The Dolomites are a mountain range in northern Italy, and their beauty was all around us while we stayed in Bolzano. As soon as we could, we headed higher up in altitude for some exploration.

The cable car building was an easy walk from our lodging, and soon we were on our way.

It didn’t take long to rise above Bolzano and the vineyards encircling the city. The city lies on the floor of a valley and soon we lost sight of it as the mountains surrounded us.

Off the cable car, though, we were not on top of the mountain. On most every other cable car we have been on in the Alps, one or maybe two cable car runs usually puts us on top of the world where we can begin a hike. Surprise – not in this case!

The cable car had taken us to a little mountain village called Oberbozen. And straight ahead of me was a handy Tourist Information Office. There, I discovered that there was more to this journey than we anticipated. The nice lady inside the office, who spoke English, helped me map out our day.

To get up higher, we needed to board a small cog wheel train, which took us across the mountain instead of up. Off the train, everyone hoofed it en masse over to a waiting bus in Klobenstein. We all packed that bus.

On both the bus and the train, we passed alpine farms and large dwellings that I would guess hold lots of skiiers in the winter season. There were brilliant green meadows with horses, cows, and sheep grazing. Huge barns and houses held planters of flowers spilling out over multiple balconies.

We stopped at tiny train stations.

Walking trails everywhere provided good options for a day in the Alps. In the winter these same trails are probably great for cross-country skiing.

We were not done yet. After the bus, the next step was another cable car. In September of 2022, masks were still the law Italy for any public conveyance.

Off the cable car, and finally – the mountain top! Here, even the little mountain villages are no longer to be seen. But which way to hike?

We set off on the “Panoramaweg”, hoping for pretty views. Of course, there was a pretty view everywhere we turned.

The start of this walk is in a forest of short trees, almost bushes, that are called the mountain pine. The tallest of them are only nine feet tall, and some are three hundred years old.

Mountain pine oil is used internally and externally for colds, rheumatism, sore muscles and other purposes. The oil “makes tired legs kick”. Well, my legs weren’t too tired yet. It felt good to get out and stretch after riding on all the various conveyances to get here.

On our walk, we dipped down in elevation a bit, and here the trees are taller.

Rounding a curve, the actual top of the mountain, Rittner Horn, rises up over the treeline. A lift would take you there in the wintertime for skiing. The beautiful plateau of the Ritten has been designated a Unesco World Heritage site.

We did not hike up to it, since the sun was warm and it was already lunchtime. We made a stop at Gasthof Unterhorn, the white building in this picture.

We ate out on the patio, but I popped inside the restaurant and found this postcard. This is probably a great place to ski, and I can see why folks might want to lodge here. A skier would be right on the slope at the start of their day.

I did hike up just a little further after lunch to photograph this cow, which was also taking in the view. Or napping, I’m not sure which.

Hiking back to the cable car on the remainder of the “Panoramaweg”, there is more mountain splendor in store.

Starting from the highest peaks furthest away, waves of various colors ripple down the landscape.

This part of the path has some small sculptures to keep the kids entertained.

The woman at the tourist office back in Klobenstein had pointed out something else we might want to see, and we did. After the upper cable car and the bus ride we walked around the small bus depot to board a bus with a different route. This brought us to the stop for the “earth pyramids”. This is a natural phenomena due to hillside erosion. Each pyramid has a big rock on top. When the rock finally falls, the pyramid begins to die.

There was a sign that told us that pyramids such as these exist on every continent, but these are the tallest and best-developed. Several factors have to exist for the pyramids to happen: the type of soil, a steep incline, and protection from wind.

The earth pyramids were an extraordinary sight, and I was happy we’d taken this little detour. The short hike from the bus stop to see them gave us more beautiful scenery to enjoy, too.

There was a cute little bridge over a babbling mountain stream,

mountain ash trees full of berries clustered in profusion,

and we could hike in deeper woods than we had been in on the Ritter Horn, with the earth pyramids playing peek-a-boo.

What a day, full of nature and beautiful sights. Taken together with the other places we’d seen in Bolzano, we were feeling like our already-amazing trip was getting even better. A bonus: the weather was warming up, and on this day the sun shone all day. Along with all of that, one of my most-anticipated cities was the next stop on the itinerary.

Next time: our second (and last) Italian destination