Since a few of my friends had not been there, we decided to visit Val Gardena again this February. Our plan was to fly to Munich and have a chartered van take us to Selva, Italy that same day. The trip started out well, but midway to Innsbruck our driver informed us that an avalanche had occurred on the Brenner pass due to the large amounts of snow that had fallen the day before (over a meter and a half in some places). Since we could not make it to Italy without taking a 5 to 6 hour detour, he would leave us in Innsbruck to wait and see if the road could be cleared in time to make it that evening. We walked around Innsbruck and explored the city, eventually finding our way to the Hotel Penz (and its bar) and decided to wait there until we heard from our transport company. We were assured by the hotel that they had plenty of rooms and were told there was no need to reserve a room as they would send word to us in the bar if the hotel was filling up. As you might guess, with the pass closed, all of Innsbruck filled up quickly and we were not warned that the hotel was filling up. Fortunately, after our respectful complaints, the manager called the clerk that had made the promise to us, verified our claims, and then made reservations for us in a great little hotel called the Hotel Karwendelhof in the ski town of Seefeld (about 30 minutes away). After a nice breakfast the next morning, we were on our way to Selva. We arrived at the Hotel Genziana around 2pm, so I had plenty of time to unpack, check out the bar and rent my skis. Here are some pictures of the 2019 trip:
Innsbruck.
Outside the hotel in Seefeld.
This was a lounge area in the Hotel Genziana.
The view outside of my hotel window.
Typical first course of dinner. You would help yourself to a buffet of meats, cheeses, breads and fruits.
Blue bird for our first day on the slopes.
Did I mention it was cold in this restroom?
My friends hadn't been in much deep snow, and this area was really fluffy.
These next 3 photos are of a menu for a typical dinner at the hotel.
Not sure this was worth the 300 meter climb up a hill in my ski boots, but this little church was interesting and the food at the restaurant next door was delicious.
0.50 - still able to find the restroom and not yet annoying
And when I got back, I finally took a good look at my beer glass.
