Seventy-six people from 16 CMSC clubs traveled to Munich via Swiss Air, and then bussed to Selva, Val Gardena, Italy for CMSC’s Europe trip, Friday, January 11 thru January 22, 2019. There were a lot of familiar faces in the group, as many people return year after year.

In Selva, we checked into the beautiful 4-star Hotel Oswald. All the rooms were large, with all the modern amenities, but still had the old world feel that many of us like. The spa was used by almost ½ of the group. And the nearest ski shuttle was at the Oswald’s front door.

Before dinner the Oswald, along with the ski school, gave us an introduction to Selva, the town, the ski area, lifts, shuttle busses…

We began the week with a 7-course dinner. The rest of the week, dinners were 5 to 7 courses. A large breakfast buffet was also included. All meals were excellent

The Oswald took our ski pass orders the night we arrived and had them waiting for us the next morning. We picked up our rental skis from SkiLucas, ski shop in the same building as the Oswald. Don’t let this ski shop’s small display room scare you. I strongly recommend SkiLucas for the price and the quality of equipment.

The Dolomiti Superski Skipass covers 450 lifts with more than 745 miles of slopes, encompassing 50 towns in the Dolomites, the "most beautiful mountains in the world", as Italian mountaineer Reinhold Messner called the UNESCO World Natural Heritage Dolomites. All the runs were open. The hotel had a bargain deal with the ski school that gave us a guide for $10 per person instead of the normal $80 per person. Many of us took advantage of the offer for 1 or more days.

One of our favorite things to do is ski to another town for lunch and return before the lifts close. Many of the group skied to Cortina which included the horse drawn ski tow to get back home. There were many side trips like a bus ride to the town of Bolzano to see Otzi, the 5300-year-old Ice Man.

After 6 days of skiing and touring we bussed to Florence, Italy, birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. We began our adventure with a 2-hour walking tour of Florence, including the Academia Gallery with Michelangelo’s statue of David. The first day tour gave everyone a good overview of the city’s sights, leaving the next 2 full days open for anyone wanting to do a whole-day tour.

Many European museums are closed on Mondays, so Sunday was a big museum day for the group. Most of us bypassed the line at the Ufizzi museum door by making advance reservations. We also visited the Pitti palace, the Boboli Gardens, and the Franciscan Basilica of Santa Croce from 1295AD, an impressive Gothic structure which includes the tombs of Michael Angelo and Galileo. Some climbed to the top of the Duomo Cathedral.

The 2020 trip is going to Grindelwald, Switzerland, January 31 thru February 8. The extension destination is Athens, Greece.

Randy Baustert, Trip Leader