So as I stood there admiring the peaks towering above Seis in South Tyrol, an elderly gentleman walked up and spoke to me in German. I didn't quite catch all of it, but it sounded like he was trying to say "Yeah...they look alright now, but wait until a night when they get lit up by the setting sun." As the Western sky was covered by high clouds, I was pretty sure that I was going to get shut out that night with no light on the peaks. I was OK with this situation as the view was absolutely stunning, with or without the sunset light.
This particular group of peaks of the Dolomites is known as the "Rose Garden" or "Rosengarten" due to the pink coloring found in the peaks, apparently caused by a mineral which eventually became known as "Dolomite." Some say that this mineral "takes in the sunset and glows" which may have inspired the name of this particular group.
Then again, perhaps there's something to the legend about the dwarf king Laurin who was supposed to have had a rose garden here; as a result of a curse its beauty can only be admired at twilight.
In either case, I kept shooting, and surprisingly, I found myself alone on the shore of this beautiful small lake, on a Saturday night in October as the sun finally snuck through a crack about 2 minutes before sunset, and lit up the range. I stood staring for a while as the range glowed quietly in front of me. Not for the first time I wondered who was fortunate enough to live here. How do you get to be a farmer in South Tyrol? And even if the winters are hard...do you ever really get tired of looking at a view like this? As for the glow...it pretty much stayed with me for the rest of the week. :)
From "Bozner Bergsteigerlied" which is an unofficial anthem of South Tyrol:
Dann kommt mit seiner Herrlichkeit
Der Herbst ins Land herein
Und alle Keller füllen sich
Mit Heimatfeuerwein.
Man sitzt beim vollen Glase dann
Und singt ein frohes Lied,
Wenn in des Abends Dämmerschein
Der Rosengarten glüht.
Translation:
Then come with his glory
Fall in the country
And all the basements fill up
With home fire wine.
You sit with a full glass then
And sing a happy song,
When in the evening twilight
The rose garden is glowing.
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