Goodbye Venice and gidday the Dolomites

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Although it was hot and humid, Venice gave me everything that I expected of it. It’s very old, very busy, very expensive and I guess it really was one of those great places of the world that one must see and now I have I can cross it off the list. However, but not before the obligatory couple of Vivaldi concerts (no Bonnie, that’s not a rock group) and a ride in a gondola.

Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you about the fantastic Naval Museum in Venice. Ho hum you might say, but for this old marine engineer it was a fantastic history of Venetian sea faring. And no, it’s not just a boy thing really, but a truly great permanent exhibition and at only €1,50 (about A$2.30) entrance it’s a steal in this town - just proves that I really am one of the last of the big spenders!

And I just realised that I haven’t tickled your taste buds during this trip. Well, I won’t bother just yet because I can’t say that I’ve had one of those worthy memorable gastronomic moments, but be assured that when I do I’ll make you incredibly envious. While the food has been good, it hasn't’s been fantastic and I really can’t afford to eat at the top end of the market (especially) in Venice.

Taking a ferry-bus to the airport where I was to meet up with another group, I realised that Venice might be the only international airport in the world where you can arrive by water. Then it was onto a (real) bus for a three hour trip up into the Dolomites. It’s really amazing that within that short period of time climbing into the Alps, Italy gradually took on a Germanic look to a point where it was hard to believe that our base in the village of Villabassa was not a Bavarian town. The predominant language is German although everyone speaks Italian and all the clever multi-lingual hotel staff speak English, albeit with a nice German accent.

The Dolomites is just spectacular! Sharing a large slice of its border with Austria it is no wonder that I’m blown away with these mountains. Everywhere I look there are photo opportunities and although there at first appears to be a lot of trekkers about, they all seem to evaporate in different directions, mostly sticking to the easier paths. Mountain biking is also a huge activity here; something I intend to indulge in later in the week.

What am I doing here you might ask? Well I’m on an eight day trekking experience and really loving it - it’s just a pity that wherever we trek we have to go uphill before we go down again! A few of the attached pics might give you just a sprinkling of an idea of how enormous these peaks really are. It’s still very warm but not as hot as Venice and the air is clean with the frequent welcoming cool breezes blowing in from where the snow can still be seen on the Austrian Alps only kilometres away.

With cow bells echoing off the mountains and children dressed like they’ve just stepped out of a Heidi adventure, this is a ripper of a place that is perfect now and I imagine would be brilliant in winter. I think I might be reviewing my travel plans for next year (yet again).

So there you have it. I must go and indulge in yet another local ale; purely for research purposes you understand. Ciao for now.

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Photos

Lunch on the trek
Ok so we don't always rough it for lunch!

The Dolomites
Just a fraction of this massive mountain range.

Maintaining the research
Although it's difficult to get funding, I'm still seriously conducting my research into the various German ales.

The intrepid traveller
Yes, I usually wear a hat but some of thegroup reckon that I look a dork in it so it came off for the pic - anyway, what would Pommies know about sun hats!

The mountains again
I'm still learning about this camera of mine but I think the landscapes are getting better.

Comments

[willem and Ann]

Great spot
Hi Dennis, I'll try again, my previous comment never showed. Was about you not whinging anymore. Food good, accommodation great, staff fantastic, all that sort of things. Yes, Venice is an impressive place. We've been there twice. First time had black and white film in the camera by accident ... Where you are now is one of the most impressive part of the Alps. We've been there on winter holidays several times, loved it, has this mix of atmosphere, Italian and Austrian. That's a great research you are doing, tasting big Paulaners. Keep researching. Most times the housewines are not that bad either.