So good even my twin came skiing with me…
Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm) is the largest and highest plateau in Europe. It is nested at the heart of the Dolomites, in the German speaking part of Italy.
About an hour and a half drive from Verona, three and a half hours door to door from Milano (If you have my driving skills).
And it is one of my favourite places in the whole world.
For professional pictures, travel and accommodation information, I post here the link to an official website. They also have great pictures.
In this post though, I would like to explain why I like Alpe di Siusi so much. It is not the ski tracks. Although they are always well prepared, the area is not know for abundance of snow, nor the length of the tracks (at least for European standards). Only one – easy – black run. And yes it is a bit of kids paradise and full of entertainment (several tracks with slalom poles to do self timing runs, speed traps) apparently a great jumping park for snowboarders; as well as incredible opportunities for cross country skiing.
It is not the cuisine, although of course bombardinos (see my post) and calimeros abounds. As well as traditional soup cooked served on some sort of a bread pot, the local small goods and many more wonders for eating afecionados.
And it is not even the history, with legends of witches and mages whispering through the dark nights. Nor the architecture of small huts dispersed and perfectly integrated with the mountains.
The magic of Alpe di Siusi, which has drawn me to travel there on purpose from Australia in several occasions, even for only a couple of days, lays also elsewhere. To me, it is the views, the sheer beauty of this part of the world.
The incredible shape of the mountains, the sharp contour of the rocks, from the Sasso Piatto, the Sasso Lungo and all the other peaks. Adorned at their bases by the snow and the gentle shapes of the plateau.
When skiing, surrounded by this incredible scenery; when resting for a drink, looking at the spectacle of nature; or in the evening, when the dolomia rock tinges the mountain of a unique pink.
It is nature, its pure Beauty, which makes Alpe di Siusi so magical.
The pictures below do not do it justice, the website (link above) is better. But I hope you enjoy nonetheless the non professional snippets below. I start with a few panoramas.
A few with me attempting to ski or pose
The magical spectacle of light on the Dolomites
and in closing two favourites, including one of the church in Castelrotto. Isn’t this place just incredibly beautiful?
