Notes from the Dolomites
Tis the season of endless long weekends here in Catholic Bavaria, affording plenty of opportunities for short getaways. So away we got, three days enjoying the cognitive dissonance that is the German-speaking part of Italy.
This trip started, as so many do, with a quick stop in Bressanone for lunch followed by a proper Italian espresso. Mmmm.
Next it was time to sit back and enjoy the drive into the Puster Valley (Val Pusteria or Pustertal) to the town of Villabassa.
Here we checked into the lovely Hotel Adler. After deciding who would take the Jesus side of the bed and who would sleep under Mary, we enjoyed a nice dip in the indoor pool and a sit in the Turkish sauna.
We wandered around the small town of Villabassa and took in a bit of the international choir festival that was going on in the main square, admiring how the group of old Spanish men proved to be more animated and entertaining than even the teenagers from South Africa. Dinner was at the Stube at Hotel Adler, where we dined on pappardelle with porcini and blueberries, stinging nettle ravioli with bärlauch pesto, and grilled vegetables with polenta and melted mozzarella.
The next day we drove to Cortina, our only glimpse into Italian-speaking Italy this trip. Cortina is one of the larger towns in the valley, quite well-known as a skiing destination.
We ate pizza, did some grocery shopping, and bought truffles out of the back of a truck in a parking lot.
Next stop: the small resort and farming town of Toblach (Dobbiaco), back in the German-speaking part, for some hiking.
We had dinner at our hotel, Hotel Cristallo, as is the custom in this all-inclusive-resort area. The hotel itself was nice, new, clean. We enjoyed a couple swims in the indoor pool (good for laps). My overall rating of the hotel is in limbo, pending how long it takes them to return our passports (they forgot to hand them over when we checked out, and we didn’t notice we were without them until we were quite far away).
On the third day we had one thing planned: lunch at the marvelous Castel Fragsburg. It went a lot like this.
The weather cooperated perfectly. How can you not love a table with this view?
