Day 9 – Cortina d’Ampezzo

Today’s Blog Entry

For Monday’s adventure Cindy and I hopped on a mid-morning bus for Cortina d’Ampezzo, a major winter resort just 20 miles south of Dobbiaco. Cortina was the site for the 1956 Winter Olympics and was recently selected, along with Milan, as the host city for 2026. Cortina is one of those high end resorts not unlike Aspen or St. Moritz that I tend to think of as a ski town with a shopping problem – or maybe it’s the other way around!

A short 50 minute ride on a twisting two lane highway through some truly spectacular scenery brought us to the heart of Cortina. We hopped off the bus, found the tourist bureau, and with the help of a nice lady at the main desk we managed to map out a six mile loop hike with a good restaurant at the far end. As it turned out it was also a route that Cindy had researched the night before, so we knew that it was going to be a great day.

Our hike took us out of town southward across a large meadow, through a small village, and up into the forest to a tiny lake (more like a pond) called Lago Pianozes. There we found the appropriately named Ristorante Lago Pianozes, a small family restaurant run by chef Alberti Massimo. It looked like the typical small berghütte that we’ve visited many times before so we simply weren’t prepared for the wonderful meal that was presented to us.

In spite of temperatures in the upper 20’s we chose to sit outside on the sun terrace overlooking the lake. It was a smart move as our table was tucked into a corner next to the building so the brilliant sunshine and hot lunch kept us very comfortable. Or maybe it was the Dolomiti pils or the home-made grappa? Regardless it was easily the best meal of the trip and was made even better by watching the two official restaurant dogs having some fun in the sun.

After a leisurely lunch we hiked the three miles back to Cortina and caught the next bus home to Dobbiaco. The weather looks great for the next few days so Cindy’s busy planning our next adventures to take advantage of that forecast – I can’t wait!

Today’s Map

Today’s Photos

Miscellaneous

The Meals

Breakfast : In the apartment

Lunch : Ristorante Lago Pianozes

Dinner : In the apartment