Italy, Montenegro, Serbia and Austria

[Jacques Vert]

Not sure if Gem 56 & Jacques Vert were on this
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Not likely, we take the cheap one

 

[RB]

Going to Vienna and Salzburg next week. Any tips from your time in Austria?

No direct tips as we only visited the 2 mountain areas. Our 2 host families were excellent people. Just posted above a few supermarket prices so didn't find things particularly expensive where we were. I am guessing Vienna & Salzburg may be dearer than that. I think generally be prepared for firmer beds! We used Citi Plus & 28 degrees cards with no hassles. I think it is fair to say the Austrians are very organised people & maybe more traditional than the Germans.

 

[RB]

22nd June. Day 4 around Schruns
Cloud & drizzle to start the day. Our pass gets us a free bus ride to Sibertal Kristbergbahn-exactly 12 minutes ride! Straight across the road to the jam packed cable ride up to Kristberg at 1442metres. Pretty flat gravel road/path in a former silver mining area towards Wasserstubental and then downwards & back to Sibertal (shared in spots with mountain bikes). Some great forest scenery, numerous waterfalls, distant mountain peaks and plenty of other hikers in the latter stages. The melt supplies such a massive amount of water. At one stage came across rangers dragging a shot deer-we had heard the shot about 15 minutes previously. Had a beer at Sibertal to celebrate the 16.8km hike & caught the bus back to Schruns-add a km or so to and from bus & we were a bit weary.





A well defined track all day




Still had food in its mouth






Huge numbers were trekking in the opposite direction to us-heading to this refuge for lunch & drinks

 

[RB]

Around Schruns Day 4 continued
The immovable object


The sign notes record water level on 23/08/2005




Back at Sibertal


Not up in the snowy peaks like the previous day but a very scenic day

 

[RB]

Day 5 of Schruns 23rd June-
Cloudy to start but ended up a perfectly fine day. Bus to Valisera then the 6 person lift up. Walked around top of stage 2 –still some ice & snow around. Thought our fitness was holding up pretty well then we started talking to an 86 yr old! Some alpine rose around. Caught lift down to middle station then walked to Garfrescha. From there a 2 person open lift down to base level & a short walk to St Gallenkirch bus station for a ride home.

 

[RB]

Schruns Day 5 Continued








Austrian Fuel Prices

 

[RB]

Day 6 Schruns 24th June-
Last day in Schruns and perhaps the highlight day of the trip so far. Bus then a lift ride from Golm & a walk of around 12km. A variety of track surfaces ranging from dirt, narrow gravel, bitumen & grass with rises & falls but an overall drop of around a 1,000 metres-hard on the knees & toes in spots. At one stage many acres of alpine rose growing on both sides of track- not a lot in flower. Had lunch at Lindauer Hut along with many other hikers-great apple strudel & a beer to set us up for the finish line. Fantastic warm, clear day & magnificent scenery throughout.



Starting point for our walk-hot day & great scenery


Crowds soon thin out-some only waalk a short distance then return to the lift




Alpine rose in the foreground

 

[RB]

Day 6 Schruns Continued







Lunch


The downhill part started through a working farm




Back at the bus stop for the ride back to Schruns

 

[craven morehead]

22nd June. Day 4 around Schruns
Cloud & drizzle to start the day. Our pass gets us a free bus ride to Sibertal Kristbergbahn-exactly 12 minutes ride! Straight across the road to the jam packed cable ride up to Kristberg at 1442metres. Pretty flat gravel road/path in a former silver mining area towards Wasserstubental and then downwards & back to Sibertal (shared in spots with mountain bikes). Some great forest scenery, numerous waterfalls, distant mountain peaks and plenty of other hikers in the latter stages. The melt supplies such a massive amount of water. At one stage came across rangers dragging a shot deer-we had heard the shot about 15 minutes previously. Had a beer at Sibertal to celebrate the 16.8km hike & caught the bus back to Schruns-add a km or so to and from bus & we were a bit weary.

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A well defined track all day
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Still had food in its mouth
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Huge numbers were trekking in the opposite direction to us-heading to this refuge for lunch & drinks
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Beautiful countryside

 

[RB]

Beautiful countryside

Both spots in Austria were very scenic. Still think the Dolomite peaks we visited previously were that bit more dramatic than this time

 

[RB]

Schruns to Seefeld Austria 25th June by Rail
Transferred by rail with 2 changes at Bludenz & Innsbruck. No problems with the changes, the trains were not overly full and there was rack space above seats for bags-carriages seem to now have bigger/deeper rack space than they used to. Plenty of mountain vista along the way, heaps of small farms before reaching Innsbruck-very orderly vegetable growing as expected of the Austrians. The ride up to Seefeld from Innsbruck was pretty scenic looking down on the broad valley-great views of Innsbruck airport. Another very hot day-32c and above at the approx 1200m altitude of Seefeld is unusual. Our apartment is approx 15 or so min walk from the train station.

Wiki here Seefeld in Tirol - Wikipedia

Around Seefeld
Day 1 25th June-not a lot done in the heat of the afternoon. Walked around to get a sense of the town-huge supermarket + 2 others between us and the town centre. Plenty of flower displays, many horse drawn carriages, plenty of gift shops.

Looking out from our deck

 

[RB]

I have posted a review of our aapartment here Apartment Irene Seefeld Austria

Day 2 in Seefeld 26th June-hot again. Up early to walk to beat the heat. Covered around 12km. Town is formerly a farming settlement-walk is through forests, across paddocks and laneways & roads and tracks on town outskirts. Visited Rosshutte cable car base-quite a few using the carriages for the ride & we got some info for later in the week. Bit of a waddle around town & then out of the heat.

Hundreds of these around town













Stop & Go person walking along with machinery & controlling traffic with a hand paddle

 

[RB]

Seefeld is a bit more touristy than Schruns-more souvenier shops, more entertainment at bars and coffee shops/bars that have outside seating for sunning & being seen.




Top spot for an open air concert


When you walked past at night time the eyes seemed to follow you




Plenty of Spa Tourism


Bar that was more designed for winter


It was very noticeable in the parts of Austria we visited that there were less old cars & people were more inclined to spend more on there cars

 

[RB]

Day 3 in Seefeld 27th June
Hot again. Ready to use the cable cars& lifts. Plan was to see whatever was open so bought a Topcard pass. We were advised the Hamelekopf ride would re-open at noon. Caught the cable car to mid-station Rosshutte then the lift to Seefelder Joch (2,064m). Again not big crowds. One pair doing a tandem paraglide. Started on the high trail to Seefelder Spitze but turned back at a very slippery section of gravel-felt we made the right decision when we later heard a group talking about how they resorted to sliding down on their backsides despite them having hiking sticks. Views were great but there was a heat haze blocking some of the more distant peaks. We rode back down to Rosshutte, ready for the aerial cable car ride across the Hermannstal Valley to Harmelekopf-unfortunately the maintenance was not finished (don't think it was ever planned to open at noon) so we rode down to ground level. They eventually agreed to us returning tomorrow to complete the missing ride. Back in town we walked to the Lake Wildsee-a Eurasian Coot was the star here.

Bit of background for Rosshuette Bergbahnen Rosshütte



Looking back down from Seefelder Joch




Got past here


Got past here


Started questioning ourselves about here




Mrs RB was pretty happy with this shot




The Eurasian coot

 

[RB]

Day 4 Seefeld 28th June-
Another hot one. Back to the cable car & then a magic ride on the aerial cableway to Harmelekopf (2045m). The ride is 200m above the valley. We did part of the walk to Nordlinger Hut on the high trail but again felt a bit unsafe on the slippery gravel so we set our own end point.
Back at town level we walked to Wildmoossee-well sign posted once you get started and not a difficult walk-except it was bloody hot at the time. I think nature had conspired against us as the lake was small & groundwater forces must not have been in play to any extent-none the less it was a nice hike through meadows & thick forests. Some very healthy alpine dairy cows were enjoying a good time on the lush growth. There were signs noting that Nordic skiing had been hosted here during the 1964 & 1976 Winter Olympics.

An explanation of the lake water levels is here Wildmosssee - a natural phenomenon

Shots from the aerial cableway

 

[RB]

Walk to Wildmoossee

Acknowledging the Winter Olympics




A tad disappointing at the time


The 2nd lake


One of our greeters at the lunch spot


Another lunch refuge spot-ordinary food this time-egg noodle soup was about it by the time we aarrived

 

[craven morehead]

Day 3 in Seefeld 27th June
Hot again. Ready to use the cable cars& lifts. Plan was to see whatever was open so bought a Topcard pass. We were advised the Hamelekopf ride would re-open at noon. Caught the cable car to mid-station Rosshutte then the lift to Seefelder Joch (2,064m). Again not big crowds. One pair doing a tandem paraglide. Started on the high trail to Seefelder Spitze but turned back at a very slippery section of gravel-felt we made the right decision when we later heard a group talking about how they resorted to sliding down on their backsides despite them having hiking sticks. Views were great but there was a heat haze blocking some of the more distant peaks. We rode back down to Rosshutte, ready for the aerial cable car ride across the Hermannstal Valley to Harmelekopf-unfortunately the maintenance was not finished (don't think it was ever planned to open at noon) so we rode down to ground level. They eventually agreed to us returning tomorrow to complete the missing ride. Back in town we walked to the Lake Wildsee-a Eurasian Coot was the star here.

Bit of background for Rosshuette Bergbahnen Rosshütte

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Looking back down from Seefelder Joch
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Got past here
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Got past here
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Started questioning ourselves about here
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Mrs RB was pretty happy with this shot
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The Eurasian coot
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What a fantastic effort

 

[RB]

Day 5 29th June-last full day at Seefeld. Forecast to be hot again- walked out towards Mosern & then back to Lake Wildsee. Noted the fantastic facilities available for a community this size-superb sporting fields, tennis courts, walking tracks & inline skating track Roller skiing track and summer biathlon in Seefeld in Tirol
The moors area at the end of the lake was excellent and we came across a few squirrels. The adjoining golf course looked to be in top condition. We were back to the apartment before it became too uncomfortable.
We have always enjoyed a Chinese meal while on holidays-invariably they have cold beer & decent wine. Tonight was not exception and I think it was the cleanest restaurant I have ever been in
As part of a valley wide celebration tonight there is lighting of the Sacred Hearts Fire high up on the hills.

Sacred Heart Fires
The Sacred Heart Fire is a tradition that has its origins in the 19th century and it is still in use all over Tyrol.

When in 1796 Napoleonic troops came closer and closer, Tyrol was made ready for war, and representatives met up in Bolzano (South Tyrol) in order to discuss how to proceed. This is when the Abbot Sebastian Stöckl suggested to commit Tyrol to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in other words to trust in God. From June 1, 1796, this feast day was celebrated with a solemn religious service. Only 80 years after also fires were made.
The ritual to make fires on the mountains dates back to a pre-Christian time, in other words to the cult of primitive races. They attached great importance to the sun, which was expressed by simulating the sun by making fires. Fires were also made in order to put to flight plagues.
In other periods of time people used to make fires in compliment to Saints. In Tyrol another significance was attached to the fires, which were widely celebrated as Sacred Heart Fires, which still use to take place on the second Sunday after Corpus Christi. Fires are often arranged in the form of a heart, crosses or the inscription INRI or IHS. On the mountains surrounding Innsbruck e.g., there are fires all over and this event is organised by local mountaineering associations.









Roller skiing track-exclusive use-no hikers allowed!






Back in town


People trying to cope with the heatwave




Edge of the moors land and adjoining golf course

 

[RB]

Last day at Seefeld continued

Nice little plate warmer-note the creases in tablecloth


I am a sucker for a Chinese pork dish


Looked out of place during the current heatwave


The best we could do for the Sacred Hearts Fires-long way away but incredible to see, first noticed as a small puff of smoke while we were at the restaurant

 

[RB]

Seefeld to Munich 30th June
Our hosts dropped us at the bus station for our transfer. Booked Flixbus- had never used them before. Fare was 8 Euro each & paid 3 Euro each to sit in front row of top deck- a great decision & a real panorama-great scenery early & then viewing heavy traffic as they left the city. Passed through Garmisch where we had enjoyed a previous holiday. Bus left Seefeld on time & arrived about 5 min late despite the roadworks & traffic. About a 15 min walk to Hotel Meier from the bus station.







Ski jump near Garmisch