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!
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