The ski trip, despite the spread of a nasty virus, was fantastic. We were somewhat primed for the wintry weather by a sudden turn of seasons in Sardegna in mid-December where the high over a period of a week or two was only 7C (44F). I know that sounds pretty wimpy, but it feels cold when all you have is one portable heater and the wind comes right through the windows such that you can see the leaves on your indoor plants blowing in the breeze. Up in the Dolomites, however, it was truly winter and glistening frozen ponds and snow-capped peaks welcomed us into the Tyrolean region. It is easy to forget that you are still in Italy, as streets are named things like Amberstrass and every town has two names – the old Austrian and a newer Italian name added after the war. The architecture of white stucco houses with heavy dark beams and overhanging roofs reminded us of Garmisch. We arrived at the Hotel Adler in the small village of Villabassa in the late afternoon after an overnight ferry ride and a long drive 
north and discovered that the Residence, the part of the hotel where we had booked a room, was a bit further away from the main hotel that we’d thought and we realized that the temperature outside would make it a chilly walk to and from breakfast and dinner each day, especially after skiing. So, Chad set off to inquire about a room in the main hotel and we were soon set up in the Junior Suite compliments of the proprietor, a friend of a friend who has a house in Sardegna and whom I had tutored in English at the beginning of the summer. They were quite posh accommodations – complete with two bathrooms! Little did we know that, later, this would provide a comfortable respite for a flu-addled Chad. That night, we met up with nearly a dozen friends from La Maddalena who had all just arrived, and had the first of many fantastic dinners at the hotel with many more courses than our stomachs had anticipated. The next morning, we opted for an early start to get to the mountain and rent skis for the week. 
After the gathering of the troops over breakfast, followed by the rounding up of proper clothing and provisions for the day and the stuffing of children into new snowsuits, we set off to Kromplatz in a caravan of cars. And, sometime midmorning once we’d finally all gotten fully equipped, all the skiers rode the g
ondola up to the top of the mountain for the trip’s first run, leaving the sledders and snowboarders to the lower slopes for the day. The views were beautiful with natural snow on the peaks (though artificial on the slopes) and bright sunshine. We greatly enjoyed the sun over lunch on the outdoor porch of a mid-mountain restaurant where we ate all manner of sausages, spetzels and knodels. Then, we were off again, for a few more runs before calling it a day. This was the basic routine of our ski days, each of which brought increased speed and confidence for me after a tentative start and little previous skiing experience. I actually reached the point where my level of fun surpassed that of my fear.
After the gathering of the troops over breakfast, followed by the rounding up of proper clothing and provisions for the day and the stuffing of children into new snowsuits, we set off to Kromplatz in a caravan of cars. And, sometime midmorning once we’d finally all gotten fully equipped, all the skiers rode the g
ondola up to the top of the mountain for the trip’s first run, leaving the sledders and snowboarders to the lower slopes for the day. The views were beautiful with natural snow on the peaks (though artificial on the slopes) and bright sunshine. We greatly enjoyed the sun over lunch on the outdoor porch of a mid-mountain restaurant where we ate all manner of sausages, spetzels and knodels. Then, we were off again, for a few more runs before calling it a day. This was the basic routine of our ski days, each of which brought increased speed and confidence for me after a tentative start and little previous skiing experience. I actually reached the point where my level of fun surpassed that of my fear. 
Our ski day was then followed by returning to the Adler to take a very eager pup for a walk through the fields across from the hotel and then stopping by the nightly gluwein stand in the piazza for a mug of the local hot mulled wine by the fire. We realized how maladapted our poor pup was to the cold when we noticed him doing a little two legged dance on the icy ground as we waited for the carolers to start one evening. From there, we retreated indoors to the delightful Hotel spa to warm up and relax tired muscles. This left us just enough time to clean up before the multi-hour, multi-course dinner that ended each day and from which we all departed full and exhausted. Aside from the skiing, we also had a chance to explore a couple of the 
towns in the area in the afternoons. Brunico, at the base of Kromplatz, had a wonderful Christmas market with booths full of various local crafts including gingerbread hearts, carved wooden ornaments, and colorful woolen capes and clogs. We even heard Tyrolean horn players performing on the longest horns I’ve ever seen. And, of course, we found steaming mugs of gluwein to keep us warm while perusing the market. Another afternoon, we headed into Cortina d’Ampezzo to see the famous glitzy resort town there. We had heard that people liked to show off their furs and high fashion there, and found this to be more than true – even the dogs had fur-trimmed jackets! We decided that Brunico was more our style.
towns in the area in the afternoons. Brunico, at the base of Kromplatz, had a wonderful Christmas market with booths full of various local crafts including gingerbread hearts, carved wooden ornaments, and colorful woolen capes and clogs. We even heard Tyrolean horn players performing on the longest horns I’ve ever seen. And, of course, we found steaming mugs of gluwein to keep us warm while perusing the market. Another afternoon, we headed into Cortina d’Ampezzo to see the famous glitzy resort town there. We had heard that people liked to show off their furs and high fashion there, and found this to be more than true – even the dogs had fur-trimmed jackets! We decided that Brunico was more our style. The visit to Cortina was after a day of skiing there. The scenery was unbelievable. We thought 
that Kromplatz was beautiful, but at Cortina, the lifts take you through jagged channels in the rocks that are sparkling with fresh snow, up to nearly 3000 meters at the top. I couldn’t stop taking pictures. It was interesting to note the difference in style between the two mountains as Kromplatz was 
much more modern with fancy gondolas and big mountain restaurants, while Cortina had many of the old-style open chairlifts and little lodges. There were also many more Italians at Cortina than at Kromplatz, which was to our advantage since Italians like to sleep in the morning and we were there bright and early. Just after we finished lunch, they started rolling in. Not so at the Austrian-dominated Kromplatz, which was crowded by 9am.
that Kromplatz was beautiful, but at Cortina, the lifts take you through jagged channels in the rocks that are sparkling with fresh snow, up to nearly 3000 meters at the top. I couldn’t stop taking pictures. It was interesting to note the difference in style between the two mountains as Kromplatz was 
much more modern with fancy gondolas and big mountain restaurants, while Cortina had many of the old-style open chairlifts and little lodges. There were also many more Italians at Cortina than at Kromplatz, which was to our advantage since Italians like to sleep in the morning and we were there bright and early. Just after we finished lunch, they started rolling in. Not so at the Austrian-dominated Kromplatz, which was crowded by 9am. 
After our day at Cortina, we returned to the Adler for Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, this was the night that Chad succumbed to the flu, but he did manage to emerge after dinner for caroling and gluwein around the hotel’s Christmas tree. Christmas Day, the group met up for one last day of skiing altogether (except for a still-feverish Chad). It was a beautiful, sunny morning with few skiers on the slopes, although we did see one in a full Santa suit! We headed back after lunch to have our Christmas gift exchange in the hotel’s cozy card room, followed by an outdoor fire with more hot gluwein in the piazza. Dinner was a grand feast complete with roast Christmas goose, a first for most of us. And, that brought us, sadly, to the end of our stay at the Hotel Adler. We left
the next morning to make our way toward the ferry. Midday, we stopped in Bologna, hoping to explore the famous Quadrilatero food district, but, as it was riposo and the day after Christmas, most of the 
shops were closed. It was great window-shopping ,though, which was easier as we had Manny in tow. The architecture in the city was beautiful with many brick buildings, a rarity for Italy, and narrow winding streets off the main piazzas. One of most unusual things we saw was the sarcophagus of St. Dominic, the namesake of the Dominican monks, which was perched high atop an elevated monument outside the Basilica. Then, it was onwards to the ferry and home to Sardinia, returning in the wee hours of the morning to our chilly, dark house.
the next morning to make our way toward the ferry. Midday, we stopped in Bologna, hoping to explore the famous Quadrilatero food district, but, as it was riposo and the day after Christmas, most of the 
shops were closed. It was great window-shopping ,though, which was easier as we had Manny in tow. The architecture in the city was beautiful with many brick buildings, a rarity for Italy, and narrow winding streets off the main piazzas. One of most unusual things we saw was the sarcophagus of St. Dominic, the namesake of the Dominican monks, which was perched high atop an elevated monument outside the Basilica. Then, it was onwards to the ferry and home to Sardinia, returning in the wee hours of the morning to our chilly, dark house. 
We decided to have Christmas part II once back at home so that we could open each other’s presents there. We made a shellfish stew on “Christmas Eve” reminiscent of the Olcott tradition of haddock chowder and watched Charlie Brown’s Christmas Special in front of the fire. The next morning, we opened presents in our paja
mas and had Norwegian apple cake a la Andrea and fresh squeezed OJ a la Tom. We lingered over the pile of loot for several hours thereafter, enjoying many new goodies and reliving Christmas Day now that we were at home. We did our best to recreate the traditions of our families, but still missed them quite a bit and spent the afternoon catching up with parents and siblings via phone. And sometime late in the day, I became the latest flu victim in the family - Merry Christmas!And, that brings us back to the present, to celebrate the end of 2007 and the coming of 2008 (and with it, hopefully the return of health for both of us!). The arrival of January means that we will be saying goodbye to many of our friends here who are leaving before the closure of the base. So, we are hunkering down for the last couple of months and preparing to return to the land of English-speakers, baseball, and apple-pie come the end of February. Hopefully I’ll get in at least one more travelogue as we try to squeeze as much out of Sardinia as we can before we go. Meanwhile, happy 2008 to all.
