Bruneck - Dobbiaco 🇮🇹. 40kms 🚴‍♀️

What a joy to wake up in a hotel high in the clouds! 
Breakfast was quite a substantial buffet and so I set off fuelled for the day.  I asked the girl on reception for help with booking my bus transfer from Cortina to the Dolomites and return on Sunday.  Turns out the connections are very limited on a Sunday and she recommended staying in Dobbiaco instead as that's where the main bus leaves from.  What an opportune conversation!  I booked one of the last seats left all day for Sunday afternoon (would have preferred morning!).

I did a reroute in my cycle app and set off for what looked like a little shortcut down from my mountain hotel to the bike path.  All was going well for a few kms and then it wanted to send me on a very steep overgrown single track downhill to the river. 
I abandoned and retraced my route and back down to the village to find major cycle path diversion signs (in Italian) due to a landslide.  So, follow the yellow signs I did up a steep road, through fields and dropped down to the forestry trail.

Today's ride went up 7 valleys with luxury ski villages to wind my way through.  Wooden chalets with window boxes of flowers and shadowed by soaring mountains and ski lifts.
Many cycle tourists spotted today as this is a cross over area for a few different routes.
As I climbed higher, the sun came out more and the craggy Dolomites mountains became closer.  My destination of Dobbiaco is an adventure capital with most people in hiking or mountain bike gear.  A magnificent church at the top of the town! 
I decided to order a pizza - in Italy, looking at the Dolomites ✅. Delicious and I have leftovers for my hike tomorrow. 
I popped to the grocery store and running across the square were another Berlin couple who I had chatted with up the Brenner pass a few days ago.  Hugs and congrats for getting this far.  They will also be hiking the mountain tomorrow afternoon and so it's inevitable that we will meet 🥰

The picturesque campground is about 4kms out of town on a lake surrounded by mountains. 
As I arrived my Ukranian/Belarus friends arrived too 🥰. We have shared dinner together and I've heard their story of escape and the heartache for Irini with her family still there.  Just today when speaking to her mum on the phone she could hear bombs in the background.  I am staying here 2 nights as I will hike tomorrow and so our paths won't cross again.  Such sweeties 🥰
The rain came down but I had set up my tent already which was good.  The temp has dropped and it's due to be only 6 degrees tonight.
This is a beautiful part of the world and I feel blessed to be visiting it 😊

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