EN 
HE 
Italy is one of my favorite countries in the world: the food, the landscapes, and the people – it has it all! From the endless landscapes of Tuscany, through the incredible beaches of Amalfi and Capri, to the Cinque Terre, Sicily, and Puglia. But the Dolomites – are something else. This is a place where nature is revealed in all its glory – vast, impressive, and beautiful. We traveled there in September, the perfect season: pleasant weather after the busy summer season, and before the winter cold arrives. Of course, you can also travel during the ski season, but then the experience is completely different.
We started our trip in Venice, where we spent two days. The big plus is that Venice airport is only about fifteen minutes from the city, so at the end of the two days we drove back there to rent a car. The Dolomites contain two main towns that are a base for trips in the area: Ortisei and Cortina d'Ampezzo. We chose to stay two days in each of them to fully experience the area.
The route began with a mesmerizing drive from Venice to Lake Karersee – a beautiful turquoise lake, a three and a half hour drive through breathtaking views. It’s worth stopping for a picnic halfway through – we stocked up on some excellent pastries already in Venice. We parked the car in a neat parking lot called Eggental Tourismus Gen, which is located by the lake. It’s free for the first fifteen minutes, and then costs one euro per hour and two euros for two hours. There’s also a small cafe and toilets there. At the entrance to the lake there’s a platform with historical information about the place, and from there a circular route that takes 20-25 minutes around it.
Afterwards, we continued to the Charme Hotel Uridl, located about ten minutes from Ortigia. For us, who wanted to keep our trip on a reasonable budget, the hotel turned out to be an excellent choice: run by a warm and friendly family, clean and spacious rooms with a balcony for a spectacular view, and a generous breakfast served on tables with white tablecloths next to huge windows overlooking the garden. It feels like a scene from a movie. The location outside the town also allowed us free parking, which turned out to be a significant savings. It is important to emphasize that because a trip to the Dolomites includes a lot of trips to lakes, lookouts and mountains, it is not really critical to sleep in the city and it is a waste of money to park overnight (unless the hotel has parking, but since these are small towns, they usually do not).
After sunset, we went to the Cascade Ristorante Pizzeria Bar in Ortigia, where we tasted special dishes influenced by Austrian cuisine, including pasta with wild mushrooms.
On the second day, we went to see two famous churches in the meadow: the Church of Santa Maddalena and the Church of St. John in Ranui. The first church is not accessible and the view is remote, while the second is accessible for a fee. We put the town of Santa Maddalena from Ortisei in Waze, which is 45 minutes from the hotel, and parked there. The town is also close to the second church, making it an ideal place to park. It is worth parking in the Parkplatz parking lot.
We walked along a comfortable path to the first viewpoint (Santa Maddalena), from where you can see the church against a postcard-like backdrop. The walk involves a climb that is not so easy but spectacular, on a paved and comfortable path (there were also families, accessible and suitable for strollers). The second church is closer to the parking lot and also allows entry (for a fee). There is a panoramic deck overlooking it, you can walk to its entrance and pay 4 euros to enter, we gave up. The hi is the outside.
In the afternoon, we went to the Sunset at Alpe di Siusi viewpoint, an amazing view that is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Please note that you must be careful about the arrival times, as the road leading to the mountain is only open to tourists for limited hours. When we were there, you could only drive there between 5:00 PM and 9:00 PM – meaning there is a time window for arriving and departing from there. The truth is that 4 hours is a long time. This is the location in Wies, including the parking lot: Compatsch Parcheggio Parkplatz P2, Compatsch. We went to the spectacular viewpoint, and on the way back we stopped for coffee and apple strudel near the parking lot on the mountain.
On the third day we checked out and went on a tour of the town of Ortigia, walking around the beautiful streets, drinking coffee and enjoying the peace. We continued to the cable car that is in the town and goes up to the top of Seceda. At the foot of it there is a large and inexpensive parking lot. This is the point where we were glad that we had a car with a large, closed luggage compartment where our two suitcases fit and were hidden. The car was actually parked there for a whole day while we were on the mountain, so this is critical.
The name of the cable car point in the town is Funivie Seceda Spa, and the operating hours are 5:30 PM-8:30 AM. You buy a round-trip ticket that costs 34 euros per person. The ascent included two cable cars (due to the altitude). The mountain has lots of hiking trails and different points. We are not big hikers (totally Nike sneakers and no hiking boots or walking poles) so we chose a route that suited us – on the one hand, to hike and see all the beauty that the place offers, and on the other hand, not to overdo it, to make sure there are coffee stops, beautiful points along the way. So first thing, as soon as we arrived and got off the cable car, we turned left towards the ascent (easy) and didn’t start going down straight away! This leads us to an insane viewpoint! On the edge of the ridge. Then, we started going down towards Baita Troier Hütte – a perfect cafe in the middle of the mountains that made my dream come true, just like I imagined, just like in the movies! We drank a cold beer in front of the view and ate Austrian pancakes and fries. The whole thing took a few hours. We headed back towards the cable car, a bit of a tough climb from the cafe back but totally worth it.
In the evening we arrived in Cortina d'Ampezzo, a magical town with a warm ski atmosphere, where we stayed at the Hotel Villa Alpina. The breakfast was delicious, the parking was free, and the location was perfect for walking around the town. We had dinner at a lovely restaurant – Il vizietto Di Cortina.
On the fourth day we went to Lago di Braies – a bright turquoise lake surrounded by snow-capped mountains. We rented a kayak to sail on the lake (which cost 20 euros for half an hour) and then walked around it in a spectacular circular route, enjoying every moment. Important tip: It’s worth arriving early to enjoy the place before it fills up with tourists.
This is the way to the lake and the parking lot – Parcheggio Lago di Braies – Parking P4 Lago di Braies.
We spent this day more leisurely than the previous days, without high mountains and trails. We went back to walking around our beautiful town and got sad thinking about our last day in the Dolomites. The next morning we checked out and started driving south to the rest of our trip, which I will tell you about next time.
