Tag: Austria

The golden glow of west wall of the Civetta at sunset from Rifugio Tissi

The Dream Way, Part 2

Our Wanderlust 2 Comments

Munich to Venice on the Dream Way: Part 2 (Italy)

Prologue

We’re halfway through the Dream Way (Traumpfad), a 600-kilometre walk from Munich to Venice across the eastern Alps. The German and Austrian Alps tested us with wild storms, unseasonal snow, and slopes so steep that wires and ladders are fixed to assist safe passage. They also provided us with magnificent walking and breathtaking views of some of Europe’s most majestic landscapes. Thirteen days and 265 kilometres later, we crossed the border to Italy.

The Dolomites await. They’re a Natural World Heritage Site famed for their unparalleled beauty and challenging topography. Our first stop will be Pfunders, and from there we’ll start winding our way across the Dolomites. Our final mountain range will be the Belluno Pre-alps, after which we’ll descend to the Piave River and walk across the plains to Venice. We’re pleased that we’ve made it this far, but cognisant of the arduous terrain and high mountain passes ahead. 

Anna and Michael enjoy a wine with the the Marmolada massif behind them
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A Dream Way walker hauling himself up a vegetated mountain slope with the aid of a fixed cable

The Dream Way, Part 1

Our Wanderlust 7 Comments

Munich to Venice on the Dream Way: Part 1 (Germany & Austria)

Prologue

It’s the allure of walking into dreamlike Venice that entices us to set out from Munich on the Dream Way (the Traumpfad). For the German walkers we meet, it’s the desire to make a pilgrimage across the Alps, their spiritual homeland.

The 600-kilometre walk passes through three countries: Germany, Austria and Italy. It traverses the Bavarian Pre-alps, the Karwendel Alps, and the Tux Alps. Crossing the Italian border, it enters the Pfunderer Valley before winding across the Dolomites. Finally, it climbs the Belluno Pre-alps before descending to the Piave River plains and on to Venice. 

The alpine walking season is brief. Start too early, and the high passes are still covered with snow. Start too late, and the alpine huts will be closing for the winter. The conditions were perfect when we set out in early July, but even so, wild, erratic weather forced us to deviate from our planned route on several occasions.  

This isn’t a walk for the faint-hearted, with 27,000 metres of ascent. Often steep, it sometimes requires the use of fixed wires and ladders to ensure a safe passage. Most of the walk follows existing routes; there is no designated ‘Munich to Venice’ footpath as such. In the words of the poet, Antonio Machado: Wanderer, your footprints are the path, and nothing else; wanderer, there is no path, the path is made by walking. 

What follows is an account of our 34 days on the Dream Way: many of them challenging, and staggeringly beautiful. 

A map of the Dream Way / der Traumpfad route from Munich to Venice
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