Monday: 21st August: Weather: 24°C to 37°C: Hot night really hot hazy sunny day.
Bolzano: 8.0k walk around Ritten, Klobenstein, Mendel
Day Walk: Cable Car Bolzano to Ritten: Light Rail to Klobenstein and 6k walk: Mendel Funicular 2k
Accommodation: Villa Anita Apartments Bolzano
From Ritten gondola follow crowds to Light Rail Station
Coffee break in shade Klobenstein
Earth Pyramides with stone caps
Queue for fountain water
Going down in the Ritten Gondola
Coming up in the Mendel Funicular
View from Top station Mendel Rail
850m up to Mendel
Lake Kaltern - a big wine area
Bolzano from Ferdinand’s Lookout
Robbie hoping for a safe trip down
Coming down in Mendel Funicular
The Mendel Rail built 1903
Highlights today were the three cable cars we took to the mountain tops to escape the stifling heat in Bolzano which will hit 37°C today and will continue that way until we leave on Thursday for the high Dolomites - bring it on!! Our South Tyrol Bus/Train pass included several cable cars so first is the gondola to Ritten, high above Bolzano, then the light rail over to Klobenstein, then back to Bolzano, phew, gotta get out of here, and Bus 132 to Mendel and up in thefunicular that’s 2.3km long at 67% incline.
A really warm night. It’s supposed to cool down to 15°C or 16°C overnight at this time of the year in Bolzano - nice sleeping weather - but last night never got below 24°C. And with 37°C expected today, the heat dome over this part of Italy is creating temperatures 10°C above the average. So we grab our day packs and walk down to the Gondola station near the Bus Autostazion and pile in with 10 other people for the trip up the mountain. In 1907 a cog train travelled up the mountainside from Bolzano, and was replaced in 1966 by a cable car, and again in 2009 by the modern gondola. We can feel the cool air already while admiring the magnificent views to the various Dolomite groups far away through the haze.
We don’t know much about Ritten, it wasn’t really on my hiking agenda, so when we get to the top, we do the touristy thing and follow the crowds over to the light rail station. This train line to Klobenstein was built 100 years ago in 1907 as an extension of the cog train up from Bolzano to Ritten, and remains as a summer attraction hauling carriages full of tourists along the 18 minute journey with even more spectacular views across to the Dolomites.
Klobenstein is a pretty Germanic village, and after a short wander along a path, we’re looking for a coffee spot in the shade. It’s quite warm at 25°C but at 1,154m in altitude is still 10°C cooler than Bolzano at 262m down in the valley. We join another line of people wandering down a path to Lengmoos and soon discover the collection of weird Earth pyramids. They consist of cone-shaped pillars formed by deposited clay with a boulder sitting on top - they started forming from moraine clay soil left behind after the last Ice Age. A weird site. Back along the track, we stop to queue for icy cold water trickling from a fountain, then to the Light Rail back to Ritten and down in the Gondola to Bolzano.
Wow, it’s hot - already 100°F in the old measure. We don’t have to wait long at the Autostazione for Bus 132 to Mendel. The bus air con is on but it’s only blowing hot air around. The 1hr bus trip takes us through the vineyards of Kaltern before arriving at St Anton where the cog train is waiting to ascend the mountain. This cog train is the longest in Europe at 2.3k with an average incline of 67%. It’s steep! But the views become amazing as we climb 850 metres through the pine trees, through tunnels, and eventually emerge at Mendel Bahn at the top. Of course there’s a beer garden overlooking the Bolzano valley below and the high dolomites of the Pale di San Martino off in the distance. It’s quite hazy and the photos don’t do the scenery justice, But that’s how it is. There’s a 10 minute walk to Ferdinand’s Lookout, with more views over Bolzano, the Kaltern vineyards and the Pale di San Martino Dolomites, the most southerly of the Dolomites.
There’s a note book at the lookout intended for comments, mostly in Italian, but one in English grabbed my attention. Robbie and Sophie noted they enjoyed the views, but hoped they’d have a safe trip back down in the Funicular - it’s so steep it leaves you with that kind of feeling. We walk back to Mendelbahn with that in mind and jump into the cabin with 8 rows of people in staggered seats to accommodate the severe incline. 12 minutes later we’re down to St Anton and wait for Bus 132 which arrives at 4.20pm.
At 5.20pm, we’re back in the heat of Bolzano, and go via the Eurospar to pick up a few essentials like - beer and bread - before wandering back to Villa Anita, which we left closed up all day, hoping to keep the heat out. It was slightly cooler - 30°C instead of 37°C, and first up is a beer watered down with fizzy mineral water before a ham sandwich for dinner. A short time to sort photos and blog before bed at 9pm