone Sul Garda. It was a Saturday so the heavy car traffic (and extra challenge of bicycle traffic) through the tunnel series meant that we really couldn't pull to the side and turn around anywhere until we arrived in Limone. We were able to finally flip a U-turn and made our way back through the busy tunnels until we found the hotel and were allowed to check-in and park a bit early. Whew, time for a glass of wine!

We had lunch on the main piazza overlooking the lake, and I had a nice glass of Lagrein, a wine which is made from grapes native to the South Tyrol. I'd never heard of it before this trip but now it has become a favorite. To burn off some of our pizza and pasta lunch, we climbed the 110-foot campanile (bell tower) and had a bird's-eye view of the city and lake far below.

The next morning was super breezy. We took the ferry back down to Limone Sul Garda to explore a bit. The 45-minute ferry ride was much more relaxing than driving through the tunnels! Because it was a windy Sunday morning, the lake was packed with kitesurfers, windsurfers and wingfoilers. I'd never seen wingfoils in action before but it looked like they were having a lot of fun out there.

Limone Sul Garda is a very romantic little town right on the water. When we arrived it was early on Sunday morning and we had most of the town to ourselves but as the day progressed it got more and more crowded with tourists and locals enjoying the sunny Sunday weather and charming ambience.

As the name suggests, the lemon has been a significant part of the town's economy since the 1800s. Terraced lemon groves were built into the hillsides and the mild winters on the lake allowed lemon trees to flourish. Although the lemon groves mostly vanished during the mid 1900s a few have been restored and one, the Limonaia del Castel, belongs to the municipality and is a living museum with mature citrus trees of all types. Even though many of the lemon groves have given way to tourist hotels and development over the years, the shops in town are dedicated to selling lemon-themed products - soaps, oils, candies, limoncello, lemon-print textiles, magnets, you name it. Come to Limone Sul Garda for all your lemon needs!

We enjoyed a cocktail while waiting for the next scheduled ferry back to Riva del Garda. A limoncello spritz for me, of course. Strangely, the cafe was called Bar Waikiki, so....aloha, I guess?

For our last day in Italy, we drove ourselves to the historic city of Bergamo. The Città Alta ("upper city") is perched high on a hill and surrounded by 16th century walls. Constructed by the Venetian Republic to defend against the Milanese (and the French...and the Spanish...Venice had a lot of enemies), the walls surrounding the old city are now a UNESCO World Heritage site because they are so well preserved. A funicular links the lower city to the upper city.

In the heart of the Città Alta is the Piazza Vecchia. Vecchia means "old" and I should emphasize that Bergamo is quite old, with a history that pre-dates the Roman Era. Back in Roman days, this square was the site of the forum. And it has continued to be the seat of political power in Bergamo over the centuries -- there are several palazzos and churches in this square. The Palazzo Nuovo ("new palace") was once the town hall.

Two remarkable churches are crammed into the Piazza side-by-side. In most Italian cities the Duomo, or cathedral, is the most important church of the diocese -- it's usually the most ornate and decorative church in the city. However in Bergamo's case, the Duomo is a bit overshadowed by the older - and more ostentatious - Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore right next door. Prior to 700 AD this was the site of a Roman temple, then a smaller church was built here in the 8th century. But in 1133 the citizens of Bergamo made a vow to build a basilica in the spot if the Virgin Mary would protect them from the ravages of a terrible plague. Apparently Mary held up her end of the bargain, and work on the basilica continued for the next several centuries.

It is truly a masterpiece. We've seen a lot of churches in our travels, and it takes a lot to impress us. Nearly every square inch of the interior of the Basilica is gilded, painted, carved, or embellished in some way. When taken as a whole it seems really over the top -- almost too much, but when you take the time to get up close to the details it really is incredible. This is just one of a series of dozens of gorgeous wood panel inlays in the choir.

The Città Alta is very walkable and we spent the better part of the afternoon just meandering through the crooked streets stopping for both gelato and pastries along the way. Hey, cut us some slack -- it was our last day in Italy so we indulged a bit!

Spending the afternoon in this historic city was a great way to end our trip. We really enjoy the northern part of Italy, and hope to come back this way very soon. Arrivederci, Italia!

Ortisei - Week Two

Finally! Saturday was a truly gorgeous sunny day and the snow on the Seceda ridge had melted enough to capture just a bit of the magic. We had already done all the hiking we wanted to do in the Seceda area so we literally just took the lift up, waited a bit for the clouds to clear from the peaks, and snapped our photos before catching the lift back down.

Our planned hike took us up the Resciesa funicular and then a hike down into the valley just below the Seceda ridge. When we started seeing a pasture full of horses we knew we'd arrived at Malga Brogles. The setting of this family-run farm is idyllic and peaceful. It feels like you are miles away from civilation (because you are!)

From the farm you can see the saddle between the Seceda ridge and the Fermeda mountains. If you look closely on the left, you can see many switchbacks leading up to the Forcella Pana saddle between the two. We were glad we'd taken the longer, less steep route from Resciesa.

On Sunday we drove to the town of Selva and did a beautiful hike up the nearly deserted Vallunga valley.

It was the last day that our lift passes were valid. While the Vallunga hike didn't require using the lift pass, we did head over to the Dantercepies lift after we were finished so that we could have one last meal at Jimmi Hutte. These nutella-filled dumplings were absolutely delicious. All in all, we got a great value out of those lift passes. We rode at least one lift every one of the six days (one busy day we rode 5 lifts). Our passes cost 141 euros each and seemed spendy at the time. However, if we had paid for each lift separately it would have cost 453 euros per person so purchasing a six-day pass was definitely worth it in our case. It also forced us to take lifts and do hikes in areas that we otherwise might not have visited -- well worth the purchase price!

On Monday, we had excellent weather, so we hiked the 1200 feet up to the St. Jacob's church, which sits high above Ortisei with great views of the Sassolungo mountain group. This is the oldest church in the Val Gardena, built sometime in the 1200s along an ancient trading route that connected Venice with the Valle Isarco about 30 km further north of Ortisei.

We took a different route down from the church so that we could stop for lunch at the charming Caffe Val d'Anna. We had an excellent meal and when the head waiter discovered that it was also Kevin's birthday, he sent out complimentary grappa shots accompanied by an enthusiastic waiter shouting "Happy Birthday!" and ringing a cowbell. Very memorable!

It was a day of memorable birthday meals because when we went to dinner at Restaurant Tubladel our meal was kicked off by an unintentional champagne volcano and topped off at the end with a literal firecracker dessert. Ka-boom! Happy Birthday, Kevin!

We did a bit more exploring during the week, including trips to the nearby towns of Castelrotto and Santa Maddalena. But we knew the weather might deteriorate a bit as the week went on. In fact, when we went for a hike in the Puez Odle Nature Park on Wednesday all the peaks were completely enshrouded by fog. At lunch, the menu showed a photo of the amazing views that would normally be seen from Rifugio Odle. But for us there wasn't even a hint of the mountains that were looming somewhere in the mist.

The forecast for Friday was rain all day, so we booked a day at the Adler Spa in town. This historic hotel opened in 1810 and its spa is something else. There are many different saunas, an indoor/outdoor pool, and even a "salt grotto" where you float for 20 minutes in salt water then spend 20 minutes in a salt cave sauna.

But the most interesting sauna to us was the hay sauna. I guess alpine hay being good for sore muscles really is a thing. The benches were packed with fresh hay and its pungent smell was only intensified by the heat. Definitely a unique experience, but maybe one to avoid if you suffer from allergies.

Relaxing at the spa was a great way to end our two weeks in Ortisei. By the end of the day, the sun had come out and the skies had cleared. Even Sassolungo seemed to be saying a friendly farewell to us. 

Ciao, Ortisei! At least for now, anyway -- I do hope to come back to this part of the world someday soon. Better to say until next time -- alla prossima!

Ortisei (St. Ulrich) Week One

Ortisei ("Sankt Ulrich" in German) is a charming town, a bit larger than either San Candido or San Cassiano. We are now in the Val Gardena on the western edge of the Dolomites, only about a 40 minute drive from Bolzano where we started a few weeks ago. You can definitely see the Austrian influence in the architecture here.

To get familiar with our surroundings, we decided to walk the length of the valley. The Luis Trenker path is a six-mile pedestrian-only walking path that connects Ortisei with the towns of Santa Cristina and Selva. Luis Trenker was a famous director/actor, mountaineer/skier, and author in the 1930s-50s who was born here in Ortisei.  

The route took us past the Castel Gardena, built in the early 1600s. Over the centuries the castle was used as a hunting lodge and residence for the noble family of Wolkenstein, until in the 1860s Count Leopold von Wolkenstein donated it to the community for use as a poorhouse. It fell into disrepair and eventually was bought by a Baron in the 1920s and restored as a private residence. We enjoyed the walk and especially liked the small community of Selva, where we were able to catch the bus back to Ortisei.

On Monday, we booked a farm excursion through the Ortisei tourist office. Our guide Simon led a small group on foot up the hillside to the Chalet Tiscion alpine farm. There we met Barbara and Elmar - they have a family farm with cows, goats, sheep, rabbits, guinea pigs, turkeys, chickens, and various other birds. Currently Elmar is in the middle of bringing in the autumn hay from all their surrounding fields. It is hard and dangerous work, much of it needs to be done by hand because the hillside meadows are very steep. Barbara noted that the alpine hay has medicinal properties -- it can help ease arthritis and sore muscles if you lay on a bed of hay. Who knew?

Elmar brought out Sarah (their most patient goat) so that guests could take a turn milking her. Or I should say we took turns trying to milk her. Turns out milking a goat is a tricky skill to master -- no one in the tour group was able to do it successfully.

My favorite part of the morning was when Barbara handed me one of the three-day-old baby bunnies to hold. The little guy hadn't even opened his eyes yet, and he was very soft! It was a very cool experience to see a working farm and learn about daily life here in the mountains. 

While we are here in Ortisei we decided to splurge a bit and buy a six-day unlimited lift pass. Several of the hikes we most want to do can be accessed by lifts and we know we have a good weather window for at least the next week or so. One of the most popular hiking areas is the Alpe di Siusi just south of town, accessible by the Mont Seuc cable car. The Alpe di Siusi is the largest alpine meadow in Europe - 56 square kilometers of pastureland at almost 6000 feet elevation. But...watch out for snakes. 

Since our apartment was actually just around the corner from the Resciesa funicular we decided to head over there after our Alpe di Siusi hike. The Resciesa plateau is directly across the valley, so after the 8 minute funicular ride we could see the green meadows and mountains where we'd just come from. Resciesa is a smaller alpine meadow about a thousand feet higher than Alpe di Siusi. Unlike Siusi there was still an awful lot of snow on the ground at Resciesa. From Resciesa we also had a great view of the Sassolungo mountain group. Sassolungo ("Langkofel" in German) means "long peak" in both languages -- it's the tall rounded peak on the left in this photo. The flat sloping part on the right is called Sassopiatto or "flat peak". It's one of the most recognizable mountain groups in the Dolomites.

You never know who or what you'll meet on the trail. We saw an older man leading a donkey and then several minutes later we were passed by four or five more, walking single file, not on leads or anything -- just following their friend to the next pasture.

On Wednesday we really tried to get a good value out of our lift pass. We took the bus back over to Santa Cristina and took two lifts (Monte Pana and Mont de Seura) to get to the base of the north side of Mount Sassolungo. It was pretty darn cold in the shadow of a 10,000 foot mountain and there was plenty of snow still lingering.

We turned around when the trail got icy, took the lifts back down to the valley and then crossed on foot to the other side of the valley (which was a hike in and of itself) to take the Col Raiser cable car, followed by the Fermeda chairlift up to the Seceda ridge. THEN...from the ridge we took two more cablecars back down into town. We are definitely making the most of the lift passes - Kevin is keeping a tally of how much we've "saved" because the lifts are expensive! We had to hurry because we had booked a brewery tour and tasting at Monpiër brewery that evening. Monpiër means "one more beer" in Ladin. It's the first craft brewery in Val Gardena and we had a chance to sample some interesting brews including an American-style IPA, a British Bitter, and an off-the-wall sour. The owner said that it was a bit tricky to get the place going at first because the locals are more into traditional German-style beers like lagers, pilsners, and hefeweizens. But the brewery is starting to have some success, especially with the tourists, and we've seen their beers on taps at several of the rifugios on our hikes.

Yesterday, we headed back up the cable cars to the Seceda area to hike. The Seceda ridgeline is one of the iconic sights of the Dolomites. It's usually a lush green meadow on a slanted plateau framed by a succession of jagged peaks behind. In the guidebook the meadow is bright green and the sun is shining down on the peaks and it looks almost otherworldly. Well, our photo doesn't look much like the guidebooks, that's for sure. Somehow the big patches of snow and overcast skies kind of ruin the effect. We are crossing our fingers and hoping that the snow melts enough so that we can come back on a sunnier day and get our snapshot. For now, this is what it looks like:

We hiked down from the ridge over a slushy, slippery, muddy trail that was crowded with a couple hundred other hikers. I was very glad to have hiking poles and definitely saved myself from falling a few times. But once we got midway down the mountain, the snow started disappearing and the trail conditions improved. The crowds started to thin out, too. We stopped at the Troier hut for a slice of strudel and some coffee.

Then we got to what I considered the prettiest part of the hike. There's a very cool rock needle area called Pieralongia where two formations form an enormous V.

Then just beyond that you hike down into a bowl where you are just surrounded by peaks. For about forty minutes we only saw two other people hiking in this area so it felt very untouched and almost desolate.

But then just around another bend we found the bustling Rifugio Firenze (also known as the Regensburgerhutte -- have I mentioned that everything here has at least 2 names?) We had an excellent lunch here.

Today (Friday) we drove up the Sella Pass to the southeastern side of Sassolungo. We got to ride one of the most unique lifts in all of the Dolomites -- the Telecabina Sassolungo.

This lift is nicknamed the "coffin lift" because of the size and shape of the cabins. Inside is just enough room for two people. The Telecabina Sassolungo was built in 1972 and the technology back then was a bit more primitive than it is today. The lift moves at a constant speed, meaning that there is no slowing down for boarding or unloading. The shorter rider grabs onto the side of the swift-moving car and hops in, then the taller rider (who is standing a bit further along) has to basically chase after the cabin and launch themselves into it. The lift operator then locks you in from the outside and you begin the 1600-foot journey up the mountain. It takes about 20 minutes. Then, you both have to turn around and face the door and leap out with the assistance of the lift operator at the top. It's pretty thrilling, actually.

At the top of the lift is the Toni Demetz hut. Toni Demetz was a mountain guide who came from a family of mountain guides. In 1952 he was guiding two tourists on the mountain when they were struck by lightning. Tragically Toni and one of the tourists lost their lives. Toni's father constructed the hut in memory of his son and to provide a refuge for climbers.

On the way back down the mountain, we parked the car in Selva and took the Dantercepies lift up past the Gardena Pass. The Jimmi Hutte is just below the peaks of the Gran Cir and overlooks the valley to the Sella Massif on the other side. 

We had a really good meal to go with our beautiful view. The bright pink drink that I've got in front of me is a sort of raspberry lemonade called "skiwasser". We split a very generous bruschetta appetizer that was topped with burrata, ham, figs, and arugula.

Behind the hut we could see the Gran Cir which is a popular Via Ferrata route. Via Ferrata translates to "iron path" and is a set route up a mountain that uses fixed steel cables and ladders to assist hikers and climbers. The climbers are still clipped in with a harness but they don't have to fix their own ropes and anchors. You can't see them in this shot but we did see a few guided groups heading up these peaks while we were hiking past. I enjoy watching them defy gravity but to be honest I prefer to keep my  own feet on solid ground!

San Cassiano and the Val Badia

Our rental apartment for our week in San Cassiano had a spacious balcony with amazing views of the town and mountains. The only drawback was that it was up a steep hill so walking back to the apartment from town was a workout in and of itself.

At the base of our street was the charming parochial church of San Cassiano. You can see just how sharply the street ascends up the hill. 

The Val Badia is a north-south running valley in the heart of the Dolomites. Historically, the tall mountains surrounding the valley kept its inhabitants fairly isolated. A unique culture and language (Ladin) developed in this region. Ladin is a romance language that developed as an offshoot of latin and has been spoken here for many centuries. It sounds completely different from Italian. In this part of the valley it is the first language for nearly 90% of the people born here -- meaning that many people here are tri-lingual, speaking at least Ladin, Italian, German, and sometimes English. I say "sometimes" because the staff at our hotel did not speak any English, but we managed quite well with a smattering of Italian (me) and German (Kevin) and abundant use of hand gestures. The Badia valley is a pastoral paradise, with vast stretches of green meadows dotted with farm buildings and peppered with grazing livestock.

We took the car to the nearby town of Corvara so that we could hike to some waterfalls, the Cascate del Pisciadu. The thin threads of the waterfall tumble almost unnoticed in a crevice of the Brunecker Term, a mountain on the north side of the Sella massif.

Luckily there was a trail leading right to the base of the falls. I think we could have hiked to the top but the trail looked a little iffy so we skipped that part.

After a 5-mile trek to the waterfalls and back, we stopped at Villa Eden Cioccolateria for some of the thickest "hot chocolate" we've ever had. Our server warned us in advance -- she said "It's different than the drinking kind you (Americans) know". We said no problem, bring it on. It was delicious, with a rich consistency similar to pudding.

On Tuesday we spent the day in the Lagazuoi area. First we parked and hiked up past Rifugio Scotoni to Lago Lagazuoi. This was a challenging hike with many switchbacks, but the views were incredible.

The lake at the top was pretty small and not much to write home about. Although we could see the Rifugio Lagazuoi high above us, we turned around to head back to the Scotoni hut for lunch. 

This family-run rifugio had a small herd of alpaca and an adorable kitten that believed that it, too, was part of the herd.

Rifugio Scotoni is known for delicious food and it did not disappoint. We ordered the "grill plate" to share and it was absolutely one of the best meals we had on our trip. Sausages, ribs, steak, veggies, and polenta - yum!

We hiked back down to the car and then drove around to the southern side of the Laguzuoi peak so we could take the easy route to the top - the cable car. The Laguzuoi Cable car is a pretty impressive feat of engineering. The two cars each carry up to 50 passengers - one car goes up when the other comes down. The two cars whiz past each other at the halfway point with almost dizzying speed - the total ascent is 630 m (2066 ft) in 3 minutes! You can see some of the twists of the Passo Falzarego road in the valley below.

Lagazuoi is just across the valley from Cinque Torri, and like Cinque Torri it saw heavy action throughout WWI. The whole area is an open-air war museum with well-preserved tunnels, lookouts, and trails. Kevin went in one of the tunnels for a short while but neither of us had the right gear (helmet, flashlight, etc) to follow the tunnel for the full 1km length.

Instead we walked along the windy ridge and just admired the views on all sides of the Laguzuoi peak before heading back down via the cable car. You could walk down from the top but a downhill hike of 2066 feet would take way longer than 3 minutes for sure -- my knees hurt just thinking about it!

From the window of our Airbnb we can see a cable car to Piz Sorega ("piz" = "mountain"), so on Wednesday we walked over and decided to check out where it went. Imagine our surprise when it took us straight to Las Vegas.

Just kidding. It actually took us up to an expansive plateau with a bowl-shaped meadow. It all started to make sense since "Las Vegas" means "the meadows" in Spanish. This area is a big ski destination in winter, so there were many lifts and almost as many ski lodge restaurants. Luckily for us all of the lodges were open, so we managed a kind of "pub crawl" circuit around the plateau, checking in at each one along the road to see the views and have a beverage. 

We tried a liquor called Bombardino for the first time. We had seen it on several menus and in some shops and wondered what it tasted like. It was similar to egg nog but very sweet and served warm. Not my cup of tea but Kevin found a new favorite drink - yeehaw! 

The weather was expected to turn colder on Thursday, and our weather apps were predicting snow. "No way," we thought, "it must be a mistake -- it's only the second week of September!" On Thursday we woke up to heavy non-stop rain. We had planned for a rest day anyhow so we spent the afternoon watching Netflix. But then, sure enough, Kevin looked out the window and noticed a few flakes starting to fall. 

And then they just kept falling, and falling, and falling. On Friday morning we woke up to a wintry wonderland.

We borrowed the hotel's snow shovel so Kevin could clean off the car. But without four-wheel-drive, he didn't feel much like driving a stick-shift on icy roads, and I don't blame him. Definitely not conditions we are used to in sunny Phoenix!

So instead we walked to the small museum in town dedicated to the Ladin cave bear Ursus Ladinicus, an extinct bear species that lived over 50,000 years ago. In 1987 an exploring mountaineer discovered dozens of skeletons all jumbled together in the nearby Conturines Cave. Researchers realized it was a new species distinct from other cave bears, and named it after the local Ladin people.

We knew Saturday might be tricky with all the snow because we would be driving over the Sella mountain pass to get to our next town. But luckily by late morning Saturday the snow had melted off the roads enough to make it safe for driving. So we set off, hoping to stop for a hike at Col Pradat on the way. We optimistically bought one-way tickets for the cable car, hoping to ride it up and then hike back down. But as soon as we stepped out of the cabin and were hit with the icy wind we realized that we would not be sticking to that plan. We enjoy hiking but not enough to do an unpleasant slog in frigid winds over a slushy, muddy trail.

Instead we made the best of it and had a nice lunch in the toasty warm Rifugio Col Pradat. Then we went out to the deck to enjoy the views of the snowy peaks all around us before sheepishly buying another one-way ticket back down to the valley.