Friday: 11th August: Weather: 14°C to 27°C: Sunny blue sky day and almost hot in Cortina.
Munich to Cortina: 0 walk: 8hrs: train, bus, bus, train, bus, bus: 7.30am to 3.30pm: 1hr 30min stop Dobbiaco
Accommodation: Rifugio Col Gallina at Falzarego Pass near Cortina
Munich to Rifugio Col Gallina
Highlight today was seeing the Dolomites in their full glory, despite the 8hr bus/train trip to get there from Munich. We knew it would be a long trip from Munich to the Dolomtes but we didn’t plan on much of the train line being closed for maintenance, forcing us to make several more bus connections than expected.
We’re awake at 5.30am, our usual wakeup time at home, so our minimal jet lag is over. Last night, we’d mostly packed before going to the Viktualienmarkt Beer Garden, so we just needed to shower, have a cup of tea, meusli and yoghurt, and get moving. First stop was the reception to hand in the key but also to see if someone there who could speak English and German - which most of the young ones do - could help find out why our Aldi SIM card wasn’t working. Although they weren’t able to chat to Aldi Talk, the provider, they did tell us that it sometimes takes days to connect after activating. Not happy Ian!
Brenner pass through Bus window
Bus from Innsbruch to Fortenza
Waiting for next bus at Fortenza
Bikes for rent at Dobbiaco
View from bus on way to Cortina
Dolomites back drop to Cortina
View of Cinque Torri from Gallina
It’s only a 2 minute walk over the road to the Munich HBF and we quickly find Platform 11, wagon 258, seats 54 and 57. The train leaves exactly on time at 7.34am and for the next eight hours, we travelled through spectacular country, including the Austrian Alps, the Brenner pass and on to Cortina in the Dolomites. The amazing scenery more than made up for the five bus/train changes we made along the way - train from Munich to Innsbruck,then bus to Fortennza/Franzensfeste, bus to Muhlbach, then train to Toblach/Dobbiaco, bus to Cortina, and bus to Rifugio Col Gallina - our final destination, 2000 metres high up in the Dolomites. The rifugio is only 1km from the Falzarego Pass, famous for its endless curves and steep climbs set against breathtaking scenery, and one of the historic passes in the Dolomites stages of the Giro d’Italia.
We are amazed at the number of tourists, cyclists, bikers and day hikers buzzing around the dolomites. Any wonder the accommodation prices are sky high when it’s not only such a spectacular place to visit but most of the famous day hikes are easily accessible by car. We arrive at 3.30pm at the Rifugio Col Gallina, and can’t believe how lucky we were to score a small twin room to ourselves in peak season, in a hugely popular area, over a weekend. It was such a long trip, and the temperature even at 2,000 metres is 20°C, that we decided to have an early beer on the balcony in full view of our walk tomorrow to the Cinque Torri.
Our room is tiny with twin beds but suits us perfectly, and we’ve soon had a nice hot shower in the bathroom across the corridor. Time to blog and sort photos while we wait for dinner at 7pm. We have already chosen dinner from the limited half board menu Iin Italian), so it will be interesting to see just exactly what we get.