Day 1 Bexleyheath to Venice (Tuesday 3rd September)
We are off on our adventures once again. We decided this time to spend a few days sightseeing in Venice prior to our Explore holiday walking in the Dolomites.
We left Bexleyheath at around 8am and rather than walk our luggage down to the station we loaded the car, Maggie dropped me at the station with the luggage and whilst I waited there she drove home and then walked back down to meet me. Our train arrived on time at 8.44am and we took it as far as London Bridge where we changed to catch the fast train to Gatwick South via East Croydon ( the only stop). By 10.20am we were checking in and dropping our luggage. Gatwick seemed much less busy than usual so we made our way upstairs where we bought some lunch to eat on the plane and then relaxed with a coffee and tea whilst watching the world go by.
Just as the board had informed us, our gate was called at 12.50pm so we strolled to Gate 16, passed through our final check and boarded our plane for today a British Airways Airbus A319 due to leave at 1.35pm. Once again we sat in the rear row, our often preferred option.
By 1.25pm everyone was seated with overhead lockers secured and we waited patiently to depart even though they didn’t seem leave a lot of time between being called to the gate and getting the aircraft loaded it was all completed efficiently.
There was a problem with one of the passengers having their luggage damaged so following this short delay or hiatus as the captain put it, at about 2pm we moved away from the stand to join the inevitable queue of aeroplanes waiting to take off. It was a broken cloud day with the sun shining down on the wings as we waited in line and at 2.15pm it was our turn to rev up the engines and hurtle along until we felt the wheels leave the ground the signalling that lift off had now occurred, we were on our way. As we climbed we caught a brief glimpse of the southern coast of England and the English Channel then encountered some light turbulence as we passed through the clouds until a few minutes later we popped out the other side and then peered out from the window onto what looked like a field of freshly laid snow reflecting the strong bright sunshine. It was a pity we couldn’t track our route from landmarks below as now there were none that could be seen. As we reached our cruising altitude everything became smooth and we settled back for this short flight estimated at 1h 45min.
After a while as we passed over mainland Europe, the cloud cover thinned somewhat and we could see in the misty conditions below the patchwork of pale green fields, dark forests, major roads and grey buildings whilst solid blue remained the only colour available to see high above. Eventually we flew over some picturesque snow capped mountains and glaciers which we thought must have been the Alps, seconds later this was confirmed by the captain who politely informed us that we were just over Geneva.
We Had travelled the 695 miles in the 1h 45min that we had been told by the Captain who, I must say, was a bit of a wordsmith but had to be one of the clearest and well spoken Captains we had yet encountered on our world travels, he certainly gets 10/10 from me.
Electronic passport control took only a few minutes as did baggage reclaim, however, getting a ticket for the water bus (vaporetto) into Venice proved for some people to be an altogether different proposition. We stood in line only to watch 2 couples in front of us attempting to buy 2 return tickets from the touchscreen. Either this was a totally new experience for them or they were simply technically inept. Nevertheless, we learned from their mistakes and when it came to our turn we showed slickness of finger never before seen from first timers to Marco Polo airport. We exited the airport concourse ascending one floor to water level and made our way to the Orange route dock and waited to board. At 6.15pm the boat full of tourists edged slowly away and motored towards the city of Venice which lay looking rather splendid on the distant horizon. What a great way to enter and be introduced to a city. After a while we made our first of a number of stops before entering the Grand Canal. The buildings here were just as we had imagined them from all the images we had seen and they became even more sepia in colour as the setting sun shone strongly onto those on the right hand bank.
People meandered along the canal side footpaths whilst others sat eating and drinking in restaurants, the odd gondola or 2 carried couples along this famous waterway and we were pleasantly surprised how quiet and empty it all seemed. We passed under the Rialto Bridge where a lot of passengers disembarked and a few minutes later arrived at the end of the line, our stop, Giglio.
We got off the ferry and began making our way to the street where we had been told we could collect the keys to our apartment. This sounded, on the face of it, an easy thing to do but in reality became somewhat confusing in a very short space of time. Our maps were not the best with the minutest printed street names known to man. What with it becoming darker and this coupled with our old and, by this time, tired eyes trying their very best to focus upon small details helped only to add to the frustration whilst at the same time the blue dot on our iPhone supposed to be assisting us by showing our GPS location jumped randomly around the screen. We couldn’t tell our calli (streets) from our campiella (squares) from our salizade (alleys). In the end I left Maggie guarding the cases and retraced our steps and somehow managed to locate the key pick up building. The receptionist here, as well as handing over the keys, gave me another map just as poor as our own but luckily he had identified for me 2 key landmarks, a café and a restaurant both of which we soon found quite nearby to our location and from then we quickly discovered the front door to our apartment.
We entered to a world of bright pink and lime green plastic furniture, um! Still, it was spacious, clean and served our purpose. It was hot and we were weary so we chilled out with the A/C working overtime.
Day 2 In Venice (Wednesday 4th September)
Today we decided to explore and make an attempt to orientate ourselves around this maze of narrow alleyways, canals, squares and walkways and I think I can say that we succeeded quite well at achieving just that.
After a cup of tea we began our walk which would eventually see us visiting 3 of the 6 sestieri (districts) of the city of Venice: San Marco, Castello and San Polo.
The sky was wall to wall blue, the sun was already hot and there were quite a few tourists already milling around when we finally made it out of our apartment. We decided whilst doing some window shopping
in some of the most expensive shops yet seen, Prada and Jimmy Choo to name but two to head for the Piazza San Marco most probably better known to us as St. Mark’s Square with its famous Bell Tower or Campanile, the Doge’s Palace and the Basilica of St. Mark all set around the edge of a beautiful square and sharing this space with other stunning buildings.
The architecture was ornate to say the least and as we stood and stared the piazza began filling up with tourists and queues formed for people who wished to visit the main attractions. We joined the reasonably short one of these to take a trip by lift to the viewing gallery near the top of the bell tower from where we knew we could get a good overall panoramic picture of exactly how Venice was laid out. We were not disappointed, everywhere you looked there was something to see from this, the highest vantage point in the city.
After spending some time marvelling at the views we descended and then strolled along the edge of the Canal de San Marco and past numerous waterfront restaurants and gondola points until we came to another Canal from where we could get a classic view of the famous Pont dei Sospiri or Ponte della Paglia better known to us as The Bridge of Sighs which originally linked the prisons to the Doge’s Palace, perhaps the prisoners knew something that we didn’t, hence the name.
From here we went to Campo San Zaccaria, a square in which stood a beautiful church.
We were getting hungry and although spoiled for choice in this city where every other shop front seems to be a restaurant we settled on one, entered, made our selections and were seated. The food was excellent, we chose a Spinach and Ricotta Calzone and a cheese and tomato filled Italian roll and 2 cokes all for the princely sum of €21. Whilst eating we got chatting to a couple of Australian tourists and shared our thoughts and experiences of Italy and Venice and all very positive they were too.
We were off again and made our way to the Rialto Bridge which spanned the Grand Canal and was certainly the busiest place of the day so far.
Once again the views and architecture were great and the photo opportunities plentiful. The mix of tourists was incredible from the obviously extremely ‘well healed’ to the regular ones and the variety of nationalities just endless.
We walked around to get different views of the bridge and then Maggie directed us back to our apartment via a different route but not before stopping to sample one of the best Gelaterias in town, yummy.
After a 6 hour foray we were back at our apartment having visited the co-op just down the road from where we were staying. Our evening was completed with a meal in the street below our apartment, delicious.
Day 3 Venice (Thursday 5th September)
We woke to yet another glorious day, blue sky with no hint of a cloud and the warm sun already shining down on this wonderful city.
Following a light breakfast we decided to pay a visit to the area known as Dorsoduro by crossing the wooden and originally only temporary Ponto del Accademia the last bridge on this end of the Grand Canal. Our aim today was to get close to the Baroque church of Santa Maria della Salute built in 1630 to celebrate the end of the plague. This church sits near the tip of the peninsula and dominates the entrance to the Grand Canal where here you can get great views of many of the buildings for which Venice is famed. Arriving in the morning provided the added bonus that the sun was in just the correct position for some stunning photographs. This southern part of the city seemed even more upmarket with art galleries, chique boutiques and more sumptuous housing than we had seen yesterday. We strolled through narrow shaded alleyways, crossed narrow bridges and generally enjoyed our time as we wended our way to the Punta della Dogana, where The Grand Canal joins St. Mark’s Basin.
On the way there we visited an art panoramic video installation (Living Rock: A fragment of the Universe is a memory of our origin and a prophecy of our future) which illustrated the development of the earth from start to present day, this, we both agreed, was excellent.
Finally we turned the corner at the point and after having spent some time sitting on the edge of the walkway with our feet dangling close to the water and occasionally getting wet when the waves created by the boats splashed against the wall we arrived at the church. We were not disappointed in its ornate decoration and impressive domed interior, after all, it dominated this part of Venice as is often demonstrated by the iconic landmark pictures shown of the Venice that we have come to recognise.
Now we had perfect views of St. Mark’s Square and the buildings surrounding it, the busy gondola stations and the canal traffic which just never seemed to stop.
We found a quiet restaurant where we had lunch sitting in the shade watching the river taxis, buses and ferries coming and going along the Canale della Giudecca.
After spending some time meandering back to the bridge that we had earlier used, the sun had moved to a new position in the sky and now shone perfectly for us to get some even better photos.
We then made our way back to our apartment by a new route passing some modern art galleries and through squares that we hadn’t yet visited, what a spectacular low key day.
After relaxing in our apartment we again ventured out in the early evening. We decided to take a look at Venice by night and were not disappointed by the views and the way in which many of the more important buildings had been illuminated, it has to be experienced to appreciate it. The centre of Venice is truly compact and once you have your bearings it’s quite easy to manoeuvre yourselves from one place to another in order to fully appreciate what there is to see.
The canals come alive in the dark, goodness only knows how the myriad of water taxis know where they are going. It was another balmy evening with a gentle cool breeze blowing so we wandered back and around the point that we had visited earlier in the day. It was pretty deserted so just felt very relaxing. Eventually we found ourselves back on our side of the river in one of the local squares where we selected a restaurant and had our evening meal which unfortunately wasn’t really anything to write home about, still, you win some and you lose some, tomorrow’s another day.
Day 4 Venice (Friday 6th September)
Today was a day for visiting galleries and broadening our horizons as well as discovering some contemporary art. We had already decided to cross the Academy Bridge in order to visit some of the places we had passed yesterday and in so doing could also get some photos of things we had spotted.
Talk about tomorrow’s another day; the sky darkened, the thunder clapped and the rain poured as we entered the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. Originally Peggy’s home, this unfinished building houses some of the world’s best artworks both paintings and sculptures. We were amazed at what was on show from Mondrian to Picasso and Jackson Pollock and everything in between, an amazing place where we spent a couple of hours visiting the different rooms, listening to a talk about Peggy and popping into a shop to try to avoid the worst of the rain.
In the Garden
In the House
We were not dressed for bad weather and as the temperature had dropped dramatically we needed to make our way hastily back to the apartment to put on warmer clothes and waterproofs, thank goodness that Maggie had had the foresight to bring her umbrella with her which kept us a little less wet than we otherwise would have been.
After a short break we ventured out once again into the by now torrential rain and made our way to a snack bar where we sat and ate our lunch, brocettia for me and focaccia for Maggie.
We decided to stroll down to St. Mark’s again and just happened to pass an Art Exhibition. We walked in and were looking around the ground floor at some bronzes and pictures just as the receptionist introduced herself and informed us that there were in fact 3 more floors that we could visit. It was free to enter so we took the lift to the 3rd floor and were amazed at what was on show on each of the floors. We seemed to be the only visitors and took our time enjoying each room and its contents. There were some beautiful pieces of art all very well displayed and captioned. This place was a truly unexpected hidden gem within the narrow and soggy streets of Venice.
After spending some time there we meandered through the network of streets and alleys where we bought a couple of Murano style glass bowls and an ornament for the Christmas Tree.
Roughly tracing our route from a couple of days ago we made our way back to our apartment. Surprisingly we’d been out this afternoon for about 4 hours.
As we began to walk back to our apartment the rain seemed to start easing. Any gondolier worth his salt had certainly earned his money today but I’m not sure what part of getting cold and wet whilst being rowed around a gloomy Venice passes for romantic, especially when you have to part with between €80 – €100 for the pleasure.
After drying off we agreed that it was time to go and get an evening meal and after some toing and froing we decided upon a restaurant in the theatre square close to our apartment. It was quite late but meals were still being served and a jolly good one we had too. It was delicious and began in one of the best ways we know, with an Aperol Spritzer, maybe the only way to start a meal was with this truly Italian aperitif.
It was 11pm when we finally got back and certainly time for some shut eye.
Day 5 Venice to Dobbiaco (Saturday 7th September)
Today the weather was back to ‘normal’ with strong sunshine and clouds, some whispy and others more rounded and cotton wool shaped, a far cry from what we had witnessed yesterday. We were up and out by 8.30am as we wanted to visit the Doge’s Palace on our last day here in Venice. The streets were empty on this Saturday morning and we guessed that most tourists must be having a lie in or still eating breakfast and that any visiting cruise ships had yet to disgorge their occupants upon a Venice in waiting. It took us about 6 minutes to walk to St. Mark’s Square which seemed to us comparatively empty from our previous visit.
We did not have to wait at all to pay for our tickets (greatly reduced for over 65’s) and we were soon in the courtyard of The Doge’s Palace admiring the architecture, the domes, the windowed façade, the statues, the colonnades and the arched covered walkways.
We then began a tour of the rooms and there were plenty of them to see, each with its own style but all very grand with luscious paintings, many by Tintoretto, covering walls and ceilings.
We read many of the information boards and felt we had a reasonable understanding of this place given the short length of our visit. We then spent some time in the armoury looking at various examples of weaponry used in the many battle scenes roundabout which depicted much of the past history of Venice. Finally and most unexpectedly we crossed the canal on one side of the building inside, yes inside, the Bridge of Sighs so we could visit the prison complex. We were amazed at the number of cells there were on different levels and dreaded to think what surely must have gone on here in times long past. We recrossed the bridge back into the palace proper and finally made our way out of the Doge’s Palace.
On the way back to the apartment we crossed the now extremely busy square and found a quiet coffee shop and then just happened upon a collection of sculptures that we had spotted yesterday and had decided to visit today, brilliant.
5 minutes later we were back in our apartment packing.
With the agreement of the hotel staff and, as the apartment was not going to be reoccupied in the coming week, we left later than anticipated just before 1pm. It was a short stroll to an alternative vaporetto stop than we had previously arrived but unfortunately we did so just as the 1.01pm bus was leaving. The next water bus which we did take arrived at the airport at 1.31pm on the dot. The journey back took just 55 minutes, why this was quicker than our inward journey we didn’t know.
Once again we made our way by numerous travelators to the arrivals hall where at 3.45pm we were due to meet our tour guide.
When we looked at the arrivals screen we noticed that flights from the U.K. were running late so we grabbed a bite to eat and waited and played ‘spot the tour guide.’ We were thwarted, even before 3.45pm had arrived when we were approached by a female stranger who asked if we were with the Explore Group. We really must have stuck out like a sore thumb as we told her that we were. She had introduced herself and her partner and then appeared our guide Peter Myers. Another 2 members of our group made themselves known to us and then 4 more people walked through arrivals, this made 10 in total and Peter informed us that 1 more person had already made their way to the hotel in Dobiacco.
Together we followed Peter to our minibus and spent the next 3 hours travelling on some amazingly empty and wide roads through the mountains into the clouds and waiting rain. We did have a 10 minute break for coffee after 1h 30min in a very clean service station like place which was very welcome.
Finally we arrived in the dark, wet and cooler than we had expected Dobiacco at the Hotel Sonne Sol, a large, modern, very clean and pleasant hotel high up (1,180m) in the Italian Dolmites close to the Austrian border where the locals speak both Italian and German.
After putting our luggage into our rooms we met in Reception for a quick briefing and then went for dinner, a salad buffet, a main course and dessert with a caraf of wine, delicious.
By 10pm we were back in our rooms getting ready for bed.
Day 6 Dobiacco Walk 1 Braies Lake (Sunday 8th September)
Unfortunately we knew that today was going to be a wet one and just as we opened the curtains the rain began to fall and continued to do so throughout the time we were out, it was unrelenting and frequently torrential managing to soak everything so much so that, as I write today’s blog, our clothes, boots and rucksacks are attempting to dry out in the drying room (boiler room) in the basement of the hotel. It was also a cold day today borne out by the fact that only 300m above us the rain was falling as snow covering the gulleys and tops of the peaks which we could just about manage to get a view of on the odd occasions when the clouds cleared sufficiently for them to be exposed.
After a 20 minute bus ride from our hotel the Sonne Sol (Sun in German and Italian as they speak both here) our walk today took us up and around, via a series of well trodden paths Lake Braies high up at 1494m in the Dolomites. By the time we arrived at the lake shore near the car park we realised why the majority of people had today chosen to drive to the lake, we were already feeling the grim effects of the rain.
Taking photos was almost an impossible task as everything was so wet and eating our packed lunch which we had prepared earlier was going to be a no no as anywhere that previously might have proved to have been a good place to sit and have a picnic was by now well and truly saturated. With stiff upper lip and rugged determination we began walking around the lake and eventually up a side valley to a small hut/snack bar where we sheltered under an awning and drank hot supersweet elderberry ‘tea.’
Following this short break we retraced our steps to the lake shore and continued to walk around the lake crossing some landslides where rocks and boulders had taken out many of the trees in their path. Those larger trees that were strong enough to remain standing were stripped of their uphill facing bark. We completed our circumnavigation of the lake, in some places, climbing up and down a series of steep steps whilst we did so and returned to the car park, the rain was now coming down even heavier than before so we took the same path we had previously used back down to the road to wait for the bus which would return us to Dobiacco. While we waited we became even colder, after all it was now only 11 degrees C. Thankfully the bus eventually arrived and transported us back to our hotel as we ate our lunch in the dry. Upon arriving at the hotel We put our wet clothes to dry and changed into dry clothes and slowly thawed out.
After a rest and when we had warmed up Maggie and I went for a swim and a sauna which helped relax our muscles.
It was soon time for our daily briefing and following this we made our way to the dining room for evening dinner which was richly deserved.
Goodnight.
TRIVIAL FACT 1 – Italy is the world’s largest producer of toilet rolls.
Day 7 Dobiacco Walk 2 (Monday 9th September)
When we woke and looked out of the widow it wasn’t raining and there were even some small patches of blue in the sky. It was a far cry from yesterday’s weather and, thank goodness, would remain like this throughout the day.
Following breakfast we strolled up to the same bus stop we had used yesterday and when at 9am the bus arrived it became a bit of a scramble to see who could get it on and be first to bag the seats. Needless to say we lost out to a much larger group who, being led by a local guide, managed to be first to board, no queuing etiquette here then. After 20mins we got off this bus at Bagni de Braise Vecchia and took a second bus to the start point of today’s walk which was planned to cover approximately 11 km in 6 hours taking us over a high saddle through forests and meadows using well worn paths. We actually covered 7.47 miles in 6hours 15 minutes.
The walk did not disappoint. Although being very steep in places we kept a reasonable pace stopping every now and again to take a breather or take photos of the rugged limestone peaks which surrounded us.
I took the opportunity to introduce the group to the joy and beauty of fungi and by the time we reached the end of the walk I had more than a few converts. In fact, there were many fungi to admire in this damp coniferous forest, many that I had not before seen.
At around 11.15am we stopped for a hot drink and a strudel in the Putzalm mountain hut and then after the steepest section of the walk traversing an Alpine meadow. Our lunch which had earlier been bought by Peter and carried up the mountain between the group, was taken sitting on pieces of old fence wood at our highest point of the day in meadows at around 2,025 metres.
Our tricky descent took us over some slippery and muddy terrain and then dry rocky surfaces until we found ourselves overlooking and close by Dobiacco. We’d walked over the mountain.
TRIVIAL FACT 2 – The Carline Thistle is regarded as a barometer for forecasting weather.
Upon arriving in town Peter took us to see the bus and railway stations and explained the available options open to us for tomorrow our free day.
We strolled back to the hotel and Maggie and I sat outside in the warm sunshine having a drink.
After showering and changing at around 7pm we met for our daily evening briefing and then made our way to the Pizza restaurant where tonight Peter had booked a table for a group meal. The good food, a giant pizza and salad for us, and friendly company made for a perfect end to a tiring and enjoyable day.
TRIVIAL FACT 3 – Marmite jars have flats on them to rest the jar on so no marmite can be left in the jar when nearly empty.
Day 8 Free Day (Tuesday 10th September)
Today was our free day to do with whatever we liked. Peter gave us a few options to choose from and as it turned out, we chose very wisely.
After breakfast we took the bus from the railway station to Misurina, a small hamlet with a lakeside campsite at the base of a plateau situated at 2,325m. From this stop we paid €13 each for a return ticket to get by 4WD the 5km up to Monte Piana .
It was a beautiful day and we were already admiring the peaks even before we reached the top.
This place was famous as a World War 1 battleground between Austria to the north and Italy to the south and was strewn with reminders of that time, trenches, pill boxes, barbed wire, tunnels etc.
The plateau itself was shaped much like a large figure 8 with Italian troops occupying and defending Monte Piana and Austrian soldiers defending Monte Piano. During this conflict, over 14,000 soldiers lost their lives here in this desolate and inhospitable place. We couldn’t begin to imagine what went on here on what is now a plateau surrounded by some of the most beautiful mountain scenery we had ever experienced.
The rugged mountains of the Dolomites were seen at their very best from this perfect vantage point, Tre Cime being the most spectacular. You couldn’t fail to get stunning photographs in this place.
We walked around for 2 hours simply looking at the amazing views whilst also experiencing some of the remnants of times gone by, barbed wire, trenches, tunnels and firing holes. We went into one dark tunnel where we crouched and made our way slowly to a gun hole at the other end.
It was easy to imagine the hardships that soldiers on both sides had to endure and given the warm sunshine of today, how difficult life must have been in the harsh winter period. We simply couldn’t take our eyes of the numerous snow dusted peaks which encircled this plateau.
Eventually after having taken in the views and seen what there was to see we began to make our way back to the refuge where we would get our shuttle back to the bottom of the track and were surprised by a paraglider who took off right in front of us. I must have been extra surprised as I immediately slid on a loose rock and ended up on my back on the path.
We waited by the summit refuge for ten minutes and then climbed aboard the Land Rover and were returned to Misurina.
The bus didn’t come until 3.22pm so we decided to have a hot chocolate which turned out to be like liquid Cadbury Dairy Milk or chocolate flavoured Delight of the Angels. It was so thick that ‘drinking’ it in the usual manner was nigh on impossible. It contained our calorie intake for the whole day and was delicious until 2/3 of the way down when it began to taste like it looked, a super thick, super sweet chocolatey mess.
The bus arrived on the dot and although it seemed pretty full we squeezed on and were returned to the Banhof where we had started earlier in the day. Rather than go straight back to the hotel we decided to do some window shopping in town and eventually ended up sitting in the sunshine by the town fountain watching the world go by which was a very good way to end our day.
In the evening we walked up into the old town of Dobiacco and had a meal at one of the hotels. Notice I said at because it wasn’t in the hotel but rather outside in a small heated Marquee. The meal was good, everyone enjoyed themselves and we had a good laugh.
We strolled back our hotel in the dark and cold.
We’d had a brilliant day but were still trying to understand why people would even consider wanting to kill and maim each other in such a magnificent place. Where were the Generals and Field Marshalls and Politicians? Where they always are at these times, in the rear with the gear I expect. Enough said, goodnight, sleep tight.
Day 9 Dobiacco Walk 3 – Strudelkopf (Wednesday 11th September)
What a day we had today. The weather was the best you could wish for when walking in magnificent mountain scenery. It was sunny, hot with white clouds in a blue, blue sky and not a hint of wind, perfect.
We began by taking a bus and then another to our start point at Pratopiazza (1991m) from here we walked on the level along a track to the Durenstein Hut with its World War 1 fortification that protected the pass.
From here with began our ascent of the Strudelkopf passing through juniper groves on a well trodden track getting steeper until the path suddenly became more exposed for a few metres.
Again we ascended and came across numerous other paths which eventually all fed into the main paths to the summit at 2040m. More and more people and even ebikers joined us as we made our way along our twisting sinuous path to the summit cross. At last we had made it and what a reward we were provided with. The views were spectacular, it was crystal clear and we could see for miles in every direction. We had a 360 degree panorama of all the Peaks in this area of the Dolomites. There was even a viewing point which identified by name each of the peaks that we could see around us.
It was here, sitting together on the grass that we had our picnic lunch that we had shared out at the start in order to carry everything that was now spread out in front of us, what a picnic spot, one like no other. After lunch was eaten and everything tidied away we spent some time looking at some Mountain Ibex on the grass in the distance and then Peter found some Edeleweiss for us to photograph.
We then made our way back to Pratopiazza by way of a different path passing through fields of cows each one with its bell tied around its neck and clanging in the still air.
That was the first walk of the day finished but there was more to come. We followed Peter through some high mountain pastures eventually arriving at a newly built mountain hut where a lot of strudel was ordered and consumed. Maggie and I had a pot of tea each, we were thirsty. After half an hour or so we left the hut and walked downhill alongside a mountain stream sometimes on steep slippery slopes at other times on more level ground. We walked quickly for these the last 2 miles of this 10 mile walk as we needed to catch the 4.30pm bus which we just managed to do as we arrived just in the nick of time. After 10 minutes we changed buses and travelled back to Dobiacco and after walking from the bus station finally arrived at our hotel. What a superb day out.
Our day finished with a meal in the hotel followed by a drink from the bar. I think we were all more than ready for bed.
Day 10 Dobiacco Walk 4 Tre Chime (Thursday 12th September)
Today was yet another beautiful day, from start to finish the weather was spectacular.
We took the bus from the station through Misurina where we had stopped previously when we had visited Monte Piana, all the way to the end of the route at Auronzo Hut at 2320m close to the base of Tre Chime, a UNESCO World Heritage site formed of 3 huge and very prominent limestone peaks, in fact, Tre Chime or Drei Zinnen means 3 peaks.
To say it was crowded here would be an understatement as you really cannot say you have visited or walked in the Dolomites without having gotten up close and personal to these iconic and unmistakable natural features. Most visitors to this place choose to walk on the southern side when they visit but instead we walked on a fairly narrow footpath below the more sheer Northern face.
Our track took us from the bus stop first around the end of the peaks and along a fairly narrow and in some places quite exposed footpath. Eventually we dropped down to a hut where we stopped and had our elevenses. We then crossed an undulating rock and boulder strewn area and past a crystal clear lake to another path which would take us up to our picnic lunch stop at the Locatelli Hut where we had superb views of everything that was on display. The mountain scenery here was like no other and the air was clear what a backdrop to any picnic!
After lunch we began our descent which was extremely long and in places quite rugged.
Many a boot slid on the loose rock and gravel underneath but after what seemed an age the path levelled and became easier until finally we reached Dolomitenhof and then, 15 minutes later, the bus stop where we caught the bus for our return journey to our hotel. As for views, you couldn’t possibly improve on them, as for a walk, it was one of the best yet.
After a cold drink and a very welcome shower and change of clothes we were ready for our briefing whilst having a drink from the bar. Following this quick meeting of the group we were ready to go out for our evening meal at a hotel in the modern part of town. The menu was extensive and people chose a wide variety of things to eat. We had typical Tyrolean pasta based dishes which were delicious, perhaps the best food we’d eaten all holiday. Dessert was ‘Hot Love,’ don’t ask!
A stroll back to our hotel in the still night air under a cloudless and starry sky saw us more than ready for bed.
Day 11 Dobiacco Walk 5 – Summit of Mount Elmo (Friday 13th September)
Maybe the best day yet, I seem to be repeating myself, started early with breakfast at 7am for a 7.45am start. We made our way to the railway station and caught the train to Versciaco where we walked out of the station and immediately into the cable car station which took us smoothly and efficiently up to the start of our walk.
The sky today was cloudless and bright blue so today we knew would be a really good day for photographs.
From this point we walked along a track gently uphill yet found this quite hard to do as we were now already at 1,900m. We then followed the steeper path to the summit of Mt. Elmo where we had the unusual opportunity of putting one foot in Austria whilst the other remained in Italy.
From here we roughly followed the border sometimes finding ourselves in Austria while at other times walking in Italy. The views to our right displaying the Italian Dolomites in all their majesty whilst to our left lay in the distance the snow capped Austrian Alps, the GrossGlockner being the highest peak.
This ridge undulated until we found ourselves at our mid morning stop along with many other walkers and even high altitude mountain bikers.
The sun was getting hot by this point so the rest was very welcomed and the tea much appreciated.
We continued on our way still gaining altitude reaching near 2,500m. We descended slightly and found a perfect picnic spot beside the path. As walkers and cyclists passed our lunch was laid out and we rested and ate.
After lunch we began our descent from the edge of the next col on the track.
TRIVIAL FACT 4 – Monkshood (Aconite) was used as poison in the Agatha Christie novels : 4:50 From Paddington and They Do It With Mirrors.
Along the way we both heard and saw marmots, similar to groundhogs but very fat and furry, goats, cows with their bells slung around their necks, sheep, horses and donkeys. The path was steep and rocky in places and in others gravel covered and slippery.
It went on for 1.5h and we dropped 500m in that time. In the end we arrived at yet another hut where we each had a hot drink. The sun was now quite intense. Our final piece of the walk saw us continually ascending very steeply for 20 minutes to the top of the cable car. We took the cable car back to the bottom of the valley floor where we strolled upwards once again and waited only 2 minutes for our bus to arrive. The journey back to Dobiacco and its bus station took about 40 minutes. On the walk back to the hotel we rewarded ourselves with an ice-cream, we deserved it.
In the evening we met in the bar and were debriefed by Peter before giving him his well deserved tip. Unfortunately our evening meal tonight was nothing special but that was made up by the enjoyable chat between the members of the group.
Day 12 Dobiacco to Marco Polo Airport, Venice to Bexleyheath (Saturday 14th September)
Today we had a lie in, no getting up early for us. By 8.45am we were downstairs in the dining room enjoying a fuller and slower breakfast than usual. There was no need to rush as we weren’t leaving the hotel until 10am.
Following breakfast we finished the last of our packing and relaxed until it was time to go. The same coach and driver that we had used only a week ago turned up at 10am on the dot just after we had said a group goodbye to Neil who was riding his motorbike back to the U.K.
Our luggage was loaded and we jumped on board. Our route back to Venice would take around 3h so we sat back and enjoyed the trip. Our driver has chosen to take us back by a different and more circuitous route which would then link with the motorway which we had used on our inward journey As he drove we first passed through Cortina and then numerous other mountain towns which, at every turn, gave us great views of the Dolomites that we had not previously experienced.. It was a beautiful day and many people were out and about and the roads full of cars, motorcycles and bicycles. Eventually we joined the toll motorway system and after 1h 30min stopped at the same café we had used a week ago. 20 minutes later and having had a cappuccino and tea to quench our thirst we were on the road again. As we got nearer to Venice the ground flattened and field upon field of grapevines lined our route. After an hour we noticed the sign post for Marco Polo airport and entered the car park our bags were unloaded and we thanked our driver. Bret and Petra said their goodbyes and the rest of us entered the airport building after having bid Simon and Bev goodbye. Those who were left said cheerio to one another and Maggie and I made our way to a restaurant/snack bar for lunch and a long wait for our flight time of 9.40pm.
Thankfully the 8h 30min that we had to wait went quite quickly and at about 8.15pm we were called to Gate 54. Unusually for us we didn’t have to walk far, just up to the next level and around the corner from passport control. At 9.10pm we were invited to board the Airbus A319.
We finally took off at 10.05pm for our 1h 45min flight.
We landed at 10.42pm local time after an uneventful flight. As we were sat in row 5 at the front of the plane we were one of the very first to get off so we quickly made our way to passport control and within 12 minutes were at baggage pick up waiting for our bags to appear. Again, they did so rapidly and as we walked through customs, Sophie and Ollie were there to meet us. The drive back home saw us caught up in a jam on the M23 and eventually arrive home after midnight.
Remember:
Quidquid fit, supra arboretum linea manet super arbore linea.
(What happens above the tree line stays above the tree line.