Austria
August 7 to 29, 2010
gampenkogel and shelbyville
Wiegenalm and Kobingerhuette
Originally we had intended to hike to Floch today but given the weather, we decided instead to hike over to the Gaisberg, collect some hiking stamps at some of the alms, visit the Harlisanger chapel, and then head back down with the lift to Kirchberg. Our first stops for hiking stamps were at the Wiegenalm and at the Kobingerhuette, both of which looked closed for business today (no surprise since we hadn't encountered any other hikers yet today... hiking in this area is a fair weather sport and only the visiting Canadians would be up on the mountain on a day like this!)
As we took the trail over to the Gaisberg mountain, the first alm we reach is the Wiegenalm.
Berggasthaus Wiegenalm (1507m elevation)
Neatly stacked wood, potted geraniums, and the ever popular chive plantation...
a typical Austrian mountain guest house.
Don't forget to get the hiking stamp!
The place looks pretty closed up... don't think they're expecting too many hikers in this weather!
A typical little rest spot along the trail.
Through the fog we can already spot a bunch of houses belonging to the next alpine farm and guest house - Kobingerhuette.
A little pond blanketed in fog.
Some tadpoles in the pond.
While the poster on the wall is advertising Tirolean milk, the pig is looking pretty yummy itself. ;-)
Mmmmm, pork schnitzel!
Maaaa! (That's how goats talk in Austrian)
Rubby wanted to take the easy way up the mountain but this chair lift seems to be going nowhere fast!
This spot on the patio is for those who just want a quick stop...
1/4 hour should be enough to down a quick shot of schnapps!
And for the reaper there's a nice spot to hang his scythe
while he enjoys his Kaspressknoedl (aka stinky cheese dumplings) in soup.
Austrians like to decorate their homes with lots of flowers and plants.
At the Kobingerhuette they also have some interesting decorations using rocks.
Judging by the rafters, the Kobingerhuette originally dates to 1830 but was rebuilt in 1955.
Decorative signage... unfortunately each arrow just pointed into the fog!
Luckily between the fog patches we could just make out the silhouette of the Harlisanger chapel,
otherwise we might have missed it entirely!
austria menu:
still to come:
august 20-29