Italian Dolomites Mountain Bike Trial With a Difference ...
Have you ever wondered what an active holiday in Italy entails?
Well, in early May, my husband and I decided to embark on a ‘mountain bike & fitness holiday’ in Northern Italy.
After a quick flight to bordering Innsbruck, in Austrian Tyrol, we hired a car and travelled to the lovely town of Brixen in the Puster Valley of South Tyrol (or Northern Italy, as it is officially known as).
We stayed in the 4* ‘Active-Bike-Hotel Jonathan’ and enjoyed a wooden cladded, spacious bedroom with an even bigger balcony, overlooking the vast apple orchards and the valley, surrounded by mountains still topped with snow.
Luckily, all trees were in full bloom, which made our trip even more special. We decided to go on one of the many hike trails, meandering across orchards, forests and along a little brook, aiming for Brixen at the bottom of the valley. After a scenic 3-hour walk, we decided to sample delicious ‘gelati’ (ice cream) in the beautiful old town of Brixen (Bressanone, in Italian). My husband enjoyed an ice-cold, locally brewed ‘Forst’ beer and a Brezn (Pretzel), which was well deserved.
Upon our return to the Hotel Jonathan, we explored the outdoors swimming pool and steam bath/sauna, before we enjoyed a divine three-course dinner, bursting with local delicacies such as ‘knödel’ (dumplings), sausages, venison and delicious fish.
My husband excitedly waited for the next morning, when our private bike guide got our brand-new ‘Scott’ e-mountain bikes ready for our tour! We received a quick briefing and then off we went – cycling down forest tracks, along orchards, brooks and ponds, stopping at various view points to hear interesting facts and learn the fascinating history of the Neustift Monastery (famous for its wine cellars) and the ‘Franzens Festung’ (a World War I fortification that also played an important role during the Second World War). We cycled through gorges and passed farms with cattle and sheep – a real treat! And best of all – when the inclines became a bit too steep for us ‘city folk’ we simply switched on the ‘e-bike’ boost button and off we zoomed with hardly any effort at all.
We all decided that this was the new way of biking – with not too much effort and a lot of enjoyment as we took in numerous beautiful scenic sights along the way.
After our 5-hour biking tour, we eased our sore muscles up with a heavenly sports massage.
The following day we opted to drive to nearby Bruneck, the largest town in this valley. Apart from being another beautiful old town with trendy Italian shops, we enjoyed a visit to the famous ‘Messner Mountain Museum’. The museum’s owner, Reinhold Messner, was the first (Austrian) mountaineer to climb Mount Everest without oxygen mask.
Medieval Bruneck Castle with its great views over the valley certainly was worth a visit, too.
On our way back to Innsbruck, we stopped in Sterzing, which is a little town on the border with Austria, famous for its leather goods shops, jewellery, shoe and bag shops, fancy cafes and restaurants. I managed to find a couple of trendy leather boots at a real bargain price.
Before we headed back to the airport, we made a quick detour to the old town of beautiful Innsbruck. We admired the famous ‘Golden Roof’ whilst sipping a coffee and sampling a delicious ‘applestrudel’.
Looking back at our short fitness break, which at the same time allowed us to really relax and switch off, I would certainly recommend such a re-charging holiday to anyone. And I would definitely have a go at ‘mountain e-biking’, which was a lot of fun.
If you, too, would like to head to Northern Italy and the beautiful Puster Valley and the Dolomite mountain range, please get in touch with me. I can create your very own, personalised fitness holiday that ticks all your boxes.