Balkan Diaries - Innsbruck from gistum on Vimeo.
We bid farewell to our host in Innsbruck and set out for our next leg, which would take us to Italy, through Cortina
The seemingly short ride of 260 kms prompted us to start late, but the route with all its beautiful curves and corners took us a bit more than expected to complete. I was just glad we reached Cortina before sundown, but we could not find , settle down and build camp at Camping Olympia - a cozy little camp by the side of a stream running through the soapstone mountains of Tirol. So that night, we put up tents at a trailer parking lot. The Tirolean landscape is stunningly beautiful, with lots of rocky mountains rising vertically out of the land , all along the road. Clear water runs through rivulets, streams and ponds dotting the place.
Somewhere on the way. I remember this was as soon as we entered South Tirol.
Ramu Pradip soaking in the view, his belowed DR650 by his side!
Its a tall bike, and a true dualsport. Hats off to him for riding that thing! :D
Its a tall bike, and a true dualsport. Hats off to him for riding that thing! :D
And soon we were stopping every few minutes because everything looked so cool. The geography was totally new and we were taking every unpaved road and beating the bikes on the trails.
Another view, with the DR 650 in it. Our wheels were full street and so did not try much of crazying around on the gravels.
This rivulet was starting at the foot of that mountain - or cliff - or whatever you want to call it. The sides of that rock were a true 90 degrees!. And there are small caves up nearer to the top of this thing. We trekked the short distance through the stream till the place where a small waterfall started it.
The stream then collected at the bottom. The water was so clean and clear. We filled our hydration pouches here.
RP striking a pensive pose - all lost and stuff. :P
All that loitering cost us time and it was dark before we could find a camping ground. So we pitched tents at this trailer parking lot and crashed for the night. The next day morning I woke up to such a nice view...
There you go.. if only you could wake up to this everyday! I so miss the 390. :'(
Lol!. Later that day, we found Camping Olympia. This camping site has this stream flowing right through it, and the view again is quite awesome.
On the road to lagazuoi! We climbed all the way up later that day. It was one hell of an experience climbing through the tunnels cut through the rocks during WW 2 by the Italian side. There were lots of bikers zipping around, carving out the nice corners and curves along these roads. Riding in Cortina and the Dolomites was an experience I will cherish for times to come. OMG I miss the Duke!!
Here is a short clip of us riding through Cortina.
RP setting up the stove at Camp Olympia.
Later that day we began our climb to Lagazuoi. Rifugio Lagazuoi is one of the most elevated (9,301 ft) mountain inns in the Dolomites. Its spacious deck is famous for the breathtaking views on the Dolomite peaks , and it is also a UNESCO world heritage site.
The climb is pretty steep. We had to take stops in between. Once we entered the tunnels, it became excruciatingly steep. The tunnels are also very dark and we had no torches with us other than the mobile phones.
Italian and Austrian troops were fighting for control of the Lagazoui summit during WW 1. The Austrians had control of the summit, and, in an attempt to wrest it from their control, the Italians constructed (over many months) a labyrinth of tunnels up through the mountain to try and reach, and blow up, the Austrians.
The snow was still melting, and at places would cover the trail so we had to tip toe across, careful not to slip.
Finally we reached the top, where there is an open deck, a small lodge a restaurant with a bar. It was snowing lightly, and my first time in snow! The views from here will make you thank yourself for pulling yourselves all the way up. You can very well take cable cars to the top, but climbing it is an experience by itself. There are also many other trekking routes in the Dolomites which are as stunning. I must tell these pics do no justice to the views from lagazuoi.
That's a small clip we took so that we could put it in someplace like this! I didnt have this blog when we did this trip. :D
And that was it! We came down on the cable car, which takes a different route from the one we came up. The same day, we will leave for Venice!
To be continued...
To be continued...