On januari 7 Gilberte and I head for the snow. We leave around noon because today, we only will drive to Nuremburg some 560km away. Our final destination is Toblach in South Tirol, Italy. We arrive at the motel late afternoon. Next morning we start early. There is much more traffic with the usual traffic-jam around Munich, but nothing compared to what we already experienced before. We drive through Austria where the sun shines and the temperatures are high. Not so convenient for wintersport. It is very different in Toblach. The sun also shines but temperatures are well below zero centigrade. When we arrive at hotel Bellevue other "regular visitors" have also arrived by train, by coach and even by plane. The big surprise is of course when we also find our friends, Luc and Gitta there. Originally they were planning to go somewhere in Austria but changed there mind at the last minute because of the bad weather forecast there (rain!). A nice surprise.
What remains of the day is used for unpacking, a welcome drink, and renting our skiing material. Tomorrow the fun starts.
The weather is nice, sunny but minus 10º C. We decide for the skiing area The Helm. A lot of people had the same idea. It is quite crowded. It is week-end and it shows. A 2-hour skipass to start is enough. You need some time to get the feeling of the skis again. After lunch we take a walk to the Toblach lake and enjoy the scenery .
Blue sky, temperature way below zero. Ideal to go look for another skiing area. De Rotwand not very big but close by with a couple of nice runs. It is significantly less crowded here, sometimes it looks as if we have the area just for ourselves. Again, a 2-hour pass is enough for me and my unaccustomed knees. In the afternoon we all walk to Innichen, the village next to Toblach. We take the way high up on the south flank of the valley, in the sun and it is warm, very warm. In Innichen they are preparing an ice sculpture contest. On a number of spots in the village cubes of snow, several meters high, have been placed. The international teams have three days to transform them into something nice. We walk back to Toblach via the snow covered meadows. The sun sinks quickly behind the mountains and just as quickly it is bitter cold.
Today is very special for us. We are going to make our first flight in a hot air balloon. During this week, in Toblach there is an international Ballooning contest and visitors are offered the opportunity to join in a balloon ride. Meeting point is a large pasture near the centre. The different teams arrive and start with the preparation we are assigned to balloon nr 2. It is an english team. We get a safety briefing on the landing procedure and are ready to go. There is not much room in the basket with a pilot, 3 passengers and 3 team members, say "crew", but what an experience! The only sound that you hear is the occasional noise produced by the burners to get to the altitude with the best air current. The blue sky, the snow-clad landscape and the colourful balloons are a magnificent sight. There is not much wind and after a flight of an hour and a half, we land gently on a pasture in Niederdorf, not far from Toblach. The friendly farmer offers assistance with his tractor to tranport all the material, basket, gasbottles, balloon, burners to the 4x4 landrover that the pilot called for. Our maiden flight is celebrated with a bottle of champagne and a certificate.
Today we go to the Popena Valley for a hike on snowshoes . 3 italians, 1 german young lady and 3 belgians together with our guide. We start alongside a small mountain river that we follow higher up untill the valley opens up and after a few hours of steady climbing we reach the "Popena punkt" from where we have a beautiful view over the surrounding mountains and the small hamlet of Misurina. We can piknik in the sun, with the Tre Cimi in the background. We head back following more or less the same track, downhill to where the cars have been parked.
Beautiful weather. In the morning we go to the Helm again. Gitta decides to stay there for the day, Luc and me stick to the traditional 2-hour pass. In the afternoon, Luc ties on his cross country skis and Gilberte and me take a walk to Innichen. We follow the low road through the meadows. It is nice and warm in the sun with some lovely idyllic corners . We are going to check on the result of the snow sculptures that must be finished by now. The swiss and the canadian contribution, in our opinion, are the best. In the evening we have the traditional candlelight dinner. Just as traditional that is the time that guests who have stayed a number of times in the hotel are getting a medal and a certificate of appreciation, and yes, according to the records this seems to be our 40th (four zero!) visit to the hotel and we also receive a medal and a certificate. Another one for the collection.
Last day for Luc and Gitta, they want to enjoy to the full extent the snow and go for the whole day to the Helm. I stick to the 2-hours routine. In the afternoon Gilberte and I walk back to the lake where large tree trunks are being loaded in trucks. A footpath has been laid around the lake under the trees and the frost they seem to be transformed into real lacework.
Luc and Gitta have left the hotel at an ungodly hour in the middle of the night. In the morning it is again a beautiful, sunny and cold day and we decide to take things easy. We drive to Moos at the foot of the Rotwand, walk to the Fishleintal and treat ourselves to a traditionnal kaiserschmarre.
Today is the great Pustertaler Marathon. The whole village buzzes with activity, hundreds athlete-contestors assemble behind the hotel for the start of the 43km long marathon from Toblach to Sexten. Clothes are packed in plastic bags and brought to Sexten in trucks so that they will find them there on their arrival. The start is spectacular as always. The fastest ones make it in less that 1h43, when the last one arrived we were unable to find out. In the afternoon I also tie my cross country skis on for a much more modest tour.
I have an appointment with Toni the ski instructor today. In the afternoon we go to two opposite skiing areas, Falloria and Monte Cristallo not far from Cortina d'Ampezzo. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera so I don't have any pictures from the magnificent view over the valley in which Cortina is situated. Next time! Definitely!
The weather is still nice, but it is changing, snow has been forecasted, and so I go nearby to the Haunold, a small but sympathetic skiing area in Innichen. There is a fair number of people including a squad of the italian Alpini (mountain troops). Some of the recrutes are clearly making their first shaky steps on skis. In the afternoon we walk to the centre of Toblach looking for the ski jump which has been rebuilt recently. Tomorrow there is an international jump contest for ladies, but today we only find the local youngsters trying a couple of jumps. All due respect for those who dare take the jump from that height.
During the night it snowed. Some 15cm. Everything is virgin white . The cross country tracks are being redrawn . The sun and the landscape are an open invitation for a walk, and so we go direction Niederdorf, where we landed with our balloon. In the afternoon we return to the ski jump where the ladies are giving their best. The winner comes from Norway with a jump of 73m .
.In the morning it is still sunny but you can see clouds gathering.The Rotwand is my choice to end the ski-fun, I take all the runs again, including a very steep one and then I call it a day. It has been nice, and hopefully we can do it over again next year.
want to know more? check Parkhotel Bellevue
.JPG){kind=link}
