Italy: Dobbiaco, Day 2

The weather turned out to be better than the earlier forecast. We set out early for Lake Braies, a popular destination, though I didn't think it was particularly photogenic. It looked better in person. We did a counterclockwise loop, before it got too crowded. By the time we got back to Dobbiaco, we missed the bus to Cortina d'Ampezzo.

After a two-hour gap, we took the 1pm bus towards Cortina, back to Misurina. Since it's afternoon, there were only a handful of people waiting for Bus 50, contrasting our experience the previous day. This time we walked along Lake Misurina towards Bus 51 stop for Cortina, hoping to hitch a ride for Cortina. (Notes to fellow travelers: Cortina is in Veneto. Its buses are not covered by the Suditirol guest pass, but the pass does cover 445 between Dobbiaco and Cortina).

We didn't have the same luck as the day before with hitchhiking. We ended up taking bus 51 to Cortina, reaching Cortina just in time for bus 445 back to Dobbiaco. Our tour of Cortina thus was a bus tour only. The town is bigger than Ortisei, and much busier, quite a bit of construction projects going on, but I had the impression it's a place to be seen, therefore I don't think we'll be basing here for future Dolomites visits either.

Misty Morning view from the bus on our way to Lake Braies.


When we arrived at Lake Braises the rowboats were not officially ready to rent but somehow one couple was out there taking photos.




The sun was up, but not yet shining on the very still surface of the lake. Chilly!








The lake water was super clear; in fact, the combo of 1) the reflections of the green trees, rocky mountains, and blue sky, with 2) the clearness of the water was almost disconcerting at times.








We walked counterclockwise on the trail around the lake.


The first sunlight to hit the lake struck on the beach full of small rock towers/cairns at the south end of the lake


When the sun finally landed on the water, a beautiful mist flowed off the beach.


And in a few minutes most of the lake was lit.






When we returned to the boat dock, all the boats were rented; many photo sessions in progress. ;-)


There is only one road into the huge parking lot at the lake. The traffic backup (below) caused our bus to be late, so we changed plans and rode the bus to Lake Misurina.


The bus dropped us off at the same spot where 200 people queued yesterday; now just a few.


We walked along Lake Misurina enjoying the views, then failed to catch a ride to Cortina and took the bus instead.


Cortina, as seen from the bus window.