We turned what would have been a pretty miserable day into a great one with one simple decision. Get out of Dodge.
This harkens back to that famous JM Keynes quote that I used a few weeks back … not the one about being dead in the long run, the other one about changing course when the facts change.
As expected it was overcast, cold (5° C) and with rain in the forecast. Also the buses to the Refugio Auronzo where the classic Tre Cime hiking routes start (about 9 km’s and some 500 m of elevation above us) are not running yet, and given the weather, we weren’t going to ride that to start what would then be a cold and miserable hike. With this, any thought of a high altitude hike was stone cold dead.
The most dreadful cup of coffee ever served in Italy at breakfast sealed the deal. So, we added on another night to our planned stop over in Brunico for tonight and we blew this place off, mainly the ‘Grand Hotel’ , not Misurina as a whole. We can’t do anything about the weather and if it was sunny and with double digit temps we probably would have gone for the hike and sucked up another day here. If we were here a few weeks later we would have been staying at the lovely Hotel Miralago, but it was literally just in the process of opening up and wouldn’t be accepting guests for another week at least.
Decision made, and credit card charged for another night in Brunico, we did go for a little hike around the lake, and got a proper cup of coffee at the very Tyrolean, very touristy, tour bus focused cafe along side the lake (whilst being yodeled at from the cafes’ playlist!)
With that, we bid adieu to the Grand Hotel, swung our leg over the top bar, climbed about 10 m to get out of the lake basin, and then pointed the bikes downhill for the rest of the day.
Literally.
There were a few small hills to negotiate some of the elevation differences between roads, but we’re talking a minute or so of climbing for each of these, at most, and the rest of the day was like sitting on a comfy saddle while our metal horses took us through the amazing scenery unfolding around us.
First up was the great descent to Toblach (or Dobbiaco if you insist on trying to speak Italian here … almost nobody does!) through the Dolomites. Even with clouds, there were enough breaks to see the dramatic peaks and cliffs that gave a very mysterious and eerie (in a good way) feel to the ride. Once in Toblach the scenery changed dramatically and we were riding down the wide open and very pastoral Rienz river valley all the way to Bruneck (German spelling … I have to follow my own advice).
This was pure Heidi. I’m certain I saw Julie and a few kids skipping and singing through the high pastures (and I know I’m really mixing up metaphors here). Simply stunning and with green spring crops, the clouds and a few spits of rain, very different from our last trip through here in October 2019 when the golden crops were mostly harvested and we had full sun. We even saw and remembered the same tree that the link above is to, this time bright green rather than blazing yellow.
All of this was on the Munich-Venice radweg - 90% of it on separate impeccable bike trails. Very well used bike trails I must add. Once we hit the MV trail about 6 km’s out of Misurina we were continually meeting other cycle tourers. Easily over 100 (no exaggeration) and the vast majority heading the opposite direction as us. ‘Build it and they will come’ proves to be true once again.
We cruised into Bruneck (spell check reallllly wants to make that Brubeck … took me more than 5 takes to get it right …. bad pun but I had to do it) a lovely small city and found the very lively city centre for our post ride bevy. We didn’t earn it for the cycling, but 100% for the good decision making.
This place looks wonderful. We’ve cycled through a few times before and stopped for lunch once, and always said we should stay longer. This time we are, three nights in fact.
As noted in previous posts, we’re adding a bit of a Messner theme to the next few weeks and will be going to five of the six Messner museums dotted through the Dolomites and South Tyrol. Two of the five are accessed from Bruneck, hence the long stay over.
And after our (close to) miserable experience at The Grand Hotel, the Ander Hotel that we’re at in Bruneck for the next three nights is an absolute oasis of calm elegance and friendly accommodating service.
And the dining? Bruneck does have a M three star place (we’re not going there though) and there’s the inevitable halo / spill over to the rest of the dining community. In other words, we’ll eat very well here …. And we did tonight -overwrought photo diary coming up! Haven’t had one of those for a while.
So, a fantastic all day downhill with a tailwind, scenery that would fill a boxcar full of postcards, comforting accommodations and great food for sustenance of the body and soul. What’s not to like?
Well, there has to be one small blemish, nothing is perfect after all. I noticed I had a slow leak in my front tire. We managed with with two ‘supplementary pump ups’ and made it to the hotel with no problem and I’ve got lots of time now to fix things in the comfort of the very nice bike room in the hotel.
Life is good.
Look at that elevation profile! Yesterday was nearly ‘all day uphill’, today was ‘all day downhill’. We even had a tailwind :)
The view down Lake Misurina. The place we wanted to stay, Albergo Miralago is the white building on the right. They were just gearing up for the season but weren’t open yet.
Didn’t know this until K told me … Coots don’t have webbed feet but can still swim remarkably well. This pic gives a good look at their feet. Nice clear water
Rolling hills and farms, yet this is almost in the middle of the Alps. On either side are major mountain ranges. Austria is just a few km’s north (on the other side of the ridge).
‘The Tree’ - back in October 2019 this tree was blazing yellow. We had a ‘small world’ meet up with a young Dutch couple who were in the final stretches of a major Eurasian tour. Today, the tree is green and it’s just us.
… and it’s very well used! We saw loads of other folks out on tours. Some obvious road warriors but most looked like they were out for a few days. All good! This was the same when we were here in October 2019.
This is the bike path. It’s also used by farm vehicles. This guy passed us about five minutes earlier on his way ’to work’. We gave him a wide berth (K has experience with this from our days in Scotland!)
and now we are arriving at Bruneck. That’s the castle off to the left. It’s the site of the Ripa Messner Mountain Museum, our destination for tomorrow.
We’re staying at the very nice Hotel Ander, just north of the town centre. Their sister hotel in the centre, The Post, is also home to their restaurant Cosmo. We were once again the first people in but it filled up nicely. The entire evening was excellent!
Why not, it’s a great song, truly a classic, as is this ride today. And maybe this will satisfy the Spell Check gremlins.
We used this earlier, but a King Tubby cover version. This one is pure original, Desmond, Morello, Wright and Brubeck from their ‘Time Out’ album - fitting for what we’re doing over the next couple of days too.
Today's ride: 48 km (30 miles) Total: 1,989 km (1,235 miles)
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Karin KaarsooSo was it you or the spellcheck gremlins that labelled Brubeck as Bruneck in the SOTD title? Reply to this comment 2 weeks ago
Lyle McLeodTo Karin KaarsooWell spotted! That one as deliberate (I had to override the Gremlin that wanted to change it) Reply to this comment 2 weeks ago
