The National Park Hohe Tauern was wonderful, absolutely breathtaking. The tourist season was over and the National Park tour bus system wasn’t running anymore so we had to be creative about getting around. We utilized the one bus that ran, caught rides with people at our campsite, planned hikes to and from where we were staying, and even hitchhiked a few times. It was actually very nice that the season was over. There were very few people on the trails we hiked, and the small valley town of Heiligenblut where we were staying was very quiet. The weather was perfect while we were there; it was 60-70 degrees and sunny the entire time! The night time was chilly and we woke up with ice covering our tent more than once. There was only one other couple camping in a tent, a Korean couple Esther and San that we got to know a bit. We later found out that they were using an electric blanket. We were jealous (: They are going to be in Bali when we are there and we are hoping to meet up with them again.
Our campground in Heiligenblut was run by the sweetest Austrian family, Sep and Rosita and and their son Joseph (the 5th). They really looked after us while we were there. They even allowed us to store some of our things in the restaurant that was closed for the season and made sure that we got back from our hikes every day. They fed us a few nights and on the last night of our stay, Joseph got us a little too tipsy by pouring shots of Schnapps. Tony spent a lot of time in the restaurant offloading our photos onto our computer and Rosita really took a liking to him, claiming him as her son as we left the campground. It was really sweet. She also said something in broken English/German to me about the yogurt I was eating and patted me on my belly. I joked that she was probably telling me I need to learn some good Austrian cooking and get some meat on my bones.
We did some amazing hikes in Austria. It had recently snowed so we couldn’t go on some of the trails that were higher in elevation, however we did hike in the snow a bit and still managed to climb pretty high (close to 4,000 meters in elevation) on one of our hikes.
White-tipped mountain peaks towered over fields of lush green grassed valleys. Beautiful waterfalls tumbled down rock faces. Wild mountain goats, marmots, and a variety of farm animals roam the land in sight from the trails. As you hike in the Austrian Alps you come across mountain barns and huts where you can buy some food, beer or even a hotel room. It is truly amazing how remotely some people are able to build homes and even run a business.
We loved staying with the gang in Innsbruck so much that we decided to go back for a few more days before heading on to Switzerland. On the way back we got off the train at the wrong stop. We realized it as soon as we stepped off but the train was already moving. Tony decided to hit the door button anyway and the train magically stopped. We got back on, and after a little scolding from a train employee we were on our way back to Innsbruck. Whew!
We travelled on from the Austrian Alps to the Swiss Alps. We read that the weather was going to be -2 to 2 degrees Celsius in Lauterbrunnen so we decided not to camp. However when we arrived we were surprised to find out that it was actually much warmer in Switzerland so we moved from the hostel to the campsite after the first night. We met an Australian couple at dinner that said they had seen the same false weather forecast.
From our campsite we had a perfect view of the most impressive waterfall that runs into the Lauterbrunnen valley. Our campground was much bigger and did not have the down-home feel that the Austrian campsite had, but it was still nice. The best part was the well-stocked kitchen that was available for our use. Since Swiss food is generally expensive and unhealthy so we tried Fondue one evening and then cooked the rest of our meals.
Even hiking in Switzerland is expensive. To get to any significant trails you have to take a series of buses, trains, and cable cars but it is well worth it. Our first day, we took a train to our trail where we had views some of the tallest mountains in Europe. As we hiked we could see and hear avalanches crashing down the opposing mountainside (don’t worry Mom, this was nowhere near where we were hiking).
The next day we did an amazing hike starting from the quaint village of Gimmelwald. The only way to get to Gimmelwald is by hiking or cable car. Before the cable car was installed women in labor had to hike down the mountain to deliver, and most would not make it to the hospital in time. The first hour of our hike was straight up a mountain. We are finally getting in shape for our trek in Nepal at the end of October. Next we rounded the mountain and dropped into the valley where we walked along a mountain stream and came across three large waterfalls. At one point we were even adopted by a family of goats who decided to walk the trail with us for a ways. Their bells chimed like ancient gongs as we walked. We only saw three other people on the trail the entire day. It was truly beautiful!
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| Photo by Harold Zink |
