The Dolomites

Cindy and I are off to explore the Dolomites in northern Italy via cross-country skis and snowshoes. This lesser known area of the Alps is considered by many to be the most beautiful, so we’re looking forward to our arrival early tomorrow (Monday) afternoon.

Yesterday was another travel day for Cindy and I. We left our hotel in Munich around 8:00 AM, picked up some travel food from one of the many shops at the Munich Hauptbahnhof (main train station), enjoyed a leisurely latte, and boarded our train for Italy.

Cindy and I had a great Tuesday wandering the hiking trails just north of Dobbiaco, IT. Our main reason for visiting this area was cross-country skiing but there hasn’t been any fresh snow in days so we’re switching to snowshoes and winter boots.

Today’s outing allowed Cindy and I to experience more of the beautiful scenery here in the Dolomites. We took the ski bus from Dobbiaco eastward through the town of Innichen and hopped off at a fairly remote stop near the entrance to the Innerfeldtal Valley.

Today’s adventure was an outstanding winter hike in the Prato Piazza, a high alpine valley surrounded by some of the best scenery in the Dolomites. Of all the days that Cindy and I have spent in the mountains this was easily Top Five in terms of epic scenery.

Our Friday outing was a circuit hike starting in the small town of Moos and peaking not far from the Austrian border at the popular Alpe Nemes Hütte. We began our day in Dobbiaco on a regional bus that took us to today’s trailhead, not far from the village of Moos.

On Saturday Cindy and I decided to explore the Lago di Braies. The Lago di Braies is a beautiful lake high in the Dolomites not far from our home base in Dobbiaco. The lake is completely frozen now, but in the summer it has the surreal green-blue coloration of other glacier-fed lakes that we’ve seen. Overall the lake reminds us very much of Lake Louise in Canada.

Our morning outing started out with a bus ride (of course!) and a pleasant stroll through the charming town of Innichen. We then hiked southeast out of town on a designated winter route. This route followed the main road to Kreuzberg Pass before climbing up into the forest and looping back towards town.

Our late afternoon outing was a loop hike from the apartment southward towards Cortina d’Ampezzo – tomorrow’s destination – along a designated winter route. Today’s destination was the beautiful Lago di Dobbiaco, located in the mouth of a steep valley heading south along the road to Cortina.

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.

For our Tuesday adventure Cindy and I took the bus eastward from Dobbiaco to the town of Innichen. We walked across town where we found our trailhead at the edge of the forest. Our destination was a small restaurant high above Sesto called the Gasthof Waldruhe.

Cindy and I were both ready for a relatively easy day, so for our Wednesday outing we stayed fairly close to Dobbiaco. We left the apartment on foot (no bus, for a change) and walked north out of town to explore the beautiful San Silvestro Valley.

Cindy and I decided to take advantage of the excellent cross-country skiing facilities for our last outing in Dobbiaco. The lack of snow has made it tough for the groomers to maintain the trails, thus our focus on winter hiking, but we couldn’t go home without at least one day on skis!

Cindy and I traveled from Dobbiaco to Innsbruck by bus and train earlier today. When we arrived in Innsbruck we checked into our Airbnb and immediately headed out for the Hafelekar, a nearby mountain peak also known (for good reason) as ‘The Top Of Innsbruck’.

Cindy and I visited Innsbruck, Austria this past Friday and Saturday on our way to Munich for Monday’s flight home. When our itinerary for this year’s Italian odyssey put us in the area we decided to add a couple of nights for wandering around this beautiful Alpine city.

On Sunday morning Cindy and I left Innsbruck and headed for Munich so that we would be in position for our flight home via Amsterdam on Monday. We traveled early in the morning so that we’d have most of the day to have some fun in the Munich area.

Here’s the grand finale post for our Italian Odyssey. I can’t thank Cindy enough for all of the planning that made it such a great trip. In honor of her efforts I’ve combined all of the “Two Beers With A View’ images into this one ‘Readers Digest’ blog entry.