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 :-)

Schnepfau Revisited

Don't worry - not ALL my posts about our recent holiday will be some place or other "revisited"! We repeated some tours from 2023, but other hikes were new to us. Still, it was interesting to notice how our memories were triggered by things we didn't even know we remembered until we came upon them.

On Monday (31 August), after a sunny morning it was mostly cloudy at 21C/70F but felt warmer because of high humidity in the air, and of course even more so during the steep first uphill part of the hike we'd decided upon.

View from our balcony at 7:25 that morning.

Looking the other way, along the valley.

The car was safely parked by the hotel, where it would remain for almost all our stay, and we left after a sumptuous breakfast directly from the front door, walking through part of the village until we reached the edge of the wooded ridge separating Bizau (our village) from Schnepfau (at the bottom of the next valley).

We had done this hike back in September 2023, and clicking on the link will take you to my post and photos from that time. I remembered how much I loved the view from Schnepfegg past the Kanisfluh across the valley and wanted to see it again.

As before, the first part through the woods was steep, but I managed well.

We arrived at St. Wendelin's Chapel to find it locked just like in 2023, but were able to see inside from the unlocked ante room.

Schnepfegg was very quiet with the hotel-restaurant (Berghaus Kanisfluh) closed for the day, and although it was a much cloudier day than what it had been like three years ago, I still found the view into the valley beautiful.

Downhill from there is the small village of Schnepfau with its Baroque church; I went inside before we started on the long straight walk at the bottom of the valley into Mellau.

The river is the Bregenzer Ache (sometimes just called Ach), and now at the end of a long, warm summer with little rain, it doesn't carry much water:

From there, we took a bus to Reuthe, a settlement at the entrance to "our" valley, and opted to walk the rest of the way from there, stopping briefly to visit the small church with its medieval murals. This time, I didn't take any pictures of the murals; you can see them here.

Back at the hotel with about 15.5 km under our hiking boots' soles, we rested for a bit, then showered and changed for dinner.

For the first time this season, I spotted autumn crocus on a meadow and found the first horse chestnut on the ground - a sure sign of summer quietly slipping into autumn.

Bizau Revisited

Every year since we've known each other (10 1/2 years now), my husband and I have been going away together in May and September, mostly staying in hotels that offer organic food and have their own spa, somewhere in the mountains where we love to hike. This year is no exception, and on Wednesday we have returned from such a holiday in Austria.

Before I start my introduction to where we've been staying, let me point you to my review of the 15th book I have read this year. The author of that book emailed me after she had come across my review, and her message was a lovely surprise - it's great hearing from an author, and although it has happened before through my blog, it's been a few years since the last direct contact with someone whose book I've enjoyed and blogged about. Please click here for my post from the end of May and scroll down to the addendum.

Right - back to Bizau - literally! In September 2023, we had spent our hiking holiday in this village of roughly 1,200 inhabitants, at the same hotel (the "Schwanen", meaning The Swan). We really liked it there and always thought of returning. Of course, I blogged about our 2023 stay, starting with this post.

O.K. drove us there on Sunday, August 30. Just like three years ago, it took us about 3 1/2 hours to reach Bizau and the Schwanen. The hotel's website is here; the link takes you to the English version but please be aware that almost all of the text is still in German, only the headlines have been translated.

It was just before 5:00 pm when we arrived; check-in was quick, unpacking took a little longer, and then it was time for dinner. The food was as delicious and the service as friendly as we remembered it.

A sunset walk around the village followed. It was not only nice to see what had changed in the last 3 years and what was still the same, it was also amazing (and had been for good part of the drive) to see so much GREEN when back home everything was yellow and brown from the draught and heat.

Here are a few pictures to show you our room, the view from there, the hotel from the outside and how it is situated in the heart of the village.

The hotel from the front:

And from the back. I have marked our balcony with a blue circle. You can see how close the church is, and the large building in front of the hotel is the elementary school with sports hall, often functioning as the village hall:

The lounge - the only place with WiFi in the hotel:

Our room:

View from our balcony; the building to the left is the school/sports hall/village hall again, and the high mountain range is the Kanisfluh, which has featured in my 2023 posts as well:

Apart from mountains, green pastures and woodland, from our balcony we had a view of several farms and houses at the outskirts of the village:

The Kanisfluh lit up from setting sun, as seen during our sunset walk on that first evening:

The village must have almost as many cats as it has people. This was one of them:

And here is another one, with his or her own staircase to the top floor:

Very fittingly, this sign is at one corner of the main road through the village. It says: "Caution! Cats! Please drive slowly".

We knew we were going to really enjoy our time here, and we did - as you will see over the next days. You'll probably soon have enough of pictures showing mountains and trees and views, but even though many will look similar, no two hikes or places were the same.

Read in 2026 - 27: The Museum of You

Back from our hiking holiday in Austria since Wednesday afternoon, before I start writing about the very good time we've had there I want to post this review of a book I highly recommend and finished reading the evening before I left for the holiday:

The Museum of You

Carys Bray

A charity shop find in Ripon, this paperback for a mere £1.49 was one of the best reads I've had so far this year.

The main character is Clover Quinn, whose mother died when Clover was a baby. She lives with her father, Darren, who has raised her alone while working shifts as a bus driver. An elderly neighbour has been most helpful, as has been Clover's granddad. 

The book starts at the beginning of the school holidays. This summer, Clover is finally deemed old and responsible enough to be on her own while her Dad is at work. Instead of having to spend much of the day at her neighbour's, she is tasked with looking after the allotment (which she loves) but otherwise left to her own devices.

Just before school closed for summer, her class went to a museum where the story of the Titanic was told from the perspective of individual passengers; who they were, what became of them and so on. Clover is fascinated with this approach to history and hatches a plan that will keep her occupied all summer: She'll create a museum for the mother she never knew!

She has always known very little about her. It pains her Dad to talk about her, and everyone else who knew her (mainly the neighbour and her granddad) don't freely share their personal memories. But there is the bedroom where her parents slept and that has become a place of storage; full of boxes and things piled up on the empty bed and around the wardrobe. Clover usually doesn't go in there, but now is the time.

Without her Dad knowing what she's up to, Clover systematically sorts through the things she finds in the room, and interprets them in her way. Some items obviously belonged to her mother, like the beautiful skirt balled up at the bottom of the wardrobe. But what about the piles and piles of holiday brochures? And why was she "a surprise"?

When the chapters aren't told through Clover's eyes, it's her Dad's turn. Darren has never stopped loving and grieving Becky, and he loves his daughter with all his heart, making sure she is happy and has everything (and more) she needs. But once upon a time, he thought his life was going to take a very different path, and sometimes he can't help but think of what was, what could have been and what is.

Then one day, before Clover has finished her work in the bedroom and can lead her Dad through the exhibition she has created about her mother, he enters the room by himself, completely unaware of what his daughter has been doing there...

There is much, much more to the book than what I am describing here, but I would like you to read it for yourself and don't want to give it all away. It is very touching; there is friendship and family relationships, happiness and grief, how we remember the same events and interpret the same things differently, and ultimately, love - between parents and children, neighbours and friends.

Some bits are quite funny, others can move you to tears. The language is beautiful and the characters are plausible.

I'd not heard of the author before, but I'd like to read more of her work. Carys Bray's website is here.

Last Week of August

It is Sunday, 30 August as I am typing this, and in a couple of hours O.K. and I will be off on our way to Austria for a bit more than a week of hiking in the mountains. Once there, I might not be inclined or have the opportunity for much blogging (reading and commenting or writing), so you know why if you don‘t see me around much for a bit.

On Monday (24 August) I returned from my husband‘s as usual. My first job of the day was to check on Neo the cat and the two rabbits. They had survived the weekend without me very well, but it was obvious that Neo was more interested in his breakfast than in getting cuddled. We did that in the evening, though, after I‘d been for an after-work walk to Asperg.

Working from home on Tuesday (25 August), I found it so chilly in my flat that for the first time in months I made myself a cup of tea mid-morning, just to warm up! It felt quite nice, really.

Later, I went to see my Mum. On the way home from my Yorkshire holiday, one of the wheels on my suitcase had split, and for our upcoming holiday I wanted a new one. Knowing that my Mum‘s attic is a treasure trove of all things imaginable, instead of going into town to buy a new suitcase I asked Mum if I could have a look at the ones in the attic. I chose a large suitcase and an almost as large bag, both with a handle and wheels; as I travel a lot by train, I need to be able to transport my luggage from my home to the station, then there are often rather long stretches to walk on the large stations where I change trains, and sometimes from one station to the other, such as in Paris and London.

On Wednesday (26 August) I worked at the office as usual. Neo wasn‘t there when I went offer to feed and clean, but he had been eating his food.

Skirt I bought at a charity shop in Ripon this summer, worn to the office for the first time on Wednesday.

After the first half of the week had been relatively cool with some rain, Thursday (27 August) was hot again at a high of 33C. I didn‘t go for a walk after work but did the washing and went for some errands in view of my upcoming holiday. Again, Neo wasn‘t home when I went round, but had eaten.

Sunrise on Thursday

Friday (28 August) was largely spent cleaning, once I had wrapped up work; first my flat, then the rabbit hutch as well as their outside enclosure, as well as the cat dishes. 

Early morning, a thunderstorm had passed through, with very strong wind in its wake. When I arrived at the neighbours‘ house, I found several potted plants blown over, as well as the umbrella that stands next to the rabbit hutch to protect it from the worst of the sun. Much to my shock, one of the flaps to the hutch was open, and one of the two rabbits was sitting outside!!

I approached him very slowly and talked to him as I usually do when feeding the rabbits or cleaning their hut, getting ready to grab him if necessary, not knowing of course whether I‘d succeed or just scare him away. I said: „Hello Oskar, what are you doing out here? Don‘t you want to go back in? I‘ll bring fresh food…“ And guess what - he turned round and hopped back inside!

Quick as a flash, I slammed the flap shut and checked on the lock; it wasn‘t broken but probably the umbrella‘s stand knocked it open when it fell. I nearly cried with relief!! Oskar‘s sister Daisy had been in the outside enclosure all the time. Phew!!

Late afternoon I went back, and this time Neo was home, too. He ate a lot and then went out.

I met my Mum and my sister at the pub for a good-bye-drink in the evening.

Afterwards, I went to check on the animals once more, accompanied by my sister, who took this picture of me and Neo.

I got up early-ish on Saturday (29 August) and of course first thing made sure Neo, Oskar and Daisy had all they needed. Their family was going to return from their holiday later that day.

Next, I packed my things, choosing the bag and leaving the large suitcase in the basement. Just after 10:30, I left for the station. Three different trains took me to Offenburg. It was adventurous in that my original connection was cancelled, and then the alternative connection fell through, too. I had to make an entirely new booking last minute, but eventually it worked out and I was in Offenburg at around 2:00 pm.

In the evening, the five of us (my mother-in-law, sister-in-law + husband, O.K. and I) went to a restaurant in the next village for a meal to celebrate my mother-in-law‘s birthday; she had turned 86 earlier in the week. The food and drink were good, and it was a nice, relaxing start of our holiday for us.