Italy, Trentino

From Berlin to Italy via the Czech Republic. In Berlin, we fill up with fuel at 2.17 [EUR/liter], only pouring 25 liters, just enough to reach the Czech Republic, as we've heard that fuel there is much cheaper. On the way, we stop at a Berlin supermarket and buy sweets, drinks, and instant noodles for the evening. But most importantly, we buy coffee, which costs 11.99 EUR here. We enter the first town in the Czech Republic, right after Dresden, into the navigation and set off. Today the sun is shining, there isn't a single cloud, it's +14 degrees in the morning, and after getting on the highway, we leisurely drive towards the Czech Republic! On the way, we stop at a gas station and fuel there also costs 2.17 Eur. We really hope that fuel in the Czech Republic is indeed cheaper. After a couple of hours, we have already entered the Czech Republic and decide to visit the beautiful cliffs and national park of this region, where, according to legend, the Latvian blockbuster "Sprīdītis" (Tom Thumb) was filmed. Since our time is limited, we drive to the first cliffs and walk a small hiking trail that stretches between large stone and cliff blocks, and walking along this trail, you just want to see what's around the next bend. So we keep going further and further and enjoy the spring weather and the beautiful views. If you're heading in this direction, plan at least a couple of days so you can enjoy this beauty unhurriedly; it's definitely a must-see, and this trail can be walked by both small children and older people. Beauty is guaranteed, as is relaxation. Driving along, we see gas stations with huge queues, all cars have German license plates, and everyone wants to fill up with fuel for 1.51 eur, not 2.27 eur. Yes, fuel here is indeed much cheaper, and the gas stations closest to Germany are full of cars from Germany. We continue our journey towards Italy, but it's already clear that we won't even get past Austria today, so we decide to stay in Munich and find a room for 96 Eur for 4 people with all breakfasts included. The hotel was called Premiere Inn, the room size was 32m2, quite spacious, everything clean and new. We go to bed and tomorrow we continue our journey to Italy; this time we will try, film, and show you two ski resorts, Paganella and Val di Fassa. Italy, Paganella, and a million-dollar view from the hotel balcony! We leave the hotel in Munich around 9:00 in the morning and have entered a town called Mittenwald into the navigation, which is very close to the Austrian border. We drive on the highway for a while, but about an hour before this town, we turn off the main road and drive on small roads, sometimes even very narrow roads. We haven't been to Canada or Alaska, but what we've seen in various films and pictures, this section of the road definitely reminds us of scenes from Canada. We drive and enjoy nature, the green water in the river and lake, the mountains, the forests, and the waterfalls that are occasionally visible by the roadside. We stop and take pictures and discuss that this is definitely a place where we will want to return again and enjoy everything at a leisurely pace. We are approaching the town of Mittenwald and enjoying the beauty and neatness of the surrounding nature and nearby villages. Mittenwald is known for its still-active and excellent violin makers who produce very high-quality violins. The town itself is nestled among the Alps, and the house walls are decorated with biblical drawings. When planning your route to Germany, include this route; it will be worth it. Next, we enter Austria, drive through Innsbruck, enter Italy, eat delicious Italian pizzas at the border, and already after 2 hours of crossing the border, we are at our destination, the Paganella region, in the village of Andalo. We check into a hotel called Regents, and from our balconies, there is a fabulously beautiful view of the Dolomites. You just want to sit on the balcony, drink coffee, and dream. The rooms themselves are very spacious and fresh, and the spa area has 2 saunas and a pool with warm water and the possibility to swim outside and enjoy the mountain views. In the evening we have dinner at the hotel, together with Fabio, who is the tourism representative for the entire Trentino region. We discuss our plan for the next week, Fabio gives us Trentino winter jackets, and already at 9:30 PM, dressed in our new jackets, we go ice skating. We don't skate for long, as we want to sleep and we have a long and busy day tomorrow. Finally skiing, losing the drone again, ice karting and enjoying delicious Italian pizzas. The morning starts with breakfast, there is a large selection of pastries and sweets, but we can't find any salad or even a cucumber. At nine, we have to be at the equipment rental and meet Francesca, the main tourism person of this region. We get our equipment and together with Francesca and Sara, who is our instructor, we head to the mountains, with great hope that there is still snow there and we can finally ski. In March, the villages are already bare, without snow, but higher up in the mountains, the snow lasts until the beginning of April. Even last year, in nearby resorts, there was snow only higher up in the mountains, but in the villages, it was already possible to enjoy spring. Yesterday, on the way to Paganella, less than 20 km before our village, down by the mountains, it was +20 degrees and people were walking in shorts and T-shirts. Seeing these people in shorts, it seemed more appropriate to go to Lake Garda for sunbathing, rather than skiing in the mountains. We've reached the middle of the mountain, jump into our skis and snowboards, and hit the first slope. The snow is hard-packed and the slopes are very flat and wide, there aren't many people, probably because today is Monday. We ski as we wish, from one side of the slope to the other, we can go off-piste and jump back onto the slopes via jumps. Well, alright, only the instructor and our youngsters did that. We go down, we go up, the slopes are varied, there are enough lifts, finally, after changing several lifts, we have reached the top of the mountain, from where there are fabulous views of the Dolomites and in good weather you can also see Lake Garda, but today the haze prevents us from seeing Garda, perhaps we will be able to see it tomorrow. Tomorrow we have lunch planned at a restaurant located right on the top of the mountain. I flew the drone and filmed the excellent views of the Dolomites, and decided to also let the drone follow us while skiing down the mountain. The first part of the mountain the drone obeys well, but as soon as we start skiing and snowboarding faster, the drone disappears from our sight and later can no longer connect to the remote control, which means it flew back to the take-off point. We have no choice but to go down to the lift, take two lifts to the top, and find it where I picked it up. The drone is recovered, time for lunch. There are several restaurants on the mountain; today our lunch spot is in the middle of the mountain, and since there are very few people, we get to sit right by the window with a view of the Dolomites. After lunch, there is no peace; I still want to launch the drone again, but this time we will be more careful and won't ski so fast. So we do, and this time we manage to film the video, and the drone flies all the way down to where we started skiing today. Legs tired, ourselves tired, all limbs aching from falls, but still happy about the first day's adventure on the mountain. We drive to the hotel, the youngsters manage to go to the spa center, but at 4 PM we have to try ice karting. We tried them for the first time and it was interesting. The karts are electric and the driving takes place on a plastic and wooden track. On the plastic, the kart wheels spin and you end up drifting all the time, but since this is more meant for driving in the winter months, on snow and ice, and now everything has melted from the track, the track is quite bumpy, you have to bounce and slide sideways. Rodrigo liked it so much that he even drove twice. In the evening, we have dinner at Tre3 restaurant in Paganella village, together with Francesca, where we eat very delicious burgers and pizzas. Driving a snow groomer and skiing all Paganella slopes. The morning starts on the mountain, where we film various interviews, later we continue to explore the Paganella slopes and try to try all the slopes in all directions. We like best the one that goes to Paganella village, right next to the Tre3 restaurant, where we enjoyed pizzas and burgers yesterday. When most of the slopes have been skied, it's time for lunch, and today we will enjoy the mountaintop restaurant, ordering goulash soup and a small piece of steak for lunch, which we all taste and deem very good, not even suspecting that tonight we will be eating a fabulously delicious steak for dinner. After lunch, we continued enjoying the skiing, but already at 4 PM, we returned to the hotel and all went to relax in the hotel's spa area, warmed up in the saunas, and swam in the pool with the beautiful view of the Dolomites. So many times we've seen huge tractors leveling ski slopes, and tonight Rodrigo and I have the opportunity to ride in such a tractor, a so-called Snowcat, and see how this work is done. The tractor has huge tracks, a large snowplow in front, and a massive track-leveler in the back. The tractor itself weighs 14 tons, has a Mercedes engine with 530 hp, consumes 30 liters of fuel per hour, and costs a mere half a million. Driving up the mountain was impressive, but driving down the steep slopes was even more impressive. The driver also demonstrated how to work on very steep slopes; for that, there is a huge winch, 1000 meters long, and it is attached to specially built poles, and in that way, it moves safely over the large mountains. This experience was definitely interesting. We had taken equipment with us in the tractor, skis and a snowboard, because in the evening, from 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM, there is night skiing on the illuminated part of the slope. But before night skiing, we had dinner in the middle of the mountain, at a very excellent restaurant, where they prepared a 2 kg steak for us. To say it was excellent would be an understatement; it was fantastically delicious and definitely worth every penny. With steak in our stomachs, we are ready to descend the mountain, and Rodrigo enjoys the night descent so much that he goes down one more time, while I, exhausted from today's activities on the mountain, go to change. Tomorrow is our last day in Paganella, and we are moving to Val di Fassa. Skiing, falling, and moving to a new resort, Val di Fassa. We spend the morning on the mountain; today the stars are not on my side, and I fall quite often, thankfully without injuries. We say goodbye to Francesca, go to the hotel, pack our bags, the youngsters still manage to jump into the pool, and already after 1 PM we head towards Val di Fassa, stopping for delicious Italian pizzas at Tre3 restaurant, located right by the Paganella lift. After less than 2 hours, we have reached our destination and for the next few days, we will be living in a lovely campsite, surrounded on all sides by the beautiful Dolomites. Our campsite cabin is a brand new wooden house, with 2 rooms, two shower rooms, a kitchen, included breakfast and dinner, and we can also use the aqua park at any time. I will tell you about the aqua park later, when we visit it in the coming days, but dinner was excellent and the pistachio dessert was wonderful. Praising the dessert, the hostess said that the pastry chef was a chef from a Michelin restaurant. In the evening, we met Fabio, who is the marketing representative for the entire region, and Maria, who is the head of tourism for the Val di Fassa region. We discussed the plan for the coming days, got skiing and snowboarding equipment, had tea together, and Fabio and I also had dinner. We will meet Maria again in the coming days, but we said goodbye to Fabio until next time. Don't laugh, but today I managed to fall off the chairlift! More on this a little later, but my shoulder is bruised and hurts badly. In the morning, at 9:00, we meet our new guide, Frederik, and head up the mountain. We have brought bags with all the cameras so that in the afternoon, at the restaurant on the top of the mountain, we can film beautiful views and an interview with Maria, the head of tourism in this region. With two lifts, we reached the top of the mountain, left our camera bags, and set off on our first run. I've got the new type of snowboard bindings, similar to those for skiers; I no longer have to bend down and tighten the straps, now I just clip in and go. Our instructor is also a guide; he was born here, and like the other children we occasionally see on the mountain, he started skiing at 3 years old. Those little children are so funny; it seems they just learned to walk, but they ski like masters. We ski down one side of the mountain, then the other side, of course not without some minor falls, but that's part of the fun. Rodrigo, Artūrs, and Jānis try their hand at the race track, similar to athletes, where they have to ski around flags and each skier's time is also recorded. We head for lunch and take the lift back to the side from where we started our ride. All four of us sit on one chair and enjoy the beautiful views of the Dolomites. Every time, before getting off the chairlift, I warn everyone to move away from me and not to bother me while I ride down the board alone, because I have only one foot strapped into the board, and the other foot is outside the board. I usually stop at the side, put my other foot into the board binding, and then we head down the mountain. All lifts have long ramps, if you can call them that, but this lift's ramp is very short, and I stay on the chair, waiting for everyone to slide further away so they don't bother me, and while I wait for everyone to be off the lift, I don't notice that the lift has risen above the ground, and there's no longer the place to slide off calmly, but there's at least a meter or a little more from the ground, but since I'm on the edge of the seat and ready to slide off, I take a step and fall from that height, landing directly on my shoulder. Good thing I managed to brace myself and do a somersault. My shoulder hurts a little, but at first it's not so bad, but now, lifting my arm is very painful. Later in the day, lunch at the top of the mountain and interviews with both Maria and the restaurant owner. We drive to the city and meet many Latvians who have come for the alpine skiing competitions. We will also get to see Latvian youngsters compete in the competitions on Saturday. In the evening, we enjoy the campsite's aqua park, where Latvian is spoken more than Italian, and immediately after swimming, dinner at the restaurant. Tomorrow is a new day and new adventures! We ski off-piste with an instructor, I have bad luck on the slope again, and we eat lunch at a restaurant where you have to book a table 2 weeks in advance. Today we are going to other ski slopes, to the town of Campitello di Fassa. There are many people here, but since there are completely new and spacious lifts, the long queue moves quite quickly, and after only 30 minutes, together with our new instructor and guide, we are on the mountain. There are many people, much more than yesterday and much more than in Paganella, but a large part of them disperse across the many slopes, and in the end, it's not so bad. We ski down the mountain, go up with another lift on the other side, the youngsters try the snow park with jumps, we ski several slopes, and at one point, when we are on a blue slope, I see a man in front of me skiing in a zigzag, and I want to overtake him on the right side, but he decides to turn right and we collide, at a quite high speed. My boots against the sun, my head and back hit the slope, I slid on my back for at least 10 meters. I sit down and think, good thing I had a helmet, otherwise a concussion would be guaranteed. Later we see two people being taken away by helicopter, and down at the mountain, one skier is put into an ambulance. The rest is great, but caution must be paramount when there are many people on the slopes. It's time for lunch, and today's choice for the tourist center is one of the most popular mountain restaurants, Friedrich August, located 2300 meters above sea level, where you have to book a table at least 2 weeks in advance. If you decide to stop here while skiing by and grab a bite, it simply won't work out. Right here, next to the restaurant, bulls with long wool and horns graze, and the steak from these bulls is incredibly juicy and delicious! The youngsters tried ribs, but we had steak. The view from the restaurant and the quality of the food are well worth reserving a spot here two weeks in advance. After lunch, we enjoy the mountains for an hour and also ski off-piste, under the supervision of a guide, of course. At 3 PM, we have to be down, change clothes, and already at 4 PM, we leave for a nearby town, where a cheese tasting and a conversation with the owner are planned, who not only offers us to taste cheese and meat but also shows us his farm, cows, sheep, horses, donkeys, goats, chickens, and the cool dog, a Saint Bernard. After the cheese tasting, we still manage to go to the campsite's pools and saunas, and at 7:30 PM, it's dinner. Tomorrow is our final day in Italy, and tomorrow we will watch the Latvian youngsters compete in alpine skiing. Have a great holiday and keep your fingers crossed for our athletes.