Interrail Day 14, 15, 16 & 17 - Bruneck/Brunico

Brunico, or Bruneck in German—I might use them interchangeably—is a city in the Alps of Italy, though historically it has belonged to Austria for many centuries, so both German and Italian are official languages. Every sign or bit of writing is in both languages, most people are bilingual, and it's easy to see influence from both countries, in the architecture for example.

First of all, the ride to Bruneck was quite chaotic. My first train from Bled to Jesenice was 25 minutes late, but I arrived in time for the next train. However, this one was also late, 50 minutes this time. I was supposed to go all the way to Spittal with that train, except it stopped in Villach, so I had to take another train to Spittal... This made me miss my connection, but got the next train to Lienz in Osttirol. I arrived in Bruneck one hour later than expected, but it wasn't a problem.

The accommodation I found for Brunico was a place I found on Airbnb. It was listed as a hostel, but it’s really just someone renting out their place as individual beds.

It wasn’t the best, not really a hostel at all, but it did the job nicely for 3 nights.

I got there on Saturday at the end of the afternoon, had a rest and then went out to get some food. I couldn’t find any shops open so I ended up taking a pizza and eating by the river. I could tell I was back in Italy with the price of the pizza.

The next day I had a bit of a lie in and lazy start of the day. Around mid-afternoon, I went to Lidl to get a picnic for that evening and the next’s lunch, and then for a little walk in the mountains. I got to the top in early enough to see the sunset.

I stayed there for a while, having dinner and enjoying the view. It took me a third of the time to run back down than it took me to walk up.

On the Monday, I went off for a hike I’d seen to reach the top of a mountain. I left slightly later than I originally planned but wasn’t too much of a problem in the end.

The starting point was 1.5 hours walk away, but about half way there a car came by gave me a lift to the starting point. I got lucky because it was my first hitchhiking attempt that day.

She was a nice local woman. She told me the people of Bruneck primarily use German, and that the city became Italian after the second world war in 1948. I could confirm the former with a quick search, but I only found sources saying the area became Italian after the first world war in 1919. Maybe Bruneck has a different, specific history?

The summit I was aiming for is called Rammelstein in German, culminating at 2483 metres.

The start of the hike was very easy, walking along a path through the valley, very slightly uphill.

I followed that path for a bit over an hour, then the signs for Rammelstein turned straight up the mountain. For then on, it was a very steep hike up.

I continued on to find a nice spot to have my picnic (it was already 4pm).

After the lunch and logbook writing break, I started the final bit of the ascent towards the top of the mountain.

That bit got a bit scarier, it was essentially rock climbing at very high altitude and with a very big drop underneath!

The thrilling climb was definitely worth the view though! Just admire it through a couple of drone shots.

The way back down involved walking along the top of the mountains, then a very steep way down at the end. Incredible view all the way. I managed to get back to the starting point in time for the last bus at 8 o’clock.

If you’re ever in Brunico, and fit and physically able to do it, I definitely recommend this hike.

That evening, I barely did anything, absolutely exhausted from the hike - my thighs are still painful 2 days later 🤪

I left the next morning to catch the train to Salzburg. Everything went smoothly this time.