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london1967Our second day in Trentino-Alto Adige was spent driving on (part of) the Great Dolomites road.
But before setting off we had a look around the town of Castelrotto/Kastelruth.
The balconies in most towns and villages in this part of Italy overflow with geraniums and other flowers. We did wonder if there was an official colour scheme... it all felt a bit Stepford wives, but yes very pretty and tidy.
We drove down to the Val Gardena and after Selva, started to climb and climb until we reached the Sella Pass at 2,244 m (7,362 ft)
You have magnificent views of the Marmolada glacier on one side (hard to believe, but during WWI, the front line between Italy and Austria ran across the glacier and the Austrians dug a maze of galleries and trenches into the ice)
and of the Sassolungo group on the other
Now we were back in Trentino; a few hairpin bends down the mountains and many, many more climbing again and we were at the Pordoi Pass (2,239 m - 7,346 ft) on the Veneto border.
There is cable car
which takes you up to the top of the Sass Pordoi mountain (2952 m/ 9685 ft). It's quite an amazing ride: the cable car is free-standing with no intermediate pillars!
The views from the cabin and from the top are fantastic!
(if you look at the bottom centre of the picture above, you can see 2 people walking down the zigzagging path! I guess that the landslide must be pretty stable but well just think what would happen if you slipped!)
The weather at high altitudes changes very quickly. In a matter of minutes a cloud came over and covered the Marmolada.
We could still see the Sassolungo and the almost lunar landscape of the Sella Group on the other side
I was very sensible and didn't venture far on my crutches. I didn't even go to the nearest patch of ice.
We had apple strudel instead!
A 'descent into the unknown' (LOL)
and were back in our car.
We drove a bit more, admiring the fabulous views and going past lovely villages
Next stop was an interesting museum dedicated to WWI; it documents the hardships endured by both Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers on these mountains. It must have been a freezing hell in winter.
The museum is located in the Tre Sassi fort which was built in 1897 by the Austrians to defend the border.
(sadly no pictures were allowed inside)
We then drove to Cortina d'Ampezzo, 'the' place to be seen in the Dolomites
We were not dressed for Cortina so we didn't even stop but drove back to Castelrotto via the Val Pusteria, admiring more mountains and views on the way.
(Well, we didn't stop because we still had a long drive ahead of us to go back to the hotel!)
But before setting off we had a look around the town of Castelrotto/Kastelruth.
The balconies in most towns and villages in this part of Italy overflow with geraniums and other flowers. We did wonder if there was an official colour scheme... it all felt a bit Stepford wives, but yes very pretty and tidy.
We drove down to the Val Gardena and after Selva, started to climb and climb until we reached the Sella Pass at 2,244 m (7,362 ft)
You have magnificent views of the Marmolada glacier on one side (hard to believe, but during WWI, the front line between Italy and Austria ran across the glacier and the Austrians dug a maze of galleries and trenches into the ice)
and of the Sassolungo group on the other
Now we were back in Trentino; a few hairpin bends down the mountains and many, many more climbing again and we were at the Pordoi Pass (2,239 m - 7,346 ft) on the Veneto border.
There is cable car
which takes you up to the top of the Sass Pordoi mountain (2952 m/ 9685 ft). It's quite an amazing ride: the cable car is free-standing with no intermediate pillars!
The views from the cabin and from the top are fantastic!
(if you look at the bottom centre of the picture above, you can see 2 people walking down the zigzagging path! I guess that the landslide must be pretty stable but well just think what would happen if you slipped!)
The weather at high altitudes changes very quickly. In a matter of minutes a cloud came over and covered the Marmolada.
We could still see the Sassolungo and the almost lunar landscape of the Sella Group on the other side
I was very sensible and didn't venture far on my crutches. I didn't even go to the nearest patch of ice.
We had apple strudel instead!
A 'descent into the unknown' (LOL)
and were back in our car.
We drove a bit more, admiring the fabulous views and going past lovely villages
Next stop was an interesting museum dedicated to WWI; it documents the hardships endured by both Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers on these mountains. It must have been a freezing hell in winter.
The museum is located in the Tre Sassi fort which was built in 1897 by the Austrians to defend the border.
(sadly no pictures were allowed inside)
We then drove to Cortina d'Ampezzo, 'the' place to be seen in the Dolomites
We were not dressed for Cortina so we didn't even stop but drove back to Castelrotto via the Val Pusteria, admiring more mountains and views on the way.
(Well, we didn't stop because we still had a long drive ahead of us to go back to the hotel!)
