Pustertal: with the music of Mahler , dipped in the pastel green meadows, framed by the Dolomites

filled by Giulia & Romeo

In the meadows of Pustertal have sprung snowdrops ... the white winter coat is being replaced by every shade of green that has always characterized the valley, on which stands the the Dolomites rocks colour.
Walking on the trails just outside the towns you can already smell the fragrance of the resin, and the first sun warms and spreads the good essence of pine needles. Far away you can listen to the whistle of the train and you can see the colorful and modern Pustertal convoy passing in front of you, while on the bike path that stretches from Rio Pusteria to San Candido, and then again to Lienz, for 61 km, you can see cycling peole of every age.
All around you can see enchanted landscapes that have maintain the charm of the past. The gray and noisy traffic of the city are very far away, even in the main towns as Bruneck: colorful houses, an extreme order, the mountains that frame the pedestrian center, the nice cafes ... A slice of strudel and a glass of apple juice, a glass of Gerwurtz Traminer with two slices of Kaminwurz at the happy hour. Or just a coffee at the Post Hotel , where in “A Farewell to Arms “Hemingway drank at the bar fighting against destiny. And after shopping in the beautiful high street stores, and a walk to the castle we suggest a dip at the Wellness Center of Riscone, the Cron4, 5 minutes drive above Brunico, with pools and and 12 saunas. If you don’t like crowded places and to stay naked among unknown people we suggest other ten minutes drive to join Campo Tures in the most peaceful and modern health center of Cascade, already in Aurina Valley. Here, unlike the Cron4, the ban on wearing the costume is reserved only to the nudist area.
From Brunico you can continue towards north and stop at Monguelfo to walk along the banks of Rienza, always sunny, and then to the Castle with a short walk on an easy path. Hovers over the village the name of Paul Troger, the artist of the first ‘700 whom has dedicated a fountain in the square and a 'flowerbed at the entrance of the village. A miniature golf can cheer the afternoons of the children, as well as the playground that borders on the tennis courts and the station. A bit gossip: Monguelfo was chosen as a holiday resort also by Arthur Schnitzler, the author of Double Dream, from which book was created Eyes Wide Shut by Stanley Kubric, with Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise. For a night away from the world you should climb the hill behind the railway and to book a room at Gailerhof, a two-star hotel with a very nice family atmosphere. Already the road to get there, articulated as a serpentine in the grassland, is striking and leaves behind the postcard with the bell tower and the few noises of the country.
In a quarter of an hour's drive you can reach San Candido and Dobbiaco, recently appeared in the TV screens with "A step from heaven", the fiction with Terence Hill in the role of a Ranger of the surrounding woods.
In San Candido there is the most important Romanesque monument of Tyrol, the Collegiate. Other churches of note are the parish church of San Michele, the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre Altötting built in 1653 as a miniature replica of the Holy Sepulchre on Calvary in Jerusalem , the Church of the Convent of the Franciscans, with cloister attached. All the secrets of the mountains are revealed in the Dolomythos Museum, dedicated to the heritage of humanity. In winter, the sky is colored by balloons with the Balloon Festival, while in the streets of the village you can admire the ice and snow sculptures.
In the summer, San Candido is the starting point for excursions to Tre Scarperi or to Tre cime di Lavaredo. From here also starts the famous Lienz cycling , which allows a passage from Italy to Austria on the two wheels, in 44 kilometers. It is a path downhill and then quite simple (600 vertical meters) and you can go back by train. About Dobbiaco, famous in winter for the World Cup cross-country, we point out the Red Tower, the Grand Hotel and the Castle of Herbst 1500, in the city center, defended by high walls adorned with battlements. Among the religious buildings you can see the baroque church of San Giovanni Battista, the ancient Via Crucis of the chapels of the Passion of 1500, the sanctuary of Santa Maria built in 1262, already a place of pilgrimage, and then restored in the baroque and then Gothic version, and then the path of meditation to Monte San Pietro.
Among the most characteristic buildings along the road to Old Carbonin there is the Trenkerhof, where the composer Gustav Mahler spent the summer months from 1908 to 1910 composing the Ninth Symphony, the Tenth (unfinished) and the celebrated "Song of the Earth." The annual Mahler week offers a series of lectures and concerts to the fans. Leaving Dobbiaco, after seeing the beautiful lake where also passes the path that arrives in Cortina, there is one last trip not to be missed, to the Braies Lake, a gem nestled in the Dolomites. A photograph that is a must of your weekend , that you will want to prolong in this or in another occasion.