Lake Garda

We were sad to leave the Dolomites, but were happy to be going somewhere almost as beautiful, Lake Garda. We took a bus from Castelrotto down the mountain to Bolzano, and rented a car for the nearly two-hour drive to the town of Garda. The place we rented was right on the lake and was in Garda itself.

One night, a band played in the restaurant directly below our balcony, and we had a great view of the crowd dancing and often singing along. It was like having box seats to a concert.

Garda is a cute town, but the best part is the various views of the lake.

One morning, Shana and Debbie awoke early and hiked up the mountain above town, to give us even more views of both the city and the lake.

We drove along the lake, and eventually arrived in the town of Malcesine with its impressive castle.

We did not, however, visit the castle as our ultimate destination was the town of Limone sul Garda on the other side of the lake. Limone sul Garda is extremely touristy but we could not deny that it is beautiful.

Our time in Garda was relaxing and lovely. We were once again sad to leave such a beautiful place, but we were headed to the "big" city where we continued to enjoy Italy, but with an Asian (food) twist.

Ciao,

Jeff and Shana

The Dolomites: One More Hike – The Resciesa Plateau

While we could have found another hike on the Alpe di Siusi, we headed by bus to the nearby town of Ortisei in the Val Gardena region for our next adventure. Ortisei is a bit bigger than Castelrotto and is even more charming. Our first stop was at Caffe Corso, which we all agreed had the best cappuccinos so far, as well as yummy pastries.

We then headed up to the Resciesa Funicular base to ride up to the plateau, part of the Puez-Geisler Nature Park. It was an impressively efficient climb up, saving our legs for the circuit and allowing us to marvel at the fabulous views, which improved with every meter we rose. When we arrived, we were already above the forest line and unlike the day before, we had clear, sunny blue skies.

We stopped briefly at the Holy Cross Chapel (built in 1755) on our way up to the summit cross (2,281 meters).

From the summit, there were 360-degree views of several mountain ranges.

We then headed back down and across the plateau to get a better view of the Seceda Ridge to the east.

Fellow hikers were kind enough to snap photos of our group. Of course, we returned the favor.

The entire hike was breathtaking. We took the funicular back down to Ortisei for lunch, where Jeff and Zoe enjoyed a 6-course pizza tasting menu. There was no debate about Italian food vs. French food that afternoon. Afterwards, we meandered through the town enjoying the architecture and beautiful day, our last in the Dolomites before heading to Lake Garda.

We all agreed that the Dolomites is easily one of the most beautiful places we’ve been and we would love to return.

Ciao,

Shana & Jeff

The Dolomites: Hiking the Puflatsch/Bullaccia Circuit

We knew we had to take Deb & Zoe up on the Alpe di Suisi, and it wasn’t hard to find a different route to hike with them. The Puflatsch/Bullaccia Circuit was a great choice. The loop took us through meadows filled with wildflowers:

We also had the opportunity to see grazing cows and horses, including two foals:

Of course, there were witch themed carvings:

We even borrowed a friendly dog for a group photo, and I was able to capture the flowers and mountains in a selfie:

The weather was gray and cloudy, so we got to use our sleeves, and I even wore my ski hat:

We had a late lunch at a mountain hut that, of course, included a celebratory beer:

And I couldn’t pass up another witch’s broom photo:

The sun finally came out at the end of the hike to bid us farewell as we headed back down the mountain:

The Bullaccia Loop was everything the Dolomites should be.

Ciao,

Shana & Jeff

The Dolomites: Moving on to Castelrotto

After our adventures hiking and biking, we had a day of rest. Fortunately, the forecast was for rain, and it did indeed rain the entire day, for which we were grateful. One because we could use the rest to recharge after our prior excursions, two so we could enjoy the amenities at Sensoria including all the quiet nooks and crannies to sit with a view, and three because if it hadn’t rained, I would have felt the need to go and seek out more beautiful views (while I’m not normally a FOMO girl, in this case the FOMO was strong).

The next day, we reluctantly checked out of Sensoria. One great thing about the all-inclusive concept is the decrease in the decision-making process, e.g. no need to make restaurant selections and reservations. We headed up the road to Castelrotto to meet up with Debbie and Zoe who were coming from Venice. We took the bus and were happy to learn that our hotel room was ready, giving us the chance to get settled and go explore. Castelrotto, or Kastelruth in German, is designated “one of the most beautiful villages of Italy,” and it’s not hard to figure out why. As we saw on our bike ride from afar, it is charming and adorable, and even more so up close.

We took the Marinzen cable car up to Marinzen Alm, the alpine pasture above the village. The views did not disappoint:

We decided to hike back down to Castelrotto, passing by Baita Schafstallhutte to see the witch’s seat (hexenstuhle), a natural rock formation.

There is no shortage of fun and funny things to see in the Dolomites, often unexpected. At the top of the cable car, we had a preview of how they lean into the history of witchcraft in alpine folklore. Of course, I was happy to lean in as well.

There were some farm animals and a large children’s area at the top. This amusing cow was using a tree to scratch a very bothersome itch.

The witch’s seat was a bit of a disappointment. If not for the signs, we might have wandered right by.

We also hiked up to Calvary Hill, above the city, where the views were marvelous – at this point we figured out that there are no bad views in the Dolomites.

We happened to be in Castelrotto while their local heroes, the Kastelruther Spatzen, were performing their annual summer concerts. This folk music group, formed in 1976, has a strong following. Many fans were hanging out and singing their music for hours on end at a small local beer garden near our hotel, which was interesting to watch. It was easy to figure out that we were not going to become Spatzen fans.

We spotted some other musicians in traditional costumes and followed them to a school amphitheater, where they were setting up to perform. They played quite a mix, including a Blues Brothers medley.

Never a dull moment in the Dolomites!

Ciao,

Shana & Jeff