Summer Dolomites

After our workation in Venice, we headed to the Dolomites to unwind. The plan was to stay at Lago di Braies in a historic imperial hotel and take a few trips to nearby spots.

The hotel was incredible—we got a room with a lake view, including breakfast and dinner. It was probably the most expensive accommodation I’ve ever stayed in, but hey, lake views and gourmet dinners every day made it worth it!

The lake was stunning during the day, but at night, thanks to the low light pollution, the Milky Way stretched across the sky. What a view! I almost forgot we live in a galaxy!

The lake water was so beautiful and clean that we asked the hotel staff if swimming was allowed. When we found out it wasn’t forbidden, we decided to give it a try. We soon discovered why no one else was swimming—the water was icy cold, around 14–15°C. Undeterred, we still spent a few minutes in the water, and it was incredibly refreshing!

I didn’t end up taking many photos around the lake. There were a few reasons: at first, I thought I’d have time to take pictures later, but then we had rain on three out of five days. That meant I didn’t want to risk bringing my camera on hikes, and on the remaining two days, we were exploring other spots. So, as an exception, I’ll share a few photos from my phone here.

Our first stop was the famous Tre Cime di Lavaredo—three towering rock formations surrounded by a scenic hiking trail. It’s a popular spot, so the crowds started long before we reached the peaks. We spent at least an hour stuck in a traffic jam just to get to the parking lot. Another minor challenge was food. As you might expect, card payments aren’t common in mountain shelters, and we didn’t have much cash on hand to buy lunch.

But the hike itself was spectacular. The slow reveal of those monolithic giants, crossing icy streams barefoot, lounging on grassy fields that dropped off abruptly, gazing at jagged peaks on the horizon—we even got to play with patches of snow!

The second spot we visited was a ski resort. We were curious to see what it was like in the summer, without snow. As it turned out, not much was happening—just a few mountain bike trails and some restaurants with stunning views. Still, it was peaceful and serene to be there, watching the small villages in the valley and observing people going about their daily lives.

In the end, we achieved our goal: we unwound and soaked in the beauty of the mountains—their crisp air, clear water, hearty food, and deep calm. It was exactly what we needed.

Tips

• The hotel was quite remote from any food place, so having dinner at the hotel reduced stress with driving and allowed us to have some drinks
• Better to prepare camera for rainy weather
• Have enough cash on the hike
• Car with automatic transmission was a must