Day 1 Arrival in Chiusa/Klausen
Prior to the start of our 10 Day Best of the Dolomites trek in September 2024, Colin and I spent 3 nights in Chiusa/Klaussen, Italy. This allowed us to get over any jet lag we may have encountered and also to allow a cushion for any travel delays. The 7 hours and 45 minute non-stop, Lufthansa flight departed Boston approximately 15 minutes late and arrived in Münich 30 minutes late. It was an uneventful flight and we were served both dinner and breakfast. Upon landing, there was a delay in our plane getting its luggage. This caused us to miss our train reservation which I had purchased on the DB Deutsche Bahn website prior to our trip. We caught the S-Bahn (S8) from the Münich Flughafen to Münich Ostbahnhof (East Station). We purchased the S-Bahn tickets from a vending machine at the airport upon arrival. It is important to “validate” the ticket prior to boarding the S-Bahn (there are validation machines on the train platforms). The S-Bahn was so crowded that no one ever checked our tickets. After getting off the S-Bahn at the Münich Ostbahnhof, we visited the Deutschbahn travel center where we changed the time of our train reservation to Bressanone/Brixen. We had to wait another 1.5 hours before we caught the EC 87 regional train. This train was a direct train to Bressanone/Brixen via Kufstein and Innsbruck, Austria. It was a beautiful train ride. Colin fell asleep but I was just too excited to close my eyes. While passing thru Innsbruck we passed the Bergisel ski jump, home to the 1976 Winter Olympic ski jump competition.
We arrived in Bressanone/Brixen around 5PM. We had been in contact with our Air B&B host throughout the day keeping her updated on our arrival time. She had sent us detailed information on how to get to Apartment Vroni from Bressanone/Brixen via bus or train. We chose to take the bus because there was less of a wait and the bus station was adjacent to the train station. We got out our Euros for the first time and paid the bus driver 4€ on Bus 170. Thirty minutes and 13 stops later, we arrived at the Klausen Frag bus stop. It was a short, 5 minute downhill walk to Apartment Vroni. Veronika, our host, was outside waiting for us.
Veronika was an Air B&B superhost and Apartment Vroni had excellent reviews. Our lodging was on the first floor of the house and Veronika and her husband lived on the 2nd and 3rd floors. The apartment was only a 5 minute walk from the Klausen Frag bus stop and the Old Town and a 15 minute walk from the Chiusa/Klausen bus and train stations. Veronika spoke German with very little English and we spoke English with very little German so Google Translate became our friend. Veronika was extremely helpful and gave us all kinds of maps and transportation timetables.
Finding food became our next priority as we were basically functioning off the continental airline breakfast and a few Zone bars. We walked to the Old Town and sat down at the first restaurant we found – Gasthof Zum Hirschen. Colin and I both had pizzas with different toppings. The Italians eat their pizza with a fork and knife. We found a shortcut to get back to Apartment Vroni and then it was an early bedtime. Now would be a good time to mention that most of this vacation was spent in the South Tyrol province of Italy. The South Tyrol province is the wealthiest province in Italy as well as one of the wealthiest regions in the European Union. This region has Italian, Austrian, and German influences in the food and culture. Both Italian and German (as well as Ladin – a Romantic language spoken mainly in the Dolomites) are spoken in the region. I kept switching between Guten Tag/Danke and Buongiorno/Grazie. Locations usually have two (Italian/German), (if not three – Ladin) names. Most hospitality workers spoke English, and most menus had English translations, however I did not think English was as prevalent as it was in Switzerland.
Day 2 Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm
Our first full day in Italy and we woke up to warm, sunny skies after a quiet night. We headed back to the Klausen Frag bus stop and boarded Bus 170 to continue on to Castelrotto/Kastelruth and the Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm gondola. The trip lasted about 40 minutes and was very scenic. The Alpe di Siuis/Seiser Alm is the largest high altitude meadow in Europe. It is 22 square miles and ranges in elevation from 5,250 ft to 9,705 ft. At Seis Am Schlern we took the gondola up to the village of Compaccio/Compatsch at 6,070 ft. From Compaccio/Compatsch there are multiple hiking/biking trails available meandering throughout the meadow. The Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm is not reachable by car after 9am when the gondolas are running. Fortunately, they were running a special that weekend and the gondola cost only $15 per person roundtrip which was half price.
We meandered thru the meadow for approximately 2 hours with no real itinerary. As hunger set in, we checked the map for any restaurants or rifugios. We found Malga Contrin set up high on a hill. We hiked uphill on the narrow path and were greeted by a family of goats. The restaurant had outdoor picnic tables and wooden lounge chairs looking out over the meadow. We shared a cold cuts platter (homemade speck, ham, cheese, pickles, horseradish, & bread) as an appetizer. I had the Polente with Sasiccia (polenta with soft cheese and homemade sausage from beef on the farm) along with a lemonade. The lemonade was more of a sparkling lemonade which I drank quite frequently the rest of the trip. Colin had Hemendex (roasted potatoes with eggs sunny side up and homemade speck) along with his first beer of the trip.
From Malga Contrin we made our way over to the mountain station of the Ortisei-Alpe di Siusi cableway. From here we were able to look across the valley to the Seceda ridgeline, where we would be starting our trek 2 days later. A short distance from this mountain station there was a chairlift that we took down to Sonne/Sole to save our knees from hiking downhill. We hiked another 2 hours back to Compatsch, took the gondola back down to the valley, and took Bus 170 back to Chiusa/Klausen. Dinner that night was again at Gasthof Zum Hirschen. Colin had a different kind of pizza and I had the spinach ravioli in a parmesan sauce. The highlight of the meal though was the dessert, homemade gelato. I had gelato with amaretto and Colin had the chocolate gelato.
Day 3 Val di Funes & Sabiona Monastery
We awoke to gray skies this morning, but tempertures were still on the warmer side. We took a leisurely 15 minute stroll thru the Old Town to the Chiusa/Klausen bus station where we caught Bus 331 to Mileins. At Mileins we changed to Bus 330 to Santa Magdalena. The entire journey took about 30 minutes. Santa Magdalena is located in the Val di Funes valley, a valley with beautiful views of the Odle spires.
Our first stop was the Church of St Magdalena (Chiesa di Santa Maddalena). There is a short uphill walk to reach the church. The church is more than 625 years old and is characterized by Baroque elements. The paintings inside the church are by Ladin artist Johann M. Pescoller. We circled back around and returned to the bus stop. After checking the map, we then ventured along the road to reach the second famous church in the area – the San Giovanni Church (St Johann Church). This church was built in 1744 and contains an onion dome with a star recognizing the martyrdom of John. The view of the church with the Odle spires in the background is simply stunning. The church is located on private farmland so to get close to it without having fences in your view, you must pay a 4€ fee. The church is not open to the public. After getting some photos, we walked back along the road and waited at the Ranui bus stop for Bus 330. We retraced our route back to Klausen.
In Klausen, we ate lunch at the Stadtcafe in the Old Town. Colin and I both had the wienerschnitzel and fries. After lunch we decided to visit the Sabiona/Säben Monastery which sits high on a hill above the town of Chiusa/Klausen. The monastery is a Benedictine nunnery that was established in 1687, it was closed in 2021 when the last 3 nuns left. The nuns abided by the rule: “Ora et labora et lege” (Pray and work and read) and were not allowed to interact with visitors. There are 4 beautiful churches that can be visited: the Chapel of Mercy, the Monastery Church, the Church of Our Lady, and the Church of the Holy Cross. The trail to monastery starts in one of the narrow alleyways at the west end of Chiusa/Klausen and is a little difficult to find. The trail starts with a steep staircase. At the end of the staircase a loop trail begins. We chose to go to the right and take the steep switchbacks thru the forest up to the entrance. There are beautiful views along the way that look out over the town of Chiusa/Klausen as well as looking out on some lovely vineyards. You eventually enter the monastery thru a stone tunnel. Once there you can look down on the other side of the hill at more orchards. We visited 3 of the churches. As we made our way back around the loop we passed the 14 stations of the cross. It started to rain, but we were both prepared with our rain gear.
We relaxed back at the Air B& B before venturing out for dinner. Throughout the trip we found that if we ate on the early side (6:00-6:30PM) we would beat the evening rush. We ate outside at Gassl Brau under an awning. Colin had pizza again and I had the largest calzone I’ve every seen with ham and mushrooms. When we returned to the Air B&B, we reorganized our luggage for the trek that we would be starting the next day. Everything we would need for the next 10 days would be placed in our two Deuter backpacks. Everything else was placed in the carry-on suitcase and would be left with Veronika until we completed our trek. It rained throughout the evening and night (quite hard at times) and we kept our fingers crossed that the weather would improve by the morning. See the 10 Day Best of the Dolomites post to find out if the weather improved.