Hello all you Dolomiti fans. We’re currently in Toblach/Dobbiaco for our first trip up here and it is as gorgeous as you all have reported. We’re staying in a large, comfortable apartment of a villa from the 1870s in which Gustav Mahler once spent a summer composing. I am thrilled to be eating German/Austrian foods again (hands down the best bakers, they are). The only disappointment is the snow - last snowfall was January 6 and there isn’t much in the forecast for our time here. We’re cross-country skiers, not downhill, so it’s sad that the trails are a little thin and the tracks are filled with pine needles. But there are lots of ways to have fun here. Also there is a World Cup Nordic race next weekend, for which we saw the snow stockpiles, so hopefully when that’s done they can refill some of the trails with man made snow.
I found the drive harder than expected. We started in Lugano and came through Milan and then up the A4, which is a well-maintained but very busy toll road that goes through to Austria. The lanes were fine but no shoulders, the right lane full of cargo trucks and the left lane full of impatient drivers. We made it halfway before sunset, so the last few hours’ drive was in the dark. I recommend making the trip in daylight. There is a train station and lots of bus service, but we’re traveling with a very full car of stuff for our upcoming 5 months in Monza, definitely not Rick Steves style.
I’ll write a trip report afterwards, but I just wanted to thank those who answered my earlier question about good locations. This area will definitely be on our list to revisit.
