We Stepped Off Our Sleeper Train And Into A Misty Town that Still Slept
Italy may be well known for it’s sun kissed lemon groves, and the Renaissance frescoes of the Sistine Chapel but the northern parts of Italy natural beauty to explore. The dramatic mountains of the Dolomites and the winter slopes of the Italian Alps.
In February we looked for an opportunity to take our kids to see the mountains in the snow. After some online research, we found a direct night train connection that would take us straight to the heart of it all.
In just one night of sleep, the Intercity Notte train departs from grand palazzos and baked streets of Rome and travels the 700km distance to Bolzano/Bozen and Ritten in Alto-Adige. The alpine mountains of the Italian Austrian border. It is an area of grassy planes, rolling hills and the the Dolomites; a giant range of rocky massifs.
At 21:00 we climbed on board. Cautiously we approached our shared couchette, ready to introduce ourselves to our fellow cabin buddy but instead we found the space completely vacant and only three of the four beds pulled out for use, we had it all to ourselves! The kids excitedly stormed their way in, eager to explore. They bounced between the royal blue bunks that flank each side of the small cabin and climbed the mobile ladder that leads up to the upper bunks and storage shelves.
The kids exhaust their last bits of energy while we removed the essentials from our bags and packed the luggage away as the train pulled away from the platform. We locked our door, pulled down the blinds and turned to the packets of fresh bedding that sat on each bed; our nesting materials. Setting out the sheets and indulged in the luxury of our midnight chariot with a pillow for our sleepy heads and the sheets with ironed ridges from their launder. With the steady motion of the train the kids fell asleep almost instantly.
Ritten is a destination that is fully equipped for the sustainably conscious traveller. An elaborate network of public transport offers complete freedom to explore without the need of your car. Visitors are attracted all year round thanks to the winter and summer activities; from skiing to hiking, from swimming to biking. In winter time there is an outdoor and indoor ice rink, ski pistes with rentable equipment and restaurants with panoramic views of the dramatic imprints left behind by Ritten’s volcanic past. Outside ski season, experience wild swimming in the Lido at Wolfsgruben Lake or hike along the networks of pathways. One particular landmark not to miss are the earth pyramids. A Natural phenomenon of conical towers upon which boulders precariously sit on top of the delicate pillars of earth. These delicate formations resemble the melted wax of church candles, slowly burnt for millennia on the altar of earth.
We woke to the alarm at 5am and nudged the children awake. They opened their eyes wide as they realised the magic night train wasn’t just a dream. We made our way to the exit and at at 6.30am we punctually arrived into the station. Hurriedly we grabbed the suitcase, camera bag, rucksack and two puffy eyed but eager children and unloaded them from the train and onto the cobbled platform of Bolzano/Bozen Station. We waved off our compartment number 73. The morning had come, our cosy beds that had kept us hidden from the night vanished into the distance and the spell was broken, we were back into the real world. The misty rain fell around us on the deserted platform and we could just make out the silhouettes of the mountains surrounding us. The sky was brightening fast but the colour snagged on grey, the views we were hoping for would be difficult with this weather.
Sleepily we bought a coffee from the automatic machine in the station for a bit of energy – always select sugar, a bitter 50 cent espresso offers a little more kindness once sweetened.
Arrival complete, now to breakfast!
My advice is always to carefully plan the morning after a sleeper train journey – I had adhered to it resolutely and when researching our trip I looked for all the best breakfast options in the area. Considering the time frames and logistics I planned for us to go to the Lintner Caffe in Klobanstein. It would tie in perfectly with the Cable car and the Ritten light railway trip and with our start at the crack of dawn we would arrive in time for them to open.
With our 15euro adult return combi tickets we got the lift up to the cable car terminal. Two mighty concrete discs that anchor the taught cables took up most of the ceiling in the terminal. The suspended rectangular pods sit perfectly flush with the platform, as we look out towards the mountain we see the cables stretching up into the clouds. Our destination in the sky. The rhythm of this engineered transportation ushers us into the gondola, there is a brief pause as the pod behind us enters the station and in perfect synchronicity we faultlessly sweep out of the bay and rise up and away from the city. Passing over rooftops, the shuttered windows of the sleeping people below on this rainy Sunday morning. Not many people would relinquish a warm soft bed on a day like today! But the kids were revelling in such an idea!
Over the silent mountain we flew, seeing the colours of the dark bristly fir trees contrast against the orange forest floor. We felt like we could reach out and brush our fingertips over the trees like grass. Some treetops were covered in white spiderwebs spun like candy floss. If we were to fall would we be caught in these webs? Every few hundred meters the cables are punctuated by pylons, here the the pods would rumble briefly underfoot and gently draw backwards before propelling us forward, ever onwards. The sticky grey clouds clung eerily to the curves of the mountain revealing hidden farmhouses only seen from above. Farm dogs sat in their designated fields, on wolf watch.
The journey to Oberbozen/Soprabolzano lasted around 15 minutes, when we arrived we stopped at the toilets in the terminal and with a leap over the train tracks we were already at the platform and ready for our train! The polished electric train quietly appeared and the ticket inspector and the driver stepped down to greet their four hungry passengers.
‘Where are you going to?’
‘To the Lintner cafe‘ I replied
They exchanged concerned a look and assured that we would not be going there as it was closed for refurbishment!
Our grumbling stomachs sank.
‘You can go to Bar Zentral instead.’
Relieved at having been handed a backup plan, we sat back on our red seats, pushing our feet towards the warm air vents. Dreaming of the coffee and breakfast that we were so ready for by now, our train wound round the hillsides of Ritten, through the trees that before we had seen from above. Passing an icy lake and spotting deer.
The mass of the green alpine trees were now outside our window, eye level with the naked silts under the thick branches. What we had towered over in our cable flight was now towering above us. We passed through the planes of grass to
When we finally arrived in Klobenstein/Collalbo, the last stretch was to be taken on foot. The rain persisted and started to seep through my coat. Following the instructions of the ticket inspector we turned left but soon felt his instructions I made My wet fingers struggled to command my phone touchscreen. The weight of bags, the seeping rain reaching my skin through my coat and the hole in my stomach led to only intuition being the only compass available. foolishly hadn’t expected the signposts to be in German so we followed our intuition and turned left down a steep road and finding a shortcut foot path, we cut down there, hoping we wouldn’t regret it.
I toiled with the pushchair that was resisting it’s responsibilities. Both hands occupied, the cold stick of the umbrella wedged sharply between my collarbone and chin. The wind dragging it backwards. Down the hill we continued. I looked at my husband in front of me who similarly wrestled in silence. Anchoring the leg of our 19kg son who sat upon his shoulders, and holding an umbrella while simultaneously pulling the suitcase behind him. The grit on the path was spat from under the suitcase wheels and skid under our feet. By some miracle we arrived to Bar Zentral. That was tougher than I had planned!
A local greeted us with a ‘Guten Morgan’ as we arrived at the entrance where a giant Burmese Mountain dog lay across the floor. We entered the warm coffee shop and smelt the fresh coffee. Hushed sounds of people sitting together with glasses of white wine. Dishevelled but triumphant we bustled into the door, secretly hoping to be welcomed with an understand hug but we were greeted with an indication to leave our buggy and suitcase by the door.
The attentive waitress was effortlessly flipping between Italian and German according to the customer. We ate apple strudel and a slice of nutty buckwheat cake served with a dark berry jam and washed it down with delicious fresh fennel seed tea and coffee. The place was a sanctuary, complete with architectural wooden panels and contemporary seating, each table was lit by a low hanging light.
We relaxed and rested and refueled while the kids noisily played with the bag of magnetic tiles I brought from home. Each bang of plastic against the table shattered the hushed atmosphere of the bar but sometimes you can’t fight all the battles, and soon we would leave the place and they can return to their tranquility.
When it was time to leave the mountain we retraced our journey, this time a young local girl with a kit bag shared our cable car – maybe going to her sport practice in the town below? She silently read on her phone to pass her mundane journey, while we all pressed our noses to the window to fill our eyes with as much of the misty views as we could. We were all tried by now but satisfied with the experience of family friendly mountaineering with a suitcase.
Our time was short here in Bolzano/Bozen as it was part of a city hopping weekend tour but we can’t wait for the next opportunity to come back. Our next trip will include more of the cable car and train network so we can travel further into the mountains.
