When our good friends and South Tyrol aficionados raved about one of Italy’s most magnificent lakes – the Lago di Braies – we knew we had to go there. So on our way from Florence back to Germany, we decided to delay our return journey a bit and spend another four days in the gorgeous South Tyrol which we always enjoy to the fullest.

Lago di Braies is a bright blue mountain lake in the heart of the Dolomites and unarguably absolutely spectacular. No wonder and unfortunately it has become a popular instagram hot spot. Our friends warned us that it will most definitely get super crowded during the day. No problem, we thought, and felt super smart to already arrive there at 8:30 a.m. to start our hike around the lake. To our great surprise and dislike, hundreds of other early birds and nature lovers had had the same idea, ugh! We also learned that the ambitious photographer and serious instagram influencer already arrive at the lake no later than 5:30 a.m. in order to get the most perfect shot.

The sparkling emerald-colored water is so very enchanting and photogenic that the one-hour-hike around the lake took us two hours, since we had to stop every two meters to enjoy the epic mountain view from different angles and soak up all its beauty and take the hundredths family picture with our smartphone. Definitely the most fun part was at the end of our hike when we rented one of the cool wooden row-boats and had Juliana and Nicolas cruise us around.