Christmas is finally almost here and we made it to the third weekend of Advent as the Germans call it! But first, another busy week of school and Christmas activities, and then a weekend in the snowy Alps!
Tuesday night was the monthly Civil Air Patrol promotion, and Ryan was promoted to the rank of Chief Master Sergeant. This was a special ceremony as the European Colonel was present to administer the oath of office to our local chapter’s commanding officer. This time, it was Matt’s turn to pin on the new rank.
On Thursday night, we attended a special Boy Scouts ceremony for the Peace Light, which is similar to an Olympic torch but for Christmas. The flame was brought from Bethlehem to Austria by a Boy Scout group last week and then distributed across Europe by other troops traveling by train. Over the weekend, our troop went to the Stuttgart train station—along with thousands of other Scouts—to collect a piece of the Peace Light. I had never heard of this tradition before and thought it was so sweet.
The troop held a ceremony this week to distribute the Peace Light to all the Scouts to take home for their families. All scouts were asked to bring a lantern, and Matt was in charge of sourcing one. He didn’t realize when ordering online that he had found the largest lantern in Stuttgart (actually in IKEA). Ryan was thrilled with having to carry this gigantic thing while everyone else had small camping handheld lanterns 🤣. Naturally, we drove very carefully on the way home! 😀
On Friday, I was off and stayed home to prepare for our weekend trip. Our new washing machine was delivered, and while I’m thrilled it’s new, I’m sad to report it’s the same model as our last one—so still no washing the duvet at home!
We left for our ski trip as soon as Matt and the kids got home from school. Our destination was Ortisei in Val Gardena, Italy. We love this town and area so much that this was our third visit—something rare for us!
Traffic was horrendous—since European schools let out on Friday, it felt like everyone was heading south to the Alps at the same time. We had planned to stop at a Christmas market along the way, but after spending an extra two hours in traffic, we scrapped those plans and didn’t arrive at our hotel in Ortisei until after 10 p.m.
We promptly went to bed so we’d be ready for Saturday—our big ski day on the Sella Ronda. The Sella Ronda is a famous circular ski route in the Italian Dolomites that loops around the Sella Massif and is about 40 km long, including lifts. Skiing the full circuit typically takes around 5–6 hours, depending on snow conditions, skill level, and how often you stop. The route can be skied clockwise (orange) or counterclockwise (green), and we chose the green for its more scenic views.
We slept in a bit and got started later than planned before driving to Selva to catch the first lift of the circuit. By the time we reached the peak, it was almost 11 a.m., so we were already about an hour behind schedule. With the early sunsets, we needed to finish before the last gondola chair departed at 4 p.m.
The weather was lovely- about 32°F and sunny. Sadly, there hasn’t been much snow this year, so most of the snow on the slopes has been machine-made.
The first run of the circuit offered a choice between an easy red and a hard red. Unfortunately, the easy red was closed for a ski jumping competition, so we had no choice but to start on the super-challenging red. This was definitely not how I wanted to warm up, and I was so nervous! I ended up skidding sideways for part of it, wondering who we thought we were taking on this challenge on our very first run of the season. We made it to the bottom, though, and moved on to the next run.
For the next hour, we alternated between blue and red runs, connected by chairlifts and cable cars. We were moving pretty quickly and had already made up some of the lost time. Starting to get hungry, we decided to do one more run, reach Arabba—our halfway point—and then stop for lunch.
We skied through an area with the option of an ultra-steep black run or a red, and Matt, Brooklyn, and Ryan all went for the thrill, while I took the longer, safer way down—no thanks! 🤣
Somehow, after the trails rejoined, Brooklyn and I got separated from Matt and Ryan. We accidentally followed the signs for the “Sella Ronda Alternative” and ended up heading up Marmolada, the Dolomites’ tallest peak. We didn’t realize we could have just kept going and taken a cable car down to Arabba, so we backtracked and ended up on the steepest slope of the day. Brooklyn skied down, but I couldn’t handle the anxiety, so I unclicked my skis and hiked until I could snap them back in. By the time we finally caught up with Matt and Ryan, all the time we had gained was lost, and there was no longer time for lunch—we had to keep moving.
Because we were skiing counter-clockwise and in the winter sun, most of the afternoon was spent in the mountain’s shade, which made it a little more challenging, but we pressed on.
We made it to Corvara, the three-quarter point of our trail. Matt told me we still needed to pick up the pace, and there wasn’t even time for me to take pictures anymore 🤣. Luckily, the final stretch was the easiest, and we made it to the finish line! We skied straight back into Selva and crossed the street to a pub for burgers and après-ski.
By the time we got back to our hotel in Ortisei, it was fully dark. We couldn’t get a dinner reservation until 8 p.m., so Matt and I walked down to the Christmas market for a gluhwein. The market is tiny, but the stalls are adorable, and with live singers performing Christmas music, the atmosphere was a perfect 10/10.
We had dinner at Cascade, a restaurant we’ve coincidentally visited on every trip to Ortisei. We enjoyed steak, pizza, and tiramisu, which hit the spot perfectly after a long day on the slopes.
On Sunday, we slept in, then walked over to the ski lift near our hotel. We had a more relaxed day of skiing planned on the Alpi Di Suisi, Europe’s highest alpine meadow.
Due to the lack of snow, not all trails were open, but we were still able to ski all the way to Seiser Alm at a much more relaxed pace than the day before.
Once at Seiser Alm, we found a restaurant with plenty of outdoor seating and had a very German-style lunch- bratswurts, half chickens, and a goulash.
After lunch, we skied back to the gondola at a leisurely pace. Matt and Ryan did a few more runs while Brooklyn and I had après-ski.
After our final après-ski on the mountain, we took the cable car back to Ortisei and headed to Mar Dolomiti, the town’s thermal spa, to soak our aching muscles.
The pool was lovely, but honestly, the water was a little too cold for us. It was definitely warm, but I wanted it to be boiling 😂. The therme did have a Turkish steam bath, though, which I spent a lot of time in—and honestly, it cleared up a nagging cough I’ve had the past few days, so that was a win!
We showered and headed straight across the street to another pizzeria for dinner. It was the best pizza I’ve had in a long time—and I’ve had A LOT of pizza! We all really enjoyed the food and finished the meal with a few more tiramisus!
On Monday morning, we actually got packed up and on our way at a decent time. We did a little souvenir shopping in Ortisei before departing, where I found the cutest ski-boot-shaped mugs for my collection!
We didn’t go straight home, though—we still had a few Christmas markets to visit! The first stop was Bressanone/Brixen. Although Bressanone is the Italian name of the city, most people there speak German and call it by its German name, Brixen.
The town was packed and traffic was heavy, so we had to search for parking for a while. Matt eventually dropped me off at the curb so I could get started. The market was small but incredibly charming, full of Alpine character. They even had adorable blue Glühwein mugs emblazoned with the name “Brixen.” I ordered our drinks just in time for the rest of the family to join me for a stroll around the market square before we headed back to the car.
Afterwards, I decided to push my luck with the family and suggested another Christmas market. We drove about thirty minutes up the road to Vipiteno/Sterzing. Vipiteno is on the border of Austria and Italy. Like Bressanone, Vipiteno is the town’s Italian name, but everyone there speaks German and calls it by its German name, Sterzing.
This market was even smaller, but it was packed with great food options. At first, only Matt wanted something to eat, but it didn’t take long for the rest of us to follow suit—we all ended up with either goulash soup or bratwurst. It was delicious and meant we didn’t need to make any more stops on the way home!
We actually made it home by 5 p.m., which gave us plenty of time to unpack and do laundry. Since we’re heading out on another trip the day after Christmas, it was important to keep the washer running! Brooklyn went to a friend’s house to make cookies, while the rest of us relaxed and waited for the clothes to finish. We’re so ready for Christmas next week—and our next adventure!
Gilcrests Abroad 