Italia!!! (Part 2)

This blog is an ever evolving thing but I want it to be fun to follow but also tips and tricks I learn along the way so here is a fun but tricky way we saved money that Katie figured out by asking (and video recording the italian train station employee as he explained it). They made 3 and 5 day passes which were 29 euro for the 3 day pass. It was a hell of a deal but it made things difficult as you could only catch the regional trains which was hard to tell at times. 

There are not always ticket attendants on every train in most places in Europe and many places it is on your honor but if you get caught it can be a 200 euro fine (not condoning not paying for a ticket). The pass also came with restrictions on ending in Bolzano because they have their own private train system in the mountains it seems. So we could use our pass to get most of the way, then buy a short pass to Bolzano and into the Dolomites. 

We were at the train station at 7:15am after a 20 minute walk (I was already drenched in sweat). Our pass made us take a slower train (couldn’t take the fast ones) so it had an hour layover in Verona. A quick google and the center of the city had a roman colosseum type arena that holds 20,000 people now for opera and concerts.

As the three of us jumped back on the train we were starting to realize that we were pushing it for time and that we would jump off in Trento, rest up and get an early start to Bolzano where we would catch a bus to ride up the twisty mountain roads to Ortesei and then catch two ski lifts up to the top of Seceda Mountain for a day of hiking.

We barely caught the bus as it pulled up. Now in the alps it is a guessing game of whether the bus driver speaks Italian, German, or Austrian, and hopefully a little bit of English. It’s Russian roulette and you hit them with a hello, buongiorno, guten tag, or servus. Luckily, his English was good enough to say “cash” and point to the number 16.50 euros (for the 3 tickets) and we sat in a non-air conditioned bus with amazing views for an hour zig zagging up and down windy roads, jamming on the brakes when a car came from the opposite direction…spoiler, it was worth it.

The lift tickets were 45 euros to get to the top…and back down. What they don’t tell you is the typical hike most people do takes you to a different valley and a different tram that isn’t part of your pass. We crushed 8 miles of epic views and selfies and videos. The free range cows greeted us to glorious views like the one above which looked like a whale jumping out of the sea. I was incredibly happy that we got good weather as the couple we rode the tram up with (from Michigan) said it was the first day in a week it hadn’t rained. The temperature was perfect for hiking and the spirits were high. The mountains always bring a smile to my face. It was extra special to take Kurt and Katie there and let them see how mind blowing the Dolomites really were. 

Finally, we pet a donkey, took a few funny photos of Kurt “frolicking” in a sea of yellow wildflowers and sat down to grab a beer thinking the trek was over. Instead we ended up hiking over about half a mile, paying another 15 euro to go back up to the top (we couldn’t ride down as it ended in the wrong town) and then we could ride down with the ticket we already had. It had gorgeous views and I contemplated getting my Italian citizenship at some point staring at the mountains. Seceda Mountain stands at 8,264 feet tall and it was an impressive jagged group of peaks.

Along the way, we walked past free range cows and passed a few “refugios” which is the italian version of a mountain hut with half board or full board (meal included) places to stay overnight. Last summer on the Cortina side, Heysha and I hiked some of the Alta Via 1 route and stayed at the most popular one which happens to be the highest place to stay in the Dolomites, called Refugio Lagazuoi at 9,028 feet. Sunrise was above the clouds and incredible. 

Exhausted, we naturally did what anyone would do in Northern Italy in the alps… Get schnitzel and a beer!

Italy deserved a post all to itself. I could have stayed and explored so much more. I was tempted to go see Florence, or Pisa, or Tuscany, or Cinque Terre, or Sicily, or Sardinia, or Rome, and the list goes on but Italy is a place I feel I will always come back to. The Dolomites are one of my favorite places in the world. 

Next up:  Albania (with a cameo for Greece)