Although it seemed we could eat Weiner Schnitzel for the rest of our lives, quite happily, we were excited at the prospect of Italian food, as we departed Austria, for Italy. We had fond memories of the Italian food in Venice, Rome, and Florence, we had enjoyed while there at Christmastime. While the food and feeling are quite different in the far north where we were going, we were excited to experience this region of Italy.
The Dolomites is a trilingual region. Ladin speakers are the minority, however, some 30,000 people still use the ancient dialect, which was spoken by the first inhabitants of the Dolomites. The remaining residents typically speak either Italian or German. Many road signs are written in all three languages, which we found fascinating.
Garin had spearheaded the planning of the weeklong segment of our six-plus week trip. Because he is good at geography and reading maps, I deferred to him on this hike-heavy portion of our trip.
After weeks of searching online, about nine months before our trip, I found our hotel, which turned out to be a refugio. Rifugi – or mountain huts in English – are the classic accommodation for hikers, climbers, mountaineers, and ski mountaineers in the Alps. Set in spectacular locations high in the Dolomites, rifugi are accessible only on foot (with a few exceptions that are reachable by car). These marvelous establishments are open primarily in the summer, with a select few in winter, and offer meals and sleeping facilities. The Dolomite rifugi are considered the best in the Alps.
Our Refugio was located just outside of Cortina d' Ampezzo. Cortina is known as the Queen of the Dolomites. One website describes Cortina like this, " Cortina d’Ampezzo, or simply Cortina, is a gem of sheer beauty in the middle of the Italian Alps, just two hours North of Venice. Set in the wide and sunny Ampezzo Valley, the small town is surrounded in all directions by some of the most scenic peaks of the Dolomite mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage site."
The Ampezzo Valley and the Dolomites surrounding it make Cortina a perfect spot for sports enthusiasts and sporting events: the 1956 Winter Olympics, the 2021 World Ski Championships, and the Winter Olympics once again in 2026, co-hosted with Milan. In the summer, the area offers hundreds of kilometers of hiking trails, off-road biking, and many other exciting outdoor sports. In the winter, it provides legendary ski slopes, the Olympic ice stadium, a vast array of snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing. Seemingly unlimited sporting opportunities while enjoying first-rate view - what's not to love?
Rather than driving the more direct (and shorter route) from Hallstatt, Austria to Corina, Italy, we planned to take the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, considered one of Austria's top three destinations amidst the Alps. The road is named after the Grossglockner, Austria's highest mountain. The road tops out at 2500 meters high at its peak.
When we left Hallstatt the weather was warm and sunny. However, by the time we reached the toll booth at the entrance to Grossglockner (hours later, after taking a fateful wrong turn which cost us approximately an extra 90 minutes of driving), the weather had taken a turn. I knew we were in for a challenging drive through the pass when the toll booth operator said (with a charming German accent) "Be careful up there, the roads are awful today." Yikes! But it was too late to turn back, as there was no other way to go at that point. The legendary views of the snow-capped Alps were obscured for much of the two-to-three-hour drive, by heavy fog and pouring rain. But we got lucky at times and were treated to some stunning views of the Alps. We were not dressed for the drastic drop in temperatures, plunging from nearly 85 degrees in Hallstatt to the 50s with strong winds, making it feel much colder.
After surviving the hairpin turns of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, with little-to-no visibility at times, we drove another hour before hitting the Italian border, leaving Austria in the rearview mirror. I love this somewhat dilapidated, but patriotic building, adorned with the colors of the Italian flag, demarcating our entrance into Italia.
On our first full day in the Cortina area, Garin had us on a lake day itinerary, which was great! We had beautiful (yet distinct) views at each lake along with some scenic and fairly easy hikes as well that he had planned. We visited three different lakes (Lago de Braies, Lago Di Dobbiaco, and Lago Di Misurina). and enjoyed a delicious pizza lunch in between, in the charming town of San Candido.
On our second full day in Cortina, Garin had planned a fantastic day for us, or so he thought. The only problem is that I didn't heed his warning to review the itinerary in advance. So the day was later dubbed our "disaster day" of the trip. Poor Garin!
The day started with a half-hour drive to the Cinque Torri Cable Car, where we rented helmets (that should have been my clue) at the bottom of the mountain before heading up on what was supposed to be a one-way ticket trip. When we got to the top all was well for a while as we enjoyed the beautiful views. Then we embarked on one of the worst rocky and unstable hikes I have ever been on. We turned around and headed back up the steep unstable hill about an hour into it, out of frustration.
From there we headed to the famous helical tunnel which was excavated during the First World War by Italian soldiers, who dug tunnels inside the Piccolo Lagazuoi mountain, to take the Austrian soldiers stationed at the top by surprise. Unbeknownst to me, it was through these dark, claustrophobic (for me) tunnels that we were supposed to get down the mountain. So after making a rather frightening and precarious hike to the tunnel's entrance, I made it about 100 feet in before having a full-blown panic attack and running out as fast as I could, barely able to breath. In in addition to my state of mind, The other minor problem was that there was no other way down unless made the long and precarious hike back up to where we started and paid for another (expensive) one-way cable car ride back down, which is what we ended up having to do. The kids were disappointed, but Garin was furious with me for not having realized what I was getting myself into, by reviewing the itinerary with him. Although I was too overwhelmed, ashamed and angry in the moment, I later acknowledged my responsibility for how the day turned out. When Garin cooled down, he felt bad that he had put me in that position and also apologized. In order to recover from the "disaster day," we to had to treat ourselves to a lovely pasta dinner (and glass of wine for me) at our Refugio/hotel .
As much of a disaster the previous day was, our final full day in Cortina was simply sublime. We had to be up at the crack of dawn (literally) to get in the "car line" to secure a parking spot at the base of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, where we began our 9.7-kilometer hike. The Tre Cime di Lavaredo (Three Peaks | Drei Zinnen) are three distinctly rocky peaks that soar into the sky in the Sesto Dolomites in Italy. It is one of the most popular destinations in the region for its distinctive natural beauty. The hike is considered moderate, but fairly long with many steep ascents, so it was challenging at times. But the kids were troppers and not only made it, but agreed to do another shorter, but equally challenging hike right afterward, in the same area, with different, but equally stunning views.
Remembering Fitzy....
During the pandemic the southern California beaches seemed to ease their tight restrictions on dogs, which was a breath of fresh air. We took Fitzy to the beach for the first time, for a sunset walk, in April 2021, where we captured this shot of him, which remains one of my favorites to this day. Over the next two summers he continuted to come to the beach with us, when it wasn't too hot for him. I had intended to continue that tradition this summer after we returned from our trip, but like so many other plans we had with him, it was not to be.
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