Winter break started, time to ski!!! Mr. Dog? Of course goes with us, although he hasn’t got his four-little-skis. Destination? Italian Dolomites, more precisely Alto Adige region (aka South Tirol), and even more precisely a tiny town F. up on the mountain, our winter destination for six years. No worries about Mr. Dog. Italian hospitality and permission to enter almost everywhere with his humans awaits.
We set off from home on late Friday afternoon heading towards Zgorzelec (a Polish-German border town), where in a road-side-hotel we spent the night (dog 30,-) and in the morning, along German and Austrian highways, we embarked on a trip to Italy.
In Germany there are so called Hunde-Tankstelle (i.e. dog-stations), which is a bowl of water at the entrance (rarely, another bowl with food). Nobody scowls if we enter with a dog. In Austria it’s a bit different: entering the petrol-station-cafe with a dog is not so welcomed (at least that’s what a station-lady told me in Innsbruck. The reason? „There is foodâ€â€¦). The travel was long, but if it wasn’t snowing or raining, quite enjoyable. Rizo, after a few hours of pushing himself to the front, finally fell asleep hugging his plush-hippo.
![]() |
After a few stops to pee, water and dog-fooding, on Saturday evening we were up on 1200m.a.s.l. in our favourite little town looking at Dolomites – Folgaria. Doggy seemed to recognize the place, as he cheerfully rushed straight to Derby Club and behind the reception-desk to greet Uana, who recognized him and greeted him with equal happiness.
A walk along the “main street” of the town isn’t stressful for a dog-owner as there are bins every 50 meters. Feel like having coffee or a pizza ? No problem! You enter one of a few bars with Mr. Dog and nobody looks surprised. A bigger confusion you cause by asking „Can I enter with the dog?†(„Posso entrare con il cane?â€). Every time I asked this, the staff frowned and replied „Certo!†(„But certainly!â€).
In the picture Rizo is enjoying his pizza in La Piazzetta
The surroundings are very dog-friendly: in front of the hostel there is a lawn (but we rather don’t pee there), next there is an empty grass-area, and a a few hundred meters far we find a huge fenced field for a morning or evening run. And what entertainment can we offer to Mr. Dog?
For sure, a lot of new-dog-friends in the streets, as every third person walks a dog. Rizo had a new love-affair every day 🙂
![]() |
![]() |
When the weather is good, it’s worth to do some TREKKING around the nearby hills and fields. The slopes are mainly south-looking, so the walk in the sun will definitely recharge your batteries.
![]() |
If we want to relax closer to the Sun, we drive 5 mins to Fondo Grande and there, together with Mr. Dog, we settle into a CABLE CAR chair (yes, it’s allowed) and when we are on top, we can sunbathe sitting comfortably on a beach-chair with Italian coffee in hand. You should try this option only on condition your dog won’t scramble during your ride on the cable-car. Rizo was exceptionally calm “up in the air”, as probably the new situation and height intimidated him (!) But on top he went crazy in the snow.
![]() |
The moment we get enough of nature and we miss people, we drive down to Trent. We head to the centre (the Old Town). There, on Piazza del Duomo (The Cathedral Square) sipping espresso, we will enjoy delicious “tiramisu” in the shade of legendary roman cathedral San Vigilio (the site of e.g. Council of Trent in 1545) and will stroll among picturesque old houses.
|
![]() |
Before we leave the square, a picture at the Neptune Fountain is a must (however, for a few people Rizo was more attractive and they pointed their cameras at him 😉 . In the nearby narrow streets you will find boutiques to browse through and cosy cafes to try pasta, pizza or gnocchi. Mr. Dog enters with us, naturally!
wonderful submit, very informative. I'm wondering why the opposite experts of this sector don't understand this. You must proceed your writing. I am confident, you've a great readers' base already!
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an very long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn't appear. Grrrr... well I'm not writing all that over again. Anyhow, just wanted to say fantastic blog!