The Lonely Goatherd

Day 2 began with an excited Alex  exclaiming that we get to go play… in Italy.  Today’s activities   The day started out wonderfully with a great breakfast at our hotel followed by an ominous warning. You can not imagine the sinking feeling in her heart when the lady at the tourist office counseled us against hiking the mountains due to the fog and possible snow.  We had reserved a room for a refuge in the mountains for the night and so we asked the hotel receptionist to call up to the refuge to check on the weather and if the trail conditions would be safe.  With deep assurances from the refuge staff, we decided to embarked on the planned adventure. 
were some of the parts of the trip she was most looking forward to—hiking in the mountains of the Dolomites and experience the Alpine culture (since she got voted down on going to Switzerland this was the best Italian alternative).

We caught a bus that whisked us to a nearby town with a chairlift station at the base of the mountain.  This chairlift gave us gorgeous overhead views of cattle grazing, the pine forest, and the charming homes tucked on the side of the mountain.  In 15 minutes we were let off in the town of Compatch.  From there we began a glorious hike.  Everything was so beautiful Arthur might have gotten carried away with the camera.  Our journey led us through the largest high alpine meadow in Europe.  When Johanna Spyri was writing Heidi, this is the setting of the action. I highly recommend Youtubing "The Lonely Goatherd" and listening along while reading the rest of this; it'll help set the mood. 

Early on the profound silence of the area was broken only by the continual clanging of cow bells as the unconcerned bovines chewed lazily and watched the next set of tourist pass by.  These working farms coexist side by side with the budding tourism of the area in a simple symbiotic relationship; the farms provide the ambience that keep tourists coming, and in return these farms receive government subsidies for the value added to the community.  Soon the great Schlern came into view out of the clouds.  The Schlern, a great plateau with a sharp cut off high in these limestone mountains  certainly seems abrupt rising sharply out of the rolling meadow, but it is part of the charm of the area.  

I had seen the American Rockies before and ultimately that is what I expected from the Dolomites, but the contrast between the two was palpable in every way.  The Rockies are made primarily of granite that forms bolderous, well, rocky, faces.  The Dolomites by contrast are limestone and take a craggier form.  I wouldn't want to speak for the whole of the region, but hiking in high meadow like we were, the mountains were not forested at all, and that gave some pretty extraordinary views.  

It took us roughly three hours to reach the refuge, but we did not yet have our fill of adventure, so we dropped our night packs off and headed to the Schlern.  We were soon overtaken by some friendly vacationing Germans with whom we chatted and walked along.  They took some pictures for us and were just a delight to talk with, and when we had to turn back towards the refuge it was sad to leave them.

However, dinner was not eaten without company.  While most of the room was filled with Germans we were assigned to sit at the table with about the only other native English speakers.  We share a table (and a bunk room) with a couple from New Zealand and we again had a wonderful time comparing and contrasting our countries and cultures.  The meal was delicious; four courses of the most splendid Italian/German fare you'll ever see.  Arthur opted this time for the spinach dumplings (we needed to be able to compare and contrast similar founds with each other; this was a different style but still so good) to go with his salad, pesto alfredo, and cheesecake; Alex had barley soup, sausages, and apple strudel.  

Tired, well fed, and happy, we showered up, took some quick notes on the day, and headed up to bed; dreaming of the wondrous day and anticipating what yet stood before us.  Omnia Vincit Amour.