A Return Trip to the Beautiful Castelrotto and Alpe di Siusi Italy
During those first months of the pandemic when the world was in lockdown I found myself dreaming of all the places I wanted to travel to once this whole thing was over.
And the one place that I knew I wanted to visit — again — was the Alpe di Siusi and the town of Castelrotto Italy.
Now, we know the pandemic and COVID is not over.
Not even close.
And I think we are all coming to realize that COVID will be a part of our lives for the foreseeable future.
So we’ll adjust and adapt.
And we’ll still travel — it will just look a wee bit different.
Okay.
So this first so-called “post COVID” trip…
I knew that I wanted to get to Italy.
When things began to open up in late spring, I knew Italy was one of the places I most wanted to travel to.
And specifically Castelrotto and Alpe di Siusi.
So I looked at my options for flights and began to look for apartments in the Castelrotto area.
I had been to the area 3 times before so I had a good sense of where I wanted to stay.
One thing I knew I wanted was to have a view of the iconic Schlern (Sciliar in Italian) from my accommodation.
I will say that it was a challenge finding an apartment for 3-4 weeks, where I wanted, the size I wanted and for a price that worked with my budget.
As a solo traveler, finding studio or one bedroom apartments is not always easy in holiday towns like Castelrotto and neighboring Siusi allo Sciliar.
I eventually found 2 and took the better priced option here at Hof zu Fall.
The moment I saw the Sciliar…for the 4th time.
As I drove on the winding mountain road and saw the Sciliar, I knew that choosing to return to Castelrotto and Alpe di Siusi for my first trip “post COVID” was the right choice.
It was like coming home.
Once again my breath was taken away by the beauty of this area.
Only this time it felt different.
Because after 3 weeks in Castelrotto and Alpe di Siusi in June/July 2019, I knew my way around better.
I truly felt as though I was returning home.
The big difference on this trip is where I am staying.
I have always stayed right in Castelrotto.
But because I wanted that view of my old friend, the Schlern, I knew I may have to stay closer to the town of Siusi.
Hof zu Fall is an agriturismo located in the community of San Valentino.
It’s about a 2 mile walk to Kastelruth (Castelrotto) and is along the road that actually leads to Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm in German).
San Valentino sits just above Siusi allo Sciliar and is the community around the little onion-domed church I love so much.
It’s a smattering of farms, guesthouses, agriturismi and homes.
And this hamlet — like San Vigilio, San Michele and Tisana (just to name a few) — is part of the greater Castelrotto community as is the town of Siusi allo Sciliar.
I definitely like Hof zu Fall and San Valentino.
The view of the Sciliar is amazing.
It’s so quiet at night.
Yet I can still walk to places like Kastelruth and Seis am Schlern (Siusi allo Sciliar in German).
The first trip up the gondola to Alpe di Siusi.
On my first full day back in Castelrotto and Alpe di Siusi I decided to go up to the Alpe — Seiser Alm.
That high altitude alpine meadow that I love so much.
The weather looked good so I decided to grab a gondola ride and do some hiking.
Well, I got a little emotional on that gondola ride.
Good thing I was alone.
I seriously got tears in my eyes and got all choked up.
Maybe it was because when I was stuck in my house in Ohio in spring of 2020 I was thinking, “Will I ever travel to Europe again?”
“Will I ever see Alpe di Siusi again?”
“Will I ever see Connemara, Ireland again? Paris? Will I ever get to all the places I want to visit like Norway or Lisbon or the islands of Croatia?”
Once in Alpe di Siusi I found myself making a familiar hike once I got off the gondola.
First to Sattler Hut then circling around back toward the Panorama lift then toward Saltria (but not all the way) then back to the main settlement of Compaccio where the gondola is.
While I missed all the wildflowers from my last visit, Alpe di Siusi is no less stunning in September.
Seeing the Schlern from this side and then my other old friends, the Sasso Piatto and the Sasso Lungo, made me smile.
I was seriously grinning from ear to ear.
Seiser Alm makes me happy — wildflowers or not.
By the way, there are still some flowers!
Experiencing Castelrotto and Alpe di Siusi reaffirmed my decisions.
First to travel at all during this time.
I was leary and questioned my decision to travel internationally.
But knowing that they are taking COVID pretty seriously here in Südtirol, and specifically in Castelrotto and Alpe di Siusi, made me feel better.
Secondly, choosing to come to a place that I love so dearly — that has such a special place in my heart — has been good for me mentally and emotionally.
Let’s face it, this pandemic has been hard on us.
All of us.
Yes, some of us have not had it as bad as others.
But it has taken an emotional toll on ALL of us to some degree.
For me, living with my 90 (almost 91) year old dad had me so worried about giving him COVID.
My job was to keep the coronavirus out of our house.
I think I was a bit more anxious about it all than I realized.
So to be here in Castelrotto and Alpe di Siusi for a few weeks and able to enjoy the mountains and the great outdoors has been healing to my soul.
I needed this.
I NEED this.
Not just the travel to Europe or the travel to Italy.
But the travel to Castelrotto and Alpe di Siusi.
The place I dreamed about when we were locked down.
So this return trip — my 4th trip — to Castelrotto and Alpe di Siusi is the perfect destination for me for my first “post-COVID” trip.
Visiting Castelrotto and Alpe di Siusi Info
Places to stay:
Place to eat:
Ristorante Pizzeria Zur Alten Schmiede
Or buy some food to eat at your apartment:
Please note that Wander Your Way does not encourage international travel at this time due to the current global health situation with the COVID-19 pandemic. Although some countries are open, it is complicated.
If you do decide to travel internationally, please do your research or use a travel planning service such as Wander Your Way. Please stay up to date using official sources like the WHO and CDC.
While I am out traveling at this time, I am doing so as a remote worker and less of a traveler. And I’m taking all precautions to stay safe and avoid large gatherings of people. It’s my hope to continue to inspire you to travel to Europe when the time is right for you.
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Trentino.com show an Almabtrieb in Predazzo on October 3, and an apple festival in Sanzeno on October 9, along with many farmers markets. We went to our favorite of 3 Almabtriebs in Trento (an hour north of Ortisei). It’s not listed, but it may be worth it to ask around to see if scaled down, non advertised festivals are still happening.
Sorry, our favorite was in TErento, not Trento. Such a a difference one letter makes!
The funicular Rasciesa in Ortisei has a great 5 mile or so loop hike that’s not difficult a the top. You make a clockwise loop from the restaurant up to a large cross, across the mountain, and back down.Our agriturismo hosts suggested it, we also hiked 4 days on Seiser Alm using two different gondolas. We parked at the gondola lot it Ortisei and walked over.
Not sure if the Almabtriebs are happening this year, if the one on Seiser Alm does as they walk the flower bedecked cows from the mountain to Castelrotto I think they’ll be walking on the trail you’re using from your agriturismo to Castelrotto!
The http://www.valgardena.it has an English option, on their menu select Val Gardena active events. Still the hike to St. Josephs, old mills of Bulla, cheese tastings, a rosari procession on October 3, a bio market Oct. 9, and the Segra Sacum village festival on Oct 10 and village market on the 11.
Enjoy!!!!
Hi Linda. They are not doing the cow walk this year. I’d be gone anyway as I leave Italy on October 4…for Greece! Thanks for the info. I do now have a contact with the South Tyrol tourism board so I have lots of great info!!