Coastalbeat.com

Imagine a dream-like mountain village: crispy air, clean streets, the sweet smell of burning wood tickling your nostrils and houses made of gingerbread and icing. Ortisei, a picture perfect little town in the Dolomites, is all this, except for the houses that –luckily- are actually made of bricks and wood, painted in soft pastel colors that make them look like the infamous Hansel and Gretel witch’s abode.



Located a mere 40 minutes north of the city of Bolzano, Val Gardena is possibly the most charming and well-kept mountain valley in Italy and in all of Europe. The incredible view of the pink Dolomites alone is worth the three-hour drive from Milan. But that’s not all.

For all of you hedonistic types, Val Gardena offers one of the finest cuisines in Europe, a perfect blend of Northern Italian and South Austrian with tidbits of old Austro-Hungarian recipes. There's also a vast selection of above-average local wines and an array of beauty and wellness treatments that range from holistic body massage to ten different kinds of saunas and steam baths.

The town of Ortisei in the Val Gardena valley is also a great place for more sporty travelers. During the winter hundreds of miles of ski slopes are all connected to each other so you never have to take your skis off or drive. In the summer, hiking, mountain climbing and gliding are not only extremely popular, but also offer great views of the majestic scenery.

My family’s love affair with Val Gardena started more than twenty-five years ago, when my parents ditched the then more popular slopes of Val d’Aosta in northwestern Italy for the quainter, friendlier village of Ortisei. It is in Val Gardena that I learned to ski at the age of three, and it was on its slopes that I won my first ski race at the age of five. In the summer I explored every corner of the village with my bicycle and tried every ice cream flavor the town had to offer. When I was seven my parents bought an apartment with a beautiful view of the valley and the pink mountains: for the next fourteen years we spent most of our weekends, Christmas break and spring break enjoying the skiing, the food and the traditions of one the most magical places on earth.



Going back to Ortisei after seven long years of not seeing any real mountains was a breathtaking experience, and not only because of the altitude (Ortisei is located at 3900 feet, the mountain peaks at over 6000). One tends to forget how dramatically beautiful certain sunsets are in the Dolomites, and how warm and cozy every restaurant, bar and café in town are. The weather was uncharacteristically cold and cloudy for September –it was snowing!- but nothing that a good glass of Blauburgunder (a.k.a. Pinot Noir) and a snack of bread, smoked mountain ham and horseradish marmalade won’t fix.

Walking through town, beautifully painted houses on both sides of the street, I felt as if I had never really left: each café was still there, stores had the same names and the same merchandise, the air still smelled of burning wood and roasted meat.

But at a closer look, the valley has changed in the past seven years: In an incredible effort to provide a better vacation experience AND a cleaner, more ecologically friendly environment, the no-nonsense, hardworking natives have invested millions to create a system of underground parking lots, underground trains and escalators that make it possible for the average tourist to park their car upon arrival and leave it there until their departure (wouldn’t it be great to have the same system in Naples during season?).



The food was as good as I remembered it: speck (smoked mountain ham) on rye bread, ham and onion dumplings sautéed in butter and sage, roasted meat of every kind with home made berry jams and sweet omelets made with raisins and powder sugar for dessert… everything one can dream of after a day of walking in the brisk mountain air.



Simple yet sophisticated, the cuisine mirrored the general atmosphere of the valley. Miles away from superfluous city snobbery, Val Gardena is home to an extraordinary culture that comes from centuries of Austrian domination, and a typical Italian love for all things beautiful and fun. Ortisei brings together old traditions and new technology with such charm one can't help fall in love with it.