Schönenbach Revisited

Oh no, not another "revisited" post, I hear you groan. But I'm afraid that's what it is - we revisited Schönenbach on Thursday, the 3rd of September, and there followed the same paths we did back in 2023.

Kanisfluh from our room at 7:38 that morning

The bus to Schönenbach leaves from the square between our hotel, the tiny supermarket, the church and the school. Distance-wise, it's not far - less than 8 km. But the bus journey still feels rather long, as the bus has to go slowly for most of the way on a narrow winding road through dense woods along a stream. Two vehicles passing each other is very difficult, overtaking as good as impossible. I remembered the bus ride well from three years ago and consider it part of the adventure.

About Schönenbach itself I have written before (click the link at the top of this post, if you like), and we found it unchanged - there were still many more cows than people, and because those cows are so used to walking and resting everywhere and having people around, they are completely relaxed, and I wasn't at all afraid of them.

They weren't interested in us anyway, and we set off on our hike, a round tour above Schönenbach, reaching the bus stop again after 3 hours and 10 minutes of walking, which we enjoyed greatly.

Just like in 2023, the alp houses where the cow farmers and cheese makers live during the summer (and often sell food and drink to hikers) were closed already until next May or so, such as this one:

I was happy to spot gentian along the way:

Coming back towards Schönenbach, the last part of the hike was on the same path where we had started:

We had about an hour to wait for the bus back to Bizau and reached the hotel mid-afternoon with enough time for a rest and a shower before getting changed for dinner.

Afterwards, of course we went on our customary sunset walk, and it was really quite spectacular that evening, as my husband's photos illustrate:

We also passed by the tiny private chapel on a hill on the outskirts of Bizau we had discovered three years ago:

Andelsbuch and Schwarzenberg

Wednesday, the 2nd of September, was one of the few times we used the car during our stay in Bizau.

 Kanisfluh from our room, just after 7:00 am

None of what we did that day was a repeat from 2023.

We had read about the "werkraum" in Andelsbuch in a magazine in our hotel room, and since we are interested in architecture as well as in craftmanship and design, we wanted to see this rather unusual place.

It only takes about 15 minutes by car to reach it. Werkraum literally means work room in German, and here in Andelsbuch, it is the name of both the building and the association of craftsmen and -women in the area who take pride in their work. Many of them work with wood as joiners and carpenters, but there are also painters, designers and makers of furniture, textiles (clothes as well as other items), crockery, lamps and much more. Part of werkraum is a school for apprentices in those crafts, and another important feature of werkraum is a festival plus contest called "Handwerk + Form" held regularly in and around Andelsbuch, showcasing contemporary design and craftmanship from the Bregenzerwald.

When we arrived there just after they'd opened for the day, we were told that we could join a guided tour which would also allow us a glimpse in the building's cellar, where many prized objects from past festivals were stored, normally not accessible to visitors. Of course we joined that tour, which was really very interesting. We also had the opportunity to check out their shop (of course!) and the current exhibition, and had a refreshing cold drink before we left.

After another short drive, Schwarzenberg was our next stop. 

Schwarzenberg

I had found a tour described as "easy" around Schwarzenberg in the booklet in our room, and although the tour was short enough at a mere 7.5 km, it took us about 2 hours and was anything but easy! 

It was a long uphill slog from the village through woods to St. Ilga's spring and chapel, and another hour easier to walk back to the village. 

A whole meadow of autumn crocus!

St. Ilga's Spring (which was dry)...

...and her chapel, which was open.

St. Ilga, painted by a local woman

Back in Schwarzenberg

We enjoyed the walk in spite of my puffing and panting on the uphill part (I must admit I was dressed a little too warm for the weather) and had a good rest at the hotel before dinner.

At 7:00 pm on our balcony

Afterwards, of course we went for another sunset walk of about an hour around the village, seeing many cats and taking in the beautiful evening light. My husband took this photo looking west just before we went back inside:

Bezau Revisited

Not to confuse Bezau with Bizau ("our" village for the duration of our stay in Austria), here are a few basic facts: 

At about 2,000 inhabitants, Bezau is larger than Bizau, almost a little town but still proudly calling itself a village (click here for their offical website in English). 

As you can see on the map, while Bizau (red marker on the map, below right) is at the end of a valley, Bezau sits more or less at a point where several valleys and the roads leading through them meet:

Also, while Bizau has only one church, one elementary school, one mini supermarket, a community building where the village administration is housed and two hotels with restaurants, Bezau boasts quite a good array of shops, cafés, restaurants and places to stay as well as a proper village hall with offices for the civil servants, schools and more.

You can also see on the map that between Bizau and Bezau there is a long narrow wooded ridge.

On Tuesday, the 1st of September, we decided to walk to Bezau "the long way". We left the hotel after breakfast, walking to the far end of the village (where it says "Hilkat" on the map, far right), cross the ridge and walk along the narrow valley on the other side of the ridge into Bezau.

From our balcony that morning

We had done this same route in 2023; click here if you like to compare the pictures from then with the new ones.

Bizau church

A bit further on, looking back towards the heart of the village

View of the village from Hilkat, just before the path leads into the woods and down the other side of the ridge

The narrow valley framed on both sides by high ridges is very quiet and has almost a dream-like atmosphere. A handful of houses are dotted along its length, but they are only lived in at times when the people who own them work on the fields or in the woods or with their animals, and there was nobody about on that day.

Entrance to one of the currently empty houses

Autumn crocus - it is September!

Bezau

Arriving in Bezau, we took the funicular to the mountain top overlooking the village and the surrounding area, just like we had done three years ago.

We follwed the panorama path again, and unlike last time when it was all very mysterious with the fog and clouds, it was sunny and warm, bringing out the crowds. The many other walkers took away a bit of our enjoyment of the otherwise beautiful path, and we sort of rushed along, trying to avoid the "processions" of groups of walkers in front and behind us.

You can see Lake Constance from here!

Still, we appreciated the views and many a detail along the way, just didn't stop for photos and to admire everything as much as we would have done otherwise.

Silver thistle; a good weather indicator, as it opens with the sun and closes when rain is near.

The modern chapel we remembered from our previous visit.

The light inside is natural light coming in through narrow glass panels.

Back down at the bottom of the valley, we followed the picturesque path through Bezau along the beck that runs all the length of the village. We had an ice cream while waiting for the bus to take us back to Bizau and arrived at the hotel mid-afternoon - the perfect time for a little nap after our 12 km walk.

Having dinner a little earlier than the day before, we had more time for a sunset walk afterwards.

Kanisfluh - what else :-)