The Main Reason for Visiting Ortisei

Seceda, or Alpe di Seceda, is the mountain located in the Puez Odle Nature Park in Val Gardena. It is part of the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The closest village to it is Ortisei so, when I was looking for accommodation in this area, I naturally tried find a hotel in that village.  For the last two days, we have been staying at the Hotel Dolomiti Madonna and it has been perfect - sadly, the weather hasn't been.  Each morning we check out the Seceda webcam to see what the weather up the mountain was like and it certainly hasn't been sunny.  Yesterday, however, was our last chance to see it.  We patiently waited until noon as it had been raining in the village until then.  Suddenly, the clouds broke and the sun started to come out.  The hotel is about a 10 minute walk to the base where you get the cable cars up the mountain.  Even though we knew the summit wasn't completely clear, we took a chance.  Part of our hesitancy was that the ticket to ride up the mountain is 45 euros - so not cheap. 

The ride up was breathtaking and, once we arrived at the top, we were glad we had decided to give it a go.  The views were amazing.  Unfortunately, we never did see the really famous peaks but we certainly saw enough to make it worthwhile.  The summit is 2500m and both of us felt a little light-headed, not to mention cold as it was windy and there was still snow in places.  














The bonus for me was, when I went into the restaurant to get warm, it had Kaiserschmarrn on the menu.  This is a sort of scrambled pancake served with applesauce and lingonberry sauce.  It very popular in the Austrian Alp region but I have also seen it on menus in Bavaria.  I certainly never expected to see it in Italy.  All I know is that it is delicious - and that I had to ignore the fact it was 18 euros!

The ride back down the mountain was as breathtaking as coming up.  My friend decided to get off at mid-station, where you have to change gondolas, and walk the rest of the way down.  Back in Ortisei, it was warm and sunny so later in the afternoon, we headed to the terrace of a nearby restaurant to have a drink in the sun.  I enjoyed my Muller-Thurgau wine and she, her Campari Spritz.  The price was good as well - just 7 euros each.


So, with that, we are moving on.  Our next destination is Malcesine on Lago di Garda where we will be for the next few days.

  

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