Friedrich | Hotel at Mt Catinaccio/Rosengarten, in Welschnofen
It happens at some point on the first evening. You’re standing on the balcony, the taste of dinner still lingering on your tongue, and then the rock face opposite turns pink. Slowly, from top to bottom, as if someone were lighting a lamp behind it. That is Mt Catinaccio/Rosengarten. Glowing dolomite rock towering over 3,000 metres high. The location of your hotel at Mt Catinaccio/Rosengarten – in Welschnofen, to be precise – means that you can enjoy this spectacle to the full.
Legend has it that King Laurin once cursed the mountain and the rose garden he tended there: it would be invisible to everyone, day and night. But he had forgotten about dusk. Ever since then, at sunset, the rock has glowed in shades of pink and orange, a blaze of beauty.
From the hotel to Lake Carezza/Karersee: just a few kilometres
Six kilometres separate Friedrich from Lake Carezza/Karersee, a lake that glows such a surreal turquoise that the first time you see it, you think someone must have added a splash of dye. The walk around the lake takes half an hour and is best enjoyed on a hot summer’s afternoon, when the sun is low enough to make the water sparkle.
Things to do around your hotel at Mt Catinaccio/Rosengarten in Welschnofen
Mt Catinaccio/Rosengarten and Lake Carezza/Karersee are just the start. From Friedrich, the Val d’Ega/Eggental valley opens up in all directions. The hike to Mt Roda di Vaèl/Rotwand takes you through mountain pine forests and across scree slopes. The path to Mt Latemar starts almost on the doorstep; an ascent where you’ll find yourself pausing every now and then as the view back down into the valley temporarily leaves you speechless. And those who prefer to stay in the valley can follow the Val d’Ega/Eggental valley high route through the woods. In winter, Carezza transforms into a ski area that’s as compact as Friedrich itself: enough slopes to fill the day, but not so many that you ever have to queue.
The Dolomites
You can really feel the vastness up here. The Dolomites are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and when you stand on a ridge and look around, you’ll understand why. These mountains look as though someone had folded them out of the earth: pale, rugged, with shadows that shift as the day goes on. Back at Friedrich in the evening, you sit on your balcony and watch Mt Catinaccio/Rosengarten glow. The echoes of your day in the mountains will linger for a while longer – in your muscles, in your smile, in the way you savour your wine a little more slowly that evening.
