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Published: October 11th 2007
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Schladming Morning
picture taken from the balcony of Hofbauer of clouds hovering over schladming in the morning Austria is a paradise for those who love to ski or snowboard, love to hike, mountainbike, rock climb, and for those who like to delve into other various outside sports and activities. Austria is also the 5th most healthiest country in the world which in knowing this made the spent there more enjoyable. Joshua and I were fortunate enough to stay at a pension (Hofbauer) in Rohrmoos which is the village just above Schladming. We were the only ones staying at this bed and breakfast as October is the off season for tourists in this area. Hofbauer is family run and Monika who is the one we were visiting who is one of the ones who takes care of this place along with Alfreida her sister, their Mother ,and Fritz who is the brother and owner. I met Monika through Tauernhof which is the school I worked at three years ago. She is married to an Indian named Atal Panjiar. Atal spends 8 months out of the year as a captain on an oil tanker and the other 4 months golfing in Austria and spending time with his wife soaking up the beautiful surroundings that the country provides. Every evening we
Bodensee Lake in Austria
In between the first lake and Hans Wödl Hutte. It´s not the same lake as in Germany, tricky. walked down to their apartment from Hofbauer which was only 100 paces or so down the hill and had dinner with them. Monika is a great cook and she spent hours a day preparing this meal which always consisted of a first course which was some sort of salad, the entree which usually consisted of many Indian flavors to please her Indian husband and a typical Austrian dessert. We were very spoiled spending our time there. The first 4 days Joshua and I spent hiking up and down mountains which was challenging at times but rewarding when we looked down seeing what we had just accomplished and the view it allowed our eyes to gaze upon because this view is not possible to see if you are standing in the valley. Our first adventure was not too strenuous for our feet nor legs. We walked up a path beside the Talbach River which flows down the mountain from Untertal through Schladming. From Untertal we walked back down to Rohrmoos, this was quite refreshing and got our senses prepared for what beauty was yet to come. The second day was a hike with Monika to where there were 3 lakes leading
Planai Wanderweg
This was the view from the Planai Mountain hike up into the mountains. One lake was at the bottom of the mountain, then another lake after the first hike up and also a hut called the Hans Wödl Hutte where we had soup and Monika and I had a traditional pine schnapps which was actually made from the pine trees, then we hiked up further into the mountain which was where the 3rd lake was. It was cool to see the autumn colors of the trees with snow on the mountain in the background and water which was flowing from the 3rd lake into the waterfall down the mountain because it is not typical to see these combinations together. The 3rd hike on the next day was longer than the ones before and a higher altitude and distance were covered. The Planai (1906 meters up) is the mountain that was the most accessible from where we were staying and was a little confusing walking up because the trail was not marked very well but we made it up none the less. We hiked up and then hung out at the hut which was called the Schladminger Hutte drinking our cappuchinos talking about Latinos and inspired by the many mountains
Hiking Party
Atal in white hat, Morgan rat a tat tat, Monika in other white hat, Alfreida, and Horst with Tauern Range in the background and there peaks that we could see after hiking up such an altitude. On our way down the Planai there were signs that informed us to watch out for the mountain bike paths as mountain bikers ride down with no regard for hikers as we nearly got plowed over on our way down. The 4th day ,which was a Sunday, there were more of us who hiked this day and the 6 of us piled into one vehicle and drove half and hour to reach the trail head which ended to be a great hike. It was Joshua and I, Monika and Atal, Alfreida, Chile(her dog), and their cousin Horst who spent this day together hiking for 3 1/2 hours up and down 2 mountains . One of them was Schober mountain(2133 meters) which is especially popular for its 360 degree view. During these hikes there were not many people our age it was mostly 60 and 70 year olds that were taking up this activity with us which was motivating to see. Hiking is by far my favorite sport and if I live near mountains this is where I would be in such a beautiful creation and the enormity
Office Space
This is the view from where we worked putting sheep wool on trees is always a good reminder that I am just a human and He is the Creator. The next day Monika, Joshua, and I hiked to Unteral and then to Alfreida´s husbands Mother and Fathers farm to pick apples from their trees which ended up making 190 liters of apple juice. Along with Alfreida, Herbert, and their son Herbert Jr. there were seven of us picking apples for two or three hours that day which consisted of shaking the trees and picking them up from the ground where they layed in stinging nettles, that was the fun part. Afterwards we were invited by Elsa, Herbert´s yodeling mother, for cake and coffee in their 500 year old farmhouse which was at one time a fortress. The next four days were spent working for Herbert. We had asked if we could help out with anything. It´s a good thing we asked because there were over 5000 baby spruce trees that were in need of protection from the deer who like to eat them. This job consisted of being driven up the mountain in the morning and dropped off with 2 mountain bikes as our way back to Hofbaurer. We were each given a
bag of sheep wool to wrap around the top of the trees. If we had to do this inside a factory it would be very boring and monotonous but because there was an incredible view of the mountain ranges it was quite enjoyable and the time went by quite fast. The sides of the mountains were so steep it was hard to move from tree to tree much less stand in one place. The 45 minute return ride on the mountain bikes was dangerous as we were going down a mountain on steep grades and poor road conditions of rocks and such, it was our first experience to use the potential of a mountain bike. There was a day off in between due to rain so we walked around town for the day and visited Taurenhof and some of the people I used to work with. Our last hike was in the Dachstein mountain range which is famous for rock climbing and Josh, Alfreida, Chile, and I enjoyed the clear blue sky, fresh mountain air, and the 1 and half hour hike up the mountain where there was a bench awaiting us to see once again a breathtaking view and
Talbach River Walk
Morgans favorite walk in the whole entire world.......so far feel the satisfaction of what our feet had brought us to see. We then hiked down and across the other side and down some more to a hut to meet Fritz and Renata, Alfreida´s siblings, and hung out there soaking in the Austrian sun for a bit. Monday was our last day and we decided to do alot of walking since we were going to be on train for 14 hours to Cecina, Itlay. Walking beside the Talbach river is one of my favorite walks us so we did this in the morning and brought Chile with as she loves walks as much as we do and walked around Untertal and back to Rohrmoos. Then we walked to the train station to buy our train tickets for that evening. On Sunday friends I knew from working at Taurnhof were at the church service we went to and so we thought it would be cool to visit them at their hotel on Monday. They are from Chile. Pablo and Anita moved to Germany in 1999 and got a job as a chemical engineer and their 1 1/2 year old daughter Francisca was with them. Since their hotel was right on the
Morgan in a Meadow
Last days hike in Dachstein River Enns we decided to walk along it which was a favorite walk of mine when I used to live there. Our next hours in Austria were spent cleaning our room, packing, and saying goodbye at our last meal with Monika and Atal. We were definitely showered with love and inspiration from our time spent in this beautiful country and this season of fall will not be forgotten with our encouraging friends in Austria.
p.s. if anyone is thinking of staying in Schladming for skiing, hiking, or any other reason go to
www. pension-hofbauer.at
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