“And the Oscar goes to…” ah, no, wait, the Nobel Prizes are playing in another League.
But strange enough, the Nobel Prize in Literature went to: Bob Dylan.
Because they do not have a Nobel Prize for Music? They just wanted to honor Dylan after his 75th birthday? Or…? Just another indicator of a ‘civilization of brouhaha’ as Mario Vargas Llosa pointed out?
Well, Dylan at first did not react at all – the Academy was not amused, declared Dylan being ‘arrogant’. But now, weeks later, Dylan just stated the Prize left him ‘speechless’ and that he will ‘accept’ the prize.
Hey man, you are honored – do not forget about it, at least until DEC 10 when you will attend the awards show.
German and Ladin Südtirol (South Tyrol), the upper pure mountainous part of Italy – Alto Adige, ‘alto‘ (high), not only because of the high Dolomiti… the dominating river Adige flowing all the way down to the Adriatic Sea.
Visited the region for a week, my choice has been Valdaora in the Pustertal because I have never been there before and booked an offer for horse riding in combination with hotel accommodation. In fact, Valdaora consists of three small cities: Niederolang, Mitterolang and Oberolang (Low, Middle and Upper Olang), differentiated by their hight in the valley of the river Rienza. Just wanted to enjoy being in the mountains, riding horses, taste great food. And expected to get the last days of warm sunshine in autumn. In the end it turned out to be a
perfect training week – in the sunshine. “Training? Because of the horse riding lessons?”
“Well, yes, but not only for that reason…”
Dolomiti
Drove southwards the direct way from Berlin by car, as soon as I reached Munich accompanied by heavy rain and strong wind, passed Innsbruck, took the Brenner freeway, the weather still misty and rainy. So missed some fantastic views like you have while driving the pass or from the Bridge of Europe. Italy welcomed me with clear, dry and sunny conditions. Of course, after 10 hours, a little bit exhausted… Found the hotel right in the center of Oberolang, across the ‘Messner Wirt’ (any connections to the famous Messner mountaineer family?).
Early diner possible, a good start into the week.
Next day, first church bell wake up call at seven, went over to the riding stable to say hello and plan my lesson/s. With the sitting contest in the car the day before not so very easy and. Did not know some school-figures and the seat was not OK at all. A lot of work then during the next days – for the horses after a long, hard season and for me as well…
But, anyway, I kept going and apart from the riding lessons forenoon discovered the landscape. Well, mostly by foot, starting always from the Oberolang altitude of 1,000 meters.
Easy to walk a panoramic way along the Olang reservoir and back a little bit higher through the woods. Good to tune myself in again into the mountain groove.
“Well, Kronplatz and the near Antholz I know as a skier. Any other attractions?”
Kronplatz and MMM Corones is worth a hiking tour or – more comfortable – a cableway drive. Mountain bikers have different tracks so that you do not have to fear about being knocked down suddenly by them while hiking. The museum – a signature piece: Zaha Hadid architecture, clinged to the side of the summit plateau, built into the mountain as well as partly embedded into raised earth and stones. It has one of the most amazing and spectacular views onto the Alps. Named Ladin Corones (crown) to emphasize the fact of the trilingualism of the region. It is the last in the row of the six Messner Mountain Museums and no wonder it is a Messner temple… that it is a Zaha Hadid architecture seems to be not so very important…
Apart from the content you might like or not the westbound views are just overwhelming –
from the inside as well as from the outside – you can decide depending on the weather…
Messner chose Kronplatz to create a space in contrast to the winter skiing and sport hype in general, to provide an attraction and a quiet place at the same time. Mh, but visiting Kronplatz in autumn like I did is not so very nice: construction of paths between the different restaurants going on (only found one restaurant open), dung spread all over the place to rescue the rest of green apparently overused in summer… some Tipis for kids or Native Americans Wanna-Bees (?). And cableways arriving from every side… a mountain sacrificed to sports and tourism…
better only one mountain than many others.
Third tour up to the Taistner Alm – starting from a farm with restaurant (before you start get at least something into your stomach). Took the easy way up, having a rest in the Alpine hut
(really a hut you expect in the mountains: old wood, narrow ceiling, a little bit dark, people playing cards, drinking Schnaps… speaking dialects I could not understand at all). Happy not to be attacked by the watch-out-rooster outside, further up then, with the Dugakopf on the right hand side, made my way to the Lutterkopf. Some snowflakes fallin’… walking on the ridge:
An incredible quietness when entering the forest again – you could even hear the most tiny branches crackle… all the steep way down, glad to have chosen this way round, steppin’ over tree roots and some stones… a nice tour… and enough energy left to jog before diner.
Diner and food – different than I expected in Alto Adige – sounded Italian but turned out to be more Tyrolean or anything else that just pretended to be Tyrolean…
“Ah – now I understand – training every day and every day more…” Exactly – and the final effect, in the first riding lesson at home: everything I learned worked.
With more time I would have had explored the Natural Preserves of Alto Adige more, for sure… to live more “Ahs!”instead of “Ohs…”, more amazingly awesome adventures.
P.S.: Watched a Markus Lanz talkshow lately on TV with Reinhold Messner as one of the guests – by the way, both South Tyroleans – and Messner talked about his 7th life now after he became 70; seems to be dedicated to a more technical point of view onto the Alps and mountains in general… and the question about how his personal end will be. He talked about Himmelsbestattung – in fact a little bit more sugarcoated as it is practiced in real… Perhaps he will finally add yet another museum to his collection, about funeral rites in the mountains…?
