Alpe di Siusi - Europe's Largest High Alpine Meadow
We were booked for another hiking/walking day today. We briefly considered taking in a local historic horse festival but we decided to stay on track and head up to the Alpe di Siusi. And are we ever glad we did! It was a way to see what we had already experienced in a completely different light, and to have another fantastic walk through the meadows.
It often happens on a tour that the internet is not strong and consistent enough to support my journaling and it’s happened again. I ended up toggling the 5G off my phone last night and simply burned through my remaining data in my e-sim. So, there’s a conumdrum. Just post to say we had another incredible day or choose the suffer-fest of losing captioned photos and waiting forever for photos to load? I will have to choose the former and give you a photo dump for the day. So, without further a-do. Here are the photos of our amazing day in the Alpe di Siusi.
In a nutshell, we took the gondola from Seis am Shlern to the Alpe di Siusi, the gondola is just 200m from our B&B, and then we walked to a chairlift to take us to the top of the world, basically. From there we did a large loop of the meadow and had lunch at a refugio. We then walked down to the top of the gondola and returned to Seis am Schlern and our B&B. Here is the photo journal.
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/130558-Gentiana-acaulis Reply to this comment 1 month ago
Anne MathersTo Bill ShaneyfeltThis gentian is such a beauty. It is thriving here, sometimes dotting the hillside. I’ve also seen another variety, as well, much more petite. Reply to this comment 1 month ago
I had an inkling of a connection with witchcraft in this area, as memorialized by the enormous witch’s broom. And, yes, there is some historic fact behind it. Before Christianity arrived in the region, the Sciliar witches were merely local women who used herbs to cure illness and performed rituals to encourage a good harvest. Then, in medieval times, their reputations changed and they were persecuted for anything that went wrong in town.
What once were regarded as harmless ceremonials were suddenly viewed as pacts with the devil and it sparked a witch hunting frenzy. Rumors in the town said there were gatherings on the mountain every Thursday, at the Witch’s Steps so the witches could partake in black magic rituals and dance with the devil. They were said to arrive either on horseback or by broomstick. Coven gatherings were said to happen on the plateau while the oldest witch would sit on a chair-shaped boulder to lead the group and enjoy the stunning landscape. Even storms, a normal daily occurrence, were blamed on the witches. In the early 1500’s, they began burning witches at the stake in this area. But that stopped by about 1520 when the activity was banned. The legends live on, but in a much more positive light.
Looking down at the Val Gardena and the Passo Gardena. All the places we have been in the past several days are visible here. It came as a big surprise to look down and see where we’d just been.
We had a good laugh watching this cow break free from its grazing field. It ran with gay abandon, tail held high, across the meadow and on to greener pastures. I’d never considered cows’ personalities until this moment.
Anne MathersSurprisingly, I didn’t see one bee on the dandelions! They preferred the complex flowers. It was one big buffet! Reply to this comment 1 month ago
We returned from our hike and it was soon time for dinner. In this part of Italy, dinner starts around 6pm. We went back to the Santner restaurant at the gondola and enjoyed a couple of pasta dinners.
Patty BarronSo many awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, magnificent views!
Every where you turn, no matter which way you look…
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