Bolzano

 On Saturday we took the high speed train from Venice north to Bolzano. Bolzano is called the gateway to the Dolomites, the beautiful mountains in the north of Italy. It is in the Tirol region, which seems to have mainly German influence. In fact the cities here each have an Italian name and a German name. Bolzano's German name is Bozen. 

As soon as we stepped off the train, it kind of felt like we weren't in Italy any more, with the different style of buildings.

Our hotel was in the pedestrian area in the centre of Bolzano, and as we walked there we saw a huge festival going on, with bands playing on every street, and eating areas with stalls selling beer, pretzls, sausage, etc. We dropped off our bags at the hotel and went out to check it out and get something to eat. Most people were speaking German, so when I ordered food I got to use what little is left of my German from when I lived there for a couple of years in the 90's.

We heard about a cable car that is just a few minutes walk from the station. The next day we headed there, and on the way I got my first glimpse of the Dolomites.

We took the Rittner cable car up to the mountain town of Oberbozen, and then a small train to Klobenstein. Our hotel provided us each with a Bozen Card, which gave free unlimited access to all busses, cablecars, and trains in the area.

From the train that went between the mountain towns, the view  of the houses and landscape was just like something from the Alps.

From Klobenstein we did a short walk through the woods, with some views of the mountains. We then took a bus higher up to Pemmern Tre Vie, which has another cable car up the Ritterhorn mountain. The place is a ski area in winter, and the cable car goes up to 2100m altitude. At the top there are paths to viewpoints from which the views of the Dolomites are absolutely stunning.

We had a beer at the top and I did a sketch of the view.

We made our way back down to Klobenstein and the train back to Oberbozen. From the cable car back to Bolzano, there were great views of the valley with vineyards and the mountains in the background.

In the evening we found a quiet street with a nice restaurant that served local specialties.