The Dolomites: An Introduction

 

Clearly Italy is a favorite destination, and we still have plenty to explore, e.g. Sardinia, Turin and Calabria, We even have a trip to Friuli-Venezia Giulia planned for 2027. We had been pondering what we should do to celebrate our 30th (!) wedding anniversary when my dear friend Debbie mentioned meeting up in Europe as part of a trip to celebrate her daughter's high school graduation. Since she is an avid hiker, the Dolomites seemed an obvious choice. The Dolomites had been on our list for some time, and it’s unclear why it took us so long to get there. Perhaps because we are more “city” people than “rural, outdoorsy” people. But this trip suggests that we are, in fact, both.

The Dolomites proved to be one of the most beautiful places we have ever been. From the moment we got off the train from Verona to Bolzano we were blown away. The bus ride up to Seis was stunning. We were glad Jeff wasn’t driving, both to enjoy the views of mountains, rivers and vines, and to avoid managing the twisting, two-lane, road.

The view of the Sciliar Mass as we walked from the bus stop in Seis to Sensoria, a family-run, all-inclusive mountain resort, awed us.

Sensoria is located near the cable car up to the Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm, Europe’s largest high Alpine pasture, where many of our adventures started. The amenities at Sensoria were just the splurge we sought for our celebration, including fabulous meals and spa facilities.

The hiking opportunities in the Dolomites are endless, thus choosing a route was overwhelming. I spent a lot of time researching trails that would work best for us as day hikers. Ultimately, I learned that as long as the route is appropriate for your fitness level, you can’t go wrong because everywhere you look is beautiful. On our first day we hiked a version of the Alpe di Siusi Circuit trail, a close to 10-mile loop.

We were fortunate to be in the Dolomites in early June, when the wildflowers were blooming. We were prepared for all kinds of weather but were lucky to not even need our sleeves for long.

We came across some horses grazing, none of them seemed phased as we passed by.

While we saw some other hikers at various points of our journey, we mostly felt like we had the trails to ourselves. While it was early in the season, the Alpe di Siusi is so large that hikers spread out easily.

We were happy to return to Sensoria for what they called a “snack,” but was a huge spread of food. We had worked up an appetite! And then the sauna was calling to ease our tired muscles.

Ciao,

Shana & Jeff