On Andreas' birthday we went on a walk in the alps with Andreas' family. We hiked up (and up) and took the gondola down. The view from the top was awesome. Andreas' brother used to hike up this path in the winter and then ski down. We prefer taking the gondola :).
Above: Near the top it got really steep and we hiked up ladders to get over the rock.
Above: Views from the top!
Above: View from the Gondola on the way down.
The GPS track of our hike, elevation profile, and statistics are below. We hiked up 1176 meters (or 3858 feet).
Above: View from below. A gondola tower is visible in this photo and also the restaurant on the top.
Kastelruth, Italy was our home base for visiting the Unesco World Natural Heritage Dolomites (Dolomites). The dolomites reminded us of Yosemite on steroids.
Kastelruth is a quaint town that had stunning views of the Dolomites and even though it is technically in Italy the native language, signs and food were German in accordance with its Austrian history.
Above: Juliette in front of our hotel with a sculpture and views of the dolomites. The view from our hotel room with some dolomites in the background.
Above: Views of Kastelruth and the dolomites in the background.
We took a side trip to visit Ötzi the Iceman (Iceman) in Bolzano, Italy. No photos were allowed in the museum, but this is a very interesting and worthwhile trip. The parking garage had LED lights that were "red" if a car was already parked in the spot our "green" if the spot was free.
Our hotel offered a free "easy" guided mountain bike tour of the Seiser Alm meadow. We decided that "easy" in the Italian alps is a bit different than "easy" in SF.
Juliette with our guide Andreas.
Above: Photos from our mountain bike ride including a section along a river near some geysers and a stop over for lunch at a hut.
Above: The other way to get around is by carriage!
Above: Our gps track and elevation profile for the bike ride. We covered a large part of the Seiser Alm.
The weather cleared nicely for our hike the next day to the Witches Benches (Hexebånke). We saw astounding views of the dolomites and the photos look like they should be in a calendar!
Above: A lot of the houses/huts have big stones on the roof to keep the shingles in place during windy storms.
Above: We saw lots of beautiful wildflowers.
Above: Kastleruth our home base.
Above: Views of the valley below.
Above: Views of Schlern (reminded us of Half Dome).
Above: "PU" this trail smells, but it sure is pretty.
Above: After a day of hiking we took the gondola down.
Above: View from the gondola on the way down.
Happy Trails!
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