It always seems to happen to me. Don’t get me wrong, I like a bit of traditional folk music as much as anyone when I’m on holiday. But after a couple of hours yesterday evening of what sounded like a cross between a Max Bygraves tribute, oompah music, country and 70s rock, played in the street outside my hotel, amplified and distorted, I just wanted a bit of peace and quiet. Unfortunately I didn’t get it til after 11 pm, five hours after it started. The contrast with where I am now, after today’s walk, couldn’t be greater. I’m in an isolated pension, far up the hill, with no wifi, but a perfect balcony view over the valley.
This morning they were clearing up in Obervellach after the night before, taking away the stage, sound system and the trestle tables that had been in the street outside. I was driven back by taxi to Danielsberg, to resume my hike from where I left off yesterday. By the time I reached there, at about 9:15, the temperature was probably already in the mid 20s.
After a short descent the other side of the hill I’d climbed yesterday, the rest of the morning’s walk was straightforward and a bit dull. To be honest, almost every long distance walk has parts like this – the ‘bits in between’, if you like. When someone comes up with a long distance route they usually seek to link particularly attractive or interesting places together. But inevitably there will a bit of joining the dots, and finding a route through. This is what most of this morning’s walk seemed to be.
It wasn’t horrible. There was the river Moll again, and a reservoir, and the constant backdrop of the forested mountainsides. Presumably because it was the flat valley in the middle, there were also loads of cyclists. There was though, a semi industrial feel, with pylons, pipelines, power stations and the constant buzz of traffic on the nearby main road. I walked along a canal for a while, and passed a fish ladder, designed to allow fish to pass through a weir.
The afternoon’s walk was totally different and I enjoyed it much more. For one thing the weather started to change and eventually there was a series of local thunderstorms. I crossed the main road and ascended the other side of the valley. There was another gorge, the Barbarossaschlut, which this time I walked up rather than down, with metal bridges across the waterfalls. Towards the top there was a massive rock with a little stone table and cairns beneath, which supposedly was where Frederick Barbarossa (the emperor Frederick the Great) rested for the night, and had a vision of the devil. Or so they say.
After the schlut, there was a nice and easy level forest walk and then a series of further little climbs. I came across some ostriches in an enclosure. I passed the onion shaped dome of the church of Maria in Hohenburg. Just after this, the rain started coming down in earnest, although I’d heard the thunder to give me warning to put on my waterproofs. So for the last 45 minutes I was walking in pouring rain. Finally I reached the isolated pension.
From the balcony I now have a new view to my left (east) of a big stretch of water and some new hills. Looking at my map I see this must be Millstatter See, a big lake, and the Nockberge, the hills above, where I will be walking next week.
But am I the only guest here? I haven’t seen anyone else yet apart from the staff, and it is a dark and wood panelled place with stuffed animals and antlers all over the walls. The staff here are very nice and the setting is beautiful, but it is all a little bit creepy somehow.
For dinner, I had what they call ‘cordon bleu’ around here. I’ve had this several times this week and it seems to just be a kind of viener schnitzel with cheese. So I usually get presented with either plain, big standard viener schnitzel, or cordon bleu viener schnitzel. So far I’ve had three or four schnitzels in a week and avoided it at least twice. While I rather like schnitzel you can have too much of a good thing! It seems as ubiquitous here as steak and ale pie or fish and chips in an English pub. Hopefully there be more on offer in Gmund tomorrow night.
Across the Alps to the Adriatic 