Hiking the Dolomites

We just returned from a long weekend trip, which has climbed to the top five of both of our lists for favorite trips to date. And yet, there's a part of me that doesn't want to rave too much about this trip. Why, you might ask? Well, aside for the stunning beauty which will be apparent below, this area is relatively undiscovered by the English-speaking world, and I kind of want to keep it that way. Although the Dolomites are in Italy, it feels more like Austria or Germany, and the area still retains a traditional feel, where German is the preferred language, and the dress and music is still traditional, and not for the sake of tourists.

The theme of our trip was hiking, biking, and beautiful views. We flew into Venice, where we rented a car and drove the 3 hours to the town of Siusi/Seis, {everything has an Italian and a German name here} where we were staying. The Dolomites can be accessed from a wide variety of cities, but we chose Siusi because it was at the base of the chair lift up to the meadow of Alpe di Siusi, where all the hikes, etc. start. Because we had gotten up early for our flight after a late night saying goodbye to our friends moving back to the US the night before, we decided to take Saturday to relax, and I'd say the views from our balcony made that pretty easy! Wandering the city, as well as the neighboring city of Castelrotto made for a great first day in the area.

But, oh, everyday seemed to get even better. Sunday and Monday were spent hiking, and I'm talking all day, 7-8 hours, of hiking. We usually caught the chair lift up to the meadow around 9am {after stocking up on a hearty German breakfast and making sandwich lunches from our breakfast goods--this is my favorite part of German cuisine} and began hiking by 9:30-10am.

Sunday we chose to hike one of the most famous hikes in the area, up to Monte Pez, which offers sweeping 360 degree views of the area. Although the clouds started rolling in by the time we left, it still was incredibly beautiful and stunning. We aren't sure the distance we hiked, but it was far, and the elevation change was 600+m each way (2000+ ft), so we were glad for all the little huts with live music and refreshment to stop at once in a while. We also discovered that Germans seem to have a death-wish descending mountains. Nick and I were usually the fastest on the ascent, passing many people, but on the way down, we seemed the slowest. Even older people were flying by us!

The weather was just perfect while we were there--crystal blue skies in the morning, with clouds usually rolling in by late afternoon {just when you're done with your hikes}, and warm temps: 85 degrees. We were NOT prepared for this, packing way too many cold weather clothes!

The scenery is incredible...very unique mountain formations, which are a result of a coral reef being pushed upward many, many years ago. And yet, in the distance, you can see the "traditional" Alps of Austria.

Our hike Monday was on the other side of the meadow, starting with a super steep altitude gain, then winding on the backside of the mountain, on a fairly flat, beautiful stretch of trail. I think we stopped to take a few too many photos, though, because we seemed to take much longer than the "suggested" hiking time. Well, except when we got chased by a wild horse; we were definitely running then, and when we came across more horses we definitely off-trailed for a while in an attempt to avoid them.

After another HUGE ascent later, we arrived at the Tierser Alpl hut, where we enjoyed a picnic lunch and some views. Our plan had been to continue on the backside of the mountain, but when we saw the clouds rolling in, we decided to take a different route back into the meadow. And, wow, are we glad we did. Some of the most beautiful views of the day on this route! Words and pictures hardly do justice to this scenery. We had some fun with the new app, Hyperlapse too, so enjoy!

Arriving back in Compatsch, the city in the meadow, we were greeted by traditional German music coming from one of the bars. Naturally, we rewarded our tired bodies with a beer, while listening to all the Germans sing songs {we did know "Ein Prosit!" from Oktoberfest last year} and overlooking the mountains.  Even though it started to rain on our way back down that evening, nothing could ruin in the day--the brightest double rainbow I've ever seen rounded out the day.

Tuesday we decided to give our legs a break from hiking, and rent mountain bikes to explore the meadow. Well, in theory, we were going to give our legs a break, but we underestimated the size of the hills in the meadow when walking them the previous 2 days. There was a lot of up and down, the worst of which was a series of curves down a huge hill. Sounds great, right? Yep, until the bus you planned to take back up says nope, no bikes allowed. And you have to bike back up. My.legs.were.dead.

Oh well, at least we had some great views, and discovered some new areas because of it, including a new little hut with a lake. Nick and I agree that this is something the Rockies in the US are missing--yes it's beautiful, but we loved having these huts/farms to stop at and take a break. They all offer amazing views, whether or not you buy their food or bring your own. And most offer some traditional music, as well.

Although this region is predominately Germanic, we still got our fair share of Italian food. Thankfully, they do embrace the pizza/pasta of Italian culture because German food is not my favorite for more than one day.

Much like Gimmelwald, this is one place we will definitely return to and hope it stays much like we remember it: a hidden little gem of natural beauty. We originally had planned this trip in July, but when Nick had to travel to Angola for work, it got postponed, but it was definitely worth the wait! :) Next time, I think I'll look harder for a place to stay up in the meadow, so that we can just be ready to hike from the time we wake up. We saw tons of little huts/apartments for rent all over the meadow {this meadow is many, many km long and wide, and the highest alpine meadow in Europe}. So, until we can get back, a few more pictures...

More pictures here

Tips: It's actually only a 1.5 hour drive from Innsbruck vs. 3 hours from Venice, but for us Venice is dirt cheap to fly to, while Innsbruck is not. The farthest the train goes in Bolzano, which does have bus service that connects to the meadow, but I wouldn't recommend staying in Bolzano...a bit too far for daily hiking, in my opinion!