When I first arrived I thought that I would feel claustrophobic, surrounded so tightly by mountains. When Jeff was here we took the swish new cable car which glided smoothly up and over the mountains to Oberbozen, from where we took a little train through the snow along the side of the nearest mountain to see views of the Dolomites. It was very lovely.
Today I took a break from my extensive study of Itaian popular TV culture and took another cable car from the other side of town up to the village of San Genesio. This older, and smaller, cable car lurches and sways its way up the mountainside to a very pretty town which has spectacular views over the Rosengarten - the nearest range of high mountains, so called for its thorn-like vertical spikes.
Castel Mareccio with the Rosengarten Mountain Range in the background
To get to the cable car I walked alongside the river, which is the town's playground, with mini golf, basketball and all sorts of sports taking place by a pleasant parkland walkay. Also en route is the gorgeous Castel Mareccio (now a conference facility) surrounded by vines - as indeed are all the surrounding hills.
Looking down from the cable car to Schloss Runkelstein (blog 5)
The Views from up here were stunning and I'm afraid my little camera-phone cannot do them justice. It's easy to understand how ancient civilisations thought that the mountains were the home of the gods. The light is always different up there and you always feel that you are staring on something both other-worldly and outside of time. Awe inspiring is the only phrase really. I'll let pictures do the rest of the talking - as ever 'click' to enlarge.
Sledging in San Genesio
The Rosengarten Mountains in the background...
...like Valhalle in the distance
Declining light over the valley
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