Trips

Fri., 7/24/15 – Bolzano and Ortisei
           The FIRST and ONLY day of both trips that the temperature was less than 90 degrees!!

          Today we took a bus tour into the spectacular Dolomites. Our visit to the small ski and hiking village of Ortisei was too short.  It is a picturesque mountain village with a wonderful atmosphere.  The town is known for woodcarving and wooden sculptures.  We wandered through an exhibit by 52 local carvers.  Many items were religious or nativities but some were more modern and provocative.  Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures at the exhibit.
            We went into the Romanesque San Ulrico Church with more wooden sculptures and the religious decorations were very different, maybe German, instead of Papal Italian.  In one corner is a 1900’s sculpture of St. Elizabeth doing charity that was exhibited at the Paris Expo.

Ortisei	Ortisei
Ortisei	Ortisei
Ortisei	Ortisei - Museum wall
Ortisei - parachuters	Ortisei
Ortisei - San Ulrico Church - love the lighted camel in front	Ortisei - Market
Ortisei - gondolas going up the mountain	Ortisei - cable car
Ortisei - Wood sculpture	Ortisei - Wood sculpture
Ortisei - Wood sculpture	Ortisei - Wood sculpture
Ortisei - Wood sculpture	Ortisei - Water course
The Dolomite Mountains were once a coral reef that was uplifted by the movement of the African tectonic plate subducting under the Eurasian plate.  Many fossils can be found in the limestone including one huge ichthyosaurus, which is displayed in the town museum.              We drove on then into the mountains near the Sella Group and over the Sella Pass.  We saw rock climbers going up one of the pinnacles and had lunch at Sass Pordoi where five of our group spent 16 Euros each to ride the gondola to the top of the mountain.  It would have been a fun place for a picnic and hike if the weather had been nicer.  While we were eating lunch we had a thunder and lightning storm that shut down the gondola.  It rained for a while as we drove back toward Bolzano but stopped long enough for us to go over Costalunga Pass, which was once the border between Italy and Germany.  The pass is between Latimer and Rosengarden Dolomites.	The Dolomites
The Dolomites	The Dolomites - climbers on the Sass Pordoi
The Dolomites - climbers on the Sass Pordoi	Lunch stop
Memorial to bicycle rider Fausto Coppi	The Dolomites - Cable car to the top of the mountain
The Dolomites - Avalanche fences	The Dolomites
The Dolomites	We stopped in the Violin Forest where Latimer or Hazel Spruce trees grow.  Their wood is favored by violin makers for its wonderful resonance.  In the tunnel under the roadway, we could strike some of the spruce timbers and hear their sound.  The tunnel led us to Lake Carezza, a colorful lake (like Morning Glory Pool in Yellowstone), and shear Dolomites as a backdrop.
Lake Carezza
Resonant wood for musical instruments	Novel clock

            Back at the hotel, we rested and then we went out to dinner at a small pizzeria.  We sat outside and enjoyed the cool air after the thunderstorm.  We walked into town and had gelato for dessert.  It was the first time it was cool enough (80°) to want to stroll outdoors.

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