Even though I had high expectations, once there, I was still very surprised by the vast beauty of this place. What especially struck me, was the roughness of the immense rock formations towering high above our heads. I was also really amazed by how different this part of the Alps is, compared to - for example - the French or Austrian part. Whereas (in my experience!) many of the French/Austrian mountain look like very 'big hills' - the summits of these mountains are somehow a bit more 'flat', the mountains in the Dolomites look more like 'mountains' (in the way we would draw them when we were children :) ), because of the roughness of the rocks and because of the amount of steep peaks, that clearly stand out from the lower valleys...

Sometimes it even felt a bit like I wasn't even in Europe. The immense vertical rock formations, shooting out of slopes with a way smaller incline gave me the feeling of hiking through the Grand Canyon...  And some of the scenes around the fairytale mountain lakes with their bright, light blue colour gave me the feeling like I was in Canada... I must be honest: I have never been to Canada and I've only been to New York in the U.S. so far, but with a little bit of imagination I really felt like I was walking around there..!

The conclusion is: Europe as a continent has so many different landscapes, sceneries and diversity in nature to offer..! Although I have lived all my life in Europe, especially the nature, can still surprise in so many ways.

It's a natural playground that will never get us bored.

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I really hope you get the chance some day to visit the Dolomites to get surprised yourself. The Dolomites offer something to all nature minded people. It's a great place for families to visit. The relatively easy day hikes will take you and your family to breathtaking places! Although the Dolomites are touristic, especially during the summer, the immense scale of the sceneries will still make you feel like there aren't that many people around (just prepare for a very cramped shuttle to the start of the hike to the Tre Cime di Lavaredo ;) ).

 

For more adventurous hikers who want to make multi-day hikes, the Dolomites offer great opportunities as well. There are a lot of 'Refugios' around the area, but many people also (though forbidden in many places) wild camp around the hiking tracks...

 

Well, enough talking! Hope you enjoy my impression of the Dolomites.